marketing research methods quantitative and qualitative approaches

Choosing the Right Approach: Qualitative vs. Quantitative Market Research.

Imagine this scenario: you’re the Product Marketing Manager at Stellar Sneakers, a thriving company known for its innovative and stylish footwear. Your team is poised to launch a new line of eco-friendly shoes, but before you do, you want to gather valuable insights to ensure the product’s success. There’s a budget set aside for market research, but you’re faced with a crucial decision: should you go for a qualitative approach, diving into the deep and nuanced attitudes of your target audience? Or should you lean on quantitative research , capturing broad trends and measurable consumer preferences?

These choices are commonplace for marketing professionals. Market research is instrumental in developing successful products and campaigns, helping you understand your target audience, gauge customer preferences, and assess market trends. However, deciding between qualitative and quantitative methodologies can often seem like a labyrinth.

In this article, we will navigate this maze together. We’ll delve into the strengths and weaknesses of both qualitative and quantitative research, providing a practical guide for marketing executives like yourself wrestling with this choice. Our goal is to equip you with a more profound understanding, enabling you to select the most effective research methodology for your marketing objectives. 

Understanding Qualitative Research

Qualitative research can be likened to a deep, exploratory dive. Instead of skimming the ocean’s surface to understand what lies beneath, qualitative research immerses itself in the depths to explore the unseen. In other words, it involves gathering subjective, non-numerical data to uncover your target audience’s thoughts, feelings, and motivations.

Imagine conducting in-depth interviews or focus groups with your prospective customers. You might ask them open-ended questions like, “How important is sustainability in your footwear choices?” or “What would make you choose our new eco-friendly shoes over traditional options?” Such questions do not restrict respondents to choosing from pre-determined answers; instead, they allow them to express their unique thoughts and emotions.

Similarly, other qualitative methods, like observations or ethnography, enable researchers to study people in their natural settings. For instance, observing customers in a retail store can offer valuable insights into shopping habits and behaviors that would be difficult to capture through structured surveys.

In a nutshell, qualitative research is all about understanding the “why” behind consumer behavior. It delves into the intricacies of consumer attitudes, beliefs, and experiences, providing a rich, nuanced understanding of your target audience. But like all methodologies, qualitative research has its strengths and drawbacks.

Pros of Qualitative Research

Now that we understand what qualitative research entails let’s dive into its advantages. For you, as the Product Marketing Manager of Stellar Sneakers, these pros can guide your understanding of what consumers feel and why they behave the way they do.

In-depth Understanding: The primary strength of qualitative research lies in its depth of understanding. By allowing consumers to express their thoughts and feelings in their own words, you can gain a holistic and nuanced understanding of their attitudes, beliefs, and experiences. You might discover, for example, that your target audience highly values sustainable practices not just because of environmental concerns but due to an underlying desire to contribute positively to society. This insight goes beyond basic preferences and can help guide your product development and marketing strategies.

Flexibility: Qualitative research is adaptable, allowing exploring unexpected avenues that emerge during the research process. Let’s say during your focus group discussions, a participant brings up an unanticipated point about the aesthetics of eco-friendly shoes. This can lead the conversation down a new path, offering insights you hadn’t considered initially. This adaptability makes qualitative research a powerful tool for discovery.

Contextual Understanding: This research method provides context to your findings. Instead of just knowing that a certain percentage of your audience prefers eco-friendly shoes, you get to understand why they prefer them. Are they driven by concerns about climate change, peer influence, or simply a desire for unique, innovative products? This contextual understanding can help you craft more effective marketing messages.

Cons of Qualitative Research

While the strengths of qualitative research are many, it has limitations. Understanding these drawbacks is crucial for a balanced approach to your market research.

Limited Generalizability: Qualitative research typically involves smaller, more targeted sample sizes due to the time and resources required for in-depth interviews, focus groups, or observations. This means that while the insights you gather will be rich and detailed, they may not represent the views and experiences of your entire target population. For instance, the customers who participate in your focus groups might have particularly strong feelings about sustainability, which might not be as prevalent in the broader customer base.

Subjectivity: Unlike its quantitative counterpart, qualitative research relies heavily on interpretation and analysis. The findings are often expressed in words and narratives, making them susceptible to researcher bias. For example, two researchers might interpret a participant’s responses in a focus group differently, leading to different conclusions. Therefore, ensuring rigor and objectivity during the analysis phase is critical.

Time and Resource-Intensive: Conducting and analyzing qualitative research can be quite labor-intensive. Transcribing interviews, analyzing focus group discussions, and reviewing observational data require skilled moderators, transcription services, and a significant amount of time. Additionally, the need for specially trained researchers to conduct interviews or focus groups can add to the cost of the research.

These cons do not diminish the value of qualitative research; instead, they highlight the need for careful planning and thoughtful interpretation of the data gathered. By understanding this approach’s strengths and limitations, you can maximize its benefits and make informed decisions. 

Understanding Quantitative Research

As we leave the deep-diving world of qualitative research, we surface to the realm of quantitative research, where the breadth of understanding is the key. Think of it as casting a wide net into the sea, gathering as many fish (or, in our case, data points) as possible to analyze and identify patterns or trends.

