Entrepreneurship. Rhonda Abrams

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      CHAPTER

       3

       Basic Business Research

       Primary vs. secondary research

       Quantitative vs. qualitative research

       Industry

       Market

       Market research

       Competition and company

       Luxury Doesn’t Just Happen: The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company

       What Do You Need to Know?

       learning objectives

       In this chapter, you’ll learn how to:

      ■ Conduct business research for a new or existing company

      ■ Distinguish between primary and secondary research

      ■ Distinguish between quantitative and qualitative research

      ■ Determine which key issues to look for when conducting industry research

      ■ Determine which key issues to look for when conducting market research

      ■ Conduct basic primary market research, through surveys and interviews with prospective customers

      ■ Determine which key issues to look for when researching major competitors

      ■ Develop research questions that will help garner the best data

      ■ Select the most relevant data

      ■ Organize the vast amounts of data involved in business research

Why Research Is Important

      Knowledge is power, especially for entrepreneurs or aspiring entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are, naturally, enthusiastic about their ideas. With accurate information at your fingertips, you can better judge whether your ideas will likely bear fruit—and whether the opportunity you’ve identified is a viable one.

      The only way to get this information is through research. The word “research” doesn’t have to be frightening. Research can be as simple as interviewing people who are potential customers or talking with other entrepreneurs who’ve already done what you hope to do. Perhaps it involves looking up facts about your particular industry online. It’s a good idea to find out what’s going on in your chosen field or industry. What are the trends? What’s hot and what’s not?

      Think of research as a reality check that will align your vision with what’s actually happening in the world. Research helps you identify opportunities, set prices, adjust your marketing, and improve your product or service.

      You don’t need to be exhaustive in your research efforts; it’s neither necessary nor possible. You’ll merely look for information that will answer key questions about the particular opportunity you have identified. At the same time, your research must be thorough enough to give you insight into whether you should proceed along the path you have chosen, or investigate other options.

Types of Business Research

      How will you go about gathering the information you need? Will you conduct your own research, or will you rely on information that’s already out there? Will that research be based on cold, hard numbers and facts, or will it come from opinions and observations? Before you get started on your research efforts, it’s useful to understand the meanings of some key research terms.

Primary vs. secondary research

      Two of the basic types of research available to any business information seeker are primary and secondary.

      ■ Primary research. Original research done by collecting data directly, typically from research subjects (such as target customers). For example, the U.S. Census Bureau conducts primary СКАЧАТЬ