Making decisions that affect your business can sometimes be overwhelming. By providing insights into today’s buyers, market research can improve decision making.
When you own a business or want to start one, you should consider both primary and secondary market research.
Primary market research is firsthand information you gather about your market and your customer base.
Primary Market Research Tips
- Define Your Ideal Customer. Consider age, gender, geographic location, family size, income, vocation, etc.
- Prepare Your Research Questions. Remember to use open-ended questions.
- Contact a Representative Sample of your Target Customers. Use surveys, focus groups, interviews, field tests, and/or observation to obtain answers to your research questions. This will help you understand actual characteristics, challenges, and buying habits of your customer base.
- Summarize Your Findings. Review what you learned and incorporate your findings, along with secondary market research, into your business decision-making process.
In summary, primary market research is…
- Collected by YOU (or a company you hire)
- May include several research methods, such as surveys, focus groups, interviews, observation
- Can be tailored to your specific needs and you control the quality
Additional Insights from Secondary Market Research
Secondary market research involves reports based on existing data from reliable sources. The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center can assist you with gathering and interpreting secondary market research.
By using information from both types of market research, you can get a well-rounded view of your market, increasing your chances of success.
Resources:
How to Collect Primary Date for Market Research by Marketing91
SBA Learning Center Market Research Online Course (30 minutes) and Worksheets
Create an Online Survey for Free with Survey Monkey