RESEARCH
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Quantitative and qualitative research plays a critical role in brand and strategy building. Quantitative research is used to collect and analyze numerical data. This type of research provides information by measuring market size, consumer behavior, and competitor performance. For example, understanding the general trends of a market, identifying target audience profiles, and evaluating potential competitive advantages may be the focus of quantitative research.
On the other hand, qualitative research provides a more in-depth understanding. This type of research is used to understand consumers’ emotional reactions, perceptions, and attitudes. Qualitative research is usually conducted through focus groups, interviews, or observation methods. In this way, it is possible to establish a deeper connection with the brand’s target audience, understand how products or services are perceived, and evaluate the potential for establishing an emotional bond.
When these two types of research come together, businesses gain a more comprehensive perspective. While quantitative data is used to identify overall market trends and make strategic decisions, qualitative data is valuable for understanding more personal and emotional connections and strengthening brand equity. So, when used together, quantitative and qualitative research form the cornerstones of an effective branding and strategy development process.
02.01 | QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Qualitative market research is a method of market research based on open-ended questions. This research method consists of focus groups, in-depth interviews, and other innovative methods. It consists of participants with an average of 6-10 people as a sample.
The fact that this research method is carried out on limited people is very beneficial in terms of cost. The discussion is moderated by a researcher or marketer. Having more managers in the research allows the research to be managed in a more controlled manner.
Qualitative research is frequently used in political research and studies of understanding interests within the market. Two different issues are important in this type of research. The first is what participants think about a particular topic. The second is to find the answer to why they think or feel this way.
Qualitative market research is the method of choice for understanding beliefs and perspectives. It is an effective way to understand what the target audience thinks and feels about certain situations. It provides an understanding of the main factors affecting the behavior of the participants. The importance of this research for marketing is that brands do not want to heat up without knowing what people think and feel about a particular topic.
One of the following market research methods is usually used to conduct qualitative market research:
Focus Groups: On average, 10 people gather together. Generally, people who are experts in their field are included in this group. The moderator in the group leads the discussion.
In-depth Interview: It is a face-to-face interview method with the group. Data is collected through candid conversation and open-ended questions.
Innovative Research Methods: It is a research method in which the researcher can have an idea about the reactions and feelings of the participants through the photographs or videos of the participants.
Observations or “Shop-along”: It is one of the research methods that is increasingly used today. It is very important to be able to conduct remote research to understand what audiences think and how they react to a product or idea.
Lifestyle Immersion: Conducting research in a more intimate setting is the most critical feature of this type of research. Involving the participants in the research in their own homes or a joint activity increases the sincerity of the research and makes it possible to give the answers in a more comfortable environment.
Ethnography: It refers to the analysis of the end user’s encounter with the product in its most natural environment. It is a research technique to understand how target audiences behave in a store or window, how they approach the product, and how they make decisions.
Projective Techniques: It is a research method to reveal the hidden feelings and thoughts of the participants. This technique, which is made by researchers who are experts in their field, includes many methods. The aim is to explore the emotions underlying the behavior of the participants.
Online Forums: It is a technique that is frequently used today, where qualitative market research is increasing. Participants are brought to a common platform and asked to discuss certain issues. Moderators manage the form and then initiate research on the participants with the notes they take.
Online Sentence Completion and Word Association: Participants are told sentences on certain topics, but they are expected to bring the rest themselves. Likewise, it is expected to establish relationships with different words. The answers given give information on the ideas and feelings of the participants.
The necessary steps to conduct qualitative market research are:
Planning and Targeting: To carry out the research in a healthy way, some goals and objectives must be determined beforehand. It is important to ensure that this research does not detract from its original purpose.
Deciding on the Research Method: The research purpose is to choose one of the research methods on the structure of the target group or the structure of the subject to be researched.
Provision of the Right Personnel: A researcher can obtain correct results with the right moderator. The correct management of the research is the most critical point in collecting quality data.
Sampling: Researching a subject is only possible if it is done on a certain number of people. It is almost impossible to research the entire target audience. Sampling occurs when the participants to participate in the research are selected from those closest to the general population. Their ideas and feelings should be such that they are closest to those of the general audience.
Questionnaire Design: The questionnaire should be designed in such a way that the research is highly beneficial. Questions, choices, or directions should be used in the most efficient way to use the data collected by the research.
Data Collection: Data may differ according to different research techniques. Whatever technique is used, the data must be collected and recorded most accurately.
Data Analysis: Data is collected for final analysis. As a result, any research that cannot be analyzed has not achieved its purpose. The collected data is analyzed and transformed into specific insights, ideas, and conclusions.
Reporting: After the data is collected and analyzed, it should be presented to the relevant business and reported. The most critical issue here is to convey the data understandably to the research owner, regardless of its size. However, an understandable report can make the data meaningful.
4 Types of Qualitative Market Research Test Methods:
Direct Discovery: It is a method that evaluates the product or idea that needs to be researched and analyzed with unconditional feedback.
Monadic Test: The product or concept for which feedback is requested is shown individually to the participant. It provides more detailed feedback on a single product or idea.
Sequential Monadic Test: The only difference from the Monadic test is that the product or idea shown once is shown together with its alternatives. This process takes place by showing each idea or product in sequence.
Discrete Selection Test: It has similar features to the sequential monadic test, but the only difference is that the products or ideas are shown simultaneously, not sequentially. Things shown are shown once but are presented with alternatives.
