Searching For The Research Your Business Needs

For those of you who have followed this blog for any length of time, you may know about different type of research that could help your business. Most of the items that I have talked about is research (or ideas for research) that is done specifically for the business. In the market research world, this is called primary research. Wikipedia defines primary research as consisting of the collection of original primary data. It can be accomplished through various methods, including questionnaires and telephone interviews in market research, or experiments and direct observations in the physical sciences, amongst others.

However, primary research can be expensive. There is a form of research that is a little more cost effective and could likely be free of cost, except for time. It is called secondary research, which involves the summary, collation and/or synthesis of existing research or data.

In today’s world, the expression “Google It” is ever-present. If you have a question about something, you can find the answer with Google. This is classic secondary research. Using other people’s research, data, and information to make decisions, or to start to formulate business decisions is so much easier than what was just 10 to 15 years ago.

Also, there are companies out there that do industry reports that provide data about size, major competitors, and industry SWOT analysis. Although these are not generally not free, the cost is of these is just a percentage of the price you would pay to have it done.

What secondary research have you done in your business recently? I’d like to hear about it.

–J. Nolfo helps companies understand their market and customers though a variety of market research strategies. He has over ten years of experience of market research for strategic planning purposes. He is the Director of Research at Rhino Market Research. He shares his thoughts about market research and business concepts with his blog “Pensare…Understanding Market Research in Business“. If you would like to discuss this blog or how J. can help you understand your market and customer needs, email him at jnolfo@rhinomarketresearch.com.