1 Market Research Objectives Identifying customer needs Identifying markets Trends and fashions Changes in markets Market and product development opportunities Competitors and their activities Effectiveness of promotional activities

2 Classifying customers into market segments Market segmentation groups customers by: Socio economic status Age Family circumstances Life style Gender Place of residence Personal characteristics Segmentation divides customers into broad categories on the assumption that the customers in each category will have similar needs for certain products and services

3 Socio – economic groupings Class A (senior managers and professionals) Class B (middle managers and professionals) Class C1 (supervisory and junior management) Class C2 (skilled manual workers) Class D (semi skilled and unskilled manual workers) Class E (casual workers and low income groups)

4 Family circumstances The family life cycle Child Young adult Early nesters Settled nesters Empty nesters Elderly couple Single elderly person

5 Primary market research – field research The techniques Surveys Observation Focus groups Qualitative research Feelings, attitudes, opinions, perceptions Quantitative Research Measurable in the form of statistics

6 Surveys - questionnaires The design and application of questionnaires The type of questions asked Understandable or complicated? The length of the questionnaire How much time has the respondent? The layout of the questionnaire Is there a logical sequence of questions? The recording of responses Multiple choice or numerical scale?

7 Compiling questions Simple and specific language No slang or jargon Ask about only one aspect per question No unclear or ambiguous questions Keep questions relevant and to the point Do not ask respondents to guess or speculate Avoid very personal questions

8 Contact methods for questionnaires Mail Quick application and reaches a wide audience Poor response rate (3% -20%) Telephone Expensive and time consuming Better response but arouses suspicion Personal contact Very expensive and time consuming Good response depends on training of researchers

9 Focus group research Qualitative and detailed information Uses a selected discussion group Based on a small sample of respondents Very expensive and time consuming Requires highly skilled interviewing techniques Can give very detailed and valuable information Requires careful interpretation of findings

10 Secondary market research – desk research The information already exists and is accessible Relatively inexpensive to carry out Internal and external sources of information Economic and quick to carry out Information is second hand Information may not be totally relevant Is usually followed up by primary research

11 Sources of secondary data Internal sources Sales, usage, Customer database / booking forms Customer complaints / suggestions External sources Government publications Newspapers, magazines, trade journals Professional bodies National organisations Commercial research data – (Gallup etc)

12 Analysing market research findings Data summary and analysis Compilation of survey results Presentation of information Statistical analysis and reporting Graphical presentation Summary of opinions (qualitative) The market research report

13 Choosing market research techniques Cost Research method and sample size Time Preparing, conducting, analysing, reporting Accessibility of the research sample Existing or potential customers Validity and reliability Choice /size of sample, design of questionnaire Fitness for purpose Meeting the objectives and purpose of the exercise