Business chapter 11

• Market research – the process of collecting, recording and

  analysing data about the customers, competitors and market

  for a product
• Unique selling point – the special feature of a product that sets

  it apart from competitors’ products
• Market-orientated – products are developed based on consumer

  demand as identified by market research
• Product-orientated – the firm decides what to produce and then

  tries to find buyers for the product
• Primary – collecting data first-hand (sometimes

  called field research)
• Secondary – uses data that already exists, for

  example data that the business holds in its records

  about existing customers (sometimes called desk

  research)
• Quantitative – numerical data which can be presented in

  tables, graphs or charts; can be further analysed using

  statistical techniques
• Qualitative – aims to find out consumers’ opinions about

  products and the factors that influence their buying decisions
• Focus Groups – group of consumers are invited to discuss topics such as new

  products, packaging, brand names, advertisements etc. It’s a good way to find out

  what typical consumers thinks about a product and its marketing
• Observation – behavior of consumers is secretly observed and recorded. Main

  advantage is what consumers do is often accurate than what they say they do when

  answering questions asked by interviewers.
• Test market – a limited quantity of the product is produced and sold in a carefully selected area

  of the market. The test area is chose to represent the total market. Feedback from consumers is

  used to make changes to the products or other elements of the marketing mix such as pricing,

  promotion and place where the product is sold before launching the product to the main market
• Consumer surveys – surveys can collect both qualitative and quantitative data often with the aid

  of a questionnaire. Several methods can be used such as postal surveys, online surveys and

  interviews
• Sample – a representative sample of the market selected to take part in the market research