Market Research Methods

Market research methods can be categorized into the following two groups: 

1. Primary Market Research Methods: Primary market research takes place when a business collects information first-hand by getting in touch with its customers or by employing a third-party firm to conduct its research. 
2. Secondary Market Research Methods: Secondary market research takes place when a business collects information from existing pools of data such as government records, research papers, the media, etc. 

• Primary Methods of Market Research 

Let’s take a look at four key primary methods used to perform market research: 

• Surveys: Surveys are the most commonly used method of carrying market research as they facilitate data collection and analysis in a relatively quick and easy way. In this method, customers are sent surveys via the internet (email, social media, website, etc). These surveys will generally contain closed-ended questions that produce quantitative data. 
• Interviews: In this method of market research, information is gathered through one-on-one interviews that are conducted through the phone or face-to-face. The researcher asks the respondent a series of open ended questions and collects the subject’s responses. This method of market research helps obtain extremely valuable information but is very expensive and time-consuming to conduct. 
• Focus Groups: A focus group is a type of interview involving a small group of people with certain shared demographic characteristics. Researchers ask the open-ended questions on a certain topic to gather information on the feelings, opinions, and perceptions of the group. Focus groups are generally less intimidating for subjects when compared to interviews, creating a non-threatening environment where members can interact and have a constructive conversation on the idea in focus. 
• Research Panels: A research panel is a group of pre-recruited people from which data is collected repeatedly over a period of time. Individuals in the panel will meet certain demographic or behavioral criteria to qualify them as a part of the panel. Panel research allows organizations to build rich consumer profiles that can provide extremely insightful data.