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Table of Contents

Chapter 1 : Introductio
n
1.1 Meaning of Consumer Research..................................................................................2
1.2 Purpose of Consumer Research...................................................................................3
1.3 Meaning of Applied Research......................................................................................4

Chapter 2 : Conceptual Analysis

2.1 Consumer research is an "applied research"...............................................................6
2.2 Quantitative Research..................................................................................................7
2.3 Qualitative Research....................................................................................................9

Chapter 3 : Conclusion
2.1 Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 12

References.......................................................................................................................13
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 Consumer research is an "Applied Research". Justify with an example.

Chapter 1 : Introduction

 1.1 Meaning of Consumer Research

Small businesses and larger corporations conduct marketing research to determine the
needs of customers and consumers in general. Companies do research on existing
customers to determine their satisfaction levels with current products or the interest level
in new products. Consumer research is extremely important, because consumers may
purchase competitive products if a company fails to garner customer feedback.

Customer research is conducted so as to identify customer segments, needs, and

behaviors. It can be carried out as part of market research, user research, or design
research. Even so, it always focuses on researching current or potential customers of a
specific brand or product in order to identify unmet customer needs and opportunities for
business growth. Customer research can focus on simple demographics of a potential
customer group (such as age, gender, and income level). Indeed, these considerations are
vital determinants of a product’s target audience. However, such research also often seeks
to understand various behaviors and motivators factors which place a product’s use and
potential on a higher level of study. Thus, the goal of such research is to expose clear
details about who is or will be using a product as well as the reasons behind their doing
so and how they go about using it. Customer research may be conducted via a variety of
quantitative and qualitative methods such as interviews, surveys, focus groups, and
ethnographic field studies. It also commonly involves doing desk research of online
reviews, forums, and social media to explore what customers are saying about a product.

While customer research is usually conducted as part of a design project, it is also often
conducted in other departments of an organization. In some cases, customer research is
part of marketing for instance, to ensure that marketing campaigns have the right focus.
In other cases, it can be carried out as part of concept development or ideation so as to
identify opportunities for future products, services, or features.
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 1.2 Purpose of Consumer Research

The ultimate goal of consumer research is to serve as the voice of the consumer.
Consumer research helps to provide a company with relevant, reliable, valid, and current
information on their target buyer. The Purpose of Consumer research are:

- To help companies make better business decisions and gain advantages against their
competitors.
- To help marketing managers or executives make numerous strategic and tactical
decisions in the process of identifying and satisfying customer needs.
- To remove some of the uncertainty by providing relevant information about the
marketing variables, environment, and consumers. In the absence of relevant
information, the consumer response to marketing programs cannot be predicted
reliably or accurately
- To provide insights that help guide the creation of a business plan, launch a new
product or service, optimize existing products and services, and guide expansion into
new markets.
- To determine which portion of the population will be most likely to purchase a
product or service, based on variables such as age, gender, location, and income level.
- To reveal characteristics of a target market.
- To understand how consumers talk about the products in the market.
- To identify which consumer needs are important and whether these needs are being
met by current products.
- With effective market research, it can gain invaluable information about competitors,
economic shifts, demographics, the current market trends and the spending traits of
your customers.
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 1.3 Meaning of Applied Research

It is a form of systematic research that involves the pragmatic application related to
science. Applied research utilizes a major part of theories that are presented by research
communities. Methods of knowledge and techniques are also used in applied research. As
for why applied research requires the methods of knowledge, techniques and theories, all
the three commodities are used in several parts such as; businesses, states or clients. Just
to make it clear, applied research can be and is being used by business or other
organizations around the world.
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Applied Research is a form of systematic inquiry involving the practical integration and
application of accumulated theory, knowledge and technology toward a targeted purpose.
This includes Tran’s disciplinary combinations of theories, methodologies and
epistemologies taken from the humanities, social science, natural science, engineering,
fine art, design, business, and many other disciplines. Applied research often focuses on
the application and integration of existing theory, knowledge and technology. Applied
Research addresses normative ethical and social questions about how we ought to change
our world or solve specific problems. It develops technologies or techniques to alter
natural or man-made phenomena to solve specific problems.

