NAME: OBAYEJU MAYOWA OLUWATOBI

MATRIC NO: 2104052034

DEPARTMENT: MARKETING
LEVEL: HND II
COURSE TITLE: MARKETING RESEARCH
COURSE CODE: MKT 415

QUALITATIVE MARKETING RESEARCH

Qualitative Marketing Research: marketing research involves collecting of data to obtain insights and
knowledge into the needs and wants of customers and the structure and dynamics of a market. In nearly
all cases, it would be very costly and time-consuming to collect data from the entire population ofthe
market. Accordingly, in marketing research, extensive use is made of sampling from which, through
careful design and analysis, marketers can draw information about the market.

Marketing research is a systematic, objective collection and analysis of data about a particular target
market, competition, and/or environment. It always incorporates some form of data collection (qualitative
or quantitative), whether it is a secondary or primary marketing research which is collected directly from
a respondent. The purpose of any marketing research project is to achieve an increased understanding of
the subject matter. With markets throughout the world becoming increasingly more competitive,
marketing research is now on the agenda of many organizations, whether big or small.
Marketing Research Techniques: There are basically two types of technique in marketing research.
These are: Qualitative Research, and Quantitative
*Qualitative Marketing Research** Qualitative marketing research is a set of research techniques, used in
marketing and the social sciences, in which data is obtained from a relatively small group of respondents
and not analyzed with inferential statistics/This differentiates it from quantitative research which is
analyzed for statistical significance.
*The Role of Qualitative Research*
Qualitative research tools are used primarily to define a problem and generate a hypothesis. They are
often used as the prelude to quantitative research in order to identify determinants, and develop
quantitative research designs.
They can be better than quantitative research àt probing below the surface in order to understand what
drives and motivates behaviour. Because of the low number of respondents involved and the idiosyncratic
nature of some data collection data
TYPES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
The main types of qualitative research are:
1. Depth Interviews
Depth interviews are the main form of qualitative research in most business markets. Here, an interviewer
spends time in a one-on-one interview finding out about the. Customer’s particular circumstances and
their individual opinions. The majority of business depth interviews take place in person, which have the
added benefit that the researcher visits the respondent's place of work and gains a sense of the culture of
the business or even on lite national studies-telephone more appropriate.
*Feedback*. This is through a presentation that draws together Findings across a number of depth
interviews. In some Circumstances, such as segmentation studies, identifying differences between
respondents may be as important as the views that customers share. The main alternative to depth
Interviews- focus group discussions - are typically too difficult or expensive to arrange with busy
executives.
*protocol Analysis*: This places persons in a decision making situation and asks them to verbalize
everything they considered.
*Projective Technique:* This is a technique in which participants are placed in projected and into
simulated activities with the hope that they will divulge things about themselves that they might not
reveal under depth questioning.
*Ethnographic Research*: This is a term borrowed from anthropology. It is defined as a detailed,
descriptive study of a group and its behavior, characteristics, culture, etc. Ethno means people, and
graphic means describe.
**Physiological Measurement*: *this involves monitoring respondent's involuntary responses to
marketing stimuli via the use of electrons and other equipment.
CHARACTERISTICS OF DEPTH INTERVIEW
1. Depth interview is conducted one-on-one, and lasts between 30 and 60 minutes.
2. It is the best method for in-depth probing of personal opinions, beliefs, and values. It is a very
rich source of information.
3. It is very flexible.
4. Its probing is very useful at uncovering hidden issues.
5. It can be unstructured (or loosely structured) – this differentiates it from survey interview in
which the same questions are asked all respondents.

