 When organisations enter into strategic planning, they conduct different types of relevant research and analysis. As part of this process, marketers talk about collecting secondary and primary data. Let us list the learning goals for this video. Firstly, the goal is to establish a connection between primary and secondary research and the rest of the research, analysis and strategic planning process. Secondly, the goal is to gain an understanding of what primary and secondary data is, the pros and cons of each and how we can conduct these two types of research. So let us begin. When organisations enter into strategic planning, they conduct different types of research and analysis. They might conduct both secondary and primary research. They would consider using qualitative and or quantitative research and different survey types. They would check the quality of their research data by critically applying the terms validity and reliability. The gathered data might be used in a process of conducting different analysis. Internal analysis, which could include a look at the company accounts, current business model, core competencies and others. And external analysis such as PEST, Poros V forces, competitor analysis and others. And ultimately they might summarise all their research in a SWOT analysis. This might be followed by a TOWS model in order to identify several strategic options to choose between. This will enable them to make informed strategic decisions about which direction to take. Primary and secondary research is what we will address in this video. So what is primary and secondary research and how could we go about collecting these two types of data? Let us use an example. This café is located in a large city close to a busy high street. It is called the French Café and it specialises in serving high quality cakes and desserts. The French Café is experiencing increasing competition from both existing competitors and new cafes opening up all around the area. Motivated by his curiosity to find out more about the competitors, the owner of the French Café has decided to do some research. So what kind of information could the French Café collect? They could access business databases to find details about each competitor, such as their financial results. And some commercial industry databases open for more detailed company information at a fee. To compare with their own internal situation, they could gather information from their own financial accounts. They could visit the competitors' websites, social media sites and perform online searches to collect information about the different competitors' online presence and communication style. They could also access TripAdvisor or similar platforms to find out how customers review the competitors. We call this type of research secondary or desk research. So let us take a look at the characteristics of secondary data. Secondary data has not been created or published for the benefit of the French Café's competitor analysis. It has originally been created for a general purpose, aimed at a variety of people or businesses. Secondary data is already out there, just waiting to be found and explored. The benefits of secondary data is that it is usually relatively quick, easy and low cost to obtain. However, the disadvantage of secondary data is that the information is not targeted directly at French Café's specific information needs. Now let us imagine that French Cakes would like to obtain some information which is targeted specifically at their own information needs. They could design a suitable questionnaire and interview customers. They could invite customers for a focus group interview. They could set up specific goals in their Google Analytics to track on their website how users interact with their online booking feature. And they could track social media interactions. They could also carry out other observations of customers' behavior, both on their website and in their café. This type of research is called primary or field research. So let us take a look at what characterizes primary data. Primary data is generated specifically for us and for our specific purpose. Primary data is not already out there in the form that we require it. We could argue that the online behavioral data already exists. But French Cakes is now setting up specific filters to track and show an exact behavior. The benefit of primary data is clearly that it is targeted specifically to our individual needs. However, the disadvantage is that it is relatively time consuming, complex to carry out and therefore also relatively costly. So what is best? Secondary or primary research. In our example, French Cakes would have to decide whether or not the secondary information they could gather would be sufficient to make decisions upon. Or whether they are in need of more targeted information. A need for targeted information would create the need for conducting primary research. In that case, French Cakes would have to consider the different kinds of information they could collect by a primary research. And whether or not they have both the time, the money, the people and the skills required to carry out relevant primary research. No two cases are the same, but if time, money and competencies allow, a combination of secondary research and carefully designed primary research is often the optimal solution. As marketers, we would usually recommend conducting the secondary research first and primary second. This is to make sure we spend our resources wisely. We have now established a connection with the rest of the research, analysis and strategic planning process. And subsequently we have used an example to illustrate what primary and secondary research is. We have highlighted the pros and cons of each and how we can conduct these two types of research. If you want to learn more about research, analysis and strategic planning or about other marketing related subjects, then I suggest that you watch additional videos on this channel. To further support and substantiate your learning, I recommend that you read Market Research and Statistics by Forbes and others, as well as Principles and Practices of Marketing by Jobba. And if you are able to read Danish, International Market Sphering by Rullihe Andersen and others. My name is Tina Wade. Thank you for watching.