The following roles of applied research:

- Addresses normative ethical and social questions of how we ought to change our
world or solve specific problems.
- Accesses and uses accumulated theories, knowledge, methods, and techniques, in
order to solve specific, practical problems.
- Develops technologies or techniques to alter natural phenomena to solve specific
problems.
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Below are some examples of applied research:

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- Studying about the kinds of motivations that will invigorate people so they can step
up and take part in different kinds of charities.

- Finding out different strategies that are best to incite the employees in the business
organization or other professions.
- Researching about different types of keyboard designs or layouts and then finding out
the one that is best for both functionality and comfort.
- Finding out the best way to approach and treat diseases like anxiety /depression/
asthma… etc.
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Examines a specific set of circumstances, and its ultimate goal is relating the result to a
particular situation. i.e., applied research uses the data directly for real world application.
Applied Research which studies the relationship and applicability of theories or principle
to the solution of a problem. It is designed to solve practical problems of the modern
world, rather than to acquire knowledge.

Specific types of studies performed:

- Product development, packaging and concept testing research
- Pricing research
- Market segmentation research
- Brand identity and brand awareness research
- Advertising campaign, promotion and marketing communications research
- Consumer attitude and usage research
- Customer/employee/vendor satisfaction and loyalty research
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Chapter 2 : Conceptual Analysis

 2.1 Consumer research is an "applied research"

Basically, Consumer Research is an applied research that proceeds with a certain
consumer related problem & specifies alternative solutions & possible outcomes of each
alternative solution. Such as understanding the preferences, attitudes, and behaviors of
consumers in a market based economy, determining consumer characteristics,
measurement of market potential, consumer motivation etc.

In short, to understand the importance of Consumer Research for firms and their brands,
as well as consumers. Consumer research has developed from the more general field of
market research. Consumer research is important for marketers as the competitive
landscape in almost every industry becomes even more challenging and with growth in
global and cross-cultural markets. It is a field of study that has been influenced by
researchers and practitioners in several other fields, including psychology, sociology, and
anthropology.

Consumer research helps marketing research professionals determine the wants and needs
of their consumers. Once these desires are known, companies can develop marketing
strategies to meet the consumer's wants and needs. Companies that meet the needs of
their consumers can usually expect greater sales and profits, according to the article
"Consumer Behavior" on the information website Reference for Business.

Consumer research is often used to evaluate product satisfaction among consumers. This
type of analysis allows marketing research or managers to pinpoint factors that are
driving low satisfaction levels. Low satisfaction can be a result of a consumer's
dissatisfaction factors ranging from product quality to price. Consumer research can also
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uncover factors in which the consumer is highly satisfied. For example, a customer may
be highly satisfied with a company's technical support department.

Marketing research professionals usually conduct consumer research on both the

qualitative and quantitative level, according to Oak Ridge Associated Universities.
Consumer research done on the qualitative level includes focus groups and one-on-ones,
in which company employees garner input from groups or individual consumers in a
focus group facility. Qualitative consumer research helps provide basic information on
new products, but the data cannot be used to predict future buying behavior. In contrast,
consumer research done on a quantitative basis, such as phone surveys, involve much
larger sample sizes and consequently are more reliable in predicting buying behavior
among the general population. Consumer market research is based on two types of
applied research method: Quantitative research and Qualitative research

 2.1 Quantitative Research

Quantitative research is defined as a systematic investigation of phenomena by gathering
quantifiable data and performing statistical, mathematical, or computational techniques.
Quantitative research collects information from existing and potential customers using
sampling methods and sending out online surveys, online polls, questionnaires, etc., the
results of which can be depicted in the form of numerical. After careful understanding of
these numbers to predict the future of a product or service and make changes accordingly.

