MBA 640 Conduct a Consumer Buying Behavior Study (Martha)

10/10/2020 Primary and Secondary Research

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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because it is readily available; however, it may be outdated or unreliable.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

Learning Topic

10/10/2020 Primary and Secondary Research

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Marshall, G. W., & Johnston, M. W. (2011). Essentials of marketing management. New

York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Resources

Conducting Online Market Research

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onlinemarketresearch.html?ou=516043)

Gathering and Using Information: Marketing Research and Market Intelligence

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usinginformationmarketingresearchandmarketintellig.html?ou=516043)

Big Data in Market Research: Why More Data Does Not Automatically Mean

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