Business

• Customer needs


  • Price
  • Choice
  • Quality
  • Convenience
• Market mapping
• Location factors


  • Demographics
  • Lifestyle
  • Age
• Customer needs


  Generate sales and ensure business survival
• Market research


  The process of collecting information about trends, competitors and customer needs to identify and understand the market
• Types of market research

  • Primary research (first-hand collected data e.g. surveys, focus groups, observation)
  • Secondary research (second-hand gathered data e.g. internet, market reports, government reports)
• Primary research


  • Can ask specific questions, get current data on competitors
  • Can be time consuming, may be expensive
• Secondary research


  • Easy to find, cheap
  • Can be out of date, collected for a different purpose
• Qualitative and quantitative data are both important for market research
• Social media can be used for cheap and easy market research, but data may be misleading or unreliable
• How businesses compete


  • Price
  • Quality
  • Location
  • Product range
  • Customer service
• Businesses can gain competitive advantage by buying cheaper raw materials, offering exceptional quality, or providing superior customer experience