An example of quantitative research is the survey conducted to understand the amount of

time a doctor takes to tend to a patient when the patient walks into the hospital. A patient
satisfaction survey template can be administered to ask questions like how much time did
a doctor take to see a patient, how often does a patient walk into a hospital, and other
such questions. [ CITATION Que20 \l
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Quantitative research is mostly conducted in the social sciences using the statistical
methods used above to collect quantitative data from the research study. In this research
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method, researchers and statisticians deploy mathematical frameworks and theories that
pertain to the quantity under question. Some distinctive characteristics of quantitative
research are:

- Structured tools: Structured tools such as surveys, polls, or questionnaires are used
to gather quantitative data. Using such structure methods helps in collecting in-depth
and actionable data from the survey respondents.
- Sample size: Quantitative research is conducted on a significant sample size that
represents the target market. Appropriate sampling methods have to be used when
deriving the sample to fortify the research objective.
- Close-ended questions: Closed-ended questions are created per the objective of the
research. These questions help collect quantitative data and hence, are extensively
used in quantitative research.
- Prior studies: Various factors related to the research topic are studied before
collecting feedback from respondents.
- Quantitative data: Usually, quantitative data is represented by tables, charts, graphs,
or any other non-numerical form. This makes it easy to understand the data that has
been collected as well as prove the validity of the market research.
- Generalization of results: Results of this research method can be generalized to an
entire population to take appropriate actions for improvement.

Some examples of Quantitative Research are:

- If any organization would like to conduct a customer satisfaction (CSAT) survey, a
customer satisfaction survey template can be used. Through this survey, an
organization can collect quantitative data and metrics on the goodwill of the brand or
organization in the mind of the customer based on multiple parameters such as
product quality, pricing, customer experience, etc. This data can be collected by
asking a net promoter score (NPS) question, matrix table questions, etc. that provide
data in the form of numbers that can be analyzed and worked upon.
- Another example of quantitative research is an organization that conducts an event,
collecting feedback from the event attendees about the value that they see from the
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event. By using an event survey template, the organization can collect actionable
feedback about satisfaction levels of customers during various phases of the event
such as the sales, pre and post-event, the likelihood of recommending the
organization to their friends and colleagues, hotel preferences for the future events
and other such questions.

There are many advantages of quantitative research. Some of the major advantages why
researchers use this method in market research are:
- Collect reliable and accurate data: As data is collected, analyzed, and presented in
numbers, the results obtained will be extremely reliable. Numbers do not lie. They
offer an honest picture of the conducted research without discrepancies and are also
extremely accurate. In situations where a researcher predicts conflict, quantitative
research is conducted.
- Quick data collection: A quantitative research is carried out with a group of
respondents who represent a population. A survey or any other quantitative research
method applied to these respondents and the involvement of statistics, conducting,
and analyzing results is quite straightforward and less time-consuming.
- Wider scope of data analysis: Due to the statistics, this research method provides a
wide scope of data collection.
- Eliminate bias: This research method offers no scope for personal comments or
biasing of results. The results achieved are numerical and are thus, fair in most cases.
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 2.2 Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is defined as a market research method that focuses on obtaining
data through open-ended and conversational communication. This method is not only
about “what” people think but also “why” they think so.

Qualitative research methods are designed in a manner that they help reveal the behavior
and perception of a target audience with reference to a particular topic. There are
different types of qualitative research methods like an in-depth interview, focus groups,
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ethnographic research, content analysis, case study research that are usually used. The
results of qualitative methods are more descriptive and the inferences can be drawn quite
easily from the data that is obtained.

Qualitative research methods originated in the social and behavioral sciences. Today our
world is more complicated and it is difficult to understand what people think and
perceive. Qualitative research methods make it easier to understand that as it is more
communicative and descriptive.

