Field Research | Steps Involved | Checklist for data collection
Desk research sources may not provide all the information required for the research study. Additional data need to be collected by going directly to the market. Generally, published sources do not furnish product specific marketing information. Only by approaching the end-users, marketers can understand what buyers expect from the product. Thus, field research supplements the information collected from desk research.
Design and testing of a questionnaire, and preparation of a sample of respondents are the two important steps taken before conducting field research.
Steps involved in field survey
Field survey involves the following steps:
1. Contacting commercial section of Indian Embassy / High Commission.
2. Fixing up appointments with respondents.
Respondents are selected from:
- Manufacturers / importers /distributors /wholesalers, etc.
- Chambers of Commerce, industry and trade associations, associations of commercial agents, etc.
- Institutions like Government departments, import promotion offices, commercial Banks, Trade promotion organizations.
- Foreign offices of Indian organizations like Export promotion councils, Commodity Boards, branches of Indian banks and firms.
3. Visit to institutions to collect secondary data which are not available at home.
Checklist for data collection during field survey
Varshney and Bhattacharyya furnish the following checklist for data collection and also identify the problems faced in overseas market research.
The nature and quantum of information to be collected during the field survey depends upon the research objective. Generally, field surveys conducted by Indian exporting organizations are directed at the identification of export potential. As such, the data requirements for such market research are of the following:
| Sl. No | Type of Information | Information requirements |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Demand potential | Annual consumption (production of imports — exports) |
| 2 | Projections | Growth in population, growth in income distribution, domestic distribution, changes in consumer preferences, introduction of substitutes or new products. |
| 3 | Market segment | Per capita income, age, education, profession, ethnic background, geographic location. |
| 4 | Trading parameters | Tariff rates, quotas, import licensing system, special product specific regulations, as for example, relating to pharmaceuticals and edible items, membership of customs unions or similar trading arrangement, multilateral preferential agreements such as Gspor Bankok agreement, bilateral trade agreements. |
| 5 | Pricing | Prices of competing products, prices prevailing at various levels such as importers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers, mark up at each stage of the distribution channel, agency commission, preferred method of quotation such as FOB, C ik F, C.I.F and the preferred currency. |
| 6 | Payment terms | D/A, D/P, letters of credit, credit period |
| 7 | Logistics | Transport packing, frequency of transportation, freight rates, warehousing and cold storage facility. |
| 8 | Promotion | Availability of media rates, trade fairs and exhibitions. |
(Table: Checklist for data collection during field survey)
