Key Quantitative Market Research Methods and Examples
With competing views and multiple sources of information available, it is hard to assess where the information is most valid. To this end, small to medium-sized companies do not need to rely on gut feeling when making decisions; rather, they use quantitative market research as evidence to support their decision-making process.
Businesses can use quantitative market research to be confident in pricing decisions, product development, product positioning, and where to invest money.
Examples will show how to quantify a market, quantify the uses of quantitative research, and use the information obtained from the research.
1. Structured Surveys
It uses surveys to collect numerical data on responses. This information allows you to measure how aware people are of your brand, how satisfied they are with it, how much they prefer it, and their intention to buy from your company. You can then use those measurements to better position your company in the marketplace.
Example: A survey conducted with around 1,000 customers showed that while customer satisfaction was high, brand awareness was low (in areas with two rapidly expanding zip codes). To increase inbound call volume, these areas were selected for additional marketing investment based on quantitative market research and lower awareness levels compared to other regions.
Surveys are powerful because they quantify what customers think and how strongly they think it.
2. Brand Tracking Studies
Tracking studies show an overall trend in performance across different brands over time (awareness, consideration, preference, and trust) benchmarked against competitors.
Example: An e-commerce brand launched a new campaign to measure the effectiveness of its advertising based on monthly performance and metrics, which indicated that its advertising effectiveness and perceived value are not improving, even with the new messaging strategy in place.
Quantitative market research shows clear trendlines that show brands do not need to overreact to short-term fluctuations.
3. Price Sensitivity Testing
Pricing affects whether or not a business is profitable. Using quantitative market research techniques, such as price sensitivity analysis, helps a business identify both acceptable and unacceptable prices.
Example: A subscription retailer runs a test of four price tiers. The research indicates a price point at which demand for each tier drops steeply. The subscription retailer conducts analyses to determine the appropriate price point just below the threshold that maximizes both conversion and margin.
This replaces pricing guesswork with data-based pricing decisions.
4. Segmentation Analysis
Segmentation involves using statistics to create clusters of similar customers based on their needs and behaviors. Customers don’t all behave the same way.
Example: There are three different kinds of shoppers in the same store. A store can use different marketing campaigns for each shopper type to build shared customer engagement across all shopper types.
By segmenting, marketers can design product marketing and product development to match what customers want, rather than using a single marketing collateral and product approach for all customers (the one-size-fits-all mentality).
5. Driver Analysis and Regression Modeling
Driver analysis helps you identify which variables are affecting the outcome.
Example: A roofing company found that the customer’s overall satisfaction is more affected by the company’s ability to communicate clearly than by the price it charges. As a result, the company is changing its training program to focus more on improving communication.
Quantitative market research enables leaders to focus on variables that have the greatest effect rather than on symptoms related to issues identified in driver analyses.
Why Quantitative Market Research Matters
Market behavior is fast. There are real costs associated with any pricing strategy, product launch, service improvement or advertising campaign. Quantitative market research will provide statistical validation of the decision before implementing it on a wide scale.
Quantitative data can reduce bias from the leadership team’s individual experiences and opinions when making decisions on growth strategies. Data expands leadership teams’ existing expertise by delivering structure to ensure that growth strategies are supported by measurable demand rather than just personal preference.
Companies that take early actions to measure before executing will be rewarded in a competitive marketplace. Quantitative market research is how companies measure. Market research changes uncertainty into direction and ideas into strategies. Businesses gain confidence in their growth based on evidence.