Quantitative and Qualitative Market Research: Understanding the Differences

Quantitative and qualitative market research may sound somewhat similar, but they differ greatly in the insights they offer. And it’s often difficult to understand the big picture without combining both kinds of research. Organizations hoping to get a comprehensive and actionable view of their target markets should look for ways to employ both types of market research.

Market research is broad. It includes gathering information about past, current and potential customers; competing products, services and organizations; the size and characteristics of a particular market and its audience segments. One type of research, therefore, is unlikely to provide the in-depth, 360-degree view brands need to make actionable decisions that will improve their business outcomes. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the methodologies that make up quantitative and qualitative market research enables organizations to determine which will best address their needs.

An overview of quantitative research

Quantitative research focuses on numbers. (It’s in the name – quantitative, as in quantity.) It examines the what and how of markets and audiences, including size, demographics and behaviors. Quantitative methodologies require large sample sizes to ensure statistical reliability of apparent correlations between types of data — for example, which age group buys the most single candy bars, and which buys the most multipack bars. Quantitative data is what AI and analytic models thrive on; the more relevant data they have, the better they can identify patterns and make accurate predictions.

Surveys, questionnaires and polls are the most common methods used for quantitative market research. Conducting this research isn’t simply a matter of emailing surveys to customers, though. For one thing, brands must ensure their survey sample reflects the market and audience they’re researching. For another, questions should be clear, specific and precise. “Were you happy with your online experience?” is vague. “On a scale of 1-10, how happy were you with your ability to find what you needed on our site?” provides more accurate and actionable insights.

An overview of qualitative research

While quantitative research gathers facts, qualitative research examines the reasons behind those facts; they apply a “why” to the “what.” Quantitative market research might show that parents of school-age children were eschewing one of a brand’s products in favor of a competitor’s; qualitative research would try to uncover the motivations of those consumers.

The most common methods of qualitative research are focus groups, ethnographic interviews  (in-depth, one-on-one conversations) and observations of participants as they shop or engage with a product or brand (aka, shop-alongs). While the methodologies differ, successful qualitative and quantitative market research both rely on selecting research participants who represent the target audience and avoiding leading questions. Qualitative research questions are typically open-ended, however: “Why do you prefer the old store layout to the new one?” or “How do you feel about our new moisturizer formulation?”

Advantages and disadvantages of quantitative and qualitative market research

Quantitative and qualitative market research each have their own distinct advantages and drawbacks. Quantitative research enables organizations to gather large amounts of data relatively quickly. It’s also comparatively inexpensive; while brands need someone adept at constructing unbiased, unambiguous questions as well as an analyst to ensure the reliability of the sample, the cost of distributing the survey or questionnaire via email, a website or mail is low. And because the data is statistical in nature, it can easily and efficiently be analyzed, modeled and generalized.

What quantitative research boasts in breadth, it lacks in depth. This is where qualitative market research comes into play, giving context to the statistics. Qualitative research also has the potential to reveal hidden brand pain points or benefits. Several participants in a focus group, for instance, might point out that they stopped buying a product because of its odor. If the brand hadn’t considered smell as a factor in the purchase decision, they wouldn’t have even asked about it during their quantitative research.

The flexibility and context of qualitative research comes at a price. The need for skilled moderators and the logistics of setting up interviews, discussions and shop-alongs make it more expensive than quantitative research. The sample sizes are, as a rule, much smaller too, which makes generalizing the findings more difficult.

When to use quantitative and qualitative market research

The “just the facts, ma’am” approach of quantitative market research makes it ideal for answering readily measurable questions: How large is a particular market? How does consumer awareness of your brand compare with that of competitors? How many times does a shopper interact with your brand before making a purchase? What types of consumers make up your most active customers? How much are people willing to spend on your product?

Organizations considering expanding into a new market or launching product extensions should conduct quantitative research to find out if there’s a large enough audience to make such a move viable. Quantitative market research also enables competitive analysis and accurate customer segmentations, and it can help determine the best ways to reach those buyers. Other use cases include gauging the effectiveness of promotional campaigns, determining optimal pricing strategies, assessing customer satisfaction and conducting predictive analysis.

When an organization wants to better understand the drivers and motivations of consumers, however, it needs to conduct qualitative market research. Knowing the reasons consumers act the way they do allows for more-effective marketing that touches on emotions and needs that the shoppers themselves may not be consciously aware of. Qualitative market research can also guide product development by showing how people do or don’t use products, not just whether they do or don’t use them.

When it comes to exploring wide-ranging initiatives such as a rebranding and resolving significant issues such as continued loss of market share, opting for “just” qualitative or “just” quantitative research is rarely enough. Quantitative and qualitative market research complement each other, getting brands closer to a broad and deep holistic view of their market and audience.

How Material can help with quantitative and qualitative market research

Market research is one of our foundational offerings at Material. We use both qualitative and quantitative market research methodologies to create ecosystem views of people’s experiences and influences. Combined with our data science and marketing acumen, this enables us to determine what really matters to consumers. Not only do we provide actionable insights, but we also help organizations define and implement strategies and tactics that will net positive results.

Contact us today to learn how our approach to quantitative and qualitative market research can improve your business outcomes.

FAQs

What are common tools used in quantitative and qualitative market research?

Because one of the goals of quantitative market research is to gather a statistically reliable amount of measurable data, it relies on tools such as questionnaires, surveys and polls that are scalable and easily applicable to large numbers of participants. Conversely, qualitative research is more about understanding the reasons for the statistics — why more people prefer X to Y, for instance. This requires tools such as focus groups, one-on-one interviews and shop-alongs that dive deeper into the underlying motivations and emotions of consumers.

What are the advantages of leveraging qualitative research alongside quantitative?

Quantitative research collects facts that demonstrate what people are doing and how they’re doing it. But it doesn’t provide significant insight into why they’re doing those things. Qualitative research can provide that background. With that knowledge, brands can determine which emotions and other factors drive behaviors and then act to influence them.