FOCUS GROUPS:Focus groups are small groups of people brought together and guided by a moderator
through an unstructured, spontaneous discussion for the purpose of gaining information relevant to the
research problem. A focus group comprises six to twelve persons who are led by a moderator in an in-
depth discussion on a particular topic or concept.
Exploratory Focus Groups: These are those that aid in the precise definition of the problem, in pilot
testing, or in generating hypotheses for testing
Clinical Focus Groups: These are those that explore subconscious motivation. It requires a moderator
with expertise in psychology and sociology.
Experiencing Focus Groups: These are focus groups that enable a client to observe and listen to what
consumers think and feel about products and services.
*HOW FOCUS GROUPS WORKS* Focus groups may be either traditional or non-traditional
Traditional Focus Groups: These involve about 6 to 12 persons who meet in a dedicated room, with a
one-way mirror for client viewing for about two hours.
**Non-traditional Focus Groups*: *These may emerge on-line with clients observing on computer
monitors in distant locations. A non-traditional focus group may have 25 or even 50 respondents, allow
client interaction with participants; last four or five hours, and take place outside traditional
ADVANTAGES OF FOCUS GROUPS
There are four major advantages of focus groups
(1) They generate fresh ideas.
(2) They allow their clients to observe their participants.
(3) They can be directed at understanding a variety of issues, such as reactions to new food products,
brand logo or television advert
(4) They allow fairly easy access to special respondents
Group such as lawyers or doctors whereas it may be
Difficult to find representative samples for these groups.
DISADVANTAGES OF FOCUS GROUPS
There are three major disadvantages of focus groups;
1. They do not constitute representative samples and therefore caution must be exercised in
generalizing findings from them.
2. It is sometimes difficult to interpret the results of focus groups; the moderators' report is based on
subjective evaluation of what was said during the focus group discussion.
3. The cost per participant is high, although the total amount spent on a focus group is generally a
fraction or what may be spent on a quantitative report.
OBJECTIVES OF FOCUS GROUPS
The main objectives of focus groups are:
1. To generate ideas;
2. To understand findings from quantitative studies. in summary, a focus group entails:
3. An interactive group discussion led by a moderator;

PROJECT TECHNIQUES
These are unstructured prompts or stimuli that encourage respondents to project their underlying
motivations, beliefs, attitudes, or feelings onto an ambiguous situation.
Word Association: Here, respondents say the first word that comes to mind after hearing a word from the
researcher - only some of the words in the list are test words that the researcher is interested in; the rest
are fillers. It is useful in testing brand names. Variants include chain word association and controlled
word association.
1. Sentence Completion
2. Story Completion
3. Cartoon Tests
4. Thematic Apperception Tests
5. Role playing
RANDOM PROBABILITY SAMPLING
1. This type of qualitative research conducts random interviews within a defined universe, (e.g. a
city), to understand consumer behaviour beyond basic age-gender variables. Examples include
telephone interviewing, mailing- questionnaires/booklets, personal interviewing.
2. Consumer response for this type of qualitative research could be product usage, personal opinion,
events and activities that consumers participate in, etc.
3. One key benefit of the random probability sampling technique is the ability to project your
results, as they are reflected, back to or make it representative of, your universe. For example,
how many consumers in a city are republican, democrat, independent, or indifferent.
OBSERVATION TECHNIQUES
Qualitative marketing research techniques include the use of observation methods. They are techniques in
which the researcher relies on his or her powers of observation rather than communicating with a person
in order to obtain information. Observation requires something to observe and since our memory cannot
retain the whole information, researchers depend on recording devices such as video tapes, audio tapes,
hand-written notes, or other tangible recordings of what was observed.
There are four general ways of organizing observation:
1. Direct vs Indirect Observation
2. Disguised vs Undisguised Observation
3. Structured vs Unstructured Observation
4. Human vs Mechanical Observation
Advantages of Observation Research
Observation research has the advantage of enabling the research see what consumers actually do instead
of relying on their self-report of what they think they do.
Sometimes data can be obtained at less cost and more accurately by using the observation method.
Though they are several advantages of observation research, these techniques should not be used without
considering other research methods
Limitations of Observation Data
In summary the limitations are:
(i) Few persons are normally observed.
(ii) Interpretation of observed behavior is subjective.
(in) It is difficult to determine consumers' motives, attitudes and intentions