Market research
Market research is where a company/individual gathers information about the market of a product. This generally involves researching about a consumers needs and preferences in the current market. A company looking to launch a new product will look at competitors and what their products are like, including seeing if their is a commercially viable reason to launch it. They will want to make sure their is an economically sound reason to launch something new, so they may look at sales statistics and from that make a rough estimation of what potential revenue is available.Companies that are interested in what the market looks like, will often employ media producers who may then commission companies to undertake research on their behalf. If their are too many products currently aimed at a certain audience, a company may still launch their product as they may believe their's to be superior, offering something that other products do not. A key to launching a 'brand new' product is to see if their is a 'gap in the market', which means that their are no other similar products available and that their is a market for it with significant demand.
An example of where market research would be used is when a company may look to launch a new magazine or newspaper. Unless replacing a newspaper or introducing a subsidiary, a company would not typically launch a new newspaper as all fields are generally covered (tabloid, middle market, broadsheet). In recent years the Sun on Sunday has launched as a large scale tabloid Sunday newspaper was needed (there was a gap in the market) following the closing down of The News Of The World. The newspaper 'i' has also launched as their was a market for a cheap,compact broadsheet newspaper. If I was going to launch a magazine I would look a the current market. An example of two types of magazines are women's gossip and musical-based ones. Depending on the type of magazine, it can be harder to obtain a good position in the market. Many woman's magazines have similar themes and people will most likely buy a magazine that they have bought regularly before. This also applies for musical magazines as they have earned themselves a reputation over the years and are very likely to have a strong, loyal reader base.
To find out the sale figures of a type of a magazine or newspaper, a company could hire someone to research them or find them themselves. This is an example of secondary research. Most of the statistics will be quantitative and only deal with the numbers, but some sites may have more qualitative data which includes things such as demographics, ages and locations. To gain qualitative research a company may do some primary research and use focus groups, interviews and questionnaires to find out what consumers like and
what they want.
A advantage of Market research is that you can see what is currently on the market and if there is a viable reason to launch something. A disadvantage is that in some circumstances some statistics may not be a reliable reason to conclude on the state of a market. For example, there may be many types of music magazines currently on the market but, none have a USP (unique selling proposition). This means that if someone launched a music magazine with a uniqueness and superiority over others on the market, it may waiver current readers from current magazines.
An example of where market research would be used is when a company may look to launch a new magazine or newspaper. Unless replacing a newspaper or introducing a subsidiary, a company would not typically launch a new newspaper as all fields are generally covered (tabloid, middle market, broadsheet). In recent years the Sun on Sunday has launched as a large scale tabloid Sunday newspaper was needed (there was a gap in the market) following the closing down of The News Of The World. The newspaper 'i' has also launched as their was a market for a cheap,compact broadsheet newspaper. If I was going to launch a magazine I would look a the current market. An example of two types of magazines are women's gossip and musical-based ones. Depending on the type of magazine, it can be harder to obtain a good position in the market. Many woman's magazines have similar themes and people will most likely buy a magazine that they have bought regularly before. This also applies for musical magazines as they have earned themselves a reputation over the years and are very likely to have a strong, loyal reader base.
To find out the sale figures of a type of a magazine or newspaper, a company could hire someone to research them or find them themselves. This is an example of secondary research. Most of the statistics will be quantitative and only deal with the numbers, but some sites may have more qualitative data which includes things such as demographics, ages and locations. To gain qualitative research a company may do some primary research and use focus groups, interviews and questionnaires to find out what consumers like and
what they want.
A advantage of Market research is that you can see what is currently on the market and if there is a viable reason to launch something. A disadvantage is that in some circumstances some statistics may not be a reliable reason to conclude on the state of a market. For example, there may be many types of music magazines currently on the market but, none have a USP (unique selling proposition). This means that if someone launched a music magazine with a uniqueness and superiority over others on the market, it may waiver current readers from current magazines.
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| Newsagents sales figures from http://www.betterretailing.com/retailer-resources/top-100-magazines/ . This is a site which aids retailers in what magazines sell best but, a company could use this as market research.
Market research is essential in the media industry if a company wants their product to do well. Without knowledge of the market you are entering and whether or not their is a place for your product will condemn a company to failure.
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