Making the Leap from Market Research to Insight Part Three: Quantitative Data
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This document discusses the importance of clear research objectives in quantitative market research and how to effectively extract insights from data. It emphasizes the need for collaboration between researchers and clients to develop actionable questions and analyses that yield meaningful conclusions. Additionally, it highlights the value of integrating qualitative methods to enhance the understanding of consumer needs and inform quantitative research strategies.
Making the Leap from Market Research to Insight Part Three: Quantitative Data
- 1. Alert! Marketing Research Association Technology & Software Directory MAY 2012 · Vol. 52 · No. 5 Tomorrow’s Technology in Today’s Research Navigating Trends and Technology MRA 2011 Annual Report
- 2. Keeping Informed Making the Leap from Market Research to Insight Part Three: Quantitative Data By Thom Pulliam This is the final of a three part series that has provided practical counsel on the subject of insights and where they hide. In January’s issue, we looked at The Four Places Insights Hide, using the “Don’t Mess With Texas” campaign as an example of how a few words can communicate so much and to so many – effectively. The second article, published in March, focused on drawing insights from qualitative data. As mentioned in earlier editorials, decision makers. Thus, one of the major with clear research objectives. When as market researchers and brand roles of the researcher and strategist is to using quantitative research to test strategists, we hunt for insights – unique examine, organize, and statistically test hypotheses, concepts, copy, products, combinations of information that give the data so that meaningful conclusions etc., it is very clear what your research meaning to the marketplace. We are and insights can be drawn. All too objective is: figure out how an audience familiar with a myriad of methodologies often, clients conduct quantitative responds to the work. Do they like it? used in the collection of data, but research only to have the work result Does it resonate? Is the brand linkage oftentimes struggle with making the in a “data dump” with no discernible there? Clients adverse to risk frequently information we find useful. How do we conclusions, implications, or direction for rely on this type of testing to validate transform information into insight? This implementation of the results. Likewise, their direction before bringing something third and final piece for Alert! magazine clients frequently spend significant sums to market. But, what are the best ways will focus on answering this question as it of money not on actionable and insightful to use quantitative research early on, as relates to quantitative data. research, but on reports and binders an input of the discovery process; when Quantitative research measures queries of quantitative data that sit – largely you are searching for a leading insight to on a numerical scale and encompasses unused – on shelves or in filing cabinets. inspire strategy? The key first insightful three types of research techniques: This happens, not because quantitative and actionable step to quantitative observation, physiological measurement research is inherently unable to surface research is for both researcher and client (i.e. eye tracking and brain wave insights, but because the approach is to define and agree upon what they studying), and survey research. Raw often not optimized to do so. want to learn. By always setting research data derived from a quantitative study is If you put garbage in, you get garbage objectives first, before determining what useless by itself; only data that have been out. When embarking on any research questions to ask or how to ask them, you thoroughly analyzed is of any value to project it is of vital importance to start set yourself up for success. MRA’s Alert! Magazine – May 2012 39
- 3. What are your research objectives? If you want to learn what an audience’s top motivators for visiting the Biltmore Estate in autumn are, then you can count on asking questions about price, travel distance, weather, attractions, and holiday vacation time. If you are looking to understand, by market, how consumers compare ULTA to Sephora, then your line of inquiries would involve selection, proximity, price, customer experience, store environment, and networks of communication. Once your research objectives are established, your questions developed, Paper Surveys and your study fielded, it is time to I Full print and mail capabilities analyze the information and uncover insights. In quantitative research, I Automated inbound mailroom insights live in the juxtaposition of data I Postage discounts with surrounding observed associations. These associations, represented as I Scanning/data entry Paper Surveys correlations, indexes, and scales provide I Litigation surveys I Full print and mail capabilities context and meaning to the data and I Automated inbound mailroom allow us to make statements about I Verbatim open end capture I Postage discounts the likelihood of an event given the I Print and mail within Canada I Scanning/data entry occurrence of another event. Quantitative research allows us to zoom out and I Litigation surveys see patterns that are not obvious from Open End Comment Coding Verbatim open end capture I our usual vantage point. For example, I Computer assisted traditional I Print and mail within Canada coding data mining helped retailer Victoria’s I Text End Comment Coding Open analysis Secret find geographic differences in preferences for bra sizes and colors that I Computer assisted traditional coding I Over 30 languages were previously unnoticed. As a result, I Text analysis the company improved its purchasing I I Healthcare, financial and technical specialists Over 30 languages and inventory management efficiency. Healthcare, financial and technical specialists Transcription I In a different example of zooming out with quantitative analysis, Berger and Transcription I IVR and recorded CATI open ends Le Mens looked at the prevalence of first IIVR and recorded CATI open ends names going back to 1880 (as recorded I Focus groups I Focus groups by the US Census). They found that the I 1-on-1 interviews I 1-on-1 interviews faster a name becomes popular, based on the number per one million children, the faster it declines to “pre fad” levels. Only Contact Dave Koch by “zooming out” in a temporal sense and looking at data over a long period Contact Dave Koch dkoch@adaptdata.com (and a large number of names) could the (952) 939-0538 ext.114 dkoch@adaptdata.com researchers discover this pattern. Another technique for making (952) 939-0538 ext.114analysis, the raw data from quantitative quantitative survey helps provide a more quantitative research more actionable exhaustive set of variables to test. This research yields meaningful insights. is to set it up with discovery qualitative qualitative discovery provides the people Furthermore, the power of quantitative research. In other words, use methods writing the quantitative research with research lies in the safety of statistical such as qualitative focus groups to more knowledge about the consumer significance – knowing at a specific expand your thinking on a research mindset and marketplace, and helps confidence level that your insight is objective and better articulate your inform the creation of quantitative representative of the larger population, quantitative methodology. For example, methodology. and not an anomaly reflected by a few when the research objective is to Qualitative research provides rich outliers (as is the risk with qualitative understand what consumer wants and understanding of consumers and the research). needs are driving the shift from agent- marketplace, while quantitative also has based auto insurance providers to its place and is more than a tool used to Thom Pulliam is an independent direct-to-consumer providers, talking post-test ideas. When set up with the strategic communications professional with consumers before setting up the right research objectives and thoughtful newly residing in Los Angeles, CA. 40 MRA’s Alert! Magazine – May 2012