methods of secondary research gcse business

Primary & Secondary Market Research

Primary market research.

Primary market research is market research that is done by a firm for its own use. A business can tailor this research to their own exact needs.

Examples of primary market research

• For example, a firm may use questionnaires, surveys or interviews to carry out primary research.
• Firms often do this without the customer thinking about it.
• A key benefit of primary research is that it is tailored exactly to the needs of the business.

The likert scale

• At airports, firms like Ferrovial, which owns Heathrow often ask what your service was like at security clearance queues.
• This is known as a likert scale, which is a form of market research that firms use to try to understand and gauge what customers think of their product or service.

Secondary Market Research

Secondary market research happens when firms collect information on research that has been performed by other organisations or people. Secondary market research is particularly useful for information about an entire market rather than a specific target market. It is often cheap.

Government reports

• For example, market research done by governments contained in reports like the Family Expenditure Survey, newspaper articles and research reports written by independent organisations.

1 Enterprise & Entrepreneurship

1.1 The Dynamic Nature of Businesses

1.1.1 The Dynamic Nature of Businesses

1.1.2 Risk & Reward

1.1.3 The Role of Business Enterprise

1.1.4 The Role of Business Enterprise 2

1.1.5 The Role of the Entrepreneur

1.1.6 End of Topic Test - Dynamic Nature of Business

1.1.7 Grade 9 - Dynamic Nature of Business

1.2 Spotting a Business Opportunity

1.2.1 Customer Needs

1.2.2 Market Research

1.2.3 Market Segmentation

1.2.4 The Competitive Environment

1.2.5 Primary & Secondary Market Research

1.2.6 End of Topic Test - Business Opportunities

1.2.7 Application Questions - Business Opportunities

1.2.8 Exam-Style Questions - Market Segmentation

1.3 Putting a Business Idea into Practice

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1.3.5 Revenue - Calculations

1.3.6 Business Profits & Break-Even Analysis

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1.3.8 Interest - Calculations

1.3.9 Cash & Cash Flow

1.3.10 Cash & Cash Flow 2

1.3.11 Cash Flow - Calculations

1.3.12 Sources of Business Finance

1.3.13 End of Topic Test - Business in Practice

1.3.14 Grade 9 - Business in Practice

1.3.15 Exam-Style Questions - Business in Practice

1.4 Making the Business Effective

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1.4.2 Limited Liability

1.4.3 Franchising & Not-For-Profits

1.4.4 Business Location

1.4.5 The Marketing Mix

1.4.6 Business Plans

1.4.7 End of Topic Test - Effective Business

1.4.8 Application Questions - Effective Business

1.4.9 Exam-Style Questions - Business Plans

1.5 Business Stakeholders

1.5.1 Business Stakeholders

1.5.2 Technology & Business

1.5.3 Legislation & Business

1.5.4 Legislation & Business 2

1.5.5 The Economy & Business

1.5.6 External Influences

1.5.7 End of Topic Test - Business Stakeholders

1.5.8 Grade 9 - Business Stakeholders

2 Building a Business

2.1 Growing the Business

2.1.1 Business Growth

2.1.2 Finance

2.1.3 Changes in Business Aims & Globalisation

2.1.4 Ethics & Business

2.1.5 The Environment & Business

2.1.6 End of Topic Test - Growing a Business

2.1.7 Application Questions - Growing a Business

2.1.8 Exam-Style Questions - Business Growth

2.2 Making Marketing Decisions

2.2.1 Product

2.2.2 Product Life Cycle

2.2.3 Price

2.2.4 Pricing Methods

2.2.5 End of Topic Test - Product & Price

2.2.6 Grade 9 - Product & Price

2.2.7 Promotion & Advertising

2.2.8 PR & Sales Promotions

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2.2.10 Promotional Mix

2.2.11 End of Topic Test - Promotion

2.2.12 Application Questions - Promotion

2.2.13 Exam-Style Questions - Promotional Mix

2.2.14 Place & Wholesalers

2.2.15 Direct to Consumer

2.2.16 E-commerce & M-commerce

2.3 Making Operational Decisions

2.3.1 Job Production

2.3.2 Batch & Flow Production

2.3.3 Working with Suppliers

2.3.4 Effective Supply Chains

2.3.5 Just In Time & Just In Case

2.3.6 Managing Quality

2.3.7 Total Quality Management

2.3.8 The Sales Process

2.3.9 End of Topic Test - Operational Decisions

2.3.10 Grade 9 - Operational Decisions

2.3.11 Exam-Style Questions - Managing Stock

2.4 Making Financial Decisions

2.4.1 Gross Profit & Net Profit - Definitions

2.4.2 Gross Profit - Calculations

2.4.3 Net Profit - Calculations

2.4.4 Rate of Return

2.4.5 Rate of Return - Calculations

2.4.6 Research & Financial Data

2.4.7 Marketing Data

2.4.8 Percentage Change - Calculations

2.5 Making Human Resource Decisions

2.5.1 Organisational Structures

2.5.2 Organisational Structures 2

2.5.3 Recruitment

2.5.4 Effective Recruitment

2.5.5 Training a Workforce

2.5.6 Motivating a Workforce

2.5.7 End of Topic Tests - Human Resources

2.5.8 Application Questions - Human Resources

2.5.9 Exam-Style Questions - Human Resources

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The Competitive Environment

End of Topic Test - Business Opportunities

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Secondary Market Research

Last updated 22 Mar 2021

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Secondary market research uses data that already exists and has been collected by someone else for another purpose.

