Market research design involves planning. When conducting market research, work backwards. Decide why you need the information you do and how you will use it to improve your sales and marketing technique. Do this before you decide which type of research to do, and your market research design will be much more successful.

There are many ways to collect information. The most common ways are focus groups, interviews, telephone surveys, and written (mail or email) surveys. A focus group is an effective marketing research method used for preliminary research, to explore people's ideas and attitudes. It is often used to test new products or advertising and to learn about customer concerns. Its disadvantage is that the sample size is small and may not represent the population.

Methods to Include in Market Research Design

Personal interviews are another idea to consider for your market research design. However, they are very expensive due to their one-on-one nature. They are usually only used when a person is not likely to respond to other methods.

Telephone surveys are the fastest way to collect information from a relatively large sample. The interviewer follows a script that is essentially the same as a written questionnaire would be. But unlike a written survey, telephone surveys offer an opportunity to probe opinions and for the interviewee to comment in depth. Mail surveys are a cost-effective method of gathering information that are ideal for large samples. They are very objective because there is no interview bias. Internet and email surveys are similar to mail surveys, and are the fastest method to collect information, and also the most cost-effective.