Market Research Techniques

A specific geographic market used to introduce a new product or service. It helps understand consumer reactions to the offering and marketing mix changes.

A market research technique where a company employs people to pose as ordinary customers and evaluate service quality, product offerings, and employee behavior.

To create effective questionnaires for market research, it's crucial to carefully consider essential elements such as the survey's goal, the type of questionnaire, the method of administration, the questions, and the scales used.

Before administering a questionnaire to a larger audience, it's vital to conduct a pretest using a small sample group to identify and address any potential issues or ambiguities in the questions or design.

The first and most crucial step in developing a questionnaire is clearly defining the purpose and objectives of the research. What specific information are you aiming to gather?

Using words like "not" or "never" in survey questions can make them difficult to understand and potentially lead to inaccurate responses.

Survey questions should be relevant to the respondent's experience and knowledge. A question about train travel is irrelevant to someone who only drives.

Asking respondents for detailed information they might have forgotten or can't recall accurately can lead to fabricated answers, affecting the survey's reliability.

Questions about sensitive topics like finances, sexuality, or personal beliefs might cause respondents to lie or refuse to answer, impacting the survey's validity.

Unequal spacing between answer choices (e.g., disagree, neutral, agree) can make it difficult to interpret the results accurately.

Validity refers to how well a survey measures what it intends to measure. It ensures the data collected truly reflects the intended concept.

Reliability refers to the consistency of a survey. If a survey is reliable, it will produce similar results when repeated under similar conditions.

Pretesting helps identify potential problems with survey questions, such as unclear wording or sensitive topics, before distributing it to a larger population.

Questions that allow respondents to provide free-form answers in their own words, without pre-defined options.

Questions with pre-defined answer options, limiting respondents to choosing from a set of categories.

A scale that measures the degree of agreement or disagreement with a statement using categories like 'Strongly Disagree', 'Disagree', 'Neutral', 'Agree', 'Strongly Agree'.

A scale that uses pairs of opposite words (e.g., 'good/bad', 'expensive/cheap') to measure respondents' perceptions or attitudes.

A scale that asks respondents to rank items in order of preference or importance.

Deciding how many categories (e.g., 5, 7) to include in a scale and whether the scale is balanced (even number of categories) or unbalanced (uneven number of categories).

A scale with an even number of categories, ensuring equal distribution of positive and negative responses.

A scale with an uneven number of categories, allowing more weight to be given to one side (positive or negative).

Questions used to filter respondents and ensure only eligible participants complete the survey.

A measurement tool where respondents are required to choose from a limited set of options, typically used when collecting information about sensitive topics.

Information about respondents that could lead to privacy concerns or refusal to answer surveys, like income, education level, or health.

Regulations that govern how personal data is collected, stored, and used, safeguarding individual privacy.

Clearly indicating when the survey moves to a new topic or section to keep respondents informed.

Designing surveys with a clear and simple format to enhance readability and conserve space.

Creating web surveys that function properly across different browsers, devices, and older technology.

Testing a survey with a small group before widespread distribution to identify and fix any issues.

Two common ways to pretest a questionnaire: testing with a small group or using a client review.

Essential step in creating a reliable survey; helps refine questions, fix errors, and ensure client approval.

A letter sent before a survey to inform potential respondents about the study's importance and that a survey will be sent soon.

A letter accompanying a survey, highlighting the study's relevance and often provided by a sponsoring organization.

Offering rewards like money or points for completing a survey, especially when participation might be low.

A strategy to boost survey participation by sending pre-notice letters, sponsor letters, follow ups, and reminders.

A survey designed with clear language, easy-to-follow layout, and a user-friendly format, making it comfortable for respondents.

Strategies to get more people to complete a survey, like offering incentives, using pre-notice letters, and ensuring well-designed questionnaires.

Ensuring accurate contact information on surveys to avoid sending them to the wrong people.