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Marketing research plays a big role in the success of your company. With the proper research, a marketer gains the proper information needed create a strategic plan for the Marketing Mix (otherwise known as the 4 P’s of Marketing.)

There are two main types of data that will help you while researching your market. Secondary Data and Primary Data.

Secondary Data is information that already exists somewhere. This is data that has been collected by a party that is outside your business. Some examples include the Government Census, online polls, past research done by other companies, etc. A company will usually start the research process through secondary data. Secondary data can be obtained relatively fast and at low to no cost. When collecting this data you need to make sure the information you are obtaining is relevant, accurate, current, and impartial. By evaluating the data under these criteria, you ensure that the Marketing Research is beneficial to the end goal.

Primary Data consists of information collected for the specific purpose at hand. This data is usually collected by the company itself, or contracted out to a marketing research firm that handles this type of data retrieval. Primary Research can become very costly and time consuming. This is because the information needs to first be collected and second be analyzed. The most common methods of Primary Research are observation, survey, and experiment. These are commonly done through a variety of different avenues (mailings, phone surveys, personal interaction, etc.)

Now that you know a little bit about the two types of data, it’s time for you to take the next step and get a little more in-depth.

Check out these links to find more information on Primary and Secondary Research.
Primary Research
Secondary Research



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Source: Kurt Hanson