Marketing Research Tools

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Marketing Research Tools

There are several marketing primary and secondary research tools. Each primary and secondary tool has a specific purpose, advantages, and disadvantages. There are different ways to approach qualitative and quantitative research techniques within the marketing research strategies.

Primary Research

The collection of new marketing research data is referred to as primary research this includes interviews and surveys (Muhmin, 2009). Interviews and surveys can be done in person through e-mail or online. Primary marketing research tools are used to gather new data for a specific reason. Once a specific marketing target area is chosen the primary research techniques will be utilize to collect original data. Once the data has been collected it will be organized and used in the marketing research strategy. Primary marketing research will provide a company with current information used to produce a product or service provided to customers. Primary research is an important tool however can be extremely costly so companies need to determine the cost will be beneficial to the company. Often primary research will be used alongside of secondary research in the marketing strategy plan.

Secondary Research

Secondary research is a collection of research materials and data packages that have been researched by other sources (Muhmin, 2009). This information can be found through the Internet, company webpages, news articles, county and city auditors, and other various sources. With looking for secondary research on energy resources, geographical population, education, economy, crime statistics, or ethnic issues Internet search engines will provide countless resources. Since the Internet searches are free and the majority...

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...ften more costly but when a company needs specific information on the specific item this can be their only choice. Secondary data is data collected from sources that have already conducted and paid for the research. Often this research may not be as specific as needed but the cost benefits may outweigh the need for a more specific research process. Generally the cost for secondary research is only the time it will take to track down and verify research from various sources, for instance the Internet, journals, library resources, or college research papers.

Works Cited

Abdul-Muhmin , A. (2009, April 2). Marketing research. Retrieved from http://opencourseware.kfupm.edu.sa/colleges/cim/mktmgt/mkt345/files2-Lectures_Ch_01_Intro_to_Marketing_Research.ppt

Bull, N. (2010, March 4). Conducting market research. Retrieved from http://ohioline.osu.edu/cd-fact/1252.html

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