Some of the Best Tools for Primary Research

Primary research is original research that is conducted by either you or your team. What’s the difference between primary and secondary research? Secondary research gives you a broad overview about the industry and market whereas primary research gives you firsthand information from your customers. You need to collect data from scratch instead of gathering data that is already out there. Here are some of the best primary research tools that are not only effective, but are easy to use.

Interviews and focus groups

Interviews and focus groups produce in depth qualitative data that will be beneficial to your research. These tools give you the opportunity to interact with your participants and obtain a deeper response to your questions compared to other forms of primary research. Interviews and focus groups allow you to pick up on body language and facial expressions that you wouldn’t be able to see by conducting research online.

Blogging and social media
The Internet is a powerful and useful tool to that will aid in your primary research. Blogging and social media platforms are a way to keep your audience updated on your business. These tools allow your audience to openly comment on what they like and dislike. You can gather information from their input and business analytics to use for your primary research. Another advantage of blogging and social media is that it is usually less expensive than using other forms of primary research.

Survey Monkey
Another great online tool is Survey Monkey, a web-based survey provider. There are millions of companies, organizations, and entrepreneurs who rely on Survey Monkey to gather the primary research they need. Survey Monkey can help you whether you need to create a poll or conduct in-depth market research. Survey Monkey is available online and through a mobile app on iOS and Android for your convenience. Survey Monkey offers the following plans based on your research needs:

Basic: FREE – 10 questions, 100 responses, standard email support

Select: $26/month or $228/year – 1000 responses, unlimited questions and responses, priority 24/7 email support, custom logos, colors & more, skip logic, cross-tab filters, export data & reports

Gold: $300/year – all Select features, plus A/B testing, question & answer piping, and randomization

Platinum: $780/year – all Gold features, plus white label surveys, phone support, and HIPAA-compliant features

Google Trends
Google Trends is a free, public service that shows how often various terms are searched compared to the total search volume in other regions around the world. Google Trends provides data on what people are searching for and want to know more about. You simply subscribe to Google Trends and alerts on your topics of interest will be e-mailed to you.
Take advantage of these tools to create quality primary research and obtain valuable data for your business. Hopefully these primary research tools will help you and your future research endeavors!