Lesson Objectives Understand that customers needs are central to a business Understand how to collect and interpret primary and secondary market research Understand the differences between qualitative and quantitative research data

What do Customers Want? KEYWORDS Market Research Customers Needs Primary Research Secondary Research Survey Questionnaire Focus Groups What do Customers Want?

Market Research

Primary Research

Market Research Primary Research First hand information Expensive to collect, analyse and evaluate Can be highly focussed and relevant Care needs to be taken with the approach and methodology to ensure accuracy Types of question – closed – limited information gained; open – useful information but difficult to analyse

Secondary Research

External Sources Government Statistics (ONS) EU - Euro Stat Trade publications Commercial Data - Gallup, Mintel, etc. Household Expenditure Survey Magazine surveys Other firms’ research Research documents – publications, journals, etc.

Market Research Quantitative and Qualitative Information: Quantitative – based on numbers – 56% of 18 year olds drink alcohol at least four times a week - doesn’t tell you why, when, how Qualitative – more detail – tells you why, when and how!

What questions would you ask to find out about a creating a new Breakfast Cereal?

Closed Questions eg Open Questions eg What is your age? Tick the box 0-10 11-90 91-100 Advantages of Closed-Ended Questions Quick to answer Easy to code No difference between articulate and inarticulate respondents Disadvantages of Closed-Ended Questions Can draw misleading conclusions because of limited range of options "It depends" where only Yes/No are given as options Open Questions eg What is your name? What is your favourite colour? Advantages of Open-Ended Questions Greater freedom of expression No bias due to limited response ranges Respondent can qualify their answers Disadvantages of Open-Ended Questions Time consuming to code Researcher / interviewer may misinterpret (and therefore misclassify) a response

Market Research Advantages of Market Research Helps focus attention on objectives Aids forecasting, planning and strategic development May help to reduce risk of new product development Communicates image, vision, etc. Globalisation makes market information valuable (HSBC adverts!!)

Market Research Disadvantages of Market Research Information only as good as the methodology used Can be inaccurate or unreliable Results may not be what the business wants to hear! May stifle initiative and ‘gut feeling’ Always a problem that we may never know enough to be sure!

Over to You Activity Page 14 Answer questions on Over to You activity and Test yourself questions Create a questionnaire for a new Breakfast Cereal at least 10 questions using a variety of open and closed questions.