C1 Primary Research
Primary research refers to first hand data collected for a specific purpose. This gives much more specific data of which the reliability and validity can be checked and can be kept confidential from competitors. However it can be expensive and time consuming to collect.
Methods of orimary research include:
survey
interview
observation
focus groups.
Tips for Market Research Surveys
Keep it short (under 10 minutes to complete). This will increase the likelihood of people finishing it.
Give some context to your investigation. Giving your respondents a purpose will increase their engagement.
Include demographic questions. This will help you to establish the differing needs of different market segments.
Use a mix of multiple choice, checklist and yes or no questions to collect quantitative data. These questions are easy to analyse responses from a large dataset.
Use open questions to collect qualitative data but don’t use too many. These will give valuable insights and sometimes unexpected responses. However, too many questions will make it take too long to complete and people may not finish.
Pilot test your survey by giving an example to a small group of people to complete and ask for their feedback. This may uncover any issues with your questions or survey design that can be fixed before it is sent out.
Use multiple channels to send out your survey including social media, email and your own website to increase the visibility and response rates.
Tips for Market Research Interviews
Create a guide with a range of questions for the interview. Questions should be open-ended to encourage discussion but should not be leading which means to suggest a certain answer. Some types of questions include:
Warm-up questions to make them feel comfortable.
General questions about their experiences, opinions and behaviours
Specific questions about your research project.
Probing questions to find out more about.
Wrap-up questions to summarise what was discussed.
Interview Arrangements
Decide on the interview format (in-person, phone, video)
Send out invitations
Plan and set up recording devices
Conduct a pilot interview to uncover any potential problems
Aim for the interview to last between 30 minutes to one hour
During the Interview
Establish rapport through taking an interest in the interviewee. This will help them feel more comfortable and increase the likelihood of them opening up to you later.
Use active listening techniques such as nodding, eye contact and comments to show you are listening.
Be flexible and prepared to deviate from the script if interesting points are raised. This is your opportunity to find out individual reasons behind consumers choices, opinions and preferences.
Watch for non-verbal clues such as facial expressions and body language. This can help you gauge people’s feelings towards the discussion and can give you an opportunity to follow up on something that was non verbally expressed.
Keep an eye on the time and steer the conversation back to key topics.
Tips for Market Research Focus Groups
Select between 6 - 8 participants with similar characteristics. This will help facilitate a relaxed and open discussion.
Create a guide for the facilitator for a range of questions to prompt discussion. This should include warm up questions, probing questions and exit questions.
Moderate the conversation by encouraging all voices to be heard.
Observe non-verbal clues such as body language that may provide further insight into the thoughts and feelings of participants.
Record the conversation and use transcription software to transcribe and support analysis.
Tips for Market Research Observation
Decide on the environment in which you will observe your participants. This may be in a retail store or a restaurant.
Decide on the behaviours you are interested in. For example, in a retail store you may want to see how they move around the store and which displays they stop at longer
Create a method for the observer to record these behaviours.
Observe participants and record behaviour. Take detailed notes and/or record what is seen.
Analyse patterns of behaviour and compare with findings from other primary or secondary research.