Marketing Information can be obtained from some of these sources given below:
Source # 1. Secondary Information Sources:
Secondary information is usually collected by persons (before) and very often for purposes other than the problem at hand. If a fan manufacturers, for example, requiring information on the potential market for fan is Sri Lanka, he will try to obtain this from secondary sources. This may include various government publication (central state/local government publications), trade journals etc.
Generally, secondary information is sought for prior to the decision taken to organise collection of information from primary sources. Few of the reasons cite for going for secondary information search.
At times sufficient information is available to solve the problem. Secondary information search involves less time and cost as compared to primary data collection.
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Provides the base (defining problem and developing hypothesis or defining population (sample and size etc.) before the onset of primary research. Of course, needless to mention that if secondary data is to be available, it has to be relevant, accurate and sufficient to meet the data requirements for the problem at hand.
Source # 2. Communicating or Observing Respondents:
In the literal sense, Respondent refers to a person who responds and answers. While using respondent as a part of research it will be useful to include both variable and behavioural response of the person under study.
Survey is one of the widely used methods for obtaining Marketing Information, by communicating with respondents. The respondents can include consumers; industrial or business customers, distributors and others who may possess information (or are knowledgeable) about the problem at hand.
Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM) is a very commonly used term by most of the firms today, especially those offering services like Citibank, Corporation Bank, Jet Airways, Indian Airlines etc. CRM is being effected only after information was obtained about their existing customers attitude (towards their product/service offering, opinions/and motivations) and intended behavior.
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Questioning, on doubt is a very efficient and economical way of collecting information, its success depends upon the skill of the researcher. Further, it is possible that the information provided will be limited to be ‘knowledge’ of the respondent.
Observing the behaviour of respondents may help the researcher to obtain relevant information (to the particular marketing problem) by observing either present behaviour or the results of previous (or past) behaviour. But if information is being sought about opinions and motivations, level of knowledge or intention of the respondent etc., the researcher will have to look beyond observation.
Source # 3. Experiments:
The Experiments can be carried out in natural conditions or controlled surroundings, under a natural experiment, the researcher will intervene only to the extent required for measurement. The researcher uses the same methodology as if a control group is desired.
For instance, say, the researcher is trying to understand the attitude of T.Y. viewers to an advertisement of Pepsi. Firstly, the researcher will meet a sample of people who saw the commercial, this will form the experimental group, while those who did not see it will be a type of control group differences in attitude could be compared as a crude measure of impact, here, one cannot draw a correct inference, since the observed response may be on account of the presence of other variables.
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There could be controlled experiments, where the investigator may be required to intervene beyond that for measuring purposes this intervention may involve manipulation of at least one variable or randomised assignment of subjects to groups.
Source # 4. Simulation:
Simulation is defined as a set of techniques for manipulating a model of some real world process for the purpose of finding numerical solutions that are useful in the real process that is being modelled.
Simulation provides information from the imitation of the particular marketing situation this method involves less money and time as a source of information compared to field experiments.
Irrespective of the research design, the researcher will have to try to be as accurate as possible to avoid or reduce potential error.