Market research is the process of collecting and examining information about customer wants and market trends before making commercial choices. In the Junior Cycle exam, you will need to classify research methods, write good survey questions, and use data to suggest business actions.
Purpose of Market Research and Target Markets
Setting up a business without asking customers what they want usually leads to costly mistakes. Market research gives entrepreneurs the facts they need before spending money on production.
- Market research gathers and analyses data about customer needs, competitors, and market pricing.
- It helps an entrepreneur spot a gap in the market and test whether a business idea can succeed.
- A target market is the specific group of consumers most likely to buy a product or service.
- Market segmentation divides a larger market into smaller groups based on age, income, location, or lifestyle.
- Segmentation allows a firm to tailor its marketing campaigns directly to the shoppers who care most.
Desk Research and Field Research
Businesses collect information using two main approaches. You need to know the features and trade-offs of each method.
| Research Type | What It Means | Common Examples | Advantages and Trade-offs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desk (secondary) research | Reviewing information that is already collected and published by other groups. | Central Statistics Office (CSO) reports, competitor websites, trade magazines, and newspapers. | Fast and cheap to gather, but information can be outdated or too broad. |
| Field (primary) research | Gathering brand-new data directly from potential customers for your own project. | Questionnaires, direct consumer interviews, focus groups, observation, and comment cards. | Current and tailored to your idea, but often slow and expensive to collect. |
- Test marketing means selling a product to a small group of consumers first to check sales before a full launch.
Questionnaires and Sampling
Field research usually studies a sample, which is a representative group chosen from the wider target market. Designing clear questions ensures respondents give useful information.
| Question Type | How It Works | Exam Example | Best Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Closed question | Gives preset options such as tick boxes, rating scales, or yes/no. | Would you buy lunch for €5? [ ] Yes [ ] No | Quick to count and turn into percentages. |
| Open question | Lets respondents reply freely using their own words without fixed options. | What extra flavours would you like us to sell? | Gathers detailed ideas and customer opinions. |
- A balanced questionnaire mixes both styles so the business gets numerical data and creative customer suggestions.
Analysing Data and Making Decisions
Once you collect completed surveys, you must convert the raw answers into clear numbers that help you make decisions.
- Use bar charts or pie charts so managers can spot patterns and popular choices at a glance.
- Check if your sources are reliable and look out for bias or questions that lead respondents toward one answer.
- Connect survey findings to practical changes in the marketing mix, such as lowering a price or adding new flavours.
- Quote the exact numbers or percentages from the exam stimulus before you make your final recommendation.
Key terms
- Market research
- The process of collecting, recording, and analysing information about customer wants and market conditions.
- Target market
- The specific group of consumers most likely to buy a particular good or service.
- Market segmentation
- Dividing a wide consumer base into smaller groups with shared traits like age, income, or location.
- Field research
- Gathering original, first-hand data directly from consumers for a specific business need.
- Desk research
- Collecting and reviewing existing information that has already been published by other organisations.
- Sample
- A small group of people selected to represent the opinions of the entire target market.
- Closed question
- A question with set answer choices or tick boxes that produces numerical data.
- Open question
- A question allowing respondents to answer in their own words, giving detailed feedback.
Check yourself
What is the main difference between field research and desk research?
Field research collects new, original data directly from customers, while desk research reviews existing published material.
Why do businesses divide their customer base into market segments?
Segmentation allows businesses to target their products and promotions at specific groups sharing common traits like age or location.
If 35 out of 140 consumers choose your product in a taste test, what percentage is that?
25%, calculated as (35 ÷ 140) × 100 = 25%.
Give one advantage and one disadvantage of using open questions on a survey.
They provide detailed customer opinions, but the written answers are difficult to tally into graphs or statistics.
What two things must an entrepreneur check to confirm research data is dependable?
Check whether the source is trustworthy and whether the questions or responses show bias.