market research observation examples

• Site Building
• Quick Reads
• About Academy
• Perspectives
• Conducting Observational Research for Your Business

• Introduction to Market Research: What It Is and Why You Need It
• Introduction to Market Research: When and How to Start
• Conducting a Situation Analysis: The SWOT Analysis
• Using Your SWOT Analysis to Drive Your Market Research
• Conducting Competitor Research 
• Resource List for Secondary Market Research
• Conducting Primary Market Research
• Creating a Killer Market Research Survey
• Using In-Depth Interviews and Focus Groups for Your Market Research
• Best Practices for Moderating and Analyzing Interviews and Focus Groups

In previous sections, we’ve discussed various forms of primary market research: research that draws information directly from prospects and customers (as opposed to secondary research, which entails analyzing data that’s already been gathered about them). We’ve looked at market research surveys , in-depth interviews, and focus groups . But there’s one more—very broad—set of primary market research techniques available, all of which fall into the category of observational research .

As we’ve discussed, new technologies have transformed how surveys, interviews and focus groups are conducted. Surveys can now be distributed through multiple channels (email, social media, QR code, SMS); and a wealth of online survey platforms can analyze the data for you . Interviews and focus groups can be conducted over online communication platforms and recorded with digital technologies.

Observational research, however, is evolving more quickly than these other market research strategies. Sure, it still includes watching how consumers move through your brick-and-mortar store. But consumers are now leaving a wake of digital information behind their every move—intelligence that can be easily collected, analyzed, and swiftly acted upon. What’s more, the data that observational research offers is often more reliable than the data you’ll get through other forms of primary research. That’s because it rests on what consumers really do … not on what they claim to do.

What is Observational Research in Marketing?

Observational research is the wide-ranging set of methods businesses use to collect information by directly or indirectly “watching” consumers act in natural (and sometimes planned) environments. As such, it’s used primarily in B2C contexts. What observational research ultimately offers is behavioral data … but it measures behavior directly , rather than relying on consumers’ (sometimes inaccurate) self-reporting. While the subject of observational research might know that data is being collected, they aren’t explicitly involved in collecting it (by filling out survey answers, for example). Often, in fact, there’s no interaction whatsoever—which is why it can be one of the more unobtrusive market research methods out there.

The “observer” takes one of three forms: human, software, or mechanical device. Human observation may be as simple as walking into a brick-and-mortar store and watching consumers pick up your product and your competitor’s product and compare them. Online observation includes tracking devices and web metrics to map user and consumer behavior; Google Analytics and heatmaps fall into this category. Mechanical observation entails the use of devices—such as cameras or footfall counters—that track consumer behavior in the non-virtual world.

You’ll note that some of these techniques are more sophisticated than others; and their availability may depend upon your financial resources. But the field is vast enough to support sole proprietorships and enterprises alike.

Observational Research Methods

Here are some methods to consider when deciding what “observation” will mean for your market research question:

• Natural v. contrived observation . In natural observation, subjects are studied in “real life” circumstances and environments. They may or may not know that they’re being observed. In contrived observation, subjects are studied in controlled settings (research labs, for example), and know that they’re being observed. While natural observation can be time-consuming, it often produces better results: Unnatural settings and awareness of observation ( the Hawthorne effect ) can both alter subjects’ behavior.
• Direct v. indirect observation . In direct observation, researchers watch subjects as the behavior is occurring (how many consumers purchase drinks at an event, for example). Indirect observation examines the results of the behavior, rather than the behavior itself (receipts for drink sales or the number of empty cups in nearby trash cans).
• Disguised v. open observation . In disguised (or covert) observation, the subject doesn’t know they’re being observed: Think hidden cameras, one-way mirrors, or online tracking. In open (or overt) observation, they do While the latter runs the risk of altering consumer behavior, it also allows researchers to interact with consumers during or after the study—in effect creating a hybrid of observational research and in-depth interviews.
• Structured v. unstructured observation . In structured observation, researchers clearly define what behaviors will be observed, and the study focuses on that set of predefined, pre-categorized behaviors. In unstructured observation, researchers attempt to capture everything : typical and divergent behaviors, contextual details, and so on. While the “subject” of observation is less defined in unstructured observation, it allows you to better perceive the unexpected. (And believe us when we say… consumers will surprise you.)

Sign up for our newsletter to get more business tips straight to your inbox:

Subscribe Now

Pros and Cons of Observational Research

We mentioned some advantages and disadvantages of the above methods. But there are some pros and cons that many observational techniques share in common; and if you’re wondering whether these approaches are right for you, they’re worth considering.

Advantages of Observational Research:

• Humans often say one thing, but do another: Consumers may not understand their motivations very well, or can’t be certain about how they’d react in a situation until they’re actually faced with it. What’s more, while other forms of primary research leave room for recall error (respondents may not remember the factors that contributed to a purchase decision, for example), observational research collects information as the action is taking place—so nothing gets lost in the time gap. In other words, observational research can offer a more accurate reflection of “the truth.”
• There are certain types of questions that only observational techniques can answer. The number of shoppers who enter a store on a given day, the image or copy that catches visitors’ eyes first on a web page, or what products children are most interested in simply can’t be answered by surveys or interviews.
• In other forms of primary market research, you run the risk of question bias (when the wording of questions leads a respondent to answer in a particular way), courtesy bias (when a respondent is reluctant to give negative feedback out of concern for offending the interviewer), or group dynamic bias (when participants respond the way the majority responds, rather than the way they really feel). These typically aren’t issues in observational research.
• Whereas other primary research methods (focus groups, for instance) will only get you a representative sample of your target market, many observational techniques (analytics, heatmapping, keyword research, in-store cameras) will get you data on a much larger census . This eliminates both sampling error and sampling bias .

Disadvantages of Observational Research:

• While observation can tell you volumes about behavior , it has little to say about those crucial—but unobservable—matters such as attitudes, motivations, intentions, and awareness (the “why”). You’ll need direct contact with your subjects to get those answers.
• Because they can’t discern motives or attitudes based on outward behavior, observational researchers are often left to make subjective inferences on behavior that is ultimately difficult to interpret. Not only can this invite researcher bias (subconscious judgments on demographics, for example); it also leaves room for erroneous assumptions about cause-and-effect.
• In many forms of observational research (in-store observation or website analytics, for example), researchers don’t have any control over environments, context, or even subject presence . They must patiently let consumer behavior unfold as slowly as it does— whenever they finally walk into the store or land on the website—which makes it a potentially time-consuming endeavor with long periods of inactivity.
• Observational research is often limited to discrete activities (shopping for a cereal or looking at a web page); and it can’t take the entire context—let alone the entire activity—into account. (Of course, taking a hybrid approach and pairing observational research with an interview can correct this.)
• It’s limited to research on products, services, apps, etc. that already exist . In other words, observational research won’t let you research what hasn’t happened yet… which means it can’t offer intelligence on the “What if ?” questions.
• It brings up a whole set of questions about ethics. The definition of “ethical” is likely to keep evolving over the years—especially as more and more technologies are capable of generating and collecting big data. Consumers feel less and less protected as time goes on; and you’ll want to be sure you don’t blur the line between research and privacy infringement. Under GDPR , there are legal repercussions to consider… but also ask yourself if you’d want to be asked permission if you were in the consumer’s shoes.

As you may have noted, observational research often works best when paired with other market research methodologies. Observation might give you insights into actual consumer behavior in real-world situations, but a focus group might fill in the thought processes behind the behavior. Between the two, you’ll have a more complete picture of the consumer’s experience.

Examples of Observational Research

What follows is hardly an exhaustive list: There are probably more observational techniques out there than we’re even aware of. Our goal here is simply to give you a sense of the range of types of observational research out there… maybe some of them will resonate with the questions you’re asking about your business right now.

In-store observation

In-store observation is quite possibly the oldest form of observational research. You can perform it in your own brick-and-mortar store, or in your competitors’ stores. How many people enter the store in a given time period? Are they drawn to something in the window display or were they already clearly intent on entering? How do they get their bearings once they’re inside? What do they notice and where do they go first? How many products do they pick up; how long do they scrutinize the packaging; and what do they ultimately purchase, if anything? What are the demographic characteristics of those who do buy?

The answers can be arrived at via human observation (mystery shoppers or your own employees), mechanical observation (video cameras, electronic checkout scanners, etc), or observational research tools such as footfall counters or frequent shopper cards that gather data about the types of purchases made by certain demographics.

Some businesses even conduct “shop-alongs,” which combine observational techniques and traditional market research: The researcher follows the consumer around the store, and the consumer describes the reasoning behind their purchasing behavior in the moment, or after purchases are made.

Contextual inquiry

Contextual inquiry is just what it sounds like: inquiring into a consumer’s behaviors or experiences in the context of where those behaviors or experiences take place. Shop-alongs are certainly one form of contextual inquiry; but in-home, in-car, and in-office observation are other “natural environments” were consumers can be observed. What are the pain points in their morning routines? In using certain kitchen appliances? What products are in their laundry rooms? How do they actually use that cleaning product, or implement that business process? (Note that contextual inquiry is typically a hybrid research form.)

These are more intrusive observational techniques, for sure; and they fall under the category of “ethnographic research” (a method popularized by anthropology but widely used in marketing). But they’ll help you identify needs and beliefs that consumers don’t recognize themselves, or that go unarticulated because they don’t know how to verbalize them.

Eye tracking, heatmapping, and scrollmapping

Now we’re talking a different kind of “observational” research altogether: These are all forms of “observing the observer.” Eye-tracking is a technology that detects where an observer’s pupil is by reflecting near-infrared light off the retina. It follows a viewer’s gaze (on a webpage or an advertisement, for example), giving the business a better sense of where visual attention is drawn—and thus, how that website or ad could be optimized.

The technology creates a heatmap: a graphical representation of where users most often look. (Heatmaps can also show where website users most often click .) Here’s an example from Zoho PageSense :

Usability testing

Usability testing encompasses a series of methods of gathering feedback about the ways consumers use your products (or your app, or your website, etc). One form of usability testing is watching a consumer use a prototype of your device. Another is asking subjects to complete a task on your website or app while you watch, listen, and take notes on their spoken thought processes.

The point is to discover if your offering is intuitive enough that users don’t have to call your business for help navigating your website, or resort to a user manual. (Unless your product is complex enough that they need one… in which case, test your manual !) How satisfying is the user experience? Where are the usability hiccups; where could you make the experience smoother; how could you better encourage desired behaviors (getting them to click that “Purchase” CTA, for example)? UserTesting and UsabilityHub are places to turn for such feedback… or maybe you’ve got a group of willing consumers already ready to help you out.

Trace analyses

A “trace” is any residual physical evidence of past consumer behavior. (Traces always deal in the past). Many of these traces will yield data for your marketing research efforts. These include:

• credit card and sales records
• wear and tear of physical spaces (i.e. tile erosion or carpet wear will indicate customer footfall)
• garbology (purchase patterns can be detected by a glance through the trash)
• cookie data (web users also leave “traces” behind; researchers can analyze browsing history for deeper insights)

Social intelligence

Social listening, too, is “observation”; and it gives you qualitative insights on a quantitative scale . 2.34 billion people worldwide have a social media profile , and many of them are using their profiles to reflect their lives (and their opinions!); so consumer insights and behavior can be uncovered if you’ve got the right tools. Indeed, social media may be one of the most powerful resources available for modern market research.

Of course, social platforms can be used to pose questions, post surveys, and have public conversations with your target market. But it’s also useful for strictly observational research… in which you simply “listen,” without interacting. Intent to purchase, sentiment analysis (how consumers in different demographics feel about your brand), and campaign analysis can all be deduced through listening. You’ll learn what’s getting liked, what’s getting shared, and who is influencing your target market to have the opinions they have.

Joining a Facebook group in your industry will allow you to “observe” by reading through the group feed. What’s more, there are a wide array of tools out there—including Zoho Social , Mention , Social Mention , and Google Alerts —that let you set alerts for certain keywords, such as your business or your product. The platform will notify you every time it uncovers a new mention online… so you only have to do the work of analyzing what that mention might mean for your business.

Q&A sites

Quora , Reddit , and Yahoo! Answers are all substantial online forums that can provide a wealth of consumer behavior. (Free questions from your target market? Yes, please!) You can search these , too, for your product or brand name… though if you’re using some of the tools we mentioned above (Mention and Google Alerts search beyond social media platforms) they’ll catch these mentions for you.

Quora, for example, will notify you when questions have been tagged with the topics you select when you set up your profile. And because it organizes answers based on “upvotes,” you’ll be able to see which answers users think are most valuable (as well as which questions have been most often answered):

You can also conduct broader search queries on these platforms: What are the pain points people out there are complaining about (the ones you could solve)? What is your target market interested in learning (the stuff you could teach them on your business blog )? What’s the sentiment around your competitors’ offerings? What frustrates or pleases them about the currently-available solutions to their problems?