In contrast to qualitative research, quantitative research involves gathering measurable, numerical data. This can be accomplished through various methods, such as online surveys , questionnaires, or structured observations. The questions in this type of research are often closed-ended, offering a set of predefined responses for the participants to choose from. For instance, you might ask your customers to rate on a scale of 1-5 how likely they are to buy your new eco-friendly shoes or to select from a list of options their primary reason for purchasing such shoes.

The essence of quantitative research is the ability to quantify consumer behavior and attitudes. Rather than focusing on individual narratives, it provides a statistical representation of a large group’s feelings or behaviors. For instance, it might tell you that 65% of your target market is willing to pay a premium for eco-friendly footwear.

Quantitative research, like its qualitative counterpart, has a unique set of pros and cons, which can significantly impact your research results and, consequently, your business decisions. 

Pros of Quantitative Research

Quantitative research provides a measurable, objective lens to view your market. Here are some of the key advantages it offers:

Generalizability: With its focus on large sample sizes, quantitative research enables you to gather data statistically representative of your target population. For instance, if your survey reveals that a significant percentage of respondents are willing to pay more for eco-friendly shoes, you can confidently infer this trend extends to your broader target market.

Measurable and Objective: Quantitative data can be precisely measured and easily analyzed using statistical methods. The responses you gather can be quantified, compared, and tracked over time, offering you valuable insights. For example, you can measure changes in consumer attitudes toward eco-friendly products over several years.

Efficiency: Given that quantitative research often employs online or paper surveys, you can collect data from a large number of respondents simultaneously. This method can be cost-effective and time-efficient, especially when compared to conducting numerous in-depth interviews or focus groups.

Cons of Quantitative Research

Despite the significant advantages of quantitative research, it’s essential to be mindful of its limitations to ensure a balanced approach to your market research.

Lack of Depth: While quantitative research excels in measuring and quantifying consumer behaviors and attitudes, it often doesn’t capture the nuances and underlying reasons for those behaviors. For example, although you might know from a survey that a substantial percentage of your target market prefers eco-friendly shoes, you won’t necessarily understand the specific motivations, emotions, or experiences behind this preference.

Limited Context: Quantitative research provides statistical data but often lacks the rich, detailed context of qualitative research. It tells you “what” the trends are but often falls short of explaining “why” those trends exist. For instance, your survey might reveal that younger customers are more likely to buy eco-friendly shoes, but without further qualitative investigation, the reasons for this demographic preference may remain unclear.

Potential for Survey Bias: The design of your quantitative surveys can significantly influence the accuracy of your results. Poorly constructed questions, leading prompts, or a lack of diverse response options can introduce bias, resulting in skewed data. For example, if your survey questions are biased towards positive responses about eco-friendly products, you may end up with an inflated perception of your target market’s interest in such products.

By recognizing these limitations, you can take steps to mitigate them, such as supplementing your quantitative data with qualitative insights or ensuring your survey design is as unbiased and inclusive as possible. 

Choosing the Right Approach

At this point, you might wonder: Should I dive deep with qualitative research or cast a wide net with quantitative research? The truth is, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. The most effective approach depends on several factors, including your research objectives, the representativeness and size of your sample, and the resources available to you.

Research Objectives: Your first consideration should be the purpose of your research. If you are at an exploratory stage, wanting to understand your target audience’s nuanced perspectives and motivations, qualitative research could be your best bet. On the other hand, quantitative research might be the way to go if you’re looking to test a hypothesis, measure the impact of a previous campaign, or collect data on a large scale.

Sample Size and Representativeness: If generalizability is a priority, and you want your research findings to represent your entire target market, then quantitative research, with its larger sample sizes, is generally more suitable. However, if your focus is on a smaller, more targeted group, qualitative research can offer the in-depth insights you need.

Time and Resource Constraints: Budget, time, and human resources are practical considerations that can impact your research choice. If you’re working within a tight budget or timeframe or have limited access to skilled qualitative researchers, a quantitative approach may be more efficient. Conversely, if you have the resources to conduct thorough interviews, focus groups, or ethnographic studies, qualitative research can yield rich, nuanced data.

Complementary Research: Remember that qualitative and quantitative research aren’t mutually exclusive. They can be effectively combined to offer a comprehensive view of your market. For instance, you could start with a qualitative study to explore consumer attitudes and behaviors and then design a quantitative survey based on those insights to gather data from a larger sample size. Alternatively, you might supplement quantitative data with qualitative research to add depth and context to your findings.

The right research methodology can make a significant difference in your understanding of your market and, consequently, the success of your marketing efforts. By carefully considering the above factors, you can select the most effective approach for your specific needs.

Navigating the world of market research and making these decisions can seem daunting. That’s where expert help can make a real difference. Consider partnering with a seasoned market research agency like Kadence International. With a wealth of experience across various industries and markets, we at Kadence can guide you in selecting the best research methodology tailored to your unique needs, ensuring you gain the insights needed to propel your business forward.

