Qualitative Market Research Versus Quantitative Market Research

Qualitative Market Research

Market research is an important aspect in business. And for marketers, researches are not only used for the purpose of knowing, it is also a very important and crucial component needed to make good logical business decisions. Research is also considered as a first step in undertaking many key marketing tasks that may involve a marketing plan, product development, need analysis, hazard and risk assessment, branding, and even pricing. We can think of the marketing field as an unfamiliar field and research as a map. Market research give marketers a clear idea of what is going on or what might come up. If the research is thoroughly executed, it can result into wise business moves that may convert to financial gains or product improvement. This is the exact reason why market research is very essential to businesses.

Researching in general provides data and information that can be beneficial for the company. And there are two type of research that can be incorporated to market research: quantitative and qualitative market research. To identify which marker research direction to go, let us differentiate and identify the function of the two.

Quantitative Market Research –

Samples used in a Quantitative Market Research are usually a large number of cases representing the population of interest and the respondents are randomly selected. Sometimes it also focuses on a certain demographic to obtain a more concrete and specific information. The data collection method are structured techniques such as online questionnaires, on-street or telephone interviews. It also involves statistical data analysis and is usually in forms of tabulation. The findings are conclusive and descriptive in nature. Quantitative market research is often followed by qualitative market research to boost and help recommend a course of action.

When to use a quantitative market research?

- When you want to quantify and make a generalization of interest from a sample population.
- When you want to measure the frequency of incidents of various views and opinion in a chosen sample.

Qualitative Market Research –

Compared to quantitative market research, qualitative samples are a lot smaller in number of non-representative cases and respondents are selected to fulfill a given quota. Data collection doesn’t follow a certain structure as it can be an in-depth interview or discussion of theories. Data analysis isn’t statistical although most of the time it makes use of a quantitative research results to come up with a thorough research findings and back up its claims. Findings are also not conclusive and cannot be used to make generalizations about the population of interest. A qualitative market research aims to develop an initial understanding and sound base for further decision making.

When to use a qualitative market research?

- When you want to gain an understanding of underlying reasons and motivations on a certain area.
- When you want to provide insight about a problem, and generate ideas and/or hypotheses for later quantitative research.
- When you want to uncover prevalent trends in thought and opinion.

Market research do not just end with coming up with an outcome or interpretation. What really is important than knowing which direction to go, is how these researches can be beneficial in making it big in the market.

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