Keyword research

Consumers’ browsing habits will alert you to their pain points, interests, and concerns. What’s more, keyword research helps you discover the language consumers use to talk about those pain points, interests, and concerns. Google offers both autocomplete suggestions and “Searches related to” at the bottom of every SERP; pay attention to these, because they’re the terms most often used or currently trending.

Other keyword tools include Ubersuggest , Google Trends , and WordStream’s Free Keyword Tools . Each offers different forms of intelligence—search volume, related keywords, average cost per click, tracking of keywords based on distinct criteria, and more. You can generate keyword performance reports as well as lists of keywords specific demographics search for. In other words, keyword research isn’t just for SEO: It’s a market research strategy in and of itself.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t include analytics here. The biggest tool in this toolbox, of course, is Google Analytics , which can offer remarkable insights into your market based on how they engage with your website: where visitors are coming from (this is called “referral traffic”), what page they’re first landing on, which pages or blog posts they spend the most time on, and which have the highest exit rate. Analytics will “observe” your market for you, helping you better optimize your virtual offerings in the long run.

You can also combine website tracking with marketing automation, which tracks email engagement (open rates, link clicks, forwards, replies), so you can adjust future email marketing campaigns accordingly.

A third analytics strategy—for use on both your website and your email marketing campaigns —is A/B testing. You’ll develop two different versions of a web page or email, with a single variation between the two (a different headline or call to action, for example). A portion of your visitors or recipients will get one version and the rest will get the other version; the software tracks the two and determines which version is most effective. A/B testing will help you make small, incremental refinements that will ultimately make a big difference. In general, analytics allows you to go from insight to action pretty quickly.

There are plenty of observational techniques we didn’t cover here— tracking software for devices and content analyses are two that come to mind—and the next new technology may be available by the time this page goes live. (We’ll keep you updated, of course.) Each method above will add value to your market research in different ways; and if you couple them with surveys, focus groups, competitor research and other forms of secondary market research, you’ll have a wealth of information at your fingertips to improve every aspect of your business—for both yourself and your target market.

Lauren Shufran

Sign up for our newsletter to get more quality content

How To Present Your Market Research Results And Reports In An Efficient Way

Table of Contents

1) What Is A Market Research Report?

2) Market Research Reports Examples

3) Why Do You Need Market Research Reports

4) How To Make A Market Research Report?

5) Types Of Market Research Reports

6) Challenges & Mistakes Market Research Reports

Market research analyses are the go-to solution for many professionals, and for good reason: they save time, offer fresh insights, and provide clarity on your business. In turn, market research reports will help you to refine and polish your strategy. Plus, a well-crafted report will give your work more credibility while adding weight to any marketing recommendations you offer a client or executive.

But, while this is the case, today’s business world still lacks a way to present market-based research results efficiently. The static, antiquated nature of PowerPoint makes it a bad choice for presenting research discoveries, yet it is still widely used to present results. 

Fortunately, things are moving in the right direction. There are online data visualization tools that make it easy and fast to build powerful market research dashboards. They come in handy to manage the outcomes, but also the most important aspect of any analysis: the presentation of said outcomes, without which it becomes hard to make accurate, sound decisions. 

Here, we consider the benefits of conducting research analyses while looking at how to write and present market research reports, exploring their value, and, ultimately, getting the very most from your research results by using professional market research software .

Let’s get started.

What Is a Market Research Report?

A market research report is an online reporting tool used to analyze the public perception or viability of a company, product, or service. These reports contain valuable and digestible information like customer survey responses and social, economic, and geographical insights.

On a typical market research results example, you can interact with valuable trends and gain insight into consumer behavior and visualizations that will empower you to conduct effective competitor analysis. Rather than adding streams of tenuous data to a static spreadsheet, a full market research report template brings the outcomes of market-driven research to life, giving users a data analysis tool to create actionable strategies from a range of consumer-driven insights.

With digital market analysis reports, you can make your business more intelligent more efficient, and, ultimately, meet the needs of your target audience head-on. This, in turn, will accelerate your commercial success significantly.

Your Chance: Want to test a market research reporting software? Explore our 14-day free trial & benefit from interactive research reports!

How To Present Your Results: 4 Essential Market Research Report Templates

When it comes to sharing rafts of invaluable information, research dashboards are invaluable.

Any market analysis report example worth its salt will allow everyone to get a firm grip on their results and discoveries on a single page with ease. These dynamic online dashboards also boast interactive features that empower the user to drill down deep into specific pockets of information while changing demographic parameters, including gender, age, and region, filtering the results swiftly to focus on the most relevant insights for the task at hand.

These four market research report examples are different but equally essential and cover key elements required for market survey report success. You can also modify each and use it as a client dashboard .

While there are numerous types of dashboards that you can choose from to adjust and optimize your results, we have selected the top 3 that will tell you more about the story behind them. Let’s take a closer look.

1. Market Research Report: Brand Analysis

Our first example shares the results of a brand study. To do so, a survey has been performed on a sample of 1333 people, information that we can see in detail on the left side of the board, summarizing the gender, age groups, and geolocation.

**click to enlarge**

At the dashboard's center, we can see the market-driven research discoveries concerning first brand awareness with and without help, as well as themes and celebrity suggestions, to know which image the audience associates with the brand.

Such dashboards are extremely convenient to share the most important information in a snapshot. Besides being interactive (but it cannot be seen on an image), it is even easier to filter the results according to certain criteria without producing dozens of PowerPoint slides. For instance, I could easily filter the report by choosing only the female answers, only the people aged between 25 and 34, or only the 25-34 males if that is my target audience.

Primary KPIs:

a) Unaided Brand Awareness

The first market research KPI in this most powerful report example comes in the form of unaided brand awareness. Presented in a logical line-style chart, this particular market study report sample KPI is invaluable, as it will give you a clear-cut insight into how people affiliate your brand within their niche.

As you can see from our example, based on a specific survey question, you can see how your brand stacks up against your competitors regarding awareness. Based on these outcomes, you can formulate strategies to help you stand out more in your sector and, ultimately, expand your audience.

b) Aided Brand Awareness

This market survey report sample KPI focuses on aided brand awareness. A visualization that offers a great deal of insight into which brands come to mind in certain niches or categories, here, you will find out which campaigns and messaging your target consumers are paying attention to and engaging with.

By gaining access to this level of insight, you can conduct effective competitor research and gain valuable inspiration for your products, promotional campaigns, and marketing messages.

c) Brand image

When it comes to research reporting, understanding how others perceive your brand is one of the most golden pieces of information you could acquire. If you know how people feel about your brand image, you can take informed and very specific actions that will enhance the way people view and interact with your business.

By asking a focused question, this visual of KPIs will give you a definitive idea of whether respondents agree, disagree, or are undecided on particular descriptions or perceptions related to your brand image. If you’re looking to present yourself and your message in a certain way (reliable, charming, spirited, etc.), you can see how you stack up against the competition and find out if you need to tweak your imagery or tone of voice - invaluable information for any modern business.

d) Celebrity analysis

This indicator is a powerful part of our research KPI dashboard on top, as it will give you a direct insight into the celebrities, influencers, or public figures that your most valued consumers consider when thinking about (or interacting with) your brand.

Displayed in a digestible bar chart-style format, this useful metric will not only give you a solid idea of how your brand messaging is perceived by consumers (depending on the type of celebrity they associate with your brand) but also guide you on which celebrities or influencers you should contact.

By working with the right influencers in your niche, you will boost the impact and reach of your marketing campaigns significantly, improving your commercial awareness in the process. And this is the KPI that will make it happen.

2. Market Research Results On Customer Satisfaction

Here, we have some of the most important data a company should care about: their already-existing customers and their perception of their relationship with the brand. It is crucial when we know that it is five times more expensive to acquire a new consumer than to retain one.

This is why tracking metrics like the customer effort score or the net promoter score (how likely consumers are to recommend your products and services) is essential, especially over time. You need to improve these scores to have happy customers who will always have a much bigger impact on their friends and relatives than any of your amazing ad campaigns. Looking at other satisfaction indicators like the quality, pricing, and design, or the service they received is also a best practice: you want a global view of your performance regarding customer satisfaction metrics .

Such research results reports are a great tool for managers who do not have much time and hence need to use them effectively. Thanks to these dashboards, they can control data for long-running projects anytime.

Primary KPIs :

a) Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Another pivotal part of any informative research presentation is your NPS score, which will tell you how likely a customer is to recommend your brand to their peers.

Centered on overall customer satisfaction, your NPS Score can cover the functions and output of many departments, including marketing, sales, and customer service, but also serve as a building block for a call center dashboard . When you’re considering how to present your research effectively, this balanced KPI offers a masterclass. It’s logical, it has a cohesive color scheme, and it offers access to vital information at a swift glance. With an NPS Score, customers are split into three categories: promoters (those scoring your service 9 or 10), passives (those scoring your service 7 or 8), and detractors (those scoring your service 0 to 6). The aim of the game is to gain more promoters. By gaining an accurate snapshot of your NPS Score, you can create intelligent strategies that will boost your results over time.

b) Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)

The next in our examples of market research reports KPIs comes in the form of the CSAT. The vast majority of consumers that have a bad experience will not return. Honing in on your CSAT is essential if you want to keep your audience happy and encourage long-term consumer loyalty.

This magnificent, full report KPI will show how satisfied customers are with specific elements of your products or services. Getting to grips with these scores will allow you to pinpoint very specific issues while capitalizing on your existing strengths. As a result, you can take measures to improve your CSAT score while sharing positive testimonials on your social media platforms and website to build trust.

c) Customer Effort Score (CES)

When it comes to presenting research findings, keeping track of your CES Score is essential. The CES Score KPI will give you instant access to information on how easy or difficult your audience can interact with or discover your company based on a simple scale of one to ten.

By getting a clear-cut gauge of how your customers find engagement with your brand, you can iron out any weaknesses in your user experience (UX) offerings while spotting any friction, bottlenecks, or misleading messaging. In doing so, you can boost your CES score, satisfy your audience, and boost your bottom line.

3. Market Research Results On Product Innovation

This final market-driven research example report focuses on the product itself and its innovation. It is a useful report for future product development and market potential, as well as pricing decisions.

Using the same sample of surveyed people as for the first market-focused analytical report , they answer questions about their potential usage and purchase of the said product. It is good primary feedback on how the market would receive the new product you would launch. Then comes the willingness to pay, which helps set a price range that will not be too cheap to be trusted nor too expensive for what it is. That will be the main information for your pricing strategy.

a) Usage Intention

The first of our product innovation KPI-based examples comes in the form of usage intention. When you’re considering how to write a market research report, including metrics centered on consumer intent is critical.

This simple yet effective visualization will allow you to understand not only how users see your product but also whether they prefer previous models or competitor versions . While you shouldn’t base all of your product-based research on this KPI, it is very valuable, and you should use it to your advantage frequently.

b) Purchase Intention

Another aspect to consider when looking at how to present market research data is your audience’s willingness or motivation to purchase your product. Offering percentage-based information, this effective KPI provides a wealth of at-a-glance information to help you make accurate forecasts centered on your product and service offerings.

Analyzing this information regularly will give you the confidence and direction to develop strategies that will steer you to a more prosperous future, meeting the ever-changing needs of your audience on an ongoing basis.

c) Willingness To Pay (WPS)

Our final market research example KPI is based on how willing customers are to pay for a particular service or product based on a specific set of parameters. This dynamic visualization, represented in an easy-to-follow pie chart, will allow you to realign the value of your product (USPs, functions, etc.) while setting price points that are most likely to result in conversions. This is a market research presentation template that every modern organization should use to its advantage.

4. Market Research Report On Customer Demographics 

This particular example of market research report, generated with a modern dashboard creator , is a powerful tool, as it displays a cohesive mix of key demographic information in one intuitive space.

By breaking down these deep pockets of consumer-centric information, you can gain the power to develop more impactful customer communications while personalizing every aspect of your target audience’s journey across every channel or touchpoint. As a result, you can transform theoretical insights into actionable strategies that will result in significant commercial growth. 

Every section of this responsive marketing research report works in unison to build a profile of your core audience in a way that will guide your company’s consumer-facing strategies with confidence. With in-depth visuals based on gender, education level, and tech adoption, you have everything you need to speak directly to your audience at your fingertips.

Let’s look at the key performance indicators (KPIs) of this invaluable market research report example in more detail.

a) Customer By Gender

This KPI is highly visual and offers a clear-cut representation of your company’s gender share over time. By gaining access to this vital information, you can deliver a more personalized experience to specific audience segments while ensuring your messaging is fair, engaging, and inclusive.

b) Customers by education level

The next market analysis report template is a KPI that provides a logical breakdown of your customers’ level of education. By using this as a demographic marker, you can refine your products to suit the needs of your audience while crafting your content in a way that truly resonates with different customer groups.

c) Customers by technology adoption

Particularly valuable if you’re a company that sells tech goods or services, this linear KPI will show you where your customers are in terms of technological know-how or usage. By getting to grips with this information over time, you can develop your products or services in a way that offers direct value to your consumers while making your launches or promotions as successful as possible.

d) Customer age groups

By understanding your customers’ age distribution in detail, you can gain a deep understanding of their preferences. And that’s exactly what this market research report sample KPI does. Presented in a bar chart format, this KPI will give you a full breakdown of your customers’ age ranges, allowing you to build detailed buyer personas and segment your audience effectively.

