Primary market research (or field research) is the gathering of first-hand data,

custom-made to an organization’s specific needs. It is essentially about the collection

of new data because the information does not currently exist. Primary market
research involves fieldwork and may be carried out using:

 Surveys (questionnaires)
 Interviews
 Focus groups, and
 Observations

Organizations are increasingly using online tools (e.g. SurveyMonkey and

Zoomerang) and social media (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and
WhatsApp) to collect and collate data faster, cheaper and more frequently.

Surveys

A survey is a data collection tool used to gather primary market research about
individuals or their opinions, using a series of standardised questions. Standardised
questions ensure that surveys are more reliable and so that the results can be
generalised to represent the larger population. It can be used to gather qualitative
information, although is best suited to collect quantitative data from a sample of
individuals in a particular market. However, to be of real use, surveys needs to have
a large enough sample size to ensure the responses are statistically valid.
Surveys are typically used to gain opinions and feedback. For example, the IBO
uses online surveys for participants (teachers) who have recently attended one of
their Workshops. Variations of surveys include postal surveys, personal surveys,
self-completed surveys, telephone surveys and online surveys.

Advantages of using surveys

  They can enable researchers to gather a large amount of data relatively
quickly.
 With online surveys, it is also relatively cheap to collect and collate data over
a short period of time.
 Surveys are less expensive and time consuming than other methods of data
collection, such as interviews and observations.
 They can be used to collect data and information for a broad range of
research purposes.

Disadvantages of using surveys

 Surveys conducted face-to-face can be expensive and time consuming,

especially when trying to obtain a large sample that is representative of a
target market.
 They can suffer from selection or interviewer bias and/or poorly worded
questions, thus generating unrepresentative results.
 Questions in a survey can be poorly worded, so the results are inaccurate or
misleading.
 As surveys can be time-consuming to complete, participants may be reluctant
to fill out questionnaires or they might do so in a hurry, without giving
considered responses to questions (especially if they are open-ended
questions).
 Answer choices (options) used in closed questions on a survey may not
represent how the survey participants actually feel.
 Even with well-designed surveys and questions, participants may not be
entirely truthful due to strategic reasons.

Interviews

Interviews involve dialogue between the interviewer (the market researcher) and the
interviewees (respondents to the market research). The interviewer asks the
interviewees a set of questions in order to gain feedback and opinions of the
respondents. They are similar to surveys but tend to be much more detailed.
Interviews are usually conducted face-to-face, online technologies (such as Skype)
or using the telephone.
Advantages of interviews

 Interviews are specifically designed to meet the needs of the individual

organization.
 They can help the business to gain large amounts of qualitative data.
 Clarification of questions or responses can take place as the researcher can
ask follow-up questions. This helps to resolve potential biases in the answers.
Disadvantages of interviews

 As only a small number of respondents are involved, the findings might not be
representative of the opinions of the market.
 Potential interviewer bias might occur, thereby distorting the findings or
analysis of the responses.
 Interviews can be very time-consuming and are therefore a costly method of
market research. Interviews may take a large amount of time to complete, so
interviewees may be offered a financial incentive to take part.

Focus groups

The term focus group was coined by Ernest Dichter, an Austrian-born American
psychologist and marketing expert. Focus groups consist of small groups of targeted
customers with similar characteristics (e.g. male, female, or children) and/or similar
interests (e.g. gamers, skateboarders or food critics). The focus group members are
assembled together so that researchers can ask and discuss questions about a
specific product with this group.
A consumer panel refers to a focus group comprised of people who belong to the
firm’s target segment(s). For example, a motorcycle manufacturer is likely to include
(loyal) motorcycle riders and enthusiasts in the group, to provide expert feedback.
Typically, the researcher will observe, record and analyse the behaviour or
responses of the members of the focus group.
Advantages of focus groups
  They help the business to identify the desires and preferences of different
segments of the market. This helps the organization to improve its marketing
mix and strategy.
 They enable market researchers to gather the opinions and attitudes of
customers, and what appeals to them as consumers of the particular product.
Disadvantages of focus groups

 They can be time consuming and expensive, as the participants of a focus

group are usually paid for their time.
 Views and feedback are not always representative of the entire market,
especially if there are a few individuals who dominate the discussions.
 Similarly, peer pressure and courtesy may force participants to give more
polite or somewhat unreliable answers.
Observations

Observations are a form of primary market research that involve researchers

watching, monitoring and recording how customers behave or react to certain
situations. For example:

 a theme park operator might want to monitor the average queueing time for its
rides
 restaurant owners might want to observe the how long it takes, on average,
for diners to be served their meals
 supermarkets might want to determine which isles or areas of the store are
the most popular with their customers
 companies gather data on the number of visitors to their website, which pages
they visit and how long the average customer spends on the website.

Advantages of observations

 Observations are not reliant on the willingness of people to participate in

market research, unlike with surveys and interviews.
  Results are likely to be accurate, realistic and representative as behaviours
are monitored. In any case, observations tend to be more objective than
interviews or surveys as bias is largely removed.

Disadvantages of observations

 Observations are very time consuming, and interpretation of the findings can
be highly labour-intensive.
 Research subjects may act differently if they know they are being monitored.

SAMPLING

1. Quota sampling
Quota sampling refers to the sampling technique where researchers select a
number of candidates from different market segments and then group them together
according to various characteristics. Unlike random sampling, quota sampling
requires the selection of representative people chosen from a specific sub-group.
Examples of such sub-groups could include: age, gender, ethnicity, educational
attainment level, income levels or religion. For example, a researcher might choose
to use a sample consisting of 100 females and 50 males, or choose to interview
people between the ages of 30 and 50.

Advantages of quota sampling

 Unlike random sampling, quota sampling enables researchers to gather

representative data from sub-groups.
 It is suitable when researchers want to detect possible relationships between
sub-groups.
  It enables researchers to investigate particular traits (characteristics) of a
certain sub-group in order to improve its marketing strategies.
 The researcher has control of who is included in the sample.

Disadvantages of quota sampling

 Researchers need time to determine the characteristics on which they will

base the quota sample in order to generate representative results.
 Selection is not random, so is subject to researcher bias.
2. Random sampling
As the name suggests, researchers using random sampling select anyone in the
population for market research. It is based on an arbitrary method, allowing all
respondents the same equal chance of being selected. For example, if a sample of
20 employees are needed to gather some feedback, then a list of all workers could
be entered into a random name generator, with the first 20 names listed being
selected for interviews to determine their opinions on work-related matters.
To avoid or minimise potential, a variation is to use a systematic method, sampling
every nth person from a list. This can improve the randomising in order to get a good
mix of participants, and therefore more representative views.

Advantages of random sampling

 Results are, in theory, random as everyone in the population has an equal

chance of being selected for research.
 Results are therefore (in theory) free from researcher bias, so are more likely
to be accurate and representative.
 It is a quick and simple method of sampling, particularly if research
participants are freely available.

Disadvantages of random sampling

 Random sampling only tends to work well if members of a population are

likely to have similar views or characteristics.
 The sample, being just random, could be very skewed, so is not necessarily
representative of the population.
3. Stratified sampling
Stratified sampling is a sampling method where the population is segmented into
various strata (layers of sub-groups) that share similar characteristics – rather like
with quota sampling. A number of respondents from each stratum is selected based
on the proportion of the population comprised in that stratum, i.e. the sample size for
each layer is proportional to the size of the stratum.
Stratified sampling involves dividing people into homogeneous subgroups, based on
similar characteristics, before sampling. Each strata in a stratified sample comprises
of randomly selected respondents, who make up representative proportions of the
population. For example, if the target market consists of 30% males and 70%
females, then a sample of 50 people would involve 15 males (30%) and 35 females
(70%).

Advantages of stratified sampling

 It is used to improve representativeness of the various subgroups of a market.

 Researcher bias is limited as the sample is not controlled, but relies on
random sampling once the subgroups are determined.

Disadvantages of stratified sampling

 It may be difficult to determine the appropriate strata while doing stratified

sampling, especially because the process may be subjective.
 It is more difficult to organize stratified samples because of the attention to
detail needed to split the market into different segments. Hence, the costs of
conducting the research is relatively high.

4. Cluster sampling
Cluster sampling involves identifying the population by geographical areas
(clusters), and then interviewing people within certain clusters randomly. This might
be based on where people live and/or work. Researchers would then conduct market
research by visiting these different geographical areas in order to conduct
observations and/or interview customers in each area.

Advantages of cluster sampling

 Researcher bias is minimised as research subjects are randomly chosen

within the different areas for market research purposes.
 It can be useful in cases of regional differences in opinions. For example,
commuters in London may have a different view about train operations than
commuters living in rural areas.

Disadvantages of cluster sampling

 It can be expensive if travel costs between different clusters are high. This is
particularly the case if there are many clusters spread throughout a large
geographical area.
 Results may be biased if the respondents are selected from only a small
number of atypical areas. Making extrapolations from these clusters would
not be representative of the overall population.
 Covering a larger number of clusters would help to reduce potential bias, but
this would also raise the costs of conducting market research.

5. Snowballing
Snowballing relies on research participants referring or recommending further
subjects to take part in the market research. It uses word of mouth to increase the
sample size, with participants suggesting their friends, family and colleagues to be
part of the research.
At the end of a survey or interview, the interviewer will ask the interviewee to
recommend other people they should speak to. This process is simply repeated until
the market researcher gets a large enough sample size or the necessary information
required.

Advantages of snowballing

 It is useful to gather research subjects if the research involves interviewing

people with similar traits and interests.
 It is a cost-efficient way to increase the sample size as customers or research
participants pass on the names and contact details of their friends, family and
colleagues who may be interested in participating in the research.

Disadvantages of snowballing

 Results can be rather biased as the sample (of friends, family and colleagues)
are typically like-minded people, with similar tastes, preferences and
opinions.
 This sampling method does not enable researchers to know about the true
distribution or sub-groups of the population.

6. Convenience sampling
Convenience sampling refers to the practice of using people that are within easy
reach, in an unplanned way, to conduct market research. The sample is simply made
up of whoever is willing to participate in the research. Therefore, it is the least
representative method of sampling. Unless very large sample sizes are used,
convenience sampling is of limited use. However, as the name suggests,
convenience sampling makes it simple for researchers to carry out the study.

Advantages of convenience sampling

 Samples are created by using research subjects who are easily and readily
accessible.
 It is the quickest, easiest and cheapest method of sampling.

Disadvantages of convenience sampling

 As the least representative method of sampling, the results may be biased

and atypical. Hence, the research findings may be of limited use.
 Therefore, it is unlikely the convenience sample will accurately represent the
views of the wider target population.