Difference Between Primary and Secondar Marketing

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The Difference Between Secondary and Primary Market Research

Are you starting a new business, expanding an existing business, introducing a new product line, or entering a new geographic market? In all of these situations, market research can help you make better decisions and improve your chances of success. There are two types of market research: secondary market research and primary market research. Here's a closer look at the difference between the two.

Secondary Market Research

Secondary research is based on information from studies previously performed by government agencies, chambers of commerce, trade associations, and other organizations. For example, U.S. Census Bureau information and Nielsen ratings are secondary market research.

Secondary market research is easy to find, and much of it is free or low-cost. For instance, you can find secondary market research online at government or industry websites, at your local library, on business websites, and in magazines and newspapers.

The downside of secondary market research is that it is not customized to your needs, so it may not be as useful as primary market research. For example, secondary research will tell you how much money U.S. teenagers spent last year on basketball shoes, but not how much they're willing to pay for the particular shoe design your company has in mind.

Primary Market Research

Primary market research is tailored to a company's particular needs and is conducted either by you or by a company that you pay to conduct the research for you. Focus groups, surveys, field tests, interviews, and observation are examples of primary market research.

Primary market research lets you investigate an issue of specific interest to your business, get feedback about your website, assess demand for a proposed service, gauge response to various packaging options, find out how much consumers will pay for a new product, and more.

Primary research delivers more specific...