Why Do You Need Market Research Reports?

As the adage goes, “Look before you leap“ – which is exactly what a research report is here for. As the headlights of a car, they will show you the pitfalls and fast lanes on your road to success: likes and dislikes of a specific market segment in a certain geographical area, their expectations, and readiness. Among other things, a research report will let you:

• Get a holistic view of the market : learn more about the target market and understand the various factors involved in the buying decisions. A broader view of the market lets you benchmark other companies you do not focus on. This, in turn, will empower you to gather the industry data that counts most. This brings us to our next point.
• Curate industry information with momentum: Whether you’re looking to rebrand, improve on an existing service, or launch a new product, time is of the essence. By working with the best market research reports created with modern BI reporting tools , you can visualize your discoveries and data, formatting them in a way that not only unearths hidden insights but also tells a story - a narrative that will gain a deeper level of understanding into your niche or industry. The features and functionality of a market analysis report will help you grasp the information that is most valuable to your organization, pushing you ahead of the pack in the process.
• Validate internal research: Doing the internal analysis is one thing, but double-checking with a third party also greatly helps avoid getting blinded by your own data.
• Use actionable data and make informed decisions: Once you understand consumer behavior as well as the market, your competitors, and the issues that will affect the industry in the future, you are better armed to position your brand. Combining all of it with the quantitative data collected will allow you to more successful product development. To learn more about different methods, we suggest you read our guide on data analysis techniques .
• Strategic planning: When you want to map out big-picture organizational goals, launch a new product development, plan a geographic market expansion, or even a merger and acquisition – all of this strategic thinking needs solid foundations to fulfill the variety of challenges that come along.
• Consistency across the board: Collecting, presenting, and analyzing your results in a way that’s smarter, more interactive, and more cohesive will ensure your customer communications, marketing campaigns, user journey, and offerings meet your audience’s needs consistently across the board. The result? Faster growth, increased customer loyalty, and more profit.
• Better communication: The right market research analysis template (or templates) will empower everyone in the company with access to valuable information - the kind that is relevant and comprehensible. When everyone is moving to the beat of the same drum, they will collaborate more effectively and, ultimately, push the venture forward thanks to powerful online data analysis techniques.
• Centralization: Building on the last point, using a powerful market research report template in the form of a business intelligence dashboard will make presenting your findings to external stakeholders and clients far more effective, as you can showcase a wealth of metrics, information, insights, and invaluable feedback from one centralized, highly visual interactive screen. 
• Brand reputation: In the digital age, brand reputation is everything. By making vital improvements in all of the key areas above, you will meet your customers’ needs head-on with consistency while finding innovative ways to stand out from your competitors. These are the key ingredients of long-term success.

How To Present Market Research Analysis Results?

Here we look at how you should present your research reports, considering the steps it takes to connect with the outcomes you need to succeed:

• Collect your data 

As with any reporting process, you first and foremost need to collect the data you’ll use to conduct your studies. Businesses conduct research studies to analyze their brand awareness, identity, and influence in the market. For product development and pricing decisions, among many others. That said, there are many ways to collect information for a market research report. Among some of the most popular ones, we find: 

• Surveys: Probably the most common way to collect research data, surveys can come in the form of open or closed questions that can be answered anonymously. They are the cheapest and fastest way to collect insights about your customers and business. 
• Interviews : These are face-to-face discussions that allow the researcher to analyze responses as well as the body language of the interviewees. This method is often used to define buyer personas by analyzing the subject's budget, job title, lifestyle, wants, and needs, among other things. 
• Focus groups : This method involves a group of people discussing a topic with a mediator. It is often used to evaluate a new product or new feature or to answer a specific question that the researcher might have. 
• Observation-based research : In this type of research, the researcher or business sits back and watches customers interact with the product without any instructions or help. It allows us to identify pain points as well as strong features. 
• Market segmentation : This study allows you to identify and analyze potential market segments to target. Businesses use it to expand into new markets and audiences. 

These are just a few of the many ways in which you can gather your information. The important point is to keep the research objective as straightforward as possible. Supporting yourself with professional BI solutions to clean, manage, and present your insights is probably the smartest choice.

2. Hone in on your research:

When looking at how to source consumer research in a presentation, you should focus on two areas: primary and secondary research. Primary research comes from your internal data, monitoring existing organizational practices, the effectiveness of sales, and the tools used for communication, for instance. Primary research also assesses market competition by evaluating the company plans of the competitors. Secondary research focuses on existing data collected by a third party, information used to perform benchmarking and market analysis. Such metrics help in deciding which market segments are the ones the company should focus its efforts on or where the brand is standing in the minds of consumers. Before you start the reporting process, you should set your goals, segmenting your research into primary and secondary segments to get to grips with the kind of information you need to work with to achieve effective results.

3. Segment your customers:

To give your market research efforts more context, you should segment your customers into different groups according to the preferences outlined in the survey or feedback results or by examining behavioral or demographic data.

If you segment your customers, you can tailor your market research and analysis reports to display only the information, charts, or graphics that will provide actionable insights into their wants, needs, or industry-based pain points. 

• Identify your stakeholders:

Once you’ve drilled down into your results and segmented your consumer groups, it’s important to consider the key stakeholders within the organization that will benefit from your information the most. 

By looking at both internal and external stakeholders, you will give your results a path to effective presentation, gaining the tools to understand which areas of feedback or data are most valuable, as well as most redundant. As a consequence, you will ensure your results are concise and meet the exact information needs of every stakeholder involved in the process.

• Set your KPIs:

First, remember that your reports should be concise and accurate - straight to the point without omitting any essential information. Work to ensure your insights are clean and organized, with participants grouped into relevant categories (demographics, profession, industry, education, etc.). Once you’ve organized your research, set your goals, and cleaned your data, you should set your KPIs to ensure your report is populated with the right visualizations to get the job done. Explore our full library of interactive KPI examples for inspiration.

• Include competitor’s analysis 

Whether you are doing product innovation research, customer demographics, pricing, or any other, including some level of insights about competitors in your reports is always recommended as it can help your business or client better understand where they stand in the market. That being said, competitor analysis is not as easy as picking a list of companies in the same industry and listing them. Your main competitor can be just a company's division in an entirely different industry. For example, Apple Music competes with Spotify even though Apple is a technology company. Therefore, it is important to carefully analyze competitors from a general but detailed level. 

Providing this kind of information in your reports can also help you find areas that competitors are not exploiting or that are weaker and use them to your advantage to become a market leader. 

• Produce your summary:

To complement your previous efforts, writing an executive summary of one or two pages that will explain the general idea of the report is advisable. Then come the usual body parts:

• An introduction providing background information, target audience, and objectives;
• The qualitative research describes the participants in the research and why they are relevant to the business;
• The survey research outlines the questions asked and answered;
• A summary of the insights and metrics used to draw the conclusions, the research methods chosen, and why;
• A presentation of the findings based on your research and an in-depth explanation of these conclusions.
• Use a mix of visualizations:

When presenting your results and discoveries, you should aim to use a balanced mix of text, graphs, charts, and interactive visualizations.

Using your summary as a guide, you should decide which type of visualization will present each specific piece of market research data most effectively (often, the easier to understand and more accessible, the better).

Doing so will allow you to create a story that will put your research information into a living, breathing context, providing a level of insight you need to transform industry, competitor, or consumer info or feedback into actionable strategies and initiatives.

• Be careful not to mislead 

Expanding on the point above, using a mix of visuals can prove highly valuable in presenting your results in an engaging and understandable way. That being said, when not used correctly, graphs and charts can also become misleading. This is a popular practice in the media, news, and politics, where designers tweak the visuals to manipulate the masses into believing a certain conclusion. This is a very unethical practice that can also happen by mistake when you don’t pick the right chart or are not using it in the correct way. Therefore, it is important to outline the message you are trying to convey and pick the chart type that will best suit those needs. 

Additionally, you should also be careful with the data you choose to display, as it can also become misleading. This can happen if you, for example, cherry-pick data, which means only showing insights that prove a conclusion instead of the bigger picture. Or confusing correlation with causation, which means assuming that because two events happened simultaneously, one caused the other. 

Being aware of these practices is of utmost importance as objectivity is crucial when it comes to dealing with data analytics, especially if you are presenting results to clients. Our guides on misleading statistics and misleading data visualizations can help you learn more about this important topic. 

• Use professional dashboards:

To optimize your market research discoveries, you must work with a dynamic business dashboard . Not only are modern dashboards presentable and customizable, but they will offer you past, predictive, and real-time insights that are accurate, interactive, and yield long-lasting results.

All market research reports companies or businesses gathering industry or consumer-based information will benefit from professional dashboards, as they offer a highly powerful means of presenting your data in a way everyone can understand. And when that happens, everyone wins.

Did you know? The interactive nature of modern dashboards like datapine also offers the ability to quickly filter specific pockets of information with ease, offering swift access to invaluable insights.

• Prioritize interactivity 

The times when reports were static are long gone. Today, to extract the maximum value out of your research data, you need to be able to explore the information and answer any critical questions that arise during the presentation of results. To do so, modern reporting tools provide multiple interactivity features to help you bring your research results to life. 

For instance, a drill-down filter lets you go into lower levels of hierarchical data without generating another graph. For example, imagine you surveyed customers from 10 different countries. In your report, you have a chart displaying the number of customers by country, but you want to analyze a specific country in detail. A drill down filter would enable you to click on a specific country and display data by city on that same chart. Even better, a global filter would allow you to filter the entire report to show only results for that specific country. 

Through the use of interactive filters, such as the one we just mentioned, you’ll not only make the presentation of results more efficient and profound, but you’ll also avoid generating pages-long reports to display static results. All your information will be displayed in a single interactive page that can be filtered and explored upon need.  

• Customize the reports 

This is a tip that is valuable for any kind of research report, especially when it comes to agencies that are reporting to external clients. Customizing the report to match your client’s colors, logo, font, and overall branding will help them grasp the data better, thanks to a familiar environment. This is an invaluable tip as often your audience will not feel comfortable dealing with data and might find it hard to understand or intimidating. Therefore, providing a familiar look that is also interactive and easier to understand will keep them engaged and collaborative throughout the process. 

Plus, customizing the overall appearance of the report will also make your agency look more professional, adding extra value to your service. 

• Know your design essentials 

When you’re presenting your market research reports sample to internal or external stakeholders, having a firm grasp on fundamental design principles will make your metrics and insights far more persuasive and compelling.

By arranging your metrics in a balanced and logical format, you can guide users toward key pockets of information exactly when needed. In turn, this will improve decision-making and navigation, making your reports as impactful as possible.

For essential tips, read our 23 dashboard design principles & best practices to enhance your analytics process.

• Think of security and privacy 

Cyberattacks are increasing at a concerning pace, making security a huge priority for organizations of all sizes today. The costs of having your sensitive information leaked are not only financial but also reputational, as customers might not trust you again if their data ends up in the wrong hands. Given that market research analysis is often performed by agencies that handle data from clients, security and privacy should be a top priority.  

To ensure the required security and privacy, it is necessary to invest in the right tools to present your research results. For instance, tools such as datapine offer enterprise-level security protocols that ensure your information is encrypted and protected at all times. Plus, the tool also offers additional security features, such as being able to share your reports through a password-protected URL or to set viewer rights to ensure only the right people can access and manipulate the data. 

• Keep on improving & evolving

Each time you gather or gain new marketing research reports or market research analysis report intel, you should aim to refine your existing dashboards to reflect the ever-changing landscape around you.

If you update your reports and dashboards according to the new research you conduct and new insights you connect with, you will squeeze maximum value from your metrics, enjoying consistent development in the process.

Types of Market Research Reports: Primary & Secondary Research

With so many market research examples and such little time, knowing how to best present your insights under pressure can prove tricky.

To squeeze every last drop of value from your market research efforts and empower everyone with access to the right information, you should arrange your information into two main groups: primary research and secondary research.

A. Primary research

Primary research is based on acquiring direct or first-hand information related to your industry or sector and the customers linked to it.

Exploratory primary research is an initial form of information collection where your team might set out to identify potential issues, opportunities, and pain points related to your business or industry. This type of research is usually carried out in the form of general surveys or open-ended consumer Q&As, which nowadays are often performed online rather than offline . 

Specific primary research is definitive, with information gathered based on the issues, information, opportunities, or pain points your business has already uncovered. When doing this kind of research, you can drill down into a specific segment of your customers and seek answers to the opportunities, issues, or pain points in question.

