Developing and Implementing a Marketing Plan

Learning Topic

Primary and Secondary Research

The American Marketing Association (AMA)

defines marketing research as follows: “the

function that links the consumer, customer,

and public to the marketer through

information—information used to identify

and define marketing opportunities and

problems; generate, refine, and evaluate

marketing actions; monitor marketing

performance; and improve understanding of

marketing as a process. Marketing research

specifies the information required to

address these issues, designs the method for

collecting information, manages and

implements the data collection process,

analyzes the results, and communicates the

findings and their implications.” (AMA, 2013,

para. 2)

There are two types of research (Marshall &

Johnston, 2011):

primary research—Data is collected

specifically for a certain research

question, (i.e., primary data). Data may

be quantitative (statistical analysis), or

qualitative (e.g., surveys, focus groups,

and interviews). Primary research is

important when making strategic

decisions. While primary research is

costly and more time consuming, it is

more accurate and reliable.

secondary research—Data was

collected for some other purpose than

the research question at hand.

Secondary research may involve an

internet search, periodicals, CRM data,

government sources (e.g., economic

census), and market research

organizations. Secondary data is

cheaper to obtain and is less time

consuming to use because it is readily

available; however, it may be outdated

or unreliable. In addition, secondary

research may not be a perfect fit for

the research question. In general,

primary research usually starts with a

scan of the available secondary

information to help further refine the

search.

References

AMA (2013). Marketing research definition.

Retrieved from www.ama.org

Marshall, G. W., & Johnston, M. W. (2011).

Essentials of marketing management. New

York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Conducting Online

Market Research

(https://leocontent.u

mgc.edu/content/sco

r/uncurated/mba/221

8-mba640/learning-

resourcelist/conducti

ng-

onlinemarketresearch

.html?ou=922430)

Gathering and Using

Information:

Marketing Research

and Market

Intelligence

(https://leocontent.u

mgc.edu/content/sco

r/uncurated/mba/221

Resources

8-mba640/learning-

resourcelist/gathering

-and-

usinginformationmark

etingresearchandmar

ketintellig.html?

ou=922430)

Big Data in Market

Research: Why More

Data Does Not

Automatically Mean

Better Information

(http://ezproxy.umgc.

edu/login?

url=http://search.ebsc

ohost.com.ezproxy.u

mgc.edu/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=bth&

AN=119433006&logi

n.asp&site=ehost-

live&scope=site)

© 2023 University of Maryland Global Campus

All links to external sites were verified at the time of

publication. UMGC is not responsible for the validity or

integrity of information located at external sites.