Marketing Research Techniques
Marketing Research is conducted to understand the needs of the customer and the feedback that customers give to different products. This helps a company know all things that are working for the product and all those that aren’t.
Marketing Research can be broadly specified into two types −
- Primary Research
- Secondary Research
Primary research is used to get new information from the customers. It is often employed after the launch of a new product. Primary research includes three best market research techniques, i.e., observational research, focus groups, and surveys. The combination of these three techniques is called Primary Research. Let us discuss what these three techniques are and why they are so popular −
Focus Groups
According to the experts, focus groups contain a group of participants, who are selected on the basis of various factors. They will be asked to use a common product and after using it, give their opinion. This enables the organization to estimate the interest that the product generates among people.
Observational Research
Observational research is the process of observing the purchasing pattern of the customers and studying the reasons or factors that draws a customer towards a product. This involves providing a range of options to a group of people in need of a product and then noting their reaction and the reason they selected one of them. The best places for such a research are malls and supermarkets.
Surveys
Surveys are conducted often with the help of a common questionnaire that the people participating in it fill and submit. It is a quick, effective and easy way to get a lot of feedback from numerous sources. One of the biggest reasons behind conducting surveys is that they include a wide range of people and from different demographics.
Secondary Research
The secondary type of a research may include the information you already acquire, but which has not yet been processed. The following are some areas where the category of secondary research may be involved −
Sales growth − Check the growth of sales for improvement or any decline.
Customer geographic distribution − How people in different places are responding to the product.
Sales of new products vs core products − You have to carefully check the graph of sales.
Industry growth − The sales manager has to analyze regularly whether the new product has led to some growth.
Product or service growth − Here you will note down all the growth factors for your product as well as services.
You have to put together all the necessary information. Now, you have to interpret it and finally incorporate the various findings in the planning process. The resources that you need for secondary research depends on your company records and external resources such as Department of Commerce, trade associations etc. The reports of surveys and several researches assist you to determine all the successful tips. The two areas that deal with marketing and its related products or services are development and pricing strategies.
