Phases

Primary marketing research is collected for the first time if the company has enough money to finance it, but in most case it is the second more accurate one. It is original and collected for a specific purpose, or to solve a specific problem. Primary research delivers more specific results than secondary research, more expensive and time consuming, which are an especially important consideration when the company is launching a new product or service. There are many ways to conduct primary research. By customizing tried-and-true approaches, focus groups, surveys, field tests, interviews or observation, you can gain information about your target market. Primary research is generally based on sampling techniques and requires statistical methodologies. The sample size could be as small as 1 percent of the market and thus the information and results gathered are highly accurate.
Secondary marketing research or desk research is generally used when a company considering, extending a business into new markets or adding new services or product lines, because it already exist in one form or another. This information is based on studies previously performed by government agencies, chambers of commerce, trade associations, and other organizations. There are number of sources available to the marketers, which are the following: Business libraries, Public records, Trade associations, Websites, National/international governments, Informal contacts and Professional institutes and organizations. That is why secondary research is relatively cheap, and can be conducted quite quickly. However, its main disadvantage is that the information gathered may be old and obsolete, therefore results of analysis may be inaccurate. Further, it is not necessary that the earlier studies were conducted with the same objectives as required in the current situation.
According to Tom Owens (2008) Stages of research are the following:
1) Define the problem, define the research objective
2)...