Businesses of all kinds depend on research to achieve specific goals. Much of this research is conducted by first gathering data and then analyzing it. However, there is another form of research known as “secondary” research that involves studying pre-existing data.
Businesses can gain plenty of valuable insight by conducting this secondary research themselves or by using the secondary research services provided by market research companies. Let’s examine the crucial role that secondary research services play in helping businesses achieve their goals.
What Are Secondary Research Services?
The term “secondary research” may sound confusing in isolation, so it’s important to learn what it is in relation to “primary research”.
Primary research is “original” research that encompasses tasks such as gathering data, analyzing it, and then studying the results. With this in mind, secondary research involves reviewing existing data or literature. This crucial difference is vital to note because researchers performing this type of research won’t need to collect new data, as the existing data available to them is sufficient.
Secondary research essentially bypasses the numerous data collection challenges researchers face. However, reviewing and analyzing existing data can still be difficult for a business’s in-house staff to perform. For this reason, many businesses hire market research companies or research consulting firms that offer secondary research services.
How Businesses Benefit By Using Secondary Research Services
Businesses that use secondary research services enjoy numerous benefits. This includes:
Gaining Access To a Wide Range Of Data
Secondary research is performed by studying existing data. However, much of this data isn’t widely available to the public. Businesses that intend to perform thorough secondary research may need to pay or find the right contacts to be able to access this information.
This is where using secondary research services can be advantageous. Companies that offer these services have access to literature, databases, and other information sources that ordinary businesses may not be able to access. These companies can also retrieve this information quickly, which helps save time in the research process.
Learning About Competitors
Any business that aims to survive in a competitive industry must familiarize themselves with their competitors. It’s possible to derive information about a competitor’s popularity or performance through surveys or by observing their reach on various social media platforms. This form of research can be tedious and costly to perform, and it might not even be necessary.
Most industry-leading companies conduct their own research to learn about their performance and brand image. The data they collect may be stored securely on their private databases, or it may be made available to specific third parties.
Businesses that hire market research firms for their secondary research services can gain access to this information easily. They can then utilize it in their research and get a closer look at their competitors and where they fit within the market.
Assessing Risks
Businesses that intend to remain in the market for a long period will need to take risks at some point. This includes expansion risks and investment risks. Taking a well-planned leap can pay off, but making the wrong move can lead to the venture going under very quickly. For this reason, every business needs to conduct thorough research before taking any risks.
This is where secondary research is invaluable. Companies that offer secondary research services can study historical data related to economic conditions and market trends. They can access recent market research material to gain a clearer understanding of current market conditions.
All these sources help the business understand more about the past and the present and forecast what market conditions will be like in the future. Business owners and key stakeholders can then decide whether or not to go ahead with a risky move.
Developing Better Products and Services
Every business aims to fulfill its customers’ needs through its products and services. However, researching these needs can be challenging. It typically involves conducting surveys, interviews, focus testing, and directly observing individuals in various settings, like events.
Businesses can avoid performing these tedious tasks by using information from pre-existing sources. This is once again an area where companies that provide secondary research services can be invaluable. With these services, businesses can learn about their target audience’s behavior, preferences, and backgrounds quickly. They can then utilize their insights to develop better products and services.
Is It Worth Hiring An Agency To Perform Secondary Research?
Businesses that aim to gain valuable insight through secondary research should definitely consider hiring an agency to assist them with this task. Secondary research companies possess a wider range of information sources and possess more experience with various data analysis techniques.
These companies can also complete these research tasks swiftly. This allows the business that has hired them to gain insight quickly and without having to allocate precious resources toward this research.
Achieve Your Business Goals Using Our Secondary Research Services
If you’re seeking reliable and high-quality secondary research services, reach out to our specialists at The Analyst Agency. As one of the leading market research companies in New York, we are committed to helping our clients gain valuable insight into market conditions, competitors, and customer demographics.
We offer both qualitative and quantitative market research services to ensure the data we gather and analyze produces actionable insights that help you achieve your business goals. Please contact us to learn more about our services or to book a consultation with one of our specialists.