When you’re conducting primary research to feed into your market research reporting efforts, it’s important to find reliable information sources. The most effective primary research sources include:

• Consumer-based statistical data
• Social media content
• Polls and Q&A
• Trend-based insights
• Competitor research
• First-hand interviews

B. Secondary research

Secondary research refers to every strand of relevant data or public records you have to gain a deeper insight into your market and target consumers. These sources include trend reports, market stats, industry-centric content, and sales insights you have at your disposal.  Secondary research is an effective way of gathering valuable intelligence about your competitors. 

You can gather very precise, insightful secondary market research insights from:

• Public records and resources like Census data, governmental reports, or labor stats
• Commercial resources like Gartner, Statista, or Forrester
• Articles, documentaries, and interview transcripts

Another essential branch of both primary and secondary research is internal intelligence. When it comes to efficient market research reporting examples that will benefit your organization, looking inward is a powerful move. 

Existing sales, demographic, or marketing performance insights will lead you to valuable conclusions. Curating internal information will ensure your market research discoveries are well-rounded while helping you connect with the information that will ultimately give you a panoramic view of your target market. 

By understanding both types of research and how they can offer value to your business, you can carefully choose the right informational sources, gather a wide range of intelligence related to your specific niche, and, ultimately, choose the right market research report sample for your specific needs.

If you tailor your market research report format to the type of research you conduct, you will present your visualizations in a way that provides the right people with the right insights, rather than throwing bundles of facts and figures on the wall, hoping that some of them stick.

Taking ample time to explore a range of primary and secondary sources will give your discoveries genuine context. By doing so, you will have a wealth of actionable consumer and competitor insights at your disposal at every stage of your organization’s development (a priceless weapon in an increasingly competitive digital age). 

Dynamic market research is the cornerstone of business development, and a dashboard builder is the vessel that brings these all-important insights to life. Once you get into that mindset, you will ensure that your research results always deliver maximum value.

Common Challenges & Mistakes Of Market Research Reporting & Analysis

We’ve explored different types of market research analysis examples and considered how to conduct effective research. Now, it’s time to look at the key mistakes of market research reporting.  Let’s start with the mistakes.

The mistakes

One of the biggest mistakes that stunt the success of a company’s market research efforts is strategy. Without taking the time to gather an adequate mix of insights from various sources and define your key aims or goals, your processes will become disjointed. You will also suffer from a severe lack of organizational vision.

For your market research-centric strategy to work, everyone within the company must be on the same page. Your core aims and objectives must align throughout the business, and everyone must be clear on their specific role. If you try to craft a collaborative strategy and decide on your informational sources from the very start of your journey, your strategy will deliver true growth and intelligence.

• Measurement

Another classic market research mistake is measurement – or, more accurately, a lack of precise measurement. When embarking on market intelligence gathering processes, many companies fail to select the right KPIs and set the correct benchmarks for the task at hand. Without clearly defined goals, many organizations end up with a market analysis report format that offers little or no value in terms of decision-making or market insights.

To drive growth with your market research efforts, you must set clearly defined KPIs that align with your specific goals, aims, and desired outcomes.

• Competition

A common mistake among many new or scaling companies is failing to explore and examine the competition. This will leave you with gaping informational blindspots. To truly benefit from market research, you must gather valuable nuggets of information from every key source available. Rather than solely looking at your consumers and the wider market (which is incredibly important), you should take the time to see what approach your direct competitors have adopted while getting to grips with the content and communications.

One of the most effective ways of doing so (and avoiding such a monumental market research mistake) is by signing up for your competitors’ mailing lists, downloading their apps, and examining their social media content. This will give you inspiration for your own efforts while allowing you to exploit any gaps in the market that your competitors are failing to fill.

The challenges

• Informational quality

We may have an almost infinite wealth of informational insights at our fingertips, but when it comes to market research, knowing which information to trust can prove an uphill struggle.

When working with metrics, many companies risk connecting with inaccurate insights or leading to a fruitless informational rabbit hole, wasting valuable time and resources in the process. To avoid such a mishap, working with a trusted modern market research and analysis sample is the only way forward.

• Senior buy-in

Another pressing market research challenge that stunts organizational growth is the simple case of senior buy-in. While almost every senior decision-maker knows that market research is an essential component of a successful commercial strategy, many are reluctant to invest an ample amount of time or money in the pursuit.

The best way to overcome such a challenge is by building a case that defines exactly how your market research strategies will offer a healthy ROI to every key aspect of the organization, from marketing and sales to customer experience (CX) and beyond.

• Response rates

Low interview, focus group, or poll response rates can have a serious impact on the success and value of your market research strategy. Even with adequate senior buy-in, you can’t always guarantee that you will get enough responses from early-round interviews or poll requests. If you don’t, your market research discoveries run the risk of being shallow or offering little in the way of actionable insight.

To overcome this common challenge, you can improve the incentive you offer your market research prospects while networking across various platforms to discover new contact opportunities. Changing the tone of voice of your ads or emails will also help boost your consumer or client response rates.

Bringing Your Reports a Step Further

Even if it is still widespread for market-style research results presentation, using PowerPoint at this stage is a hassle and presents many downsides and complications. When busy managers or short-on-time top executives grab a report, they want a quick overview that gives them an idea of the results and the big picture that addresses the objectives: they need a dashboard. This can be applied to all areas of a business that need fast and interactive data visualizations to support their decision-making.

We all know that a picture conveys more information than simple text or figures, so managing to bring it all together on an actionable dashboard will convey your message more efficiently. Besides, market research dashboards have the incredible advantage of always being up-to-date since they work with real-time insights: the synchronization/updating nightmare of dozens of PowerPoint slides doesn’t exist for you anymore. This is particularly helpful for tracking studies performed over time that recurrently need their data to be updated with more recent ones.

In today’s fast-paced business environment, companies must identify and grab new opportunities as they arise while staying away from threats and adapting quickly. In order to always be a step further and make the right decisions, it is critical to perform market research studies to get the information needed and make important decisions with confidence.

We’ve asked the question, “What is a market research report?”, and examined the dynamics of a modern market research report example, and one thing’s for sure: a visual market research report is the best way to understand your customer and thus increase their satisfaction by meeting their expectations head-on. 

From looking at a sample of a market research report, it’s also clear that modern dashboards help you see what is influencing your business with clarity, understand where your brand is situated in the market, and gauge the temperature of your niche or industry before a product or service launch. Once all the studies are done, you must present them efficiently to ensure everyone in the business can make the right decisions that result in real progress. Market research reports are your key allies in the matter.

To start presenting your results with efficient, interactive, dynamic research reports and win on tomorrow’s commercial battlefield, try our dashboard reporting software and test every feature with our 14-day free trial !

Market Research: A How-To Guide and Template

Discover the different types of market research, how to conduct your own market research, and use a free template to help you along the way.

MARKET RESEARCH KIT

5 Research and Planning Templates + a Free Guide on How to Use Them in Your Market Research

Updated: 02/21/24

Published: 02/21/24

Today's consumers have a lot of power. As a business, you must have a deep understanding of who your buyers are and what influences their purchase decisions.

Enter: Market Research.

Whether you're new to market research or not, I created this guide to help you conduct a thorough study of your market, target audience, competition, and more. Let’s dive in.

Table of Contents

What is market research?

Primary vs. secondary research, types of market research, how to do market research, market research report template, market research examples.

Market research is the process of gathering information about your target market and customers to verify the success of a new product, help your team iterate on an existing product, or understand brand perception to ensure your team is effectively communicating your company's value effectively.

Market research can answer various questions about the state of an industry. But if you ask me, it's hardly a crystal ball that marketers can rely on for insights on their customers.

Market researchers investigate several areas of the market, and it can take weeks or even months to paint an accurate picture of the business landscape.

However, researching just one of those areas can make you more intuitive to who your buyers are and how to deliver value that no other business is offering them right now.

How? Consider these two things:

• Your competitors also have experienced individuals in the industry and a customer base. It‘s very possible that your immediate resources are, in many ways, equal to those of your competition’s immediate resources. Seeking a larger sample size for answers can provide a better edge.
• Your customers don't represent the attitudes of an entire market. They represent the attitudes of the part of the market that is already drawn to your brand.

The market research services market is growing rapidly, which signifies a strong interest in market research as we enter 2024. The market is expected to grow from roughly $75 billion in 2021 to $90.79 billion in 2025 .

Free Market Research Kit

• SWOT Analysis Template
• Survey Template
• Focus Group Template

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Why do market research?

Market research allows you to meet your buyer where they are.

As our world becomes louder and demands more of our attention, this proves invaluable.

By understanding your buyer's problems, pain points, and desired solutions, you can aptly craft your product or service to naturally appeal to them.

Market research also provides insight into the following:

• Where your target audience and current customers conduct their product or service research
• Which of your competitors your target audience looks to for information, options, or purchases
• What's trending in your industry and in the eyes of your buyer
• Who makes up your market and what their challenges are
• What influences purchases and conversions among your target audience
• Consumer attitudes about a particular topic, pain, product, or brand
• Whether there‘s demand for the business initiatives you’re investing in
• Unaddressed or underserved customer needs that can be flipped into selling opportunity
• Attitudes about pricing for a particular product or service

Ultimately, market research allows you to get information from a larger sample size of your target audience, eliminating bias and assumptions so that you can get to the heart of consumer attitudes.

As a result, you can make better business decisions.

To give you an idea of how extensive market research can get , consider that it can either be qualitative or quantitative in nature — depending on the studies you conduct and what you're trying to learn about your industry.

Qualitative research is concerned with public opinion, and explores how the market feels about the products currently available in that market.

Quantitative research is concerned with data, and looks for relevant trends in the information that's gathered from public records.

That said, there are two main types of market research that your business can conduct to collect actionable information on your products: primary research and secondary research.

Primary Research

Primary research is the pursuit of first-hand information about your market and the customers within your market.

It's useful when segmenting your market and establishing your buyer personas.

Primary market research tends to fall into one of two buckets:

• Exploratory Primary Research: This kind of primary market research normally takes place as a first step — before any specific research has been performed — and may involve open-ended interviews or surveys with small numbers of people.
• Specific Primary Research: This type of research often follows exploratory research. In specific research, you take a smaller or more precise segment of your audience and ask questions aimed at solving a suspected problem.

Secondary Research

Secondary research is all the data and public records you have at your disposal to draw conclusions from (e.g. trend reports, market statistics, industry content, and sales data you already have on your business).

Secondary research is particularly useful for analyzing your competitors . The main buckets your secondary market research will fall into include:

• Public Sources: These sources are your first and most-accessible layer of material when conducting secondary market research. They're often free to find and review — like government statistics (e.g., from the U.S. Census Bureau ).
• Commercial Sources: These sources often come in the form of pay-to-access market reports, consisting of industry insight compiled by a research agency like Pew , Gartner , or Forrester .
• Internal Sources: This is the market data your organization already has like average revenue per sale, customer retention rates, and other historical data that can help you draw conclusions on buyer needs.
• Focus Groups
• Product/ Service Use Research
• Observation-Based Research
• Buyer Persona Research
• Market Segmentation Research
• Pricing Research
• Competitive Analysis Research
• Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty Research
• Brand Awareness Research
• Campaign Research

1. Interviews

Interviews allow for face-to-face discussions so you can allow for a natural flow of conversation. Your interviewees can answer questions about themselves to help you design your buyer personas and shape your entire marketing strategy.

2. Focus Groups

Focus groups provide you with a handful of carefully-selected people that can test out your product and provide feedback. This type of market research can give you ideas for product differentiation.

3. Product/Service Use Research

Product or service use research offers insight into how and why your audience uses your product or service. This type of market research also gives you an idea of the product or service's usability for your target audience.

4. Observation-Based Research

Observation-based research allows you to sit back and watch the ways in which your target audience members go about using your product or service, what works well in terms of UX , and which aspects of it could be improved.

5. Buyer Persona Research

Buyer persona research gives you a realistic look at who makes up your target audience, what their challenges are, why they want your product or service, and what they need from your business or brand.

6. Market Segmentation Research

Market segmentation research allows you to categorize your target audience into different groups (or segments) based on specific and defining characteristics. This way, you can determine effective ways to meet their needs.

7. Pricing Research

Pricing research helps you define your pricing strategy . It gives you an idea of what similar products or services in your market sell for and what your target audience is willing to pay.

8. Competitive Analysis

Competitive analyses give you a deep understanding of the competition in your market and industry. You can learn about what's doing well in your industry and how you can separate yourself from the competition .

9. Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty Research

Customer satisfaction and loyalty research gives you a look into how you can get current customers to return for more business and what will motivate them to do so (e.g., loyalty programs , rewards, remarkable customer service).

10. Brand Awareness Research

Brand awareness research tells you what your target audience knows about and recognizes from your brand. It tells you about the associations people make when they think about your business.