Qualitative Market Research Advantages:
Instead of focusing only on the criteria of the data, detailed information is obtained. It helps with in-depth analysis. It offers flexibility for collecting data. According to the researcher’s ability, he can gather more information from the respondents with open-ended questions. With this research method, the brand and the consumer communicate directly. This allows brands to directly reflect their terminology to target audiences. With this research, the brand has the opportunity to learn exactly what its customers want. Thus, the brand-consumer relationship is formed.
Disadvantages of Qualitative Market Research:
Qualitative market research is time-consuming. This period also increases costs. For research, it is necessary to conduct the research with researchers with high skill levels. Since it is a subjective research method, a standardization of the answers cannot occur. For this reason, the collected data cannot be verified because it is based on perceptions. Every opinion is considered valid.
02.02 | QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
Quantitative market research is a method of asking questions in an organized manner on the subject to be investigated using surveys, elections, and investigations. Since the decisions made can be evaluated through numbers, it is more possible to analyze the results compared to qualitative research. According to qualitative research, larger numbers can be researched and sharper conclusions can be reached.
Today, information gathering has become more important than ever. The digital age has revealed a new marketing vision where every step of the customers is recorded. Today, brands can develop to the extent that they can analyze the behavior of customers by recording them. No matter how large the data is in terms of volume, it is possible to reach some results by researching these numbers with quantitative research techniques.
Over time, companies have begun to seek more detailed and systematic data on the ideas and behaviors of their target audiences. Quantitative research is needed to obtain detailed information. Surveys, elections, and investigations are used to obtain such data. These obtained data are converted into statistics mathematically, allowing brands to make more accurate decisions in terms of marketing and strategy.
Data-driven quantitative research before a successful campaign, brand positioning, or product launch is the key to success. Today, almost all of the tools we use for digital marketing have data-based reporting. By looking at such data, we can make social media, email systems, or performance marketing more efficient.
Quantitative research focusing on the amount and sum of data started with face-to-face techniques before technology, but nowadays it is done with online surveys. With quantitative research, research such as market research, customer behaviors, and reasons for purchasing is carried out intensively today.
There are no open-ended questions in quantitative studies. Participants are prompted to specific answers. The scope of uncertainty is quite narrow. The collected data are numerical. Statistical formulas can be applied to these data to gain insight.
What is the methodology for creating a successful quantitative market research survey? Deductive reasoning is used on collected data to generate insights in quantitative research. As a result of this research, a hypothesis can be developed, data can be collected, or an existing hypothesis can be strengthened or disproved.
The milestones of quantitative research are as follows: First, the subject to be researched is selected. The theory related to this area is researched. A hypothesis is formed to confirm the ultimate goal of the research. With the established structure, the hypothesis is either supported or refuted. Data are collected and analyzed.
Quantitative marketing research consists of primary and secondary research types:
The first types of research include surveys, one-on-one interviews, and Online/phone interviews.
Questionnaires: Questionnaires, which have turned into online environments over time, mostly consist of closed-ended questions. These types of questions are generally created to measure the extent to which the participants think about a subject. Surveys are used to obtain data from a large number of people. There are 2 different types of surveys according to the application area and frequency. The first of these is the Cross-sectional Research Questionnaire. Cross-sectional market research is the study of variables over a specific period. Another type of research, the Longitudinal Research Questionnaire, is a method in which participants with a certain demographic structure are researched over the years.
One-on-One Interviews: Traditionally face-to-face interviews can also be made over the phone or online with the development of technology. It allows comprehensive data to be obtained from the participants. Face-to-face Interviews are meetings held in the same place with the participants. The interviewer can establish a bond with the participants and this allows some questions to be delved into. Online/Telephone Interviews are the same research being carried out online or over the phone.
In the secondary research type, conclusions are drawn from empirical data or primary data to confirm or refute a hypothesis. Making inferences from historical data with statistical observations constitutes the form of observational market research.
What it takes to create a successful quantitative market research survey:
- Clearly explaining why marketing research is being done
- Documentation of tools, questionnaires, or participants to be used for research in a plan
- Collecting the data from the participants by creating a suitable environment
- Analyzing the collected data to get the best results
- Reporting phase for detection of results and observed changes
Quantitative market research questions answer for “Who” and “What” Qualitative market research questions generate answers to the “Why” question. Quantitative questions are usually closed-ended and easier to analyze compared to open-ended and qualitative questions, which are much more difficult to analyze. If you want statistics and measurable results, you can apply quantitative market research questions.
The most commonly used quantitative market research questions are:
Net Promoter Score: It consists of a scale of 0-10. It can be used to assess customer satisfaction or brand shareability.
Likert-Scale: There are two different thoughts or feelings at two different ends of the answers. The customer expresses his opinions here. Customer satisfaction can be used for academic studies.
Semantic Scale: It is a scale in which the participant’s feelings towards the subject can be expressed semantically. Quantitative questions are asked about ideologies, products, and events.
Multiple-choice: Used to get the best answers in quantitative research. Multiple-choice answers allow the participant to choose more freely among the options.
Matrix Questions: These are multiple-choice questions put together in the form of a matrix.
Advantages of quantitative market research:
Quantitative research is based on numbers and rational theories are produced. The numbers that emerge as a result of this research are transformed into charts and graphs, making it easier to draw more meaningful conclusions. Quantitative research can be calculated more easily than qualitative research. Since the questions of quantitative research can be answered in less time, the participation of the participants in the research increases. A high response rate allows studies to give more accurate results. Online surveys are very easy to use and inexpensive.
Disadvantages of quantitative market research:
Quantitative studies are not in-depth studies, they are expected to convey the closest opinion to the participant through certain choices. The answers given by the participants cannot always be considered reliable.