Which ones to choose between qualitative and quantitative market research?
There are so many decisions to be made when planning a market survey, and one of them is definitely the choice between quantitative and qualitativemarket research.
Two profoundly different approaches, and market research agencies must study, on a case-by-case basis, which one to use.
Or maybe not.
We anticipate that our method consists mainly of conducting integrated market research, and in the next few lines you will find out exactly what it is.
But let us proceed in order and first see what is the difference between quantitative and qualitative procedures and then analyze the integrated approach.
What is quantitative market research?
Quantitative market research involves collecting a large amount of data in order to produce reliable reports. These reports are intended to guide companies in making key marketing and business decisions.
How does this research take place?
The most classic procedures involve surveys, interviews and questionnaires, online and offline. We at CMI deviate from these procedures because they have a high fallibility rate.
The main reason lies in the fact that the questions are asked of the respondents directly.
This method can produce reports influenced by numerous elements (e.g., the questions themselves) that are unreliable and can lead companies to make incorrect decisions.
The most reliable and current quantitative market surveys involve the web listening , web listening, or the analysis of a large amount of public data online.
These data are the result of both the (spontaneous) thoughts and opinions belonging to the people connected to a target market and the strategies adopted by the companies belonging to that market… Simply put, the opinions of the target customers and the strategies of the competitors of the company for which a’market analysis.
Only with the interception of Big data online, which is done through the use of complex software, can we guarantee a fairly large number of “respondents” or, rather, spied upon and a very high reliability of information.
Of course, data acquisition is only one piece of the quantitative market survey puzzle, thus one of the stages of market research.
Amarket research agency must then organize this data, analyze it, and communicate it to those who commissioned the survey (executives, entrepreneurs…), who must have a “data-driven” mindest.
For us, communication must not be understood as merely the presentation of a report.
Our team communicates to client companies what that data means and provides important advice on strategies to find a solution to marketing problems.
Read also: Online market research VS surveys and interviews: we have a winner!
Qualitative market research: what is it and how does it differ from quantitative?
Qualitative market research is based on understanding the motivations and emotions of companies’ target customers.
If quantitative research is primarily based on the acquisition of information (investigates the “what”), qualitative research investigates the “why.”
This approach can be very useful in getting very specific answers, such as why customers like a particular product, why they choose a particular communication channel and do not use many other channels etc.
Qualitative research is based on the feeling that leads a person to make a specific decision, engage in a behavior or develop a specific thought.
There are several ways to set up such research. The most classic ones are focus groups and in-depth interviews… But we at Central Marketing Intelligence always choose the method that allows us to obtain objective and pristine information.
Again, this is about web listening. The difference with quantitative research lies in the questions asked of the software: thus, we can make a distinction between qualitative and quantitative questions.
Examples of quantitative and qualitative questions for a market survey
Online market research allows us to obtain a great deal of information and to analyze why (the quality) of the data we obtain. The trick is to ask software the right questions.
For example, here are what quantitative questions we can ask web listening tools to find the right answers for different market research:
- How big is the target market? Will it expand or shrink in the future?
- What are the future market trends?
- What are your and your competitors’ favorite products from your target customers?
- What do your customers think about your brand?
- What position does your brand have in the target market?
- Where does your brand stand in relation to competitors?
- What Queries do your competitors focus on to intercept customers?
Let us now look at the same questions posed qualitatively:
- Why, in the future, will the target market shrink/expand?
- How come future market trends will be as identified?
- Why do your target customers like certain products from your company and competing companies? What to do to improve and which products to focus more on?
- How come your target customers have a certain opinion of your brand? Can this opinion be improved?
- Why do you have a certain position in your target market and why do competitors have a higher/lower position than yours?
- Why do competitors focus on certain Queries to intercept online customers?
Of course, these are just examples-every market research has its own specific questions based on the goals of the company in question!
Read also: Market intelligence: here are 3 you should already know now
Quantitative or qualitative market research? It would be better to choose both!
Our suggestion is to prefer integrated market research, thus both quantitative and qualitative.
Integrated market surveys are the most comprehensive and irrefutable of all.
In fact, they analyze information from different perspectives, and this information can be combined and compared with each other to obtain even more precise data (and thus provide companies with extremely accurate answers).
The purpose of market research is to provide companies with answers related to marketing and business problems. The more complete the answers, the more correct and judicious the companies’ decisions.
Know that the most beneficial insights into a company’s performance start with extremely precise data, thus both quantitative and qualitative.
Therefore, rather than choosing between qualitative and quantitative research, it is better to focus on integrated research.
Do you need market research that can really be used to benefit your business?
Contact us now to get more information about our method and learn what we can do for your business through integrated online market research!
