8 Innovative Qualitative Market Research Techniques

In Today’s era, the markets are very competitive and it requires great skills and techniques to remain on the top. If you are a market researcher and looking for innovative qualitative research techniques then you are at the right place.

In this blog, we will share 7 innovative qualitative market research techniques with you to understand your users efficiently. 

Qualitative research is very important to get broader understandings of the buying reasons and motivations behind the customer’s decisions. 

But before we share the innovative qualitative market research techniques with you let’s briefly discuss the basics. 

Let’s start

What is Qualitative Market Research?

Qualitative market research is a type of research in which we use observation or unstructured questioning to gather information.

Qualitative vs Quantitative Research

The main goal of qualitative research is to get insights into the depth of motives behind consumers buying decisions. 

But in Quantitative research, the market researchers collect and analyze the numerical data, which can be used to find patterns or averages, make predictions, and understand the results. 

So now we will discuss the best innovative qualitative market research which you can use to understand the audience better.

1. Interviews

Interviews can easily be conducted through phones, skype, or in person. The idea behind interviews is to ask some series of questions or follow-ups to know what really motivates them to buy products and services like yours.

You should use the interviews to collect data or information on some questions prepared by you for the respondents. 

But you don’t have to stick with your script if the respondents say something interesting, you have to ask some follow-up questions to get some in-depth information.

2. Focus Group

Focus groups are conducted in-persons. These Groups give their own opinions and thoughts to the products and services. You can use focus groups to explore the general concept of the product.

The main advantage of using in-person focus groups is that you will be able to see customers’ verbal and non-verbal responses to the products and services. 

The extra advantage of focus groups is that the different members of the particular group can give their own thoughts and ideas which means you will get more in-depth insights. 

Use of focus groups: 

  • You can use groups for product testing and usage.
  • You will be able to explore the concept of your products and services.
  • Can get new ideas for packaging.

3. Home Videos

This is one of the most exciting and great ways to observe how the audience interacts with your products and services in real life. 

The main benefit of this technique is that you will be able to observe the user’s behavior in a natural and great environment and you will also get to know how your product is being used by the audience.

Home videos are the best innovative qualitative research technique that should be used by almost every market researcher.

4. Online Forums

Online forums are now becoming very popular amongst qualitative market researchers. The audience is brought into a common platform to discuss a particular topic and the moderator of the forum ensures that the discussion is driven in the direction of the required outcome. 

You can also use the forums to collect some data or information for your own research. This can be a very helpful qualitative research technique if you use it.

5. Case study Research

Case Studies mainly focus on qualitative data by using methods like interviews and analysis of primary and secondary resources (eg. Newspapers, blogs, etc).

At first, this technique may be difficult to implement but it is one of the easiest methods to conduct qualitative research. 

You can thoroughly understand the available data and conclusions through case study research.

6. Telephone Survey

Telephone survey includes phone delegates that contact survey respondents by phone and ask them some questions to collect information.

The use of telephone surveys in qualitative market research has become very popular in recent years. But many market researchers ignored this technique which is not a good thing. 

By using this technique you can collect lots of important data from the respondents which you can use in your research later.

7. Ethnographic Research

This technique is used by those market researchers who want to do an in-depth analysis of the audience and respondents in their own environment. 

The duration of ethnographic research depends on the analysis and observations that you want to do but it can last from few days to weeks or even months. 

This type of research totally depends on the ability of market researchers to analyze and solve the data and information.

8. Email Surveys

Digital and online surveys are one of the cost-effective methods of surveys. Many Qualitative research analysts are using email surveys to collect essential information.   

But you have to make sure that the questions which you are asking are straight forward so email respondents can easily answer them. 

Advantage Of Qualitative Market Research

Get Detailed Information

You can collect detailed information rather than just focussing on the metric of data. It helps you to understand the in-depth knowledge of the particular information.

It Will Help You To Reduce Customer Churn

We all know that customer behavior changes overnight leaving a business or a company in wonder what went wrong. 

By conducting qualitative market research businesses can know what consumers really want and what are their needs.

Conclusion

If you are also looking for a market research company that can conduct the best qualitative research then Apelo consulting is the best for you in the market.

Apelo consulting has 6+ years of experience in the market research field. Our team of research analysts provides you the best service as per your requirements.