Discuss the methods used by marketing researchers to gather secondary data

What will be an ideal response?

A company's internal database provides a good starting point to gather secondary data. However, the company can also tap into a wide assortment of external information sources. Companies can buy secondary data from outside suppliers. For example, Nielsen sells shopper insight data from a consumer panel of more than 250,000 households in 25 countries worldwide, with measures of trial and repeat purchasing, brand loyalty, and buyer demographics. Using commercial online databases, marketing researchers can conduct their own searches of secondary data sources. General database services such as Dialog, ProQuest, and LexisNexis put an incredible wealth of information at the keyboards of marketing decision makers. Beyond commercial Web sites offering information for a fee, almost every industry association, government agency, business publication, and news medium offers free information to those tenacious enough to find their Web sites. Internet search engines can also be a big help in locating relevant secondary information sources.