Primary vs. secondary research methods

Product managers gather market insights through two main approaches, each with distinct benefits for product decisions:

• Primary research involves collecting original data directly from users or potential customers, for example: user interviews, surveys, focus groups, usability testing, and field studies. This gives you firsthand insights specific to your product questions, but requires more time and resources to conduct.
• Secondary research uses existing information collected by others, such as industry reports, market analyses, competitor analysis, social media monitoring, review analysis, or published academic studies. This method is typically faster and less expensive, but the data wasn't collected with your specific questions in mind.

The most effective research strategy typically combines both approaches. Start with secondary research to understand the broader context and identify key questions, then conduct targeted primary research to fill specific knowledge gaps and validate assumptions.^[1]