Desk research is a type of market research that is much less expensive and much quicker to perform than more traditional forms of sales research. If your business is considering producing and marketing a new product, you may be able to save time and money by performing desk research.
The Benefits of Desk Research
The term desk research is used to describe secondary research because rather than being performed in the field or in a laboratory, desk research can hypothetically be performed while sitting at a desk. Desk research involves compiling research that has been performed by other experimenters and using that research to fit a new need or make a new statement. When a company decides to produce and market a new product, that company’s research and development branch must often perform months and months of extensive research before the board of the company is willing to invest millions of dollars in the product or service.
Today’s market is a very fragile thing. Many businesses are hesitating to introduce new products into the market because producing a new product is very expensive. If, by some chance, the product were to fail, a business could be looking at wasted costs of millions of dollars. No company is willing to risk that much money. Therefore, many companies are thoroughly researching the market, its consumers, and its hopeful niches before producing a product to see if consumers would be willing to invest their money in a new product. However, market research and sales research is both time consuming and expensive. Organizing surveys and test products can take months and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. If, however, a business can use preexisting research and adapt it to suit their own purposes, a company may be able to save a lot of that money and dedicate it to marketing and producing the product.
Pre-Published Surveys and Experiments
One form of desk research is using previously published experiments. There are thousands of marketing experiments and tests performed every year. Survey companies will conduct thousands of surveys amongst potential consumers and then inexpensively sell their results to bidding companies. These surveys can provide critical information about what consumers are willing to spend their money on. The sales research performed by other companies can also reveal holes in the market that can be filled by new products and services.
Previously Marketed Products
Another way to perform desk research is by examining other similar products that are already on the market. Businesses that can get their hands on the sales figures of similar products can have an accurate estimation of how their product will fare in the current market. Often, businesses use this information to make changes to their own products depending on what customers are dissatisfied with in the current products. Gathering this information about current products is much simpler than performing months of test product experiments and new surveys. It also costs a lot less.
Where To Find Primary Research
Because of the internet, primary research is easy to find and access when using desk research to compile information. Companies can use internet library databases to research the results of other surveys and experiments that may relate to their current research needs. Sales research findings are often available online as well for a small fee. Many survey companies that create and administer thousands of surveys about market research each year also sell their survey results online.
Outsourcing Desk Research
Some businesses have even begun outsourcing their desk research to be performed by companies that specialize in compiling this type of information. These companies have virtually unlimited resources and are run by trained professionals who know exactly where to go to find the latest in test market research. Desk research can often be completed in as little as a month, and the results are sent directly to the company to be used when deciding whether or not to market and produce a new product or service.
In order to survive in today’s market, businesses are being forced to become more resourceful and more discerning when it comes to where they spend their money. While performing extensive market research and sales research is important for companies who want to protect their investments and make wise decisions about new products, desk research is a method by which companies can save millions of dollars and hours of time.