Secondary Research:
The Amazing Tool That's Left in Everyone's Tool Box.
Don't Let It Be Left In Yours!

Secondary research is research that has already been carried out, OR information that already exists in other places.

The majority of small business owners out there that I come across just do NOT use this particular tool in their tool box.

And this particular tool - secondary research - can give you so much FREE information. And, when you're running a business (like you are) information paves your way to success. All you need to do is know where to find it. Read on...

There are a lot of professional market research companies who do nothing but research particular products and market sectors.

So you will be able to find secondary research on who buys the leading brand of toothpaste; who uses supermarket brand washing powder; who the typical second time mortgage buyer is; when people buy life assurance; what natural health products people use; the typical home business owner; what the profile is of the people who live in your country; and so on ad infinitum.

These reports are then produced and are available for client companies, and marketing communication agencies, to buy. The good news is that we can also access the information within them (as long as you know how).

Go to my online marketing research page for some sources that I personally use.

If you are in relatively easy reach of a business library, then call them to see if they carry copies of research reports by companies such as Mintel and Euromonitor. These are international companies, so not limited to the UK market.

The reports are far too expensive for us mere mortals to buy (generally they are about £1,000 / £2,000 upwards), but if your business library holds them, and you can get there, then arm yourself with plenty of paper and pens (and a flask of coffee) and go and spend a day there. More on this in the online research section.

The City Business Library in London holds them. If you live in a major city in any other part of the world, and you find a source of them local to you, please send me the details via the Contact Me page , and I’ll publish them on this site.

Other Types of Secondary Research

Remember that secondary research is information that already exists.

Secondary research is sometimes also called "desk research", which I think is an apt description for those of us who are sat at home at our desks/kitchen tables building our businesses.

With this type of secondary research you could be:

• Looking at business directories for information on competitors
  
• Looking at other network marketing companies' websites
  
• Reading relevant articles and interviews in newspapers and magazines
  
• Visiting forums online to see what people think about your subject area
  
• Looking at Government population statistics
  
• Reading books appropriate to your product subject...or on home businesses or network marketing
  
• Visiting shops that sell similar products to what you sell (your customers visit shops before they find a network marketer...you need to know why your product is better or different from the ones in the shops)
  
• Visiting expos/conferences
  
• TV ads - look at where companies advertise their products. Why do loan companies advertise in the middle of children's programmes? (To the point that my 5 year old can now repeat the ads!) Because the mums will be watching too..and they're marginally more interesting that the 54th re-run of Sporticus!
  
• Press and magazine ads - again, look at what magazines and newspapers companies advertise their products in. You can glean a lot of about your target market by looking at where companies place their ads. Most ads in the major magazines, newspapers, and on prime time TV cost a lot to place. Companies aren't going to place them unless they know precisely why they are placing them there. And that's because they've already done the research to find out what their target market reads and watches. So ride on the back of this work!
  
• Be aware of outdoor advertising - again, look at where companies have placed their outdoor ads, and have a think about who their target market might be, and why are the advertising in that particular place. Why do companies pay a premium to place ads 'above' Piccadilly Circus in London and New York Times Square? What kind of companies advertise there? You may not be able to advertise yourself in any of these areas, but you can learn a lot about the type of people that frequent these places by the ads that are placed there.
  

I could go on with this list. But my main message here with your secondary research is that there is LOADS of information out there that can help you in YOUR business if only you go and look for it.

So, spend some time in this valuable area of secondary research and build yourself a file of information that will be useful to you and your business.

Go here to find out about Primary Research

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