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Introduction to Qualitative Consumer and Marketing Research

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Consumer and marketing research has long been a central focus in academic development and market practices due to the need to understand changing consumption behavior and marketing strategies.

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Nuttavuthisit, K. (2019). Introduction to Qualitative Consumer and Marketing Research. In: Qualitative Consumer and Marketing Research. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6142-5_1

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Marketing Research Methods: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches

About this ebook, about the author.

Mercedes Esteban-Bravo is a Professor of Marketing and Market Research at the Department of Business Administration and Director of Master's degree in Marketing at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. She is a quantitative researcher connecting operations research/management science and marketing. Her research has been published in academic journals such as Marketing Science, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Marketing Letters, Journal of Advertising, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, European Journal of Operational Research, Journal of the Operational Research Society, and Statistics and Computing, among others. She is a life member of Clare Hall, University of Cambridge.

Jose M. Vidal-Sanz is a Professor of Marketing and Market Research at the Department of Business Administration of Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. His research has dealt with analytical research methods and their applications to marketing and business economics. He has published in journals such as Marketing Science, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Marketing Letters, Journal of Advertising, Technological Forecasting and Social Change Annals of the Institute of Statistical Mathematics, Bernoulli, European Journal of Operational Research, Statistics and Computing, among others. He is a life member of Clare Hall College, University of Cambridge.

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A comprehensive guide to qualitative market research

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Grow your business

Understand the needs of your customers

Launch a new product

Expand into new markets

Meet any lofty goals you set for your business

The two research methods you can use to glean these insights are quantitative and qualitative. 

Quantitative research provides you with hard data you can use to find the size and scale of customer sentiment, discover causal relationships between variables, and support generalizations about macro-level populations.

Qualitative market research is an open-ended research method that looks at the reasons and motivations behind customer behavior, at the micro level. Qualitative market research gives you actionable insights you can use to improve everything from your customer service strategies to your products and services.

Market analysis template

Save time, highlight crucial insights, and drive strategic decision-making

• What is qualitative market research?

Qualitative market research is an open-ended research method that studies people's behavior and motivations within a specific market. While quantitative research is about hard numbers and analytics, qualitative market research takes a more generalized approach. It focuses on small sample sizes to encourage in-depth analysis of individual customers’ experiences.

The conversational nature of qualitative research is designed to encourage in-depth discussion. For businesses, qualitative market research is a powerful way to understand customers' points of view, as well as their pain points and desires.

• Why is it important to do qualitative market research?

Whether you are a CEO or a project manager, the thoughts and feelings of your customers should matter deeply to you. Through qualitative market research, you can identify the needs of your customers in a more nuanced, in-depth way than is possible with quantitative research. 

Depending on the questions you pose, you can also get a feel for how customers perceive your marketing messages and communications, as well as more broad perceptions of your company as a whole.

If you're planning on launching a new product or service, qualitative market research can help you refine the launch and even make improvements. By using the feedback and insights from your research to make changes leading up to the launch, you are more likely to increase your revenue and receive glowing reviews.

• Advantages of qualitative market research

There are many advantages to qualitative market research. It's flexible, so you can adapt to the quality of information you receive. For example, if the available information isn't providing what you hoped, it's easy to change direction and collect more data using new questions.

Qualitative market research also helps you gather more detailed information than most quantitative data. While quantitative market research gives you metrics, qualitative market research allows you to better understand the subtleties within the data.

Long-term, qualitative market research can reduce customer churn. By conducting regular qualitative market research, businesses can better understand what consumers want (and what they don’t) and learn whether they are fulfilling their needs. This reduces customer churn and helps build a stronger relationship between a business and the people it serves.

• Disadvantages of qualitative market research

The most notable disadvantage of market research is that it’s time-consuming. Depending on the scope of the research and the amount of people dedicated to the project, it can take weeks or even months to complete. If you're working on a tight timeline, or if you have limited resources to dedicate to research, it might not be feasible.

Qualitative market research can also be expensive. While much of the cost will depend on the size and scope of the project, you might also need to hire additional people to help you complete the research.

If you compensate participants for their time (and experts advise some sort of compensation), that's another expense to consider.

Finally, qualitative market research is highly subjective, as the conclusions are drawn by individual researchers and their interpretation and analysis.

• Eight qualitative market research methods

The most common methods for qualitative market research include focus groups, individual interviews, and observations. However, many other methods should be considered as viable options for your market research.

Social media analysis

Social media has become an important part of many people's lives, with millions of people around the world interacting with their favorite platforms on a daily, even hourly, basis. Social media analysis can, therefore, be a powerful way to gather and analyze information.

If your brand is active on social media, take the opportunity to solicit responses from customers who follow you. This can be via a survey feedback form or some sort of direct response from customers.

You can also perform content analysis on social media, scanning comments left by consumers on your posts and checking for frequently used words.

For the most in-depth responses, consider gathering insights directly from the people who follow your pages and regularly interact with you.

Lifestyle immersion

If customer comfort is one of your top priorities as you conduct market research, lifestyle immersion might be the best option.