11. Campaign Research

Campaign research entails looking into your past campaigns and analyzing their success among your target audience and current customers. The goal is to use these learnings to inform future campaigns.

• Define your buyer persona.
• Identify a persona group to engage.
• Prepare research questions for your market research participants.
• List your primary competitors.
• Summarize your findings.

1. Define your buyer persona.

You have to understand who your customers are and how customers in your industry make buying decisions.

This is where your buyer personas come in handy. Buyer personas — sometimes referred to as marketing personas — are fictional, generalized representations of your ideal customers.

Use a free tool to create a buyer persona that your entire company can use to market, sell, and serve better.

Don't forget to share this post!

Related articles.

What is a Competitive Analysis — and How Do You Conduct One?

SWOT Analysis: How To Do One [With Template & Examples]

20+ Tools & Resources for Conducting Market Research

TAM SAM SOM: What Do They Mean & How Do You Calculate Them?

How to Run a Competitor Analysis [Free Guide]

5 Challenges Marketers Face in Understanding Audiences [New Data + Market Researcher Tips]

Causal Research: The Complete Guide

Total Addressable Market (TAM): What It Is & How You Can Calculate It

What Is Market Share & How Do You Calculate It?

3 Ways Data Privacy Changes Benefit Marketers [New Data]

Free Guide & Templates to Help Your Market Research

Marketing software that helps you drive revenue, save time and resources, and measure and optimize your investments — all on one easy-to-use platform

Learn / Blog / Article

Back to blog

How to do market research in 4 steps: a lean approach to marketing research

From pinpointing your target audience and assessing your competitive advantage, to ongoing product development and customer satisfaction efforts, market research is a practice your business can only benefit from.

Learn how to conduct quick and effective market research using a lean approach in this article full of strategies and practical examples. 

Last updated

Reading time.

A comprehensive (and successful) business strategy is not complete without some form of market research—you can’t make informed and profitable business decisions without truly understanding your customer base and the current market trends that drive your business.

In this article, you’ll learn how to conduct quick, effective market research  using an approach called 'lean market research'. It’s easier than you might think, and it can be done at any stage in a product’s lifecycle.

How to conduct lean market research in 4 steps

What is market research, why is market research so valuable, advantages of lean market research, 4 common market research methods, 5 common market research questions, market research faqs.

We’ll jump right into our 4-step approach to lean market research. To show you how it’s done in the real world, each step includes a practical example from Smallpdf , a Swiss company that used lean market research to reduce their tool’s error rate by 75% and boost their Net Promoter Score® (NPS) by 1%.

Research your market the lean way...

From on-page surveys to user interviews, Hotjar has the tools to help you scope out your market and get to know your customers—without breaking the bank.

The following four steps and practical examples will give you a solid market research plan for understanding who your users are and what they want from a company like yours.

1. Create simple user personas

A user persona is a semi-fictional character based on psychographic and demographic data from people who use websites and products similar to your own. Start by defining broad user categories, then elaborate on them later to further segment your customer base and determine your ideal customer profile .

How to get the data: use on-page or emailed surveys and interviews to understand your users and what drives them to your business.

How to do it right: whatever survey or interview questions you ask, they should answer the following questions about the customer:

Who are they?

What is their main goal?

What is their main barrier to achieving this goal?

Pitfalls to avoid:

Don’t ask too many questions! Keep it to five or less, otherwise you’ll inundate them and they’ll stop answering thoughtfully.

Don’t worry too much about typical demographic questions like age or background. Instead, focus on the role these people play (as it relates to your product) and their goals.

How Smallpdf did it: Smallpdf ran an on-page survey for a couple of weeks and received 1,000 replies. They learned that many of their users were administrative assistants, students, and teachers.

Next, they used the survey results to create simple user personas like this one for admins:

Who are they? Administrative Assistants.

What is their main goal? Creating Word documents from a scanned, hard-copy document or a PDF where the source file was lost.

What is their main barrier to achieving it? Converting a scanned PDF doc to a Word file.

💡Pro tip: Smallpdf used Hotjar Surveys to run their user persona survey. Our survey tool helped them avoid the pitfalls of guesswork and find out who their users really are, in their own words. 

You can design a survey and start running it in minutes with our easy-to-use drag and drop builder. Customize your survey to fit your needs, from a sleek one-question pop-up survey to a fully branded questionnaire sent via email. 

We've also created 40+ free survey templates that you can start collecting data with, including a user persona survey like the one Smallpdf used.

2. Conduct observational research

Observational research involves taking notes while watching someone use your product (or a similar product).

Overt vs. covert observation

Overt observation involves asking customers if they’ll let you watch them use your product. This method is often used for user testing and it provides a great opportunity for collecting live product or customer feedback .

Covert observation means studying users ‘in the wild’ without them knowing. This method works well if you sell a type of product that people use regularly, and it offers the purest observational data because people often behave differently when they know they’re being watched. 

Tips to do it right:

Record an entry in your field notes, along with a timestamp, each time an action or event occurs.

Make note of the users' workflow, capturing the ‘what,’ ‘why,’ and ‘for whom’ of each action.

Don’t record identifiable video or audio data without consent. If recording people using your product is helpful for achieving your research goal, make sure all participants are informed and agree to the terms.

Don’t forget to explain why you’d like to observe them (for overt observation). People are more likely to cooperate if you tell them you want to improve the product.

💡Pro tip: while conducting field research out in the wild can wield rewarding results, you can also conduct observational research remotely. Hotjar Recordings is a tool that lets you capture anonymized user sessions of real people interacting with your website. 

Observe how customers navigate your pages and products to gain an inside look into their user behavior . This method is great for conducting exploratory research with the purpose of identifying more specific issues to investigate further, like pain points along the customer journey and opportunities for optimizing conversion .

With Hotjar Recordings you can observe real people using your site without capturing their sensitive information

How Smallpdf did it: here’s how Smallpdf observed two different user personas both covertly and overtly.

Observing students (covert): Kristina Wagner, Principle Product Manager at Smallpdf, went to cafes and libraries at two local universities and waited until she saw students doing PDF-related activities. Then she watched and took notes from a distance. One thing that struck her was the difference between how students self-reported their activities vs. how they behaved (i.e, the self-reporting bias). Students, she found, spent hours talking, listening to music, or simply staring at a blank screen rather than working. When she did find students who were working, she recorded the task they were performing and the software they were using (if she recognized it).

Observing administrative assistants (overt): Kristina sent emails to admins explaining that she’d like to observe them at work, and she asked those who agreed to try to batch their PDF work for her observation day. While watching admins work, she learned that they frequently needed to scan documents into PDF-format and then convert those PDFs into Word docs. By observing the challenges admins faced, Smallpdf knew which products to target for improvement.

“Data is really good for discovery and validation, but there is a bit in the middle where you have to go and find the human.”

3. Conduct individual interviews

Interviews are one-on-one conversations with members of your target market. They allow you to dig deep and explore their concerns, which can lead to all sorts of revelations.

Listen more, talk less. Be curious.

Act like a journalist, not a salesperson. Rather than trying to talk your company up, ask people about their lives, their needs, their frustrations, and how a product like yours could help.

Ask "why?" so you can dig deeper. Get into the specifics and learn about their past behavior.

Record the conversation. Focus on the conversation and avoid relying solely on notes by recording the interview. There are plenty of services that will transcribe recorded conversations for a good price (including Hotjar!).

Avoid asking leading questions , which reveal bias on your part and pushes respondents to answer in a certain direction (e.g. “Have you taken advantage of the amazing new features we just released?).

Don't ask loaded questions , which sneak in an assumption which, if untrue, would make it impossible to answer honestly. For example, we can’t ask you, “What did you find most useful about this article?” without asking whether you found the article useful in the first place.

Be cautious when asking opinions about the future (or predictions of future behavior). Studies suggest that people aren’t very good at predicting their future behavior. This is due to several cognitive biases, from the misguided exceptionalism bias (we’re good at guessing what others will do, but we somehow think we’re different), to the optimism bias (which makes us see things with rose-colored glasses), to the ‘illusion of control’ (which makes us forget the role of randomness in future events).

How Smallpdf did it: Kristina explored her teacher user persona by speaking with university professors at a local graduate school. She learned that the school was mostly paperless and rarely used PDFs, so for the sake of time, she moved on to the admins.

A bit of a letdown? Sure. But this story highlights an important lesson: sometimes you follow a lead and come up short, so you have to make adjustments on the fly. Lean market research is about getting solid, actionable insights quickly so you can tweak things and see what works.

💡Pro tip: to save even more time, conduct remote interviews using an online user research service like Hotjar Engage , which automates the entire interview process, from recruitment and scheduling to hosting and recording.

You can interview your own customers or connect with people from our diverse pool of 200,000+ participants from 130+ countries and 25 industries. And no need to fret about taking meticulous notes—Engage will automatically transcribe the interview for you.

4. Analyze the data (without drowning in it)

The following techniques will help you wrap your head around the market data you collect without losing yourself in it. Remember, the point of lean market research is to find quick, actionable insights.

A flow model is a diagram that tracks the flow of information within a system. By creating a simple visual representation of how users interact with your product and each other, you can better assess their needs.

You’ll notice that admins are at the center of Smallpdf’s flow model, which represents the flow of PDF-related documents throughout a school. This flow model shows the challenges that admins face as they work to satisfy their own internal and external customers.

Affinity diagram

An affinity diagram is a way of sorting large amounts of data into groups to better understand the big picture. For example, if you ask your users about their profession, you’ll notice some general themes start to form, even though the individual responses differ. Depending on your needs, you could group them by profession, or more generally by industry.

We wrote a guide about how to analyze open-ended questions to help you sort through and categorize large volumes of response data. You can also do this by hand by clipping up survey responses or interview notes and grouping them (which is what Kristina does).

“For an interview, you will have somewhere between 30 and 60 notes, and those notes are usually direct phrases. And when you literally cut them up into separate pieces of paper and group them, they should make sense by themselves.”

Pro tip: if you’re conducting an online survey with Hotjar, keep your team in the loop by sharing survey responses automatically via our Slack and Microsoft Team integrations. Reading answers as they come in lets you digest the data in pieces and can help prepare you for identifying common themes when it comes time for analysis.

Hotjar lets you easily share survey responses with your team

Customer journey map

A customer journey map is a diagram that shows the way a typical prospect becomes a paying customer. It outlines their first interaction with your brand and every step in the sales cycle, from awareness to repurchase (and hopefully advocacy).

The above  customer journey map , created by our team at Hotjar, shows many ways a customer might engage with our tool. Your map will be based on your own data and business model.

📚 Read more: if you’re new to customer journey maps, we wrote this step-by-step guide to creating your first customer journey map in 2 and 1/2 days with free templates you can download and start using immediately.

Next steps: from research to results

So, how do you turn market research insights into tangible business results? Let’s look at the actions Smallpdf took after conducting their lean market research: first they implemented changes, then measured the impact.

Implement changes

Based on what Smallpdf learned about the challenges that one key user segment (admins) face when trying to convert PDFs into Word files, they improved their ‘PDF to Word’ conversion tool.

We won’t go into the details here because it involves a lot of technical jargon, but they made the entire process simpler and more straightforward for users. Plus, they made it so that their system recognized when you drop a PDF file into their ‘Word to PDF’ converter instead of the ‘PDF to Word’ converter, so users wouldn’t have to redo the task when they made that mistake. 

In other words: simple market segmentation for admins showed a business need that had to be accounted for, and customers are happier overall after Smallpdf implemented an informed change to their product.

Measure results

According to the Lean UX model, product and UX changes aren’t retained unless they achieve results.

Smallpdf’s changes produced:

A 75% reduction in error rate for the ‘PDF to Word’ converter

A 1% increase in NPS

Greater confidence in the team’s marketing efforts

"With all the changes said and done, we've cut our original error rate in four, which is huge. We increased our NPS by +1%, which isn't huge, but it means that of the users who received a file, they were still slightly happier than before, even if they didn't notice that anything special happened at all.”

Subscribe to fresh and free monthly insights.

Over 50,000 people interested in UX, product,
 digital empathy, and beyond, receive our newsletter every month. No spam, just thoughtful perspectives from a range of experts, new approaches to remote work, and loads more valuable insights. If that floats your boat, why not become a subscriber?

I have read and accepted the message outlined here: Hotjar uses the information you provide to us to send you relevant content, updates and offers from time to time. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link at the bottom of any email.

Market research (or marketing research) is any set of techniques used to gather information and better understand a company’s target market. This might include primary research on brand awareness and customer satisfaction or secondary market research on market size and competitive analysis. Businesses use this information to design better products, improve user experience, and craft a marketing strategy that attracts quality leads and improves conversion rates.

David Darmanin, one of Hotjar’s founders, launched two startups before Hotjar took off—but both companies crashed and burned. Each time, he and his team spent months trying to design an amazing new product and user experience, but they failed because they didn’t have a clear understanding of what the market demanded.

