2.3 Secondary market research sources - Word Drop

Secondary market research is data that already exists, collected by someone else for another purpose, so it may not be specific to the business. As the data already exists, collecting it is ______ and cheaper than primary research, which is collected first-hand. A drawback is that it may be ______ by the time it is used. The data often comes from a large ______, which a small business could not collect itself. Sources can be physical or ______, and the ______ can help find them, but it is not a source in itself.

______ is information the business already holds, such as sales and customer records. It is free and specific, so ______ can be identified for forecasts, but it may be inaccurate and is less useful in a new market. Books, newspapers and ______ are easy and cheap to access and show current styles, though the information may be incorrect or ______ in favour of one viewpoint.

Competitors' data, including their accounts and sales, is free and relevant, but rivals rarely publish anything useful and large companies are hard to compare with a small business. Government publications and statistics, such as the ten-yearly ______ that counts every household, are reliable and unbiased, but can be out of date. Reports from market research companies, for example ______, are comprehensive and regularly updated, but they command high ______ to access.