CHAPTER 14 – IDEA DEVELOPMENT AND MARKET RESEARCH MARKET RESEARCH
Before launching a new product or service, it is important that a business finds out as much information as possible about its target market. This is called market research.
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Market research involves gathering, recording and analysing information about a market.
The information collected during market research might include:
• Which products or services the consumer already uses. • What they like or do not like about the existing products or services. • How much they would be willing to pay for the new product or service. • How often they would buy or use the new product or service. • What they like or do not like about the new product or service.
The information that is gathered during market research helps a business to improve its product or service to meet consumer needs and wants. This ensures that the product or service has the best chance of selling well.
There are two types of market research:
1. Desk research 2. Field research.
Desk Research
Desk research, also known as secondary research, involves looking at information that is already available from other sources, such as the internet, libraries and government agencies. For example, existing sales reports and the census (a survey of the population carried out by the Central Statistics Office every five years) could provide information that would be useful in understanding the market for a product or service.