With Hotjar, they did things differently . Long story short, they conducted market research in the early stages to figure out what consumers really wanted, and the team made (and continues to make) constant improvements based on market and user research.

Without market research, it’s impossible to understand your users. Sure, you might have a general idea of who they are and what they need, but you have to dig deep if you want to win their loyalty.

Here’s why research matters:

Obsessing over your users is the only way to win. If you don’t care deeply about them, you’ll lose potential customers to someone who does.

Analytics gives you the ‘what’, while research gives you the ‘why’. Big data, user analytics , and dashboards can tell you what people do at scale, but only research can tell you what they’re thinking and why they do what they do. For example, analytics can tell you that customers leave when they reach your pricing page, but only research can explain why.

Research beats assumptions, trends, and so-called best practices. Have you ever watched your colleagues rally behind a terrible decision? Bad ideas are often the result of guesswork, emotional reasoning, death by best practices , and defaulting to the Highest Paid Person’s Opinion (HiPPO). By listening to your users and focusing on their customer experience , you’re less likely to get pulled in the wrong direction.

Research keeps you from planning in a vacuum. Your team might be amazing, but you and your colleagues simply can’t experience your product the way your customers do. Customers might use your product in a way that surprises you, and product features that seem obvious to you might confuse them. Over-planning and refusing to test your assumptions is a waste of time, money, and effort because you’ll likely need to make changes once your untested business plan gets put into practice.

Lean User Experience (UX) design is a model for continuous improvement that relies on quick, efficient research to understand customer needs and test new product features.

Lean market research can help you become more...

Efficient: it gets you closer to your customers, faster.

Cost-effective: no need to hire an expensive marketing firm to get things started.

Competitive: quick, powerful insights can place your products on the cutting edge.

As a small business or sole proprietor, conducting lean market research is an attractive option when investing in a full-blown research project might seem out of scope or budget.

There are lots of different ways you could conduct market research and collect customer data, but you don’t have to limit yourself to just one research method. Four common types of market research techniques include surveys, interviews, focus groups, and customer observation.

Which method you use may vary based on your business type: ecommerce business owners have different goals from SaaS businesses, so it’s typically prudent to mix and match these methods based on your particular goals and what you need to know.

1. Surveys: the most commonly used

Surveys are a form of qualitative research that ask respondents a short series of open- or closed-ended questions, which can be delivered as an on-screen questionnaire or via email. When we asked 2,000 Customer Experience (CX) professionals about their company’s approach to research , surveys proved to be the most commonly used market research technique.

What makes online surveys so popular?  

They’re easy and inexpensive to conduct, and you can do a lot of data collection quickly. Plus, the data is pretty straightforward to analyze, even when you have to analyze open-ended questions whose answers might initially appear difficult to categorize.

We've built a number of survey templates ready and waiting for you. Grab a template and share with your customers in just a few clicks.

💡 Pro tip: you can also get started with Hotjar AI for Surveys to create a survey in mere seconds . Just enter your market research goal and watch as the AI generates a survey and populates it with relevant questions. 

Once you’re ready for data analysis, the AI will prepare an automated research report that succinctly summarizes key findings, quotes, and suggested next steps.

An example research report generated by Hotjar AI for Surveys

2. Interviews: the most insightful

Interviews are one-on-one conversations with members of your target market. Nothing beats a face-to-face interview for diving deep (and reading non-verbal cues), but if an in-person meeting isn’t possible, video conferencing is a solid second choice.

Regardless of how you conduct it, any type of in-depth interview will produce big benefits in understanding your target customers.

What makes interviews so insightful?

By speaking directly with an ideal customer, you’ll gain greater empathy for their experience , and you can follow insightful threads that can produce plenty of 'Aha!' moments.

3. Focus groups: the most unreliable

Focus groups bring together a carefully selected group of people who fit a company’s target market. A trained moderator leads a conversation surrounding the product, user experience, or marketing message to gain deeper insights.

What makes focus groups so unreliable?

If you’re new to market research, we wouldn’t recommend starting with focus groups. Doing it right is expensive , and if you cut corners, your research could fall victim to all kinds of errors. Dominance bias (when a forceful participant influences the group) and moderator style bias (when different moderator personalities bring about different results in the same study) are two of the many ways your focus group data could get skewed.

4. Observation: the most powerful

During a customer observation session, someone from the company takes notes while they watch an ideal user engage with their product (or a similar product from a competitor).

What makes observation so clever and powerful?

‘Fly-on-the-wall’ observation is a great alternative to focus groups. It’s not only less expensive, but you’ll see people interact with your product in a natural setting without influencing each other. The only downside is that you can’t get inside their heads, so observation still isn't a recommended replacement for customer surveys and interviews.

The following questions will help you get to know your users on a deeper level when you interview them. They’re general questions, of course, so don’t be afraid to make them your own.

1. Who are you and what do you do?

How you ask this question, and what you want to know, will vary depending on your business model (e.g. business-to-business marketing is usually more focused on someone’s profession than business-to-consumer marketing).

It’s a great question to start with, and it’ll help you understand what’s relevant about your user demographics (age, race, gender, profession, education, etc.), but it’s not the be-all-end-all of market research. The more specific questions come later.

2. What does your day look like?

This question helps you understand your users’ day-to-day life and the challenges they face. It will help you gain empathy for them, and you may stumble across something relevant to their buying habits.

3. Do you ever purchase [product/service type]?

This is a ‘yes or no’ question. A ‘yes’ will lead you to the next question.

4. What problem were you trying to solve or what goal were you trying to achieve?

This question strikes to the core of what someone’s trying to accomplish and why they might be willing to pay for your solution.

5. Take me back to the day when you first decided you needed to solve this kind of problem or achieve this goal.

This is the golden question, and it comes from Adele Revella, Founder and CEO of Buyer Persona Institute . It helps you get in the heads of your users and figure out what they were thinking the day they decided to spend money to solve a problem.

If you take your time with this question, digging deeper where it makes sense, you should be able to answer all the relevant information you need to understand their perspective.

“The only scripted question I want you to ask them is this one: take me back to the day when you first decided that you needed to solve this kind of problem or achieve this kind of a goal. Not to buy my product, that’s not the day. We want to go back to the day that when you thought it was urgent and compelling to go spend money to solve a particular problem or achieve a goal. Just tell me what happened.”

— Adele Revella , Founder/CEO at Buyer Persona Institute

Bonus question: is there anything else you’d like to tell me?

This question isn’t just a nice way to wrap it up—it might just give participants the opportunity they need to tell you something you really need to know.

That’s why Sarah Doody, author of UX Notebook , adds it to the end of her written surveys.

“I always have a last question, which is just open-ended: “Is there anything else you would like to tell me?” And sometimes, that’s where you get four paragraphs of amazing content that you would never have gotten if it was just a Net Promoter Score [survey] or something like that.”

What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative research?

Qualitative research asks questions that can’t be reduced to a number, such as, “What is your job title?” or “What did you like most about your customer service experience?” 

Quantitative research asks questions that can be answered with a numeric value, such as, “What is your annual salary?” or “How was your customer service experience on a scale of 1-5?”

 → Read more about the differences between qualitative and quantitative user research .

How do I do my own market research?

You can do your own quick and effective market research by 

Surveying your customers

Building user personas

Studying your users through interviews and observation

Wrapping your head around your data with tools like flow models, affinity diagrams, and customer journey maps

What is the difference between market research and user research?

Market research takes a broad look at potential customers—what problems they’re trying to solve, their buying experience, and overall demand. User research, on the other hand, is more narrowly focused on the use (and usability ) of specific products.

What are the main criticisms of market research?

Many marketing professionals are critical of market research because it can be expensive and time-consuming. It’s often easier to convince your CEO or CMO to let you do lean market research rather than something more extensive because you can do it yourself. It also gives you quick answers so you can stay ahead of the competition.

Do I need a market research firm to get reliable data?

Absolutely not! In fact, we recommend that you start small and do it yourself in the beginning. By following a lean market research strategy, you can uncover some solid insights about your clients. Then you can make changes, test them out, and see whether the results are positive. This is an excellent strategy for making quick changes and remaining competitive.

Net Promoter, Net Promoter System, Net Promoter Score, NPS, and the NPS-related emoticons are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Fred Reichheld, and Satmetrix Systems, Inc.

Related articles

6 traits of top marketing leaders (and how to cultivate them in yourself)

Stepping into a marketing leadership role can stir up a mix of emotions: excitement, optimism, and, often, a gnawing doubt. "Do I have the right skills to truly lead and inspire?" If you've ever wrestled with these uncertainties, you're not alone.

Hotjar team

The 7 best BI tools for marketers in 2024 (and how to use them)

Whether you're sifting through campaign attribution data or reviewing performance reports from different sources, extracting meaningful business insights from vast amounts of data is an often daunting—yet critical—task many marketers face. So how do you efficiently evaluate your results and communicate key learnings? 

This is where business intelligence (BI) tools come in, transforming raw data into actionable insights that drive informed, customer-centric decisions. 

6 marketing trends that will shape the future of ecommerce in 2023

Today, marketing trends evolve at the speed of technology. Ecommerce businesses that fail to update their marketing strategies to meet consumers where they are in 2023 will be left out of the conversations that drive brand success. 

Geoff Whiting

How to Do Market Research: The Complete Guide

Learn how to do market research with this step-by-step guide, complete with templates, tools and real-world examples.

Access best-in-class company data

Get trusted first-party funding data, revenue data and firmographics

What are your customers’ needs? How does your product compare to the competition? What are the emerging trends and opportunities in your industry? If these questions keep you up at night, it’s time to conduct market research.

Market research plays a pivotal role in your ability to stay competitive and relevant, helping you anticipate shifts in consumer behavior and industry dynamics. It involves gathering these insights using a wide range of techniques, from surveys and interviews to data analysis and observational studies.

In this guide, we’ll explore why market research is crucial, the various types of market research, the methods used in data collection, and how to effectively conduct market research to drive informed decision-making and success.

What is market research?

Market research is the systematic process of gathering, analyzing and interpreting information about a specific market or industry. The purpose of market research is to offer valuable insight into the preferences and behaviors of your target audience, and anticipate shifts in market trends and the competitive landscape. This information helps you make data-driven decisions, develop effective strategies for your business, and maximize your chances of long-term growth.

Why is market research important? 

By understanding the significance of market research, you can make sure you’re asking the right questions and using the process to your advantage. Some of the benefits of market research include:

• Informed decision-making: Market research provides you with the data and insights you need to make smart decisions for your business. It helps you identify opportunities, assess risks and tailor your strategies to meet the demands of the market. Without market research, decisions are often based on assumptions or guesswork, leading to costly mistakes.
• Customer-centric approach: A cornerstone of market research involves developing a deep understanding of customer needs and preferences. This gives you valuable insights into your target audience, helping you develop products, services and marketing campaigns that resonate with your customers.
• Competitive advantage: By conducting market research, you’ll gain a competitive edge. You’ll be able to identify gaps in the market, analyze competitor strengths and weaknesses, and position your business strategically. This enables you to create unique value propositions, differentiate yourself from competitors, and seize opportunities that others may overlook.
• Risk mitigation: Market research helps you anticipate market shifts and potential challenges. By identifying threats early, you can proactively adjust their strategies to mitigate risks and respond effectively to changing circumstances. This proactive approach is particularly valuable in volatile industries.
• Resource optimization: Conducting market research allows organizations to allocate their time, money and resources more efficiently. It ensures that investments are made in areas with the highest potential return on investment, reducing wasted resources and improving overall business performance.
• Adaptation to market trends: Markets evolve rapidly, driven by technological advancements, cultural shifts and changing consumer attitudes. Market research ensures that you stay ahead of these trends and adapt your offerings accordingly so you can avoid becoming obsolete. 

As you can see, market research empowers businesses to make data-driven decisions, cater to customer needs, outperform competitors, mitigate risks, optimize resources and stay agile in a dynamic marketplace. These benefits make it a huge industry; the global market research services market is expected to grow from $76.37 billion in 2021 to $108.57 billion in 2026 . Now, let’s dig into the different types of market research that can help you achieve these benefits.

Types of market research 

• Qualitative research
• Quantitative research
• Exploratory research
• Descriptive research
• Causal research
• Cross-sectional research
• Longitudinal research

Despite its advantages, 23% of organizations don’t have a clear market research strategy. Part of developing a strategy involves choosing the right type of market research for your business goals. The most commonly used approaches include:

1. Qualitative research

Qualitative research focuses on understanding the underlying motivations, attitudes and perceptions of individuals or groups. It is typically conducted through techniques like in-depth interviews, focus groups and content analysis — methods we’ll discuss further in the sections below. Qualitative research provides rich, nuanced insights that can inform product development, marketing strategies and brand positioning.

