Market Research is the process of gathering and analyzing information about a market, product, or service in order to gain insight into customers, competitors, and the market itself.

• Primary Market Research
  • Research you conduct yourself (or hire someone to do for you)
  • It involves gathering information from customers / prospective customers in the target market
  • Examples:
    • Interviews (telephone or face-to-face)
    • Surveys (online or mail)
    • Questionnaires (online or mail)
    • Focus groups
    • Visits to competitors' locations
  • Time-consuming and/or expensive
• Primary Research Examples
  • Brand Research
  • Campaign Effectiveness
  • Competitive Analysis
  • Consumer Insights
  • Customer Satisfaction
  • Customer Segmentation
  • Product Development
  • Usability Testing

Secondary Market Research

• Research that has already been compiled, gathered, organized and published by others
• Looking up free, relevant info. on the web is considered a form of this - only cost is time
• Usually the most affordable option for small businesses /  entrepreneurs
• Examples:
  • Reports and studies by government agencies (free)
  • Reports and studies by trade associations
  • Reports and studies by other businesses (not necessarily free)
    • There's an industry comprised of companies selling market reports, such as intelligence about emerging markets
    • They did the leg-work, you pay the money (as in, thousands)
  • Articles in business magazines, trade journals and other industry publications
  • Certain types of reference sources (can be online or print)
    • Directories, indexes, etc., of industries or companies
  • Info. from trade associations or trade organizations