Define Market Research

When trying to define market research, it's easy to use a wide definition that encompasses all aspects of the subject.

Market research is the systematic collection and analysis of data about a target market, competition or environment.

It's a logical process that must be robust and unbiased to produce perfect results.

Often, market research is done on an adhoc basis with low sample sizes. This reduces the effectiveness of the research and can discredit the overall results.

Those that are new to the subject are best to find a market research company to help them. These companies are used to the process of market research and will help you to avoid the pitfalls.

If the market research results are being used to make strategic business decisions, it is essential that the research has been undertaken to the highest standard and with a statistically valid sample size.

Market research can be broken down into two areas:

Qualitative Market Research

This is the process of researching using open ended questions, one to one discussions, focus groups or telephone interviews.

There are no fixed answers and the direction of the research generally follows the path of the answers with some steering from the interviewer.

For example, a question might be:

What are your views on public transport?

This could lead on to discussions about trains, buses, taxis etc.

This type of research can produce good results and undercover issues not originally thought of.

Quantitative Market Research

This type of research is numerically orientated and requires careful analysis.

It uses a fixed set of criteria for the reseach so that the resulting answers are in a common format.

For example, a question might be:

How did you travel to work today?

With the answers:

Car
Bus
Bike
Train
Cycle
Other

By knowing how many people answered, percentages can be applied and further statistically analysis undertaken including year on year comparisons and pivot tables.

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define market research nottingham

Nottingham is a city in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands whose prosperity was founded on the textile industry; in particular lace manufacture.

Very little textile manufacture now takes place in Nottingham, but the City's heyday in this sector endowed it with some fine industrial buildings in the Lace Market district. Many of these have been restored and put to new uses.

Nottingham is home to two universities: the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University. Together they are attended by over 40,000 full-time students. The University of Nottingham's teaching hospital, University of Nottingham Medical School, is part of the largest hospital in the UK, the Queen's Medical Centre.

Nottingham is home to the headquarters of many well-known companies. One of the best known is Boots the Chemists, now Alliance Boots, founded in the city by Jesse Boot 1st Lord Trent in 1849 and substantially expanded by his son John Boot (2nd Lord Trent).Other large current employers include the credit reference agency Experian, the energy company E.ON UK, the tobacco company John Player & Sons, betting company Gala Group, engineering company Siemens, sportswear manufacturers Speedo, high street opticians Vision Express, games and publishing company Games Workshop, and the American credit card company Capital One, whose European offices are situated by the side of Nottingham station. Nottingham is also the home of HM Revenue and Customs and the Driving Standards Agency.

Until recently bicycle manufacturing was a major industry, the city being the birthplace of Raleigh Cycles in 1886 and later joined by Sturmey-Archer, the creator of 3-speed hub gears. However, Raleigh's factory on Triumph Road was demolished in Summer 2003 to make way for the University of Nottingham's expansion of Jubilee Campus.

Nottingham receives a considerable volume of tourism, with almost 300 thousand people visiting from overseas in 2005 alone. Many visitors are attracted by Nottingham's nightlife and shops, by its history, and by the legend of Robin Hood, visiting Sherwood Forest, Nottingham Castle and The Tales of Robin Hood on Maid Marian Way. Popular history-based tourist attractions in central Nottingham include the Castle, City of Caves, Lace Market, The Galleries of Justice, and the City's ancient pubs.

Nottingham is close to the M1 motorway and major roads the A52 and the A46. To the west of Nottingham through to Derby, the A52 is known as Brian Clough Way.