There are many different ways to gather primary research. These types are detailed below:
Research methods
The three most commonly used methods for collecting primary data are interviews & surveys, observation and experiments.
Interviews and Surveys
This involves the collection of data directly from individuals. This may be by direct face-to-face personal interview, either individually or in a group, by telephone or by mail questionnaire. Each of these techniques considered in turn below as its own set of advantages and disadvantages which are summarised in table 1.
Observational Research
This method involves, as its name implies, the observation by trained observers of particular individuals or groups, such as staff, consumers, potential consumers, members of the general public, children or whoever. This will provide an insight into their buyer behaviour which will help in the development cycle of the product. In the case of Adidas, observing a target group when trying on an Adidas jacket may help when developing the King Range. For example, trials are often conducted with new products in which consumers are asked to use particular products and are observed in doing so, giving information about the design, utility, durability and other aspects, such as ease of use by different age groups and whether people naturally use it in the intended way. This provides an opportunity to test the product and observe how it is used first-hand.
Table 1
Group Interviews and focus groups
These provide useful insights into underlying attitudes and behaviours relevant to the marketer. A group interview normally involves between six to eight respondents considered to be representative of the target group being examined. The role of the interviewer is to introduce topics, encourage and clarify responses and generally guide proceedings in a manner that is effective without being intrusive. In this kind of group situation, individuals can express their views either in response to directed questions or, preferably, in response to general discussion on the themes that have been introduced. Often, the interaction and dialogue between respondents are more revealing of opinions. So that participants will relax enough to open out like this, it is often helpful to select the group concerned to include people of a similar status.
This is the most preferred method of research as it will allow me to ask specific questions related to Adidas, and monitor the behaviours and expressions of individuals, etc.
Telephone Interviews
Telephone interviews are primarily used in industrials markets as a means of reaching a large number of respondents relatively quickly and directly. It is far more difficult to ignore a telephone call than a mail survey, although the amount and complexity of information that can be gathered are often. In the absence of any visual prompts and with a maximum attention span of probably no more than 10 minutes, the design of the questionnaire needs to be given great care and piloting is essential to ensure that the information required is obtainable.
This is a method I would consider as it is not very expensive and you are more likely to have a better response rate in comparison to mail questionnaires.
Mail Questionnaires
This popular form of research involves sending a questionnaire through the post to the respondent for self-completion and return to the researchers. Questionnaires can, of course, also are handed out at the point of sale, or include in product packaging, for buyers to fill in at their own convenience and then post back to the researchers. Hotels and airlines assess their service provision through the special kind of mail survey, and many electrical goods manufacturers use them to investigate purchasing decisions.
In the case of Adidas, I personally wouldn’t use this method as I believe the response rate would be low, even if it is the cheaper method. In addition, I would want to see the reactions and facial expressions of the respondents.
Secondary Research
Sometimes also referred to as desk research, secondary research consists of data and information that already exists and can be accessed by an organisation. For example, it would include published government statistics and published government market reports. Clearly, if secondary research is available that answers the question or solves the problem then that is the quickest and most efficient way of gathering the necessary data. In many cases, however, secondary data may not be directly applicable, or may only give half the picture. This means that a market research project involves both primary and secondary research, which should come hand in hand.
It would be impossible to list all potential sources of data and much will depend on the type of research project in question. However the most commonly used sources are as follows:-
EU Sources: These publications provide the economic trends in member states, trends in 100+ products, demographic databases, etc.
UK government sources: Regional trends, social trends, census of production and distribution, etc.
Chambers of Commerce: Local information and business contacts Trade associations: Specialist reports, etc.
Commercial publications: Such as Mintel, Keynote Reports, Newman books, Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
Other secondary sources include; newspapers and magazines, which can give an indication of the latest trends in fashion, which can help when introducing a new range for Adidas. For example, if street wear becomes the trend for spring/summer 09, it would be the best time to release the new King Range.
Internet: This is probable the fastest growing and one of the most useful ways of undertaking secondary research. This is due to the number of fan sites that are available, social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace gives bagsful of information where you want to research a specific product. For example, on Facebook, users set up fan groups and you can observe the comments made by fans, what their interests are, what their user profiles look like, etc, to help understand the target group, trends, etc. In the case of the Whispa bar, it was re-introduced due to the thousands of people of voted for it to be put back on the shelves. The internet can also be used be explored to understand what other competitors are doing, and can be utilised to help obtain information easily. Example, the RSS feed mechanism allows you to get updates/ alerts whenever information related to your search is updated. For example, if you are interested in a particular site, where users are adding blogs (personal entries about is a Web site, usually maintained by an individuals with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events), you can get alerts when someone has updated a particular site of interest.