Market research focuses on potential customers, existing customers, the competition, and the business environment. The ultimate goal of market research is business success. Market research provides information useful in developing short, medium, and long-term marketing plans. Asking questions to friends, relatives, or family is an informal method of market research, while hiring an individual or agency to do a survey in person, through written questionnaires, or by phone is a formal way to do market research. Market research also uses primary or secondary data in the analysis and decision making process.
Primary data is collected directly for the business owner.
It can be a formal process like Bob s surveys performed by students in the marketing class, or an informal process like Tom s questions of his carpool group. Primary data also is collected from sources other than people. Janice s physical survey of the competition provides her with primary data. Secondary data is information collected and made available to the public to use as needed. Secondary data can be Census Bureau information, highway traffic counts, building permits issued, trade association sales figures, or chamber of commerce statistics.