Primary Market Research

Despite widely available research articles and websites, there are some things that businesses must learn on their own. To figure out exactly what consumers think about a brand or a new advertising campaign, a company needs to conduct its own market research. This is referred to as primary market research, and it can be conducted using a variety of methods. Read on to learn more about primary market research.

Primary market research definition

Primary market research, also known as field research, refers to data that has been collected for the first time by a researcher or a business. The methods of collecting primary research may involve surveys, interviews, or focus groups.

Primary market research examples

There are many types of primary research, but what they all have in common is that they are all conducted first-hand by the business or a researcher. Here is an example of how businesses can use primary research:

What are the primary market research methods?

Primary research can involve a variety of methods used to collect data by the researcher or a business. Most importantly, businesses should choose the most suitable method that will help to address certain issues and achieve the set research goals. The key methods of primary market research are:

Experimenting

This involves businesses experimenting with various new methods before releasing final versions. An example might be experimenting with a new advertisement campaign to see how much the audience has engaged with it before investing more money into it.

Moreover, the company may release a test version of a product to a small group of people to understand how well the product performs before releasing the final version to a larger audience. Experimenting is a useful primary research method as it helps businesses avoid losing a lot of money on unsuccessful campaigns or products.

Observing

This market research method involves the observation of consumers' behaviour. For example, supermarkets may install a device called a recognition sensor that can track the movements of shoppers in the store. Companies can use collected data to identify consumer behaviour so that they can organise products in the store in a way that maximises sales.

Surveying

This method usually involves interviews or written questionnaires given to customers that already have some idea about the product or brand. The questions can be tailored in a way that can help businesses find exactly what they are looking for. There are various forms of surveys but the most common ones are:

Questionnaires

Questionnaires can be carried out either online or in person and can involve open answers as well multiple choice questions. Questionnaires conducted online can cover a large population and be an inexpensive and fast way to collect data.

The downsides include the fact that not all respondents fit within the target audience of the survey; respondents may not consider their answers carefully; and some may only respond because they are being rewarded. On the other hand, in-person questionnaires may be more time-consuming and cover fewer people, but responses may be more accurate and insightful than in online questionnaires.

Focus groups

Focus groups are small gathering of people who discuss a particular issue that a business may be facing. This may include opinions in regards to new products, advertisements, brand positioning in the market, and how the brand is viewed compared to competitors.

Although participants attending focus groups cannot represent the market as a whole, they can give insightful and in-depth information that can be used to explore the issue further. This covers a larger population using methods such as questionnaires.

Online research

This type of research can be carried out online by the business itself. By using analytics systems, companies can track the number of visitors as well as consumer behaviour on their website. Moreover, businesses can collect information about visitor demographics and behaviour such as location, language, and device used to access the website.

Telephone surveys

Telephone surveys involve businesses calling customers and asking for their views in regard to various business concerns, such as views on products, advertisement campaigns, or consumers' purchasing habits.

A telephone survey can cover a large number of people quickly and at an affordable cost. However, customers might be suspicious of the calls or receive them at an inconvenient time, which is likely to lead to a lower response rate.

Customer/supplier feedback

This method includes businesses collecting feedback from existing customers or their suppliers. Most products include customer support or feedback numbers on the back of their packages, which allow customers to call and give feedback on the product.

Feedback can also be collected directly after consumers receive the service by sending a feedback form via email or text message. Supplier feedback can also be collected to gain more insight into how the business performs in relation to its competitors.

Figure 1. Forms of surveys, StudySmarter

Primary market research advantages and disadvantages

Primary research can be an effective market research method for businesses to collect the exact data that they are searching for. However, it can be time-consuming and incur some additional business expenses. In this section, we will look at both the advantages and disadvantages of primary market research.

Advantages of primary research

1. Relevant and tailored to meet business's needs

By undertaking primary research businesses can tailor it exactly to the company's needs and can help answer the exact questions that an organisation is looking for. For example, by undertaking primary research methods such as focus groups, telephone surveys or questionnaires, businesses can find customers' views on new products or advertisement campaigns, this may be difficult or impossible to do using secondary research methods.

2. Up to date

Primary research allows businesses to keep their market research up to date since businesses can collect data directly from their customers at a particular period as well as continue to collect data for the research to remain current. On the other hand, if the company is using secondary research, some of the data will not be current, meaning many resources will be outdated.

3. Some research methods are convenient

Not all, but a number of primary research methods are pretty convenient. For example, online research and telephone or online surveys can be carried out from the office and do not require travelling. This means a large population size can be covered quickly and inexpensively.

3. Gaining deep insights on the subject

Primary research methods, such as focus groups, allow businesses to gain deep insight into a subject and find out exactly what they are looking for. For example, consumer opinions on the brand or new products, as well as a comparison between the brand and its competitors.

Disadvantages of primary research

1. Expensive

Primary research is usually more expensive than secondary research. To motivate more participants to answer the survey, the company may need to invest in advertising. Or in terms of focus groups, a company may need to offer incentives to motivate participants to attend the research and give insightful answers.

2. Time-consuming

The process involved in collecting primary research data may be time-consuming, as the process may involve recruiting participants, collecting data, analysing data, and generating reports. Instead, secondary research would probably take less time, as businesses could directly use analysed data.

3. Research that is not performed correctly can lead to misleading results

Research results can be biased if the research process is not done correctly. A number of factors can lead to this, including misinterpretation of results, analysis of data according to one's opinions, and inaccuracy.

How do you carry out primary market research?

Carrying out primary research might involve a step-by-step process. In this section we will identify the key steps involved in carrying out primary research.

Identification of an issue

The first step in the primary research process involves identifying the purpose of the research and what exactly the business is trying to discover.

Selecting an appropriate research design

One of the most important steps, this involves choosing a data collection method and appropriate questions that will assist the company in addressing a specific issue.

Data collection

This is essential to collect accurate data. Therefore, the company must use reliable survey collection sites and trained staff for conducting interviews. Once the data is collected, it is important that it is securely stored.

Data analysis

In this step, the collected data is analysed and interpreted to provide useful information for addressing the business problem. Businesses will use this data to generate reports and make their action plans.

Presenting data and developing an action plan

As the final step of primary research collection, reports are generated and presented in a way that can be easily understood by coworkers who may not have been involved in the research. In addition, research results can assist businesses in developing a strategy and action plan to address an issue.

Figure 2. Steps of primary research, StudySmarter

Primarily market research is carried out by the business itself or a researcher for the purpose of addressing the specific issues the business faces. Primary research involves a variety of methods that can be selected depending on the purpose and goals of the research. When done correctly, primary research can help a company reach its goals and objectives.