The purpose and methods of market research common mistakes

Common mistakes

• Confusing market size with market share

  Thinking that market size equals the share a company holds.

  Fix itMarket size is the total sales of the entire market; market share is a firm’s proportion of those sales.

• Confusing primary and secondary research

  Assuming that secondary research is always cheaper and quicker.

  Fix itSecondary research can be time‑consuming if relevant data is hard to locate or outdated, and it may not answer specific questions. Primary research, while often more costly, provides tailored, current information.

• Confusing data types

  Assuming qualitative data can be measured numerically and treated like quantitative data.

  Fix itQualitative data is descriptive and non-numeric; it cannot be directly quantified. Quantitative data is numeric and suitable for statistical analysis.

• Confusing primary and secondary research

  Assuming secondary research is always cheaper than primary research.

  Fix itSecondary research can be costly if the data is proprietary or requires licensing; primary research may be cheaper for specific, up‑to‑date information.

• Mixing up market size and market share

  Assuming that a company’s sales equal the total market size.

  Fix itMarket size is the total sales of all firms in the market; market share is the proportion of that sales held by a specific firm.

• Misreading a chart axis

  Assuming the y‑axis starts at zero when it does not

  Fix itAlways check the axis scale; if it starts above zero, the chart may exaggerate differences.

• Confusing market size with market share

  Assuming market size is the same as a company's sales.

  Fix itMarket size is the total sales of all firms in the market; market share is a firm's proportion of that total.