Research Methods...

Business Applications for Market Research

There are a number of ways that market research can be used to make better business decisions - such as product development research, customer satisfaction research, brand research and a number of others.

More About Business Applications

Market Research Methods (or Methodologies)

Between quantitative and qualitative market research, there are roughly a dozen different market research methodologies and each of them have their advantages and disadvantages. From focus groups to web surveys to phone interviews and whole lot more.

Overview of market Research Methods

Individual Research Methods

Primary and Secondary Market Research

Market research is broadly broken down into two parts:

Secondary market research is typically conducted by industry analysts, trade groups, government agencies or other organizations and is then sold to interested parties, given to organization members or used by the government.

Primary market research on the other hand is typically conducted by companies to better understand their products, customers or markets - which then becomes the property of the company that commissioned the study and is generally not shared or sold. Secondary market research is typically significantly less expensive to purchase than it is to conduct the research yourself (because the costs are split between all of the parties that purchase it).

Qualitative and Quantitative

For people considering conducting their own market research (therefore it’s primary market research), the next distinction is whether they intend to conduct qualitative or quantitative market research.

I realize that it’s stating the obvious, but the terms really are made much easier by remembering their root words - quantitative market research measures respondent in quantity and produces data that can be analyzed using statistical or mathematical methods. While qualitative market research is helpful in understanding the quality of a customers’ behavior or attitudes - why do they feel or act in a certain way and often described as being more "exploratory".

Qualitative = Quality (hows and whys or "directional")
Quantitative = Quantity (less depth, but large numbers of respondents allows statistical analysis)

MARKET RESEARCH BLOG

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Book Review - "The Logic of Life: The Rational Economics of an Irrational World”
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more

CASE STUDIES

How Market Research Could Have Played an Important Role in the Development of a Raytheon Jet

Market Research that Helped Discover the Leading Loyalty Drivers for Baseball Fans

Market Research Highlighting the Learnings of the First Boxed Cake Mix

Market Research that Uncovered State Farm was Missing a Key Customer Segment

An Example of Qualitative and Quantitative Research

Who Needs Market Research?

Research Methods...

Business Applications for Market Research

Market Research Methods (or Methodologies)

Primary and Secondary Market Research

Qualitative and Quantitative

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MARKET RESEARCH BLOG

CASE STUDIES