Slides · PPTX · 499 KB · 39 slides
Market research - Teacher Slides.pptx
The lesson slides with the teacher's notes on each slide, and every question and mark scheme built in. Built from the lesson script on 24 September 2026.
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Market research
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Last Lesson
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
Answer from memory before the answers appear.
1
Name the four customer needs.
2
What is the difference between a customer and a consumer?
3
Why does meeting customer needs help a business survive?
4
How might a business find out what customers need?
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Last Lesson - Answers
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
1
Name the four customer needs.
Price, quality, choice and convenience.
2
What is the difference between a customer and a consumer?
The customer buys the product; the consumer uses it.
3
Why does meeting customer needs help a business survive?
It generates sales and revenue to cover costs.
4
How might a business find out what customers need?
By asking them - market research.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Learning Objectives
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
1
Explain the purpose of market research.
2
Compare primary and secondary market research and their methods.
3
Explain the difference between qualitative and quantitative data.
4
Explain the role of social media in collecting market research.
5
Explain how sample size and bias affect the reliability of market research.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
What Is Market Research?
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
Market research is the process of collecting information about customers, competitors and the market.
To identify and understand customer needs
Find out what customers want, how much they will pay and where they want to buy.
To identify gaps in the market
Spot needs that no business is currently meeting.
To reduce risk
Check that there is demand before spending money on a new product, so the business is less likely to fail.
To inform decisions
Help the business decide on price, product, location and promotion using evidence instead of guesswork.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
PART ONE
Primary and Secondary Research
Collecting new information, or using information that already exists.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Primary or Secondary?
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
PRIMARY RESEARCH
• New information collected first-hand by the business itself.
• Also called field research.
• Specific to the business's own questions.
• Up to date, and competitors do not have it.
• Expensive and time-consuming to collect.
SECONDARY RESEARCH
• Information that already exists, collected by someone else.
• Also called desk research.
• Quick and cheap, often free.
• May be out of date or not quite what the business needs.
• Competitors can see it too.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Methods of Primary Research
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
Survey and questionnaire
A set of questions answered by customers, in person, by phone, by post or online. Can reach lots of people cheaply.
Focus group
A small group of customers discuss a product in depth, led by a researcher. Gives detailed opinions, but only from a few people.
Observation
Watching how customers behave - for example counting how many people walk past a shop at lunchtime.
Interviews and product testing
Asking customers one to one, or letting them try a product and give feedback.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Asking the Customers
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
A street survey: primary research, collected first-hand.
A street survey is one of the simplest kinds of primary research. The business writes its own questions, so every answer is about exactly what it needs to know - but it takes time to collect enough answers to rely on.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Methods of Secondary Research
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
The internet
Competitors' websites, prices and customer reviews, and news articles about the market.
Market reports
Detailed reports on a market written by specialist research companies. Useful, but often expensive to buy.
Government publications
Free statistics, for example from the Office for National Statistics and the census, about population, incomes and spending.
Newspapers and trade magazines
Articles about trends, new products and changes in an industry.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Digging Deeper
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
A focus group gives detailed opinions - but only from a handful of people.
FOCUS GROUPS
Strength
Detailed opinions and reasons, not just ticks in boxes.
Weakness
A small group may not represent all customers.
Weakness
One loud person can sway the rest of the group.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
PART TWO
Qualitative and Quantitative Data
Numbers, or opinions?
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Quantitative or Qualitative?
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
QUANTITATIVE DATA
• Numerical data that can be counted and measured.
• Comes from closed questions, e.g. "How many times a week do you buy coffee?"
• Easy to put into graphs, charts and percentages.
• Easy to compare and analyse.
• Does not explain why customers think or behave as they do.
QUALITATIVE DATA
• Opinions, feelings and reasons, in words.
• Comes from open questions and focus groups, e.g. "What do you like about our coffee?"
• Explains why customers behave as they do.
• Gives detail and new ideas.
• Hard to analyse and compare, and can be interpreted differently.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
The Role of Social Media
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
Social media gives even the smallest business a cheap way to research its market.
Quick polls
Businesses can run polls and questions on Instagram, TikTok or Facebook and get answers within hours.
Comments and reviews
Customers say what they think in comments, messages and reviews, which the business can read for free.
Following trends
Businesses can see what customers are talking about and what competitors are doing.
Limitation
Only followers reply, so the answers may not represent all customers, and some comments are not honest.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
PART THREE
Can You Trust the Results?
Research is only useful if it is reliable.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Reliability, Sample Size and Bias
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
Reliable research gives results the business can trust to make decisions.
Sample
The group of people who take part in the research, chosen to represent the whole market.
Sample size
The bigger the sample, the more reliable the results usually are - asking 10 people tells you far less than asking 500. But larger samples cost more time and money.
Bias
Research is biased when the results are pushed in one direction - for example asking only friends and family, or asking a leading question such as "Don't you agree our cakes are delicious?"
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Reliability, Sample Size and Bias (cont.)
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
Representative
The sample should reflect the business's real customers in age, gender, location and income. An online survey only reaches people who choose to answer.
Out of date
Secondary data may no longer be true, especially in a fast-changing market.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Working Out a Percentage from a Survey
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
Edexcel "Calculate" questions often use survey results. Show your working.
A café asked 250 customers whether they would buy a new vegan breakfast. 90 said yes. What percentage of customers said yes?