Sources of secondary data can come from within the firm itself – this is known as internal secondary data. External secondary data, on the other hand, is data that has been published by other organisations

What are internal sources of secondary data?

Every department within an organisation will have its own records that represent a potential source of valuable data. For instance, records of past advertising campaigns within the marketing department can be compared with copies of invoices held in the sales department in order to judge their effectiveness and get ideas for future campaigns. Past sales figures can also be used to spot trends and forecast future figures.

The increasing availability and use of loyalty cards and big data has given businesses the chance to gather a wide range of valuable information on customer buying habits, allowing them to target promotional campaigns more effectively.

Internal sources of data should always be considered as a first line of enquiry for any investigation because they are usually the quickest, cheapest and most convenient source of information available. Internal data will also be exclusive to the organisation that generated it, so that rival firms will not have access to it.

However, internal data may be incomplete or out of date, and, if a project is new, there may be no relevant data at all. In such cases, an organisation may need to consider using external sources of secondary data.

What are external sources of secondary data?

There are several sources of existing data available from outside of the business that may be of value. These include:

• Commercial market research organisations – including MINTEL, Keynote and Euromonitor
• The Government – the much wider availability of open data from the government has significantly increased the availability of such data
• Competitors – company reports and websites are easily accessible and contain a limited amount of information
• Trade Publication
• The general media
• Secondary research
• Quantitative research
• Qualitative research
• Marketing research
• Primary research

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5.3 The Purpose and Methods of Market Research

Market research.

Market research is finding out information about a chosen market (e.g. customers, competitors, products). This can include:

• If customers’ requirements are being met
• Is there a gap in the market for a product or service?
• Would a new product would fill that gap?
• Could an existing product be promoted or priced differently to persuade customers to buy it?

Primary Research

This is when the organisation gathers its own information from the market.

Methods of primary research:

• Surveys : including questionnaires, phone surveys, interviews, focus groups, feedback from customers / suppliers
• Experimentation : trying new ideas and recording the results
• Observation : watching how customers act, such as counting customers enter a shopping centre and noting their demographics
• Can be highly specific to the business’s needs
• Large samples are needed for accuracy
• Time-consuming
• Can be difficult to administer and get right

Secondary Research

Secondary research is when the organisation uses data which someone else has gathered.

Methods of secondary research:

• Published information : information taken from books, newspapers, magazines, and websites
• Government publications : information collated and published by the government (e.g. Office for National Statistics )
• Industry reports : organisations will gather, analyse, and produce reports which can be obtained and used (e.g. IBIS World )
• Data may not be exactly what the business needs
• Could be out of date
• Data may be biased or inaccurate

Quantitative and Qualitative Data

There are two types of data which can be collected through market research - quantitative and qualitative . You need to be able to describe each type, and discuss the differences between them in different scenarios.

Quantitative Data

Data which can be measured .

Data is fact-based, and is easy to compare against other quantitative data.

Example: We counted that 12 people purchased a Hawaiian pizza and 18 purchased a Margherita pizza, therefore six more customers purchased a Margherita pizza.

Qualitative Data

Data is based on opinions, feelings, or other immeasurable factors .

Qualitative data can provide a greater depth of response, but is much more difficult to compare.

Example: We asked customers how they feel about putting pineapple on a pizza. There were lots of different opinions!

Quantitative vs Qualitative: how to remember

Quantity : an amount of something e.g. there are 20 chicken nuggets in a box

Quality : a characteristic of something e.g. chicken nuggets taste good

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Secondary Market Research - GCSE Business Studies Lesson

Subject: Business and finance

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

22 February 2018

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Market Research

• Market research is a systematic method of gathering, analysing, and interpreting information about a market, including its customers and competitors.
• It is crucial for businesses to better understand the needs and wants of their target audience, competition, and market trends, helping them to make more informed and effective decisions.
• Primary research or field research involves fresh data collected for a specific purpose. This includes techniques such as surveys, interviews, questionnaires, focus groups, and observations.
• Secondary research or desk research involves using existing data that has been collected by another entity for a different purpose. This includes internal business records, government statistics, newspapers, industry reports, and academic studies.
• Qualitative research provides in-depth understanding and explores attitudes, behaviour, and experiences. It often uses small sample sizes and includes methods such as personal interviews and focus groups.
• Quantitative research involves numerically oriented data, such as statistics or percentages. Generally speaking, it uses larger sample sizes and includes methods such as surveys and questionnaires.
• Market segmentation divides a market into distinct groups with different needs, characteristics, or behaviour who might require distinct products or marketing approaches. Common factors for segmentation include geographical location, demographics (age, gender, occupation, etc), psychographics (lifestyle, values, personality, etc), and behaviour (brand loyalty, usage rate, etc).
• A market map or perceptual map is a diagram that visually represents the perceptions of customers or potential customers about specific attributes of a business or product compared to its competitors. It helps businesses identify market gaps and opportunities.
• Sampling is a process used in statistical analysis in which a predetermined number of observations are taken from a larger population. There are different sampling methods including random, stratified, cluster, and convenience.
• The purpose of market research is to help a business reduce risks by making effective and strategic decisions about product design, pricing, promotions, distribution, and growth opportunities.