Field research Field research involves going into the market place (the field) to gather information directly about customers and competitors. Although more time-consuming than desk research, field research can yield very detailed information. There are two main types of field research: observation research and customer surveys.
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Observation research involves watching (observing) the behaviour of consumers, for instance, observing how parents go about organising children’s parties. This can reveal the most popular products and services in the market. Observation research can also be used to study competitors and observe how they run their businesses. However, observation research only reveals what people do, not why they do it or what they might do if a new product or service was available.
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Customer surveys involve using a questionnaire and asking consumers about their attitudes towards new product ideas or to existing goods and services. Surveys can be done: • face-to-face • over the phone • by email • by post
Since it is usually not possible to survey every potential customer in the target market, a sample of the target market is often selected instead. Sampling refers to interviewing a small group of people who are representative of the larger target market. Example: A school principal wanted to know what students thought of having a school tuck shop. Instead of doing a time-consuming survey of hundreds of students in the school, the principal decided instead to just ask a sample of students. To ensure a representative spread of ages, she selected one student at random from each class in each year in the school for her survey.
ADVANTAGES OF FIELD RESEARCH
• More accurate and detailed information can usually be obtained, especially about people’s real attitudes and behaviour.
DISADVANTAGES OF FIELD RESEARCH
• Face-to-face interviews and surveys can be a time-consuming and costly way of obtaining large amounts of information.
