Understanding Market Research and Business Orientation
This section delves into the fundamentals of market research and business orientation strategies in the context of A-Level Business Edexcel. It explores the critical differences between product and market orientation, and introduces the concepts of primary and secondary market research data.
Product Orientation vs. Market Orientation
Product orientation and market orientation represent two distinct business approaches:
- Product Orientation:
- Focuses on developing products based on the company's strengths
- Emphasizes product quality and innovation
- May lead to unsuccessful products, especially in established markets
- Often places customer priorities lower on the list
Definition: Product orientation in A-Level Business refers to a business strategy that prioritizes the development of products based on the company's capabilities rather than customer needs.
- Market Orientation:
- Responds directly to customer needs and wants
- Designs products to closely fit customer expectations
- More responsive to changes in customer needs
- May lead to confusion if brand identity changes frequently
Highlight: Market orientation is increasingly linked to marketing success due to dynamic markets, demanding customers, and lower barriers to market entry.
Primary and Secondary Market Research Data
The guide introduces two main types of market research data:
-
Primary Data:
- Collected first-hand for a specific research purpose
- Tailored to research objectives
- Time-consuming and costly to obtain
- Risk of survey bias and unrepresentative sampling
-
Secondary Data:
- Already exists and was collected for a different purpose
- Often free and easy to obtain
- Quick to access and use
- May lack specificity to business needs
Example: Secondary market research examples include Google searches, published market reports, media reports, and competitor data.
Both primary and secondary research methods are used to identify customer needs, quantify demand, and gain insights into consumer behavior.
