Week 4 EOC: Primary & Secondary Research

1. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using secondary data.

2. Define surveys and describe the type of information that may be gathered in a survey.

1. There are many advantages to using secondary marketing research. In contrast, there are also many disadvantages. It is something so easily obtained but it could cost a company a pretty penny. Some advantages to secondary research is “obtaining the data is almost always faster and less expensive than acquiring primary data. This is particularly true when researchers use electronic retrieval to access data stored digitally. In many situations, collecting secondary data is instantaneous.” Time is saved and the company could be doing more profitable things with there time saved. Secondary research could also help assure and clarify any research questions a company may have. An inherent disadvantage of secondary data is that they were not designed specifically to meet the researchers' needs. Thus, researchers must ask how pertinent are the data to their particular project.fResearchers have to take care not to assume that secondary information is relevant, useful, and reliable simply because it is available.sSince the research received may not be specific to the marketer’s needs, an argument can be made that research spending is inefficient. That is, the marketer may not receive a satisfactory amount of information for what is spent. Caution must be exercised in relying on secondary data that may have been collected well in the past. Out-of-date information may offer little value especially for companies competing in fast changing markets.

2. The direct definition of a survey is "A method of collecting primary data based on communication (questions and answers) with a representative sample of respondents. The type of information that can be gathered in the survey are usually objectives. They're things that the survey is trying to get information about. In all actuality "surveys gather information to assess consumer knowledge and awareness of products, brands, or issues and to measure consumer attitudes and feelings. Additionally, surveys describe consumer characteristics including purchasing patterns, brand usage, and descriptive characteristics including demographics and lifestyle."