1
Write the formula
Percentage = (number who said yes ÷ total asked) × 100
2
Put in the numbers
= (90 ÷ 250) × 100
3
Work it out
= 0.36 × 100 = 36%
ANSWER
36% of customers said yes.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
CASE STUDY
Tesco Clubcard: Research Every Time You Shop
Tesco launched its Clubcard loyalty scheme in 1995. Every time a customer scans the card, Tesco records what they buy, when and where. This gives Tesco a huge amount of quantitative data about its customers' needs, which it uses to decide what to stock in each store, which offers to send each customer and which new products to develop. Customers get points and lower Clubcard prices in return - and Tesco gets market research on millions of shoppers without having to ask a single question.
1995
Clubcard launched
Millions
Of shoppers' purchases recorded
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Key Terms
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
Market research
Collecting information about customers, competitors and the market to help make business decisions.
Primary research
New information collected first-hand by the business. Also called field research.
Secondary research
Information that already exists, collected by someone else. Also called desk research.
Quantitative data
Numerical data that can be counted and measured.
Qualitative data
Data about opinions, feelings and reasons.
Focus group
A small group of customers who discuss a product in depth.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Key Terms (cont.)
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
Sample
The group of people chosen to take part in market research.
Bias
When research results are distorted, so they do not give a true picture of the market.
Reliability
How far the results of market research can be trusted.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
YOUR TASK
Design a Survey
15 minutes
A new juice bar wants to open near your school. Write five questions for a survey of students. Include at least three closed questions (for quantitative data) and one open question (for qualitative data). Then explain how you would choose your sample to avoid bias.
1
Write three closed questions.
2
Write at least one open question.
3
Check none of them is a leading question.
4
Explain who you would ask, and how many.
WHAT A GOOD ANSWER SHOWS
Five clear, non-leading questions labelled closed or open, and a sampling plan that explains its size and why it represents the juice bar's customers.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Can I...?
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
Explain the purpose of market research.
Give methods of primary research.
Give methods of secondary research.
Compare primary and secondary research.
Explain qualitative and quantitative data.
Explain the role of social media.
Explain how sample size affects reliability.
Explain what bias is and how to avoid it.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Can I...? (cont.)
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
Calculate a percentage from survey results.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Summary & Exam Focus
Market research finds out about customers, competitors and the market, to reduce risk.
Primary research is new and specific but costly; secondary research is cheap but may be out of date.
Quantitative data is numerical; qualitative data is opinions and reasons.
Social media is a cheap way to research, but may not be representative.
A large, unbiased sample makes research more reliable.
EXAM FOCUS
Explain one disadvantage to a business of using primary market research. (3 marks)
Name one disadvantage, then link two steps of explanation. Always finish by saying what it means for the business - its costs, its decisions or its risk.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Exam Practice: Market Research
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
Answer all questions. Show your working in calculations. · 25 minutes
Question 1 · 1 mark · Define
Define the term 'secondary market research'.
Question 2 · 1 mark · State
State one method of primary market research.
Question 3 · 2 marks · Calculate
A gym surveyed 400 people. 120 said they would join if the gym opened 24 hours a day. Calculate the percentage of people who said they…
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Exam Practice: Market Research (cont.)
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
Question 4 · 2 marks · Outline
Outline one benefit to a business of using social media for market research.
Question 5 · 3 marks · Explain
Explain one disadvantage to a business of using primary market research.
Question 6 · 3 marks · Explain
Explain one reason why the size of a sample affects the reliability of market research.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Question 1 · 1 mark · Define
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
“
Define the term 'secondary market research'.
HOW TO ANSWER IT
Command word: Define. Worth 1 mark, so plan before writing.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Question 1 · mark scheme
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
1 mark available. Award a mark for each point made.
Using existing data / data collected by others
1 mark
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Question 2 · 1 mark · State
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
“
State one method of primary market research.
HOW TO ANSWER IT
Command word: State. Worth 1 mark, so plan before writing.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Question 2 · mark scheme
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
1 mark available. Award a mark for each point made.
Any one of: survey / questionnaire; focus group; observation; interview; product testing
1 mark
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Question 3 · 2 marks · Calculate
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
“
A gym surveyed 400 people. 120 said they would join if the gym opened 24 hours a day. Calculate the percentage of people who said they would join. You are advised to show your working.
HOW TO ANSWER IT
Command word: Calculate. Worth 2 marks, so plan before writing.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Question 3 · mark scheme
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
2 marks available. Award a mark for each point made.
Correct method: (120 ÷ 400) × 100
1 mark
Correct answer: 30%
1 mark (award 2 marks for the correct answer with no working)
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Question 4 · 2 marks · Outline
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
“
Outline one benefit to a business of using social media for market research.
HOW TO ANSWER IT
Command word: Outline. Worth 2 marks, so plan before writing.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Question 4 · mark scheme
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
2 marks available. Award a mark for each point made.
A benefit identified, e.g. cheap / quick / reaches many customers / real-time feedback
1 mark
Developed: why this helps the business
1 mark
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Question 5 · 3 marks · Explain
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
“
Explain one disadvantage to a business of using primary market research.
HOW TO ANSWER IT
Command word: Explain. Worth 3 marks, so plan before writing.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Question 5 · mark scheme
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
3 marks available. Award a mark for each point made.
A disadvantage identified, e.g. expensive / time-consuming / risk of bias with a small sample
1 mark
First linked point of explanation
1 mark
Second linked point of explanation
1 mark
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Question 6 · 3 marks · Explain
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
“
Explain one reason why the size of a sample affects the reliability of market research.
HOW TO ANSWER IT
Command word: Explain. Worth 3 marks, so plan before writing.
openrevise.com
EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 1
Question 6 · mark scheme
Spotting a business opportunity
Lesson 2 of 5
3 marks available. Award a mark for each point made.
A reason identified, e.g. small samples are less representative
1 mark
First linked point of explanation
1 mark
Second linked point of explanation
1 mark
openrevise.com
← → to move, F to present full screen, G for every slide at once.