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However if the researcher decided to collect primary data he need to decided which data collecting methods he wants to use. Today’s organizations rely on market research which often is conduct in a survey form in spite of case study, to gather the information that they need for their business. However a case study is used as an effective training tool. With a case study research they often select limited individuals to participate in the study in order to examine one case. It sketch a situation or issues and it is suitable because they can examine the case or situation in a specific context. However case study research is often used to answer questions like how or why. When they conduct a case study research they look intensely at an individual or the limited participant, after that they then draw conclusion about those participant or group and only in that specific context. It is a detailed intensive study with often long examination. Furthermore survey involves many different individual and is quick. Surveys can be divided into two broad categories questionnaire and interview. Surveys can help to understand customer’s preferences, behaviour, their point of view and identifying market opportunities. There are many methods which can use to collect survey data. For instance a survey is a data collecting method which consists of questionnaires or interview techniques. A survey contains administering questions and it is used to collect information out of (sample) of individuals’ opinions or other information which can be useful depending on its purpose. In addition If the questions is been administered by the researcher, the survey is called an interview or a researcher administered survey. But when the questions are been administered by the respondent, the survey is known as a questionnaire or a self-administered survey. Surveys are been used to analyze: The non-observable behaviours (e.g., past behaviour, intentions for the future), understanding the causes of behaviour, cognition and background variables, attitudes, opinions, needs, or simply to gain knowledge. However there are different ways to collect and models to administrate a survey. For instance by telephone, e-Mail, online surveys and personal survey (interview),. The advantage and disadvantage of these survey methods are illustrated in a scheme on the next page.
This shows the some of the different survey methods.
In most survey research they study a sample of the population; the sample must be large enough to represent the target group or population. Steps regarding survey research are planning, survey design, data collecting, data access, administrating the data and preparation, data analysing, reporting and deployment. However to conduct any type of research you are reliable of people motivation and participation.
Furthermore In social sciences and other academic disciplines, primary and secondary research can be applied in qualitative or quantitative research, depending on the subject and on the objective of the research.Qualitative research explores attitudes, understanding behaviour by conducting interviews or using focus groups. With quantitative research you can make statistics by using a large-scale survey, using methods such as questionnaires or structured interviewsThe difference between the qualitative or quantitative is that quantitative data is based on meanings derived from numerical and is analyzed with the use of diagrams and statistics and qualitative data represents opinions, observation of behavior. In addition to that according to the research of Deborah Abowitz and Michael Toole in the social science and other market research, none of the data collecting method is ideal. They all have strength and weaknesses and by combining quantitative and qualitative approaches in a research design and data collecting methods, can increase the validity and reliability of the outcome. However such combined methods are more expensive, but they are convinced that it gives better result than a single method approach.
Nevertheless the survey is an important and popular data collecting method in business studies and in the business environment. The survey is seen as an effective tool to explore the cause and effect relationship and to get opinions. The advantages of a survey are, dependent on your work and the efficient way of collecting the data is that is possible to collect a wide range of information from respondents and statistical techniques can be used to determine the validity, reliability and significance. And because they are standardized there is less opportunities for errors and easy to administer. Nevertheless there are some disadvantages, the researcher depend on the motivation, honesty, memory, and the ability to respond. And not structured surveys can lead to low response rate. But in the same time there are tactics that can be used to increase response rates such as preparing in advance, arouse their interest, motivate, reward them for instance with simple giveaways and don’t make it too long.
In today’s organization changes in business markets lead to an increasing focus on the conscious of customer relationships and sales management. Customers expect quality, including coordination and service. Companies who do not invest in customer relationships, they do not only run the risk of damaging their image and to lose customers but will also be less profitable. Therefore in today’s business customer relationship has a high priority. To still be in the running with your competitor is important to focus on the long term relationship with your customer. Creating a win – win situation. That is why companies are investing in market research and customer satisfaction.
In this second recent journal it is shown that companies are active conducting satisfaction surveys of their customers. They are trying to revolutionize customer relationship management and to relate with their customers and trying to know what the customers think about their products or service. In this case, customer surveys are been used. Based on the result of the survey they can make decisions on the areas they think they should improve on. According to the journal, studies show that by increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty that business performance along with the profit is increasing. They used survey questionnaires in different designs and length. They conduct an interview with 10 of their customers before sending it out to the remaining customers. There response rate was 32 % which is recording to them is considered as a good rate.
Customer loyalty is also an important issue in this last article. The aim of this research was to explore and to get a better understating of the satisfaction and trust factors of their customers, which can lead to loyalty or switching over to the competitors. In order to gain their customers opinion and their point of view a survey research was conduct. That analysis shows that their customers find that satisfaction in the sense of quality and service is a major factor. Furthermore, these factors have a positive effect on loyalty. This study also shows providing a continuous quality improvement, among other forms of service is essential to build a relationship with customers in order to reduce the possibility of desertion and to improve customer loyalty.
To summarise research means collecting data which will provides you with information to answer your questions or find solutions to a problem. There are different data available and many ways to collect data. We have primary and secondary data which can help with the hypothesis or developing new theory or solutions. In addition to that managers in organizations conduct market and customer satisfaction research with the help of surveys which can help them make decisions about the business or other management decisions. It can give broad information about (potential) customers, markets and competitors. However Survey design is quite important, because if the survey is poorly designed, it will not meet the expectations. Furthermore the survey is less in-depth it allows the research to conduct his interview into a much larger group of people which provides a broader view and they participants can be anonymous.In this case a case study will not be suitable because case study method enables a researcher to closely examine a situation or issue within a specific context; it is an in-depth study of one person and often analyzed to seek patterns. In addition to that the out come of a case study is difficult to generalize to a large population. By conducting a survey research that they determines the market, customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, and customer preferences.
References
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