Therefore, the qualitative research methods allow for in-depth and further probing and
questioning of respondents based on their responses, where the interviewer/researcher
also tries to understand their motivation and feelings. Understanding how your audience
makes decisions can help derive conclusions in market research. Some distinctive
characteristics of qualitative research are:

- Qualitative research methods usually collect data at the sight, where the participants
are experiencing issues or problems. These are real-time data and rarely bring the
participants out of the geographic locations to collect information.
- Qualitative researchers typically gather multiple forms of data, such as interviews,
observations, and documents, rather than rely on a single data source.
- This type of research method works towards solving complex issues by breaking
them down into meaningful inferences that are easily readable and understood by all.
- Since it’s a more communicative method, people can build their trust on the
researcher and the information thus obtained is raw and unadulterated.

Some examples of qualitative Research are:

Let’s take the example of a bookstore owner who is looking for ways to improve their
sales and customer outreach. An online community of members who were the loyal
patrons of the bookstore were interviewed and related questions were asked and the
questions were answered by them.
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At the end of the interview, it was realized that most of the books in the stores were
suitable for adults and there were not enough options for children or teenagers.

By conducting this qualitative research the bookstore owner realized what the
shortcomings were and what were the feelings of the readers. Through this research now
the bookstore owner can now keep books for different age categories and can improve his
sales and customer outreach.

Such qualitative research method examples can serve as the basis to indulge in further
quantitative research, which provides remedies.
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Qualitative and quantitative research actually ought to complement as opposed to
compete with each other. Qualitative research can be especially useful during the early
stages of a study when the researcher may be unsure of exactly what will be studied or
what to focus on, while quantitative research is helpful to confirm hypotheses that
qualitative researchers have helped to identify. Together these different ways to gather
data and explain associations and phenomena builds foundation on which to build the
structure of nursing evidence-based nursing care delivery.
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Chapter 3 : Conclusion

In conclusion, don’t underestimate the impact that regular consumer research can have
on your business, whether you’re at start-up or enterprise level. The data you collect can
impact the way you build your product, market your services, and message your
audience, all of which are directly tied to healthy and sustainable business growth.

Consumer research can take different forms such as ad tracking, brand research,
consumer satisfaction research, segmentation research, marketing effectiveness research,
purchase patterns, consumer needs and concept testing. You can use all forms to try and
draw conclusions from customer behavior. This knowledge can help improve marketing
activities. For example, segmentation research could show that a specific age group
makes more purchases of a particular line of products. You could then run targeted
marketing campaigns to enhance sales to this age group on that basis.

Research results can indicate potential problems, highlight necessary changes, determine
new products and services, and develop advertising strategies. At times, the results of
customer research can be ambiguous, and you may need additional targeted research. In
higher education, research results are aimed more at understanding large patterns of
consumer behavior, and the results are general in nature.
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References
Interaction Design Foundation, 2. (2020). What is Customer Research? Retrieved from https://www.interaction-
design.org/: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/customer-research

Jefferson University, 2. (2020). Applied Research at Jefferson. Retrieved from https://research.jefferson.edu/:

https://research.jefferson.edu/applied.html

Prana Business Consulting, 2. (2017, 2 16). Consumer marketing research and why does it matter? Retrieved from
http://pranabusinessconsulting.com/: http://pranabusinessconsulting.com/consumer-marketing-research-and-
why-does-it-matter/

QuestionPro, 2. (2019). Qualitative Research: Definition, Types, Methods and Examples. Retrieved from
www.questionpro.com: https://www.questionpro.com/blog/qualitative-research-methods/

QuestionPro, 2. (2020). Quantitative Research: Definition, Methods, Types and Examples. Retrieved from
https://www.questionpro.com/: https://www.questionpro.com/blog/quantitative-research/

Writeawriting, 2. (2015, 1 8). What is Applied Research? Retrieved from https://www.writeawriting.com/:

https://www.writeawriting.com/business/applied-research/