Lifestyle immersion is a research method that allows the researcher to observe the customer in their natural environment. By observing the participant in a natural setting, you can see their unguarded behavior and learn more about their needs and motives.

Focus groups

Focus groups are a popular method for conducting qualitative market research. Focus groups are typically comprised of 6–10 people, along with a market researcher who functions as a moderator.

During the focus group, participants are encouraged to share their unguarded thoughts and opinions on a product, service, or marketing campaign.

Traditionally, focus groups were held in person, since verbal and non-verbal reactions are an important part of measuring responses. However, web-based focus groups have been gaining popularity in recent years, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Online focus groups tend to be more cost-effective and convenient for most participants.

Observations

Observations, also known as shop-alongs, involve researchers following participants as they walk through a store. The goal of observations in qualitative market research is to gauge customers’ interactions and reactions to things they encounter, including products, displays, and advertising.

Observations don't require the market researcher to physically accompany participants. Typically, the researcher will observe from a distance or watch a camera feed.

Individual interviews

Individual interviews are a highly personalized method of conducting market research. These interviews are in person, over the phone, or through video-conferencing software.

They tend to be most successful when held as part of a free-flowing conversation that puts the participant at ease and makes them feel comfortable sharing their unfiltered thoughts and opinions. The interviews can be structured or unstructured, depending on the nature of the questions and your overall goals for the project.

Include plenty of open-ended questions in your interview outline to keep the conversation moving. Pay attention throughout the interview to see how the participant responds to the questions and if they seem uncomfortable or ill at ease. If they do, switch gears to make the conversation more relaxed again.

Diary or journal-logging

A diary study, also known as journal-logging, is a research method that aims to collect data about user behaviors, activities, and experiences over a set period.

During the designated reporting period, participants are asked to keep a diary and record specific information about the activities you want to analyze. The data is self-reported by participants when the reporting period is up.

Diary studies can be useful for gathering information about users’ habits and thought patterns. They can also effectively capture attitudes and motivations. However, it can be challenging to recruit dedicated users, since diary studies require greater involvement over a longer period than more traditional market research methods.

Surveys are a popular method of conducting market research. A powerful form of primary research, surveys are endlessly customizable. They can be done:

Over the phone

Via email or other online delivery method

If you opt for an online survey, test the software ahead of time, so you can be sure everything works properly and displays well on mobile devices.

It's also a good idea to run a test survey with a smaller group. This allows you to refine your questions and eliminate any confusing wording.

Ethnographic research

Ethnographic research involves observing participants in their natural environment, primarily how they go about mundane tasks such as cleaning their house or preparing a meal. Unlike observations, ethnography can involve a variety of approaches, including diary studies and video recordings.

The goal of ethnographic research is to understand the social dynamics, beliefs, and behaviors of participants through direct observation and participation in their daily activities. Ethnographic research can take place over an extended period, from a few weeks to a year or more. It's versatile and is best done with the assistance of an experienced ethnographic researcher.

• An example of qualitative market research

One of the main benefits of qualitative market research is its flexibility. No matter what your goal is or what outcome you're hoping for, you can design an effective study.

One example of qualitative market research using a focus group is a cereal company wishing to update the packaging of one of its most popular products. After producing several design concepts, the company opts to commission a series of focus groups to gauge responses to each concept.

During the focus groups, with the help of a moderator, participants discuss each design, evaluating the pros and cons. Based on the feedback received in the focus groups, the cereal company can move forward with the design most appealing to their customers.

• Best practices for qualitative market research

While qualitative research is flexible, there are still best practices to follow. Regardless of which research method you choose, consider these tips when crafting your approach and designing the questions.

Accurately identify research goals

Before embarking on any market research, you should know your end goal. Think about the specific questions you want answered, including the nature of the product or service you wish to refine or develop. Outline your goals and share them with every project stakeholder, including managers and the CEO, if necessary.

Understand your customers

Knowing your customers is vital for accurately targeting survey participants. Your business should have a customer profile that includes basic demographics such as:

Shopping habits

Use this profile to create questions that are useful for your study. When crafted thoughtfully, your questions will identify needs that aren't being met and meet study participants where they are.

Choose the most appropriate research method

There are many ways to conduct qualitative market research, but not all of them might be right for your unique needs. Think about what method will give you the optimal results and work best for the study participants you wish to recruit.

Focus groups are an ever-popular research method, but it isn't always possible to dedicate time and energy to moderating one. A survey or series of observations might be more effective, depending on your available resources and goals.

Use open-ended questions

The goal of qualitative market research is to gain thoughtful responses from participants. Use open-ended questions that require more than a simple yes or no response. The idea is to maintain an open dialogue, even through vehicles such as surveys or focus groups.

Test out questions on yourself and your team members before launching them to participants, so you can be sure they make sense and give people the chance to truly share their thoughts.

• Tips for qualitative data analysis

Qualitative data analysis is rarely a linear process. Since qualitative market research often doesn't result in hard numbers, be flexible in your approach to analysis.

