However, although they are very useful in some ways, the information obtained from them is not always sufficient enough i.e. some people did not suggest ways in which the proposed business idea could be improved, criticism which could have been very useful in improving the business idea and better understanding the target market’s wants and needs. Also, some important business issues could not be covered in the questionnaire such as looking at what competition the business was faced with. Internet research or a first hand visit to the competitor outlets was needed instead to answer these types of questions and find out about potential competitors in the area or elsewhere – the business target market alone could not possibly give effective enough answers to this.
The first question was a fact question, i.e. those questioned had to answer it based on fact and not opinion. The first 10 questions in the questionnaire were opinion based and quantative, where those questioned were given a limited amount of options which they could choose from to answer the questions. The last two questions were qualitative answers, where those answering the questionnaire could make any further suggestions on ways to improve the service or and additional features they think that the service should have or comment on anything that they thought was necessary. The results received for these questions were a lot more varied than those received for the first 10 questions for the obvious reason that no limitations were placed on the answers that could’ve been given.
In order to check that this research is useful and valid, two fully filled out questionnaires will be included in the appendix, stating the name of the person who filled the questionnaire out and the time at which it was filled in. Furthermore, the questionnaires were filled out by those questioned themselves and will therefore be in different handwritings. It is known that the research is valid as the questioner was present when the questionnaires were being filled out and know that the answers were given directly from those questioned.
There were various other types of market research I could have used instead of/as well as questionnaires, of which include 4 types of primary research:
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Interviews with individuals or groups of potential customers - This will help to gain insight into consumer needs/wants and requirements of a product. This method is most similar to that used for questionnaires as, a set number of questions will be given and those questioned will need to state their opinion. This could potentially cover the 4 Ps effectively as a number of questions can be asked regarding the 4 Ps and the potential consumer opinions noted down. However, an interview has less limitations than a questionnaire i.e. it includes more qualitative questions. One of the main disadvantages of interviewing potential consumers is that, due to the high number of qualitative answers, it may be very hard to assess/analyse results. Also, different interviewers may interpret answers in different ways and this will mean conclusions/ analysis’s are not as reliable.
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Consumer Panels - This is where a specialist panel of consumers are used as respondents to answer research questions with regards to product testing, taste testing etc. this may be more efficient in specialist/professional opinions are required. However, these may not always accurately reflect the views of other, ordinary consumers of the same target market. Also, the proposed business has not yet been created so it is not possible to use a consumer panel to analyse a product/service which is not yet in existence.
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Observational Research – This is when consumers are observed in their surroundings, in particular the way in which they naturally interact with their surroundings including products and services (in most cases, consumers are unaware that they are being observed, this ensures that they behave normally). This is useful in gaining an insight into customer trends and looking at what types of products/services appeal to the desired target market. However, the information gained from this type of research is quite limited/may not be very sufficient in covering the 4 Ps as using a questionnaire has helped in doing, as no personal views/opinions are gained through observational research and the consumers actions may be interpreted differently by different researchers.
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Experimental Research – This is when the researcher has some control over all independent variables that may affect an experiment, where one or two of these variables are changed to find out the effect on a dependant variable. This is helpful in giving the researcher insight into the relationship between independent variables (e.g. marketing mix) and dependant variables (e.g. business profits), helping to inform future business decisions. However, this form of research is also not possible as, the proposed business has not yet been developed so it is not yet possible to observe how changing independent variables in a business will affect dependant variables, as these variables do not yet exist.
Another method of research I could have used would be secondary research. However, it is only possible for me to use the external secondary sources as the internal sources are only available to established companies who have existing customers. There are various methods of external secondary sources that I could have used to help with my market research. These sources are shown in the following spider diagram:
Secondary sources can be very helpful to researchers as they are ready and available for all to access, saving time that could have been spent researching the same information. In some cases, the information found can be specific to more than one business. However, finding information specific to this particular proposed business may be difficult as it is not as common as some other businesses, limiting the availability of useful external secondary information. Some sources may hold information specific to certain areas or regions, where tastes and lifestyle may be completely different to that of the proposed business area, which will mean results/data will be contrasting and therefore, not useful. Also, the information found may be unreliable as well as irrelevant to the business proposal. The reliability of some sources of information such as media reports may be easily questioned as large numbers of media reports are found to include bias, detracting from their credibility. Having said this, however, government reports, specialist trade journals and such documents have a higher reliability than documents such as media reports, as they are less likely to be bias (the government has a greater responsibility to ensure that its publications are reliable).
Although some secondary sources may be reliable, there is also always a great chance that they are outdated, detracting from their usefulness and, possibly their reliability.
Only a questionnaire was carried out for the market research as it appears that the questionnaire may be the most conclusive, reliable and accurate way of achieving the necessary results. This is due to the fact that, although the results can be subject to bias, they are reliable to a certain extent; those questioned are watched as they filled out their answers and answered without being under any external pressure that could influence a change in mind. Also, using a number of other methods of primary/secondary research would have been very time consuming.