2. Quantitative research

Quantitative research, in contrast to qualitative research, involves the collection and analysis of numerical data, often through surveys, experiments and structured questionnaires. This approach allows for statistical analysis and the measurement of trends, making it suitable for large-scale market studies and hypothesis testing. While it’s worthwhile using a mix of qualitative and quantitative research, most businesses prioritize the latter because it is scientific, measurable and easily replicated across different experiments.

3. Exploratory research

Whether you’re conducting qualitative or quantitative research or a mix of both, exploratory research is often the first step. Its primary goal is to help you understand a market or problem so you can gain insights and identify potential issues or opportunities. This type of market research is less structured and is typically conducted through open-ended interviews, focus groups or secondary data analysis. Exploratory research is valuable when entering new markets or exploring new product ideas.

4. Descriptive research

As its name implies, descriptive research seeks to describe a market, population or phenomenon in detail. It involves collecting and summarizing data to answer questions about audience demographics and behaviors, market size, and current trends. Surveys, observational studies and content analysis are common methods used in descriptive research. 

5. Causal research

Causal research aims to establish cause-and-effect relationships between variables. It investigates whether changes in one variable result in changes in another. Experimental designs, A/B testing and regression analysis are common causal research methods. This sheds light on how specific marketing strategies or product changes impact consumer behavior.

6. Cross-sectional research

Cross-sectional market research involves collecting data from a sample of the population at a single point in time. It is used to analyze differences, relationships or trends among various groups within a population. Cross-sectional studies are helpful for market segmentation, identifying target audiences and assessing market trends at a specific moment.

7. Longitudinal research

Longitudinal research, in contrast to cross-sectional research, collects data from the same subjects over an extended period. This allows for the analysis of trends, changes and developments over time. Longitudinal studies are useful for tracking long-term developments in consumer preferences, brand loyalty and market dynamics.

Each type of market research has its strengths and weaknesses, and the method you choose depends on your specific research goals and the depth of understanding you’re aiming to achieve. In the following sections, we’ll delve into primary and secondary research approaches and specific research methods.

Primary vs. secondary market research

Market research of all types can be broadly categorized into two main approaches: primary research and secondary research. By understanding the differences between these approaches, you can better determine the most appropriate research method for your specific goals.

Primary market research 

Primary research involves the collection of original data straight from the source. Typically, this involves communicating directly with your target audience — through surveys, interviews, focus groups and more — to gather information. Here are some key attributes of primary market research:

• Customized data: Primary research provides data that is tailored to your research needs. You design a custom research study and gather information specific to your goals.
• Up-to-date insights: Because primary research involves communicating with customers, the data you collect reflects the most current market conditions and consumer behaviors.
• Time-consuming and resource-intensive: Despite its advantages, primary research can be labor-intensive and costly, especially when dealing with large sample sizes or complex study designs. Whether you hire a market research consultant, agency or use an in-house team, primary research studies consume a large amount of resources and time.

Secondary market research 

Secondary research, on the other hand, involves analyzing data that has already been compiled by third-party sources, such as online research tools, databases, news sites, industry reports and academic studies.

Here are the main characteristics of secondary market research:

• Cost-effective: Secondary research is generally more cost-effective than primary research since it doesn’t require building a research plan from scratch. You and your team can look at databases, websites and publications on an ongoing basis, without needing to design a custom experiment or hire a consultant. 
• Leverages multiple sources: Data tools and software extract data from multiple places across the web, and then consolidate that information within a single platform. This means you’ll get a greater amount of data and a wider scope from secondary research.
• Quick to access: You can access a wide range of information rapidly — often in seconds — if you’re using online research tools and databases. Because of this, you can act on insights sooner, rather than taking the time to develop an experiment. 

So, when should you use primary vs. secondary research? In practice, many market research projects incorporate both primary and secondary research to take advantage of the strengths of each approach.

One rule of thumb is to focus on secondary research to obtain background information, market trends or industry benchmarks. It is especially valuable for conducting preliminary research, competitor analysis, or when time and budget constraints are tight. Then, if you still have knowledge gaps or need to answer specific questions unique to your business model, use primary research to create a custom experiment. 

Market research methods

• Surveys and questionnaires
• Focus groups
• Observational research
• Online research tools
• Experiments
• Content analysis
• Ethnographic research

How do primary and secondary research approaches translate into specific research methods? Let’s take a look at the different ways you can gather data: 

1. Surveys and questionnaires

Surveys and questionnaires are popular methods for collecting structured data from a large number of respondents. They involve a set of predetermined questions that participants answer. Surveys can be conducted through various channels, including online tools, telephone interviews and in-person or online questionnaires. They are useful for gathering quantitative data and assessing customer demographics, opinions, preferences and needs. On average, customer surveys have a 33% response rate , so keep that in mind as you consider your sample size.

2. Interviews

Interviews are in-depth conversations with individuals or groups to gather qualitative insights. They can be structured (with predefined questions) or unstructured (with open-ended discussions). Interviews are valuable for exploring complex topics, uncovering motivations and obtaining detailed feedback. 

3. Focus groups

The most common primary research methods are in-depth webcam interviews and focus groups. Focus groups are a small gathering of participants who discuss a specific topic or product under the guidance of a moderator. These discussions are valuable for primary market research because they reveal insights into consumer attitudes, perceptions and emotions. Focus groups are especially useful for idea generation, concept testing and understanding group dynamics within your target audience.

4. Observational research

Observational research involves observing and recording participant behavior in a natural setting. This method is particularly valuable when studying consumer behavior in physical spaces, such as retail stores or public places. In some types of observational research, participants are aware you’re watching them; in other cases, you discreetly watch consumers without their knowledge, as they use your product. Either way, observational research provides firsthand insights into how people interact with products or environments.

5. Online research tools

You and your team can do your own secondary market research using online tools. These tools include data prospecting platforms and databases, as well as online surveys, social media listening, web analytics and sentiment analysis platforms. They help you gather data from online sources, monitor industry trends, track competitors, understand consumer preferences and keep tabs on online behavior. We’ll talk more about choosing the right market research tools in the sections that follow.

6. Experiments

Market research experiments are controlled tests of variables to determine causal relationships. While experiments are often associated with scientific research, they are also used in market research to assess the impact of specific marketing strategies, product features, or pricing and packaging changes.

7. Content analysis

Content analysis involves the systematic examination of textual, visual or audio content to identify patterns, themes and trends. It’s commonly applied to customer reviews, social media posts and other forms of online content to analyze consumer opinions and sentiments.

8. Ethnographic research

Ethnographic research immerses researchers into the daily lives of consumers to understand their behavior and culture. This method is particularly valuable when studying niche markets or exploring the cultural context of consumer choices.

How to do market research

• Set clear objectives
• Identify your target audience
• Choose your research methods
• Use the right market research tools
• Collect data
• Analyze data 
• Interpret your findings
• Identify opportunities and challenges
• Make informed business decisions
• Monitor and adapt

Now that you have gained insights into the various market research methods at your disposal, let’s delve into the practical aspects of how to conduct market research effectively. Here’s a quick step-by-step overview, from defining objectives to monitoring market shifts.

1. Set clear objectives

When you set clear and specific goals, you’re essentially creating a compass to guide your research questions and methodology. Start by precisely defining what you want to achieve. Are you launching a new product and want to understand its viability in the market? Are you evaluating customer satisfaction with a product redesign? 

Start by creating SMART goals — objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Not only will this clarify your research focus from the outset, but it will also help you track progress and benchmark your success throughout the process. 

You should also consult with key stakeholders and team members to ensure alignment on your research objectives before diving into data collecting. This will help you gain diverse perspectives and insights that will shape your research approach.

2. Identify your target audience

Next, you’ll need to pinpoint your target audience to determine who should be included in your research. Begin by creating detailed buyer personas or stakeholder profiles. Consider demographic factors like age, gender, income and location, but also delve into psychographics, such as interests, values and pain points.

The more specific your target audience, the more accurate and actionable your research will be. Additionally, segment your audience if your research objectives involve studying different groups, such as current customers and potential leads.

If you already have existing customers, you can also hold conversations with them to better understand your target market. From there, you can refine your buyer personas and tailor your research methods accordingly.

3. Choose your research methods

Selecting the right research methods is crucial for gathering high-quality data. Start by considering the nature of your research objectives. If you’re exploring consumer preferences, surveys and interviews can provide valuable insights. For in-depth understanding, focus groups or observational research might be suitable. Consider using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to gain a well-rounded perspective. 

You’ll also need to consider your budget. Think about what you can realistically achieve using the time and resources available to you. If you have a fairly generous budget, you may want to try a mix of primary and secondary research approaches. If you’re doing market research for a startup , on the other hand, chances are your budget is somewhat limited. If that’s the case, try addressing your goals with secondary research tools before investing time and effort in a primary research study. 

4. Use the right market research tools

Whether you’re conducting primary or secondary research, you’ll need to choose the right tools. These can help you do anything from sending surveys to customers to monitoring trends and analyzing data. Here are some examples of popular market research tools:

• Market research software: Crunchbase is a platform that provides best-in-class company data, making it valuable for market research on growing companies and industries. You can use Crunchbase to access trusted, first-party funding data, revenue data, news and firmographics, enabling you to monitor industry trends and understand customer needs.

• Survey and questionnaire tools: SurveyMonkey is a widely used online survey platform that allows you to create, distribute and analyze surveys. Google Forms is a free tool that lets you create surveys and collect responses through Google Drive.
• Data analysis software: Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets are useful for conducting statistical analyses. SPSS is a powerful statistical analysis software used for data processing, analysis and reporting.
• Social listening tools: Brandwatch is a social listening and analytics platform that helps you monitor social media conversations, track sentiment and analyze trends. Mention is a media monitoring tool that allows you to track mentions of your brand, competitors and keywords across various online sources.
• Data visualization platforms: Tableau is a data visualization tool that helps you create interactive and shareable dashboards and reports. Power BI by Microsoft is a business analytics tool for creating interactive visualizations and reports.

5. Collect data

There’s an infinite amount of data you could be collecting using these tools, so you’ll need to be intentional about going after the data that aligns with your research goals. Implement your chosen research methods, whether it’s distributing surveys, conducting interviews or pulling from secondary research platforms. Pay close attention to data quality and accuracy, and stick to a standardized process to streamline data capture and reduce errors. 

6. Analyze data

Once data is collected, you’ll need to analyze it systematically. Use statistical software or analysis tools to identify patterns, trends and correlations. For qualitative data, employ thematic analysis to extract common themes and insights. Visualize your findings with charts, graphs and tables to make complex data more understandable.

If you’re not proficient in data analysis, consider outsourcing or collaborating with a data analyst who can assist in processing and interpreting your data accurately.

7. Interpret your findings

Interpreting your market research findings involves understanding what the data means in the context of your objectives. Are there significant trends that uncover the answers to your initial research questions? Consider the implications of your findings on your business strategy. It’s essential to move beyond raw data and extract actionable insights that inform decision-making.

Hold a cross-functional meeting or workshop with relevant team members to collectively interpret the findings. Different perspectives can lead to more comprehensive insights and innovative solutions.

8. Identify opportunities and challenges

Use your research findings to identify potential growth opportunities and challenges within your market. What segments of your audience are underserved or overlooked? Are there emerging trends you can capitalize on? Conversely, what obstacles or competitors could hinder your progress?

Lay out this information in a clear and organized way by conducting a SWOT analysis, which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Jot down notes for each of these areas to provide a structured overview of gaps and hurdles in the market.

9. Make informed business decisions

Market research is only valuable if it leads to informed decisions for your company. Based on your insights, devise actionable strategies and initiatives that align with your research objectives. Whether it’s refining your product, targeting new customer segments or adjusting pricing, ensure your decisions are rooted in the data.

At this point, it’s also crucial to keep your team aligned and accountable. Create an action plan that outlines specific steps, responsibilities and timelines for implementing the recommendations derived from your research. 

10. Monitor and adapt

Market research isn’t a one-time activity; it’s an ongoing process. Continuously monitor market conditions, customer behaviors and industry trends. Set up mechanisms to collect real-time data and feedback. As you gather new information, be prepared to adapt your strategies and tactics accordingly. Regularly revisiting your research ensures your business remains agile and reflects changing market dynamics and consumer preferences.

Online market research sources

As you go through the steps above, you’ll want to turn to trusted, reputable sources to gather your data. Here’s a list to get you started:

• Crunchbase: As mentioned above, Crunchbase is an online platform with an extensive dataset, allowing you to access in-depth insights on market trends, consumer behavior and competitive analysis. You can also customize your search options to tailor your research to specific industries, geographic regions or customer personas.