After you finish your research, organize and collate your responses into one location for further analysis. If you have audio or video files, allocate time to transcribe the data, whether that means bringing in a transcriptionist or guiding your team members through the process.

As you go through the responses, become familiar with the data. This will help you better understand your customers and identify any potential gaps in the research. Always involve other stakeholders in the process, not only along the way but also once the final results have been collated. This promotes transparency in the project and improves communication across the board.

Are customer surveys qualitative?

Customer surveys are one method of market research. They can be made qualitative or quantitative, depending on the nature of the questions. They are one of the most popular forms of qualitative market research because they are versatile and highly customizable. Surveys can be done in person or through web software, such as email.

What are qualitative marketing objectives examples?

While quantitative objectives are usually specific and measurable, qualitative marketing objectives are more subjective. They tend to be conceptually broad, such as "we want to learn more about how our customers rank our service compared to our competitors,” "we want to increase brand awareness," and "we want to improve customer satisfaction." It can be helpful to have qualitative and quantitative objectives for your market research, depending on the nature of the project and whether it's related to a specific product or service.

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Qualitative and Quantitative Marketing Research Methods

Some researchers take a hard approach to data, either falling squarely on the side of the numbers (quantitative data) or on the other side, one of focus groups and individual consumer feedback (qualitative data).

But the richest insights come from a paired approach to research, one that seeks both statistically significant findings to define our product’s place in the market as well as a deep understanding of how our product fits into a single consumer’s life.

Why do you need either of these types of research? Learning about your customers means that you can more efficiently answer their needs. A crystal-clear picture of who your consumer is and why they need your product allows you to not only refine your product but ideate even better solutions to your consumers’ problems.

Quantitative Methods

What Is Quantitative Research?

The most common quantitative research methods are customer surveys and questionnaires. If you have questions that drill down into specifics about your company, your market, or your target customer population, you’re looking for quantitative research. It answers questions like who, when, where, how many, how frequently? These are not general, exploratory questions; they’re questions looking for transactional, numerical data.

Why Do You Need Quantitative Research?

It will tell you:

• Whether customers are looking for or need a product like yours
• Who your target population should be and what convinces them to buy
• What, if anything, your target population knows about your market or your product
• If your target market’s attitude or perception is changing, which can give insights into how you should respond

How Do You Conduct Quantitative Research?

While the big two methods of gathering data are surveys and questionnaires, there are plenty of ways to conduct these methods.

When you only need a few questions answered and can’t justify the cost of rolling out a full-scale survey, an omnibus is a good solution. This style groups questions from multiple businesses into one survey so that the time and effort spent recruiting and compensating participants can be spread across several companies who have only a few questions.

Email or Snail Mail Surveys

Digital or printed surveys are the most common for a reason: They are extremely cost-effective because they are automated. Results roll in without needing a person to make a phone call or interact with every individual respondent. These are most effective when the questions are straightforward, like choosing A vs. B. They’re not so effective in nuanced preference questions, like describing how A vs B makes a participant feel.

Telephone Surveys

The human interaction of phone surveys can make a participant feel more engaged than a digital or printed survey, leading them to give more considered answers – this creates better data. Telephone surveys also allow the researcher to understand a participant’s answer more clearly based on their voice and tone. The statistical reliability of a survey over an interview also remains intact because the questions are consistent across participants. Telephone surveys are best:

• If the survey questions end with a “Why?” or “Can you explain?”
• If the survey questions are longer or slightly complicated and require better participant concentration than normal
• If you are pilot (or metric) testing your online survey questions before they are deployed widely online. “Why?” and “Can you explain?” phone questions can capture the most common answers, which can then be listed as checkbox options A, B, C, and D in the widely distributed online survey. This will discourage write-in answers, making your data easier to analyze.

Face-To-Face Surveys

A criticism of surveys, in general, is that they don’t allow for conversation or elaboration. While this is a benefit in keeping data consistent, it also leaves findings on the table that a researcher could have used to better understand the participant’s feedback. In face-to-face surveys, a researcher still can’t go off script, but they can make note of a scrunched nose when a product is mentioned or a disengaged stance. Face-to-face surveys are best when the survey questions delve into emotions. An example might be survey questions for emotionally charged products or campaigns , like Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty. “How does marketing around women’s beauty products today make you feel?”

It’s easy for face-to-face surveys to become interviews, but keep in mind the difference is that surveys do not go off script. The survey researcher must stick to the order of the questions and the exact wording to keep statistical reliability, and in an interview, the researcher has control over the order, pacing, and structure of all questions.

Analyzing quantitative results is easier now with survey tools like SurveyMonkey, SurveyGizmo, and Qualtrics. But those tools won’t be able to remove outliers or include questions that will weed out people who didn’t understand the question and people who rushed through without reading. Those tools still require human manipulation to produce clean, statistically reliable data. This data can be analyzed through various different lenses, including segmentation and personas, to better understand the population who answered the survey and predict their behavior.

Quantitative findings can lead to the following findings and deliverables:

• Market segmentation
• Pricing projections
• Net promoter scores
• Customer satisfaction ratings
• Recommendations about a product launch, pricing, messaging
• Changes in sales efforts to increase customer satisfaction and target market segments

Qualitative Methods

What Is Qualitative Research?

