Primary Research and Secondary Research (Cambridge (CIE) A Level Business): Revision Note

The features of primary and secondary research

Primary research

• Primary research is the process of gathering information directly from consumers in the target market using field research methods such as surveys and interviews

Common features of primary research

• First-hand data collection

  • Primary research involves gathering new information directly from people, rather than using existing sources

• Tailored to specific needs

  • The questions and methods are designed to collect information that is directly relevant to the business’s goals

    • E.g. A restaurant could ask customers what new dishes they’d like added to the menu

• Time-consuming and potentially costly

  • Collecting and analysing primary data takes time, money, and effort, especially for large samples

    • E.g. Organising focus groups or conducting interviews may require trained staff and payment to participants

• Includes both quantitative and qualitative methods

  • Primary research can gather numerical data (quantitative) or opinions and attitudes (qualitative)

    • E.g. A business may run a questionnaire with rating scales and follow-up interviews for deeper insight

Secondary research

• Secondary research involves the collection, compilation and analysis of data that already exists

  • It is likely to have been collected for a broad purpose by another organisation, such as the government or a research specialist

  • Since the data is already available, it’s usually faster and often cheaper to access than primary research

    • E.g. downloading a report on consumer habits from a trade organisation's website may be free or low-cost

Usefulness of primary market research data

• Businesses can choose from a range of primary marketing research methods and may combine a selection of methods to obtain comprehensive first-hand data

Surveys

• The most widely used method for gathering primary research data is sampling through surveys

  • A series of questions are posed to a certain number of people (respondents)

  • The results from the "sample" are used to make inferences, which tare extrapolated to be true for the wider population

Observation

• This involves hiring someone to stand in an appropriate location and study consumer behaviour in a store or perhaps judge the potential consumer traffic at a particular location

  • Researchers may observe the impact of packaging or the particular placement of a product in a store on consumer choice

Interviews

• The questions may be set up in a very similar way to a survey; however, an interviewer asks the questions

• This method takes longer, but it does allow the interviewee to ask follow-up questions and gather information that might easily be missed when conducting surveys

Test marketing

• Free samples are provided to the target market for a limited period to gauge their response to the product

• Adjustments to the product or other elements of the marketing mix can be made following feedback

Focus groups

• A marketing specialist leads free-form discussions to collect detailed feedback from the target market on all aspects of the marketing mix

• Usually limited to a small group of 12–15 people

• The group typically meets for 90 minutes to 3 hours

• Businesses must choose a primary marketing research method that allows them to capture the correct form of data that can support decision-making

  • Each method has a range of advantages and disadvantages, which must be considered when making this choice

Evaluation of primary marketing research

Sampling

• Sampling involves getting opinions from a selected group of people in order to find out about the market as a whole

  • It is expensive and time-consuming to collect data from all customers in a market

  • Marketing researchers use carefully designed sampling methods from which conclusions can be drawn about the market as a whole

  • In general, the larger the sample size, the more likely that results from marketing research activities will reflect the market as a whole

The main sampling methods: random, stratified and quota

Random sampling

• This method ensures that every member of the population has an equal chance of selection

  • E.g. a survey of gym members may be sent to a random selection of customers taken from the membership database

Stratified sampling

• This method involves the random selection of participants from subgroups of the population, such as age, gender, income level or education groups

  • E.g. a survey of school pupils may be carried out only on Year 10 girls

Quota sampling

• This method obtains a representative sample by determining specific proportions of each group of the population upon which to carry out research

  • E.g. a researcher conducting a survey for a family car manufacturer may seek to interview a sample comprising 25% of individuals aged 18–24, 50% aged 25–45 and 25% aged 46 and above

The choice of sampling method

• The choice of sampling method will depend upon a wide range of factors

  1. Time available

     • Where little time is available to carry out marketing research, a random sample may be most appropriate, as it is usually very quick and straightforward to organise

  2. Knowledge of the target population

     • Where a business has good knowledge of the target population, a quota sample should provide a set of research data that lacks bias

  3. Skills of researchers 

     • Where researchers lack experience or expertise in marketing research, a focused stratified sample is likely to provide a useful set of data that can be easily interpreted

Limitations of sampling

• The sample might not reflect the views of the whole target market

  • If the group chosen for the research is too small or not diverse enough, the results may not represent the wider population

  • This can lead to incorrect assumptions about customer preferences or behaviour

    • E.g. If a sportswear company only surveys customers in one city, it may miss preferences in other regions

• Sampling can be biased if certain groups are over- or under-represented

  • When the sample includes too many people from one group and too few from another, the results become unbalanced

  • This kind of bias can happen by mistake or due to poor sampling methods

    • E.g. If a technology company surveys only younger people online, it may ignore the views of older customers who shop in-store

• Human error can reduce the reliability of the findings

  • Mistakes in how the sample is selected, how questions are asked, or how responses are recorded can affect the accuracy of the research

    • E.g. An interviewer may ask leading questions, or a poorly designed questionnaire might confuse participants

Usefulness of secondary market research data

Sources of secondary research

Advantages of secondary marketing research

• Information is already available and is quicker to collect than primary research, thereby saving time

• Information is often free (e.g. government websites and internet sources such as Statista) or cheap to collect, leading to lower costs compared to primary research 

• Suitable for a small business that lacks a large marketing budget and/or expertise

Disadvantages of secondary marketing research

• Information has been collected for other purposes, so it may lack relevance or may not be factually correct, e.g. Wikipedia 

• Can be expensive to purchase market-specific secondary data from specialist companies, e.g. Mintel reports 

• Information may be out of date, especially in dynamic markets