• Academic databases: Academic databases, such as ProQuest and JSTOR , are treasure troves of scholarly research papers, studies and academic journals. They offer in-depth analyses of various subjects, including market trends, consumer preferences and industry-specific insights. Researchers can access a wealth of peer-reviewed publications to gain a deeper understanding of their research topics.
• Government and NGO databases: Government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and other institutions frequently maintain databases containing valuable economic, demographic and industry-related data. These sources offer credible statistics and reports on a wide range of topics, making them essential for market researchers. Examples include the U.S. Census Bureau , the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Pew Research Center .
• Industry reports: Industry reports and market studies are comprehensive documents prepared by research firms, industry associations and consulting companies. They provide in-depth insights into specific markets, including market size, trends, competitive analysis and consumer behavior. You can find this information by looking at relevant industry association databases; examples include the American Marketing Association and the National Retail Federation .
• Social media and online communities: Social media platforms like LinkedIn or Twitter (X) , forums such as Reddit and Quora , and review platforms such as G2 can provide real-time insights into consumer sentiment, opinions and trends. 

Market research examples

At this point, you have market research tools and data sources — but how do you act on the data you gather? Let’s go over some real-world examples that illustrate the practical application of market research across various industries. These examples showcase how market research can lead to smart decision-making and successful business decisions.

Example 1: Apple’s iPhone launch

Apple ’s iconic iPhone launch in 2007 serves as a prime example of market research driving product innovation in tech. Before the iPhone’s release, Apple conducted extensive market research to understand consumer preferences, pain points and unmet needs in the mobile phone industry. This research led to the development of a touchscreen smartphone with a user-friendly interface, addressing consumer demands for a more intuitive and versatile device. The result was a revolutionary product that disrupted the market and redefined the smartphone industry.

Example 2: McDonald’s global expansion

McDonald’s successful global expansion strategy demonstrates the importance of market research when expanding into new territories. Before entering a new market, McDonald’s conducts thorough research to understand local tastes, preferences and cultural nuances. This research informs menu customization, marketing strategies and store design. For instance, in India, McDonald’s offers a menu tailored to local preferences, including vegetarian options. This market-specific approach has enabled McDonald’s to adapt and thrive in diverse global markets.

Example 3: Organic and sustainable farming

The shift toward organic and sustainable farming practices in the food industry is driven by market research that indicates increased consumer demand for healthier and environmentally friendly food options. As a result, food producers and retailers invest in sustainable sourcing and organic product lines — such as with these sustainable seafood startups — to align with this shift in consumer values. 

The bottom line? Market research has multiple use cases and is a critical practice for any industry. Whether it’s launching groundbreaking products, entering new markets or responding to changing consumer preferences, you can use market research to shape successful strategies and outcomes.

Market research templates

You finally have a strong understanding of how to do market research and apply it in the real world. Before we wrap up, here are some market research templates that you can use as a starting point for your projects:

• Smartsheet competitive analysis templates : These spreadsheets can serve as a framework for gathering information about the competitive landscape and obtaining valuable lessons to apply to your business strategy.
• SurveyMonkey product survey template : Customize the questions on this survey based on what you want to learn from your target customers.
• HubSpot templates : HubSpot offers a wide range of free templates you can use for market research, business planning and more.
• SCORE templates : SCORE is a nonprofit organization that provides templates for business plans, market analysis and financial projections.
• SBA.gov : The U.S. Small Business Administration offers templates for every aspect of your business, including market research, and is particularly valuable for new startups. 

Strengthen your business with market research

When conducted effectively, market research is like a guiding star. Equipped with the right tools and techniques, you can uncover valuable insights, stay competitive, foster innovation and navigate the complexities of your industry.

Throughout this guide, we’ve discussed the definition of market research, different research methods, and how to conduct it effectively. We’ve also explored various types of market research and shared practical insights and templates for getting started. 

Now, it’s time to start the research process. Trust in data, listen to the market and make informed decisions that guide your company toward lasting success.

Related Articles

• Entrepreneurs
• 15 min read

What Is Competitive Analysis and How to Do It Effectively

Rebecca Strehlow, Copywriter at Crunchbase

17 Best Sales Intelligence Tools for 2024

• Market research
• 10 min read

How to Do Market Research for a Startup: Tips for Success

Jaclyn Robinson, Senior Manager of Content Marketing at Crunchbase

Search less. Close more.

Grow your revenue with Crunchbase, the all-in-one prospecting solution. Start your free trial.

Market Research Methods: Examples, Tools, & Template [PDFs]

Topics covered ✅.

• Market research methods pdf
• Market research methods examples
• Market research examples
• Types of market research
• Primary market research methods
• Market research methods advantages and disadvantages
• Market research template

You need to have a secure understanding of market research methods if you are currently planning to build a brand or business.

In this article, you'll learn about types of market research, research methods, and what you need to know about customers.

1. Businesses

From start-ups working out of their garage to companies like Amazon, with over 300 million active users, businesses of every size need to invest time and resources into market research in order to be successful.

By being able to recognize consumers’ values and goals, companies can better advertise and tailor their products to customers.

Some companies devote whole teams to generating market research data.

Companies choose to do this because those who utilize effective market research methods have a competitive advantage over others in their industry.

Along with granting a competitive advantage, market research can also provide answers to problems unique to individual businesses.

For example, if a business has found a decrease in sales within the past quarter, market research will allow them to discover the root of the problem and correct it.

Claim My Free Market Research Template

This hub serves as a free template to help you get started and includes free tools, examples, and PDFs for market research.

In business, the market is defined as the sum of individuals and groups that make up potential buyers for a good or service. There are five main types of markets that a business may be involved in.

• The first type is business-to-consumer (B2C). In this type of market, goods and services are marketed to consumers. This makes it the largest market since there are millions of consumers worldwide.
• The business-to-business market (B2B) focuses on goods and services that are sold to other businesses. These markets often overlap with B2C markets.
• The service market can be B2B or B2C and deals with sales services.
• The industrial market sells products and services (such as raw materials or equipment) that are used in the production of other goods.
• The professional service market requires some form of certification to be a part of it (such as medical services and financial advisers).

Businesses use market research to identify their particular target market. Once this is established, additional research is conducted on customers within their market.

3. Customers

Each market has a different set of customers.

To better understand potential customers, market researchers conduct segmentation research and categorize customers in four different ways: geographically, demographically, psychographically, and behaviorally.

• Geographic segmentation pertains to customer location in space.
• Demographic segmentation pertains to the characteristics of a customer.
• Psychographic segmentation pertains to psychological attributes.
• Behavioral segmentation pertains to how people act.

One useful tip in market research is to create user personas .

By collecting demographic and psychographic data on customers, businesses find patterns to create representations of types of users.

Personas can be as broad or as specific as you like, but there are three general questions that can lead to a strong persona.

Who is this persona about?

What does this persona want?

What is preventing this persona from getting what they want?

For example, let’s say a smart board company is analyzing its customers.

They may find that 35% of their sales come from school principals.

By asking these and other branding research questions , the whiteboard company comes up with this persona.

School principals.

For their teachers to be able to (effectively) present and interact with information online while lecturing in front of the class.

Their schools are currently equipped with whiteboards that have not been integrated with technology.

Personas are useful because they allow companies to cater to a large group of people in a particular target market.

By leveraging audience research tools, companies can gather data to tweak their products or create unique advertisements to sell to a specific audience because personas provide them with an increased understanding of how a certain group will react.

4. Types of Market Research

There are many types of market research that a company can do.

With that being said, most types of market research fall into these four categories:

• Primary Market Research
• Secondary Market Research

Qualitative Market Research

Quantitative market research.

Primary and secondary market research both relate to where researchers gather information from.

Qualitative and quantitative research, on the other hand, relate to the type of data that is collected during research.

Qualitative market research is defined as the collection of data from both the primary and secondary markets that cannot be easily measured or expressed in a numerical form.

This type of data is collected through avenues such as interviews and case studies.

Qualitative market research helps in inferring and estimation, but without a lack of numerical data, it can be difficult to point towards conclusions from this type of data as facts.

Quantitative market research is defined as the collection of data from both the primary and secondary markets that are easily measured or expressed in a numerical way.

Polls and different types of surveys for research are efficient strategies to collect this type of data.

By using statistical analysis, researchers can use such data to (accurately) express patterns and predict trends.

While this data is great for producing reliable evidence, it can be restrictive.

Quantitative market research makes it difficult to provide context or let participants tailor their responses.

Researchers should strive to collect quantitative and qualitative data.

A combination of these types of data can provide an even greater picture of the market as a whole.

5. Primary Market

Primary market research is information that researchers collect themselves from primary sources.

Primary sources are any sort of raw, first-hand data that is collected straight from the subject in question.

By going directly to current or potential customers, companies can gather the information that their competitors do not have.

This can be through interviews, online surveys, product testing market research, or other methods of study. Within this type of research, there are two types of results.

• Exploratory results - general, open-ended research conducted to determine the nature of a problem that is not yet fully understood.
• Conclusive results - more precise, often quantitative research that is done to solve the problem that was scoped out through exploratory research.

6. Secondary Market

Secondary market research is information that researchers collect from secondary sources.

Secondary sources can come from public sources, commercial sources, and educational institutions.

Public sources include public libraries and government websites.

Commercial sources include newspapers and television recordings.

Professors and project teams working at educational institutions frequently publish their findings, which can be very beneficial to researchers as well.

By conducting this type of research, companies either hope to discover previously overlooked trends, or work to apply a new perspective toward historical data.

In the past, this type of research was carried out by going to libraries and reading through old files.

Now, however, researchers have coined the term “desktop research” when referring to secondary market research.

There are thousands of reliable websites to source data from, making this type of research very easy to be carried out without leaving one's computer.

7. Market Research Method

There are six basic steps to conducting market research:

Step 1. Define your problem

This step sets up researchers with a goal for their project.

By defining what you want to research, it's easier to come up with additional questions to ask.

Are you conducting branding market research ? Customers? Competitors? Testing products?

These are all important questions to ask yourself when thinking about your problem.

Step 2. Define your sample

Who is the target market being sampled?

By defining your sample, it's easier to gear questions towards subjects, as well as draw conclusions about the people participating in the research.

Step 3. Collect your data

This step in the research process will differ based on if you want to collect qualitative or quantitative data.

The most common types of data collection through observation are surveys, focus groups, interviews, and direct observation (explained in detail below).

Step 4. Analyze data and draw conclusions

This step determines what you take away from the data that was collected.

Step 5. Create a research report

A research report is how you display your findings to others who are going to use them. Research is useless if people cannot understand or interpret the data.

Step 6. Take future steps

After analyzing the research reports, the next step is to see what future work there is to be done.

Often the market research process will start over again, this time with a new problem and goal based on previous research.

8. Observation

Researchers observe participants in many ways.

Listed below are four ways that primary market research data can be collected.

• Surveys - Surveys are questionnaires sent out to a sample of potential customers. These questionnaires ask questions about consumer behavior in relation to your products or services. Online surveys are the easiest and most effective type of survey, compared to mail-in and over-the-phone methods. Surveys are an effective way to collect information quickly and inexpensively because they require very little time or money on your part; however, they can only answer questions that relate directly back to your products or services.
• Interviews - Interviews are one-on-one conversations that a researcher has with a customer or potential customer. Interviews can be beneficial, as they provide insight into a customer’s experience, as well as emotions that surveys may not be able to pick up on.
• Focus Groups - Focus groups are similar to interviews, except they're conducted in a group setting. They can also be beneficial, in the sense that more people are questioned face to face. Pitfalls of this type of method, however, include group conformity (where group members converge towards the same answers) and moderator bias.
• Direct Observation - Observation is when researchers record what they see the subject do. This can be done in the subject's natural environment or in a controlled setting. This is the most powerful type of research because researchers are able to see participants interact with their product organically (with no outside influences).

9. Marketing

The data collected from market research is what leads companies to develop unique marketing strategies.

User personas allow companies to market directly to a particular group of people.

Market research also provides companies with information on which market their product will perform the best in, which in turn influences marketing strategies.

10. Product

At the end of the day, the marketing methods used will ultimately depend on what your product is.

Local companies will have a very different research and marketing strategy than companies that operate globally.

Researchers must identify and carry out different research methods based on their product.

This can only be done successfully if they have a strong understanding of market research methodology.

The Ultimate Guide to Qualitative Research - Part 1: The Basics

• Introduction and overview
• What is qualitative research?
• What is qualitative data?
• Examples of qualitative data
• Qualitative vs. quantitative research
• Mixed methods
• Qualitative research preparation
• Theoretical perspective
• Theoretical framework
• Literature reviews
• Research question
• Conceptual framework
• Conceptual vs. theoretical framework

Data collection

• Qualitative research methods
• Focus groups

What is observational research?

Uses for observational research, observations in research, the different types of observational research, conducting observational studies, uses with other methods, challenges of observational studies.

• Case studies
• Ethnographical research
• Ethical considerations
• Confidentiality and privacy
• Power dynamics
• Reflexivity

Observational research

Observational research is a social research technique that involves the direct observation of phenomena in their natural setting.

An observational study is a non-experimental method to examine how research participants behave. Observational research is typically associated with qualitative methods , where the data ultimately require some reorganization and analysis .

Contemporary research is often associated with controlled experiments or randomized controlled trials, which involve testing