Qualitative research is interested in finding the opinions, beliefs, and values of a target population. The most common forms of qualitative research are focus groups and interviews. While not usually statistically significant, qualitative research is valuable in putting a face to a number and answering questions like, “How?” “Why?” and “Would?” This style of research humanizes your consumer base, allowing more accurate predictions of customer behavior. Qualitative research can also identify problems and opportunities that a survey or questionnaire never would have identified. In qualitative research, we pose probing questions that aim to understand consumers as people. A few drawbacks of qualitative research are (A) results are always open to concern about researcher subjectivity, as results are not numerical and are based on conversations and (B) qualitative research can be time-consuming and expensive.

Why Do You Need Qualitative Research?

It will help you:

• Make human-centered decisions across the entire business, not just in the marketing department, leading to a better customer experience overall
• Understand context around quantitative data – like why bounce rates are so high off of one page on your site
• Predict how your product or service would fit in and impact the consumer’s life
• Understand the emotions your target population feels in relation to your product or market
• How do you conduct qualitative research?

Focus Groups

In focus groups, 6-10 people with something in common (like looking to buy a luxury car or having a baby) have a discussion moderated by a researcher. This style is best for exploring “what if”s, researching new concepts, and testing new product ideas. It helps let participants bounce ideas off of each other, spurring memories but also giving individuals time to think while others are talking. There’s less pressure on each participant to answer spontaneously, as in an interview. The drawback is that it’s very easy for a focus group to become derailed by one or two overpowering or disengaged participants.

Customer & Prospect Interviews

Interviews can come in many forms, but the base form is a one-on-one conversation. An interview is meant to find underlying beliefs from a key, representative consumer about some facet of your product or service. A skilled interviewer can recognize when a topic is unproductive versus when a tangent is worthwhile to understand the participant’s perspective.

Contextual Inquiry

In a contextual inquiry, a researcher trails the participant in the participant’s normal activities. Contextual inquiries happen “in the wild.” For example, a lunchbox company might observe a customer all day, from packing lunch in the morning to bringing home the empty box at night, to understand the lunchbox’s deficits, what products the participant uses in conjunction with the lunchbox (like Tupperware, silverware, etc), and ask questions.

One of the best ways to fully understand your audience and what’s important to them is through social listening. A social listening tool allows you to monitor and analyze online posts and comments based on an established keyword criterion. By doing this, a brand can analyze the demographics or their online audience, their purchase intent, what they see as the key product attributes, their feelings on your brand versus the competition, as well as category-level conversations.

An article in Harvard Business Review tells this useful story that came out of social listening “A large pharmaceutical company, for example, learned about an unsuspected customer challenge through a single photo on Flickr. The image showed a man wrapping a part of his leg in foil after applying a pain relief ointment. It turned out that the medication left untreatable stains on certain fabrics, hence the protective foil. Executives had been unaware of the problem despite years of conventional consumer research.”

Customer Experience Research

Interviews are common in customer experience research, from usability studies (analyzing how easy it is to use a product, usually a website) to customer journey research (asking a customer to describe their entire relationship with a product, from learning about it to purchase), and more. The basic idea always comes down to asking a consumer about their relationship with a company’s product or service, though.

Qualitative and Quantitative Research Working Together

Qualitative and quantitative research are not at odds; in fact, they inform and enrich one another. One doesn’t come before the other, either. Personal, individualized insights of qualitative research can help us understand the questions we should be asking of our mass market in quantitative research, but wider quantitative research can also help us understand where we need to drill down and ask more questions from just a few consumers. Actually, the best research comes from a cyclical application of both techniques, allowing us to regularly turn from a wide-lens view of our product and its value to a mass market, to a more narrowed scope, focusing on understanding the unique perspectives of just a few people who we impact.

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The qualitative market research guide: actionable methods for best results

What is qualitative market research, the ethics of qualitative market research, how to conduct qualitative market research, what are the applications of qualitative market research, overcoming the challenges of qualitative market research.

If you’re thinking about skipping qualitative market research and just going with your gut, this article is a must-read.

While some brands and products in the past have won big based on someone’s intuition, it certainly isn’t a reliable recipe for success — because many more who’ve invested based on an instinct, have failed. Hard.

That’s why we want to highlight the importance and value of qualitative market research. It’s what explains why people pick one product over another that seems just as good.

Qualitative research digs into the nuances, offering insights that can significantly impact your marketing approach and product development. Here we’ll show you exactly how you can turn it into your secret weapon.

Qualitative market research goes straight to the core of your customer’s thoughts and feelings. It’s not just about how many people clicked or bought, but why they did it, or even why they didn’t.

This kind of research lets you in on the stories behind the statistics, giving you a more in-depth understanding of your target audience’s behaviors, perceptions and motivations. And with this rich insights and data, you can tailor your products and marketing strategies to truly resonate with your audience.

Here’s a quick rundown of the types of market research out there:

• Quantitative research: Deals with numbers and measurable forms.
• Qualitative research: Focuses on understanding the quality of consumer interactions and thoughts.
• Mixed methods: Combines both quantitative and qualitative research.

It’s good to know qualitative and quantitative research make a great pair – it helps you give context to numbers, and vice versa. And it’s good to know when you could run qualitative research:

• Before your quantitative research ? If you’re grasping for ideas and inspiration, qualitative market research can be a great source. Your respondents will often flag issues or make suggestions that you and your team might never have thought of. And for extra peace of mind, you can follow-up your qualitative research with quantitative studies to make sure that inspo is truly representative.
• After your quantitative research ? Often teams will have run quantitative studies and spotted threads they’d like to pull at and see whether there’s more to learn. This is where qualitative market research comes in – it can add flavor and context to your quant data. And it can be a great way to personalize your data for internal or client signoff.

Of course, there are different ways of gathering qualitative data. So when we talk qualitative research, these are the main methods you’ll come across:

• Ethnographic research: observing your customers in their natural environment, seeing how they live, work, and play.
• Narrative research: collecting stories from individuals to better understand their experiences.
• Phenomenological research: used to understand common experiences among a group of people, researching shared perceptions.
• Grounded theory: developing a theory based on the data you collect, starting with the data and working towards a theory.
• Action research: a collaborative approach, working with groups to identify solutions to problems and implement changes.

Each of these approaches gives you unique insights into the minds and lives of your customers, helping you make more informed decisions that can drive your brand forward.

If you want to know more about the ins and outs of different research types, check out our blog about the difference between quantitative vs qualitative research , and here’s a quick video summary to get you started…

While it’s not exactly mind reading, qualitative market research does touch more on personal thoughts and opinions than, for instance, quantitative research does. That means it requires trust – and that’s where ethics come into play. Here’s what keeping it ethical looks like:

• Participant confidentiality : Keeping the identities of your participants under wraps is a non-negotiable. 
• Informed consent : Participants need to know what they’re getting into, how their insights will be used, and how they can change their involvement.
• Sensitive information : Any data that could be considered sensitive deserves extra protection and consideration.

Data isn’t high quality when it isn’t ethical, and vice versa. If your respondents don’t feel that their answers will be handled with care, they might not answer honestly – if at all.

At Attest, we’re all about making sure your insights are built on a solid foundation of excellent data quality, trust and transparency – for both you and your respondents. 

Because what’s the point of qualitative research if you can’t trust the results? Check out how we assure data quality that you can rely on.

The research you do should be the foundation of the actions that follow — don’t just conduct research for the sake of it. Choosing the right qualitative research methods and tools is crucial, but there’s more to it.

By following the steps below, you’ll not only gather rich, qualitative data but also pave the way for meaningful changes in your product development, marketing strategy, and overall brand experience. 

1. Create a research plan

When you conduct qualitative research, or any kind really, the steps you take should be based on your research objectives, and related to the actual changes you might be making. This is what makes market research crucial for marketing experts : it shows you which actions to take, instead of just doing creative guesswork. 

First, decide on your qualitative research methods—will you go for surveys, focus groups, or a mix? Define clear objectives. What do you want to learn? Keep in mind how to balance your research approach: you can opt for direct exploration for fresh insights, monadic testing for focused feedback, sequential monadic testing for comparative insights, or discrete choice testing to understand preferences. Each method has its place, and combining them strategically can offer a fuller picture of your market.

Next up, consider your sampling methods. Who are your ideal participants? Where can you find them? (Hint: we help you with this!)

Once you know what to ask and who you’ll be speaking to, it’s time to start crafting your survey — and using our templates makes that even easier. Take your pick and start tweaking. 

The final step of your research plan, is choosing which qualitative market research tool to choose for. The steps below give you some guidance on what to look for.

2. Recruit the right participants

The power of qualitative research lies not in the most fancy tools, but in the quality of your participants. 

You’re looking for individuals who reflect your target audience or represent a new market you’re exploring. The key is to ensure diversity and relevance to get a comprehensive understanding of consumer behavior and opinions. Read more about how we help you get in touch with the right people — picking from an audience of 125 million people in 59 markets spread across the globe.

3. Conduct interviews, surveys or focus group research

Jumping into your audience’s world, interviews, surveys, and focus groups are essential tools in your research kit. But how do these qualitative market research methods add value?

• One-on-one interviews offer a closer look into what your consumers are thinking and feeling, providing valuable insights into their personal experiences and expectations. This intimate format fosters detailed conversations that can uncover deep-seated motivations and stories.
• Surveys allow for a broad reach, enabling you to connect with a wide audience very quickly to collect various data points. This method is great for identifying trends, preferences and behaviors on a larger scale.
• Focus groups, on the other hand, bring a unique dynamic. In these sessions, participants’ interactions can generate new insights and perspectives, offering a diverse view of your product or service. This collaborative environment encourages research participants to build on each other’s ideas, revealing insights that might not emerge in individual settings.

Remember: you don’t have to limit yourself to only one option – but pick a mix that works best for your research goals, and your audience. Their participation is key here.

4. Conduct observational research (optional)

Now this is optional, but if you want an extra layer to your research process, observational research is a great supplement to your qualitative study.

Instead of just hearing what your target audience is thinking, you are going to see how it affects their actions, by tracking how they interact with your products, navigate your stores or use your website.

Watching from a distance, you might discover that consumers use your product in ways you hadn’t imagined. It might also clarify some statements you heard or uncovered during the survey or interview phase – observational research can unearth gems of insights that are invisible in one-on-one conversations or online focus groups.

Of course, this approach requires patience and a non-intrusive stance. You don’t want to influence people, and it’s not easy to do it at a large scale – but in some scenarios adding an extra research method like this certainly gives extra depth to your findings. 

5. Analyze your research data

With data in hand, it’s time to sift through the stories and sentiments to find patterns and themes. Qualitative data analysis can be complex, but it’s where you begin to understand the ‘why’ behind the behaviors that drive your customers’ choices. 

Don’t just use qualitative insights to confirm your hopes and beliefs. Actively look for commonalities, differences, and surprising insights that can guide your strategy.

6. Report and communicate findings to key stakeholders

This is the springboard to action. If you can package your findings in a way that resonates with your team, management, or clients, you’re one step closer to meaningful and impactful changes. 

Clear, compelling reporting translates your research into actionable insights – and our tool helps you get them. 

Share stories, highlight key themes, and suggest next steps. Make your qualitative research findings a cornerstone for your decision-making and strategy development.

Get the full picture with qualitative research from Attest

Whether you’re looking for inspo, or backing up your quant research with qual context, you can run your research studies side-by-side with Attest

You can use qualitative market research for practically every aspect of your business. But let’s highlight some of the most popular applications first:

• Product development: Before your product hits the shelves or the digital marketplace, qualitative research helps you tune into what your customers really need and want. Insights gained can directly inform product features, design and enhancements to meet consumer needs effectively.
• Creating data-driven marketing strategies: Armed with qualitative insights, you can craft marketing campaigns that resonate deeply with your audience. Tailored messaging and campaigns can address specific consumer pain points, preferences and values, increasing engagement and conversion rates.
• Understanding customer perceptions: Ever wonder how your brand is viewed through the eyes of your consumers? If you haven’t, you should. It’s not something to be scared of, it’s something to learn from – through, you guessed it, qualitative research. It will uncover the perceptions, misconceptions, and the emotional ties customers have with your brand, and be a trusted guide on how to position yourself in the market.
• Consumer segmentation: Two customers might seem alike, but not shop alike. That’s because there are underlying differences. By identifying distinct consumer segments within your broader audience, qualitative research allows for more targeted and personalized marketing efforts. Understanding the varied needs and motivations of each segment leads to more effective and efficient marketing strategies.

Beyond the usual suspects, qualitative market research has some lesser-known yet incredibly valuable applications. 

• Examining the impact of customer service language tweaks on overall customer satisfaction and loyalty.
• Exploring consumer reactions to different packaging materials to align brand perception with sustainability goals.
• Refining the user experience on your website based on nuanced user feedback about navigation and content.

The possible applications of qualitative market research are limitless – and brands who experiment with really specific, seemingly small applications, often find suggestions for meaningful changes that drive big results. Just check out our customers’ stories for some inspiration.

We won’t tell you that qualitative market research is something you can do on autopilot or with your eyes closed – doing it right is challenging in some ways. But not in ways you can overcome. 

Let’s walk through some common obstacles and how to vault over them, and how using Attest can turn these challenges into opportunities for richer insights.

• What to do : Use targeted recruitment to ensure your sample closely mirrors your target market. Attest helps you find and engage with the right participants, making even small sample sizes filled with insights.
• What to do : Streamline the process with efficient planning and execution. Attest offers streamlined survey design and distribution tools that cut down on both time and cost, making in-depth qualitative research more accessible. And with your designated research manager to guide you , you know your studies will be well designed and give you reliable results.
• What to do 2 : Bear in mind that good qualitative market research, with a clear purpose and action plan, will lead to better business results. It could affect your bottom line, increase sales or impact your ROI in other ways. It’s not investing in qualitative research that could cost you way more money.
• What to do : It starts with awareness, and implementing protocols that avoid bias. Attest’s platform is designed to ensure unbiased data collection, with features that support anonymity and objectivity in responses. And this is also where you Customer Research Manager can steer you towards honest, unbiased research.
• What to do : Make the most of technology to conduct efficient and effective research within your means. Better yet, choose Attest. You’ll get access to your very own dedicated research expert that will help you get the most value out of your research.

Get the best of quantitative and qualitative research with Attest

To ensure your market research truly hits the mark, blending the depth of qualitative insights with the breadth of quantitative data is key. For the clearest picture of your market landscape and the most informed decisions, a platform that offers both qualitative and quantitative insights is your best bet. Attest provides this comprehensive approach, equipping you with the tools to not just navigate but thrive in your market. Ready to see the full picture?

Discover how Attest can elevate your research game and support your brand’s growth with expert-backed insights.

Customer Research Manager 

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