Market Research and its Primary Goal

Market Research is the gathering, analyzing, and interpreting of information about the marketplace: your competitors, consumer preferences and behaviors, products/services, and tactics. The primary goal of market research is to provide insight to companies like yours, to solve marketing dilemmas. Whether it’s bringing a new product to market, or determining which product name is preferred by your ideal consumer, the insights gained will help make more informed decisions, reduce risks, and allocate resources where they’ll be most effective. With competition on the rise, market research is not only important, but it’s vital for a company’s success, regardless of size. Whether you’re large or small, market research is key to understanding your position in the marketplace.

Types of Market Research

Market research can be broken down into two types:

• Quantitative Research
• Qualitative Research

Quantitative research focuses on numbers, such as frequencies, percentages, and ratios. Quantitative studies can survey large numbers of respondents, who are all asked the same set of questions. The most common types of questions are those which ask respondents to provide a rating either numerically (on a scale of 1-10) or verbally (satisfied/not-satisfied, excellent/poor).

While quantitative research can survey large numbers of respondents, qualitative studies involve much smaller samples, but dig deeper to discover attitudes and the motivations behind those attitudes. Qualitative research can be done face-to-face or online, using focus groups or interviews. Conversation, whether online or in person, is guided by a moderator. Unlike quantitative studies, there isn’t a pre-determined set of questions. Instead, the conversation is propelled by a discussion guide and the moderator, who may ask follow-up or clarifying questions driven by the respondent’s answers. This allows for a more in-depth discussion and analysis of the topic than a quantitative study can provide.

Types of Data

The data gathered from market research falls into one of two categories: Primary Data or Secondary Data.

• Primary data is information that a business acquired through a research study that either they, or someone they hired, performed. Data received from qualitative research is usually primary.
• Secondary data is information that already exists and often makes up the majority of data. Anything found online, by government agencies, trade associations, or other businesses is considered secondary data.

Using Data from Market Research

Once a company has compiled all of the necessary data, the insights are provided to the client. The client can then utilize the newly gathered information to make informed decisions about their marketing plan, new product development, etc. Don’t know where to start? Persuadable Research Corporation has years of experience performing market research. Check out our services page to learn more today!