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Basic methods of market research

Market survey is a systematic project of collecting, sorting, processing and processing information. Whether the survey method adopted directly affects the quality of the survey results is the key to the success of the survey.

There are two ways of market survey, primary survey and secondary survey. First-hand information refers to the information collected directly from the target customers by researchers in view of the current investigation problems; Second-hand information refers to information collected earlier by others for other purposes. Table 4- 1 compares the advantages and disadvantages of the two survey methods.

Table 4- 1 Comparison between First-hand Information Survey and Second-hand Information Survey

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Advantages and disadvantages of investigation methods

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First-hand data investigation is highly targeted, time-consuming, costly, and requires high ability of investigators.

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The survey method of second-hand data is simple and fast, and the data applicability is not strong, which may be different from the purpose of the survey; The authenticity and reliability of the data need to be further checked and evaluated. If there is any possibility of error, attention should be paid to the source of the data.

Save time and reduce the cost of investigation.

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From the comparison of the above table, it can be seen that the investigation of second-hand data is relatively simple and easy, so in practical work, investigators often start with the investigation of second-hand data. Of course, only second-hand information is often not enough, and it is necessary to collect first-hand information to supplement it in order to obtain more detailed and practical market information.

First, the source of second-hand information.

Second-hand information includes internal information and external information. Internal data are all kinds of records, statistics, reports, letters from users, purchase orders, etc. Within the enterprise. Including output, sales, profit, cost, inventory, wages, freight, financial reports, advertisements, product design and technical information. These materials can be provided by personnel from various departments within the enterprise, either in writing or orally.

The sources of external information of enterprises mainly include:

1. Regular publications of government departments. Such as various statistical yearbooks, statistical reports and investigation reports.

2. Various newspapers and professional publications.

3. Reports and periodical publications of various trade associations.

4. Research report of professional market consulting company.

Internet is also a huge information base. You can collect relevant information through search engines, or you can directly visit the websites of government agencies and professional websites.

Second-hand data collection methods include: retrieval, direct access, request, exchange, purchase, consulting experts in this field, and collecting and copying through information networks.

Second, the first-hand information collection methods

Collecting first-hand information is also called field investigation, which can be divided into inquiry, observation and experiment.

1. Query method

Inquiry method is a method for investigators to ask questions to respondents and collect information according to their answers. It can be divided into oral inquiry and written inquiry.

(1) oral inquiry mode

This is a way for investigators to ask the respondents in person and get the information they need according to their oral answers. You can speak freely or ask questions according to the outline drawn up in advance; Can take the form of individual inquiries, can also take the form of a forum; If it is an individual inquiry, it can also be in the form of non-face-to-face telephone inquiry.

Because the two sides talk orally directly, the oral inquiry method facilitates the exchange of ideas, the respondents can fully express their opinions and feedback information quickly, and the information collected by the investigators is more comprehensive, deeper and more authentic. However, the disadvantage is that the investigation costs a lot of manpower and expenses, and requires higher quality of investigators.

(2) written inquiry method

This is a way for investigators to design a questionnaire in advance and then distribute it to the respondents, and collect the required information according to the written answers of the respondents. Specific methods include: mailing it to the respondent, filling it out and sending it back, or giving it to the respondent in person, or the respondent reading the question in the computer and answering it.

The biggest advantage of this method is that the respondents have more time to think about the problem and avoid being influenced by the biased opinions of the respondents; In addition, we can appropriately expand the investigation area, increase the number of investigators and reduce manpower. But the disadvantages of this method are long recovery time and low recovery rate.

2. Observation method

This is a way for investigators to directly observe and record the words and deeds of the people under investigation, and cameras, video cameras, tape recorders and other methods to obtain first-hand information. It can also be installed for shooting and recording.

Because there is no direct dialogue between the investigators and the respondents, even the respondents don't know that they are being investigated, the words and deeds of the respondents are completely expressed in a natural state. The biggest advantage of this method is that it can objectively collect and record the on-site situation of the respondents, and the survey results are more real and reliable. The disadvantage is that observation is superficial, and it is impossible to understand the inner activities of the respondents and some information that cannot be obtained by observation alone, such as consumer psychology and purchase motivation.

3. Experimental method

Experimental method refers to selecting one or two factors from many factors that affect the investigation, putting them under certain conditions, conducting small-scale experiments, and then analyzing and judging the experimental results and making decisions.

This method is a survey method widely used by consumer goods enterprises at present, and it has a wide range of applications. This method can be applied to small-scale experiments and trial sales whenever a commodity is put into the market, or when the variety, packaging, price, trademark and promotion mode of the commodity change, so as to understand consumers' reactions and opinions. For example, a company intends to test whether a product changes its packaging. The method is to sell the products with changed packaging to stores A and B in the first two weeks, and sell the products with unchanged packaging to stores C and D in the third and fourth weeks. Then you can do a comparative analysis.

The advantage of this method is that the internal relations between some market variables can be observed and analyzed in a controllable way, and the information and data obtained from this survey are objective and reliable. Its disadvantages are that there are many factors affecting sales, variable factors are difficult to master, test results are easy to make mistakes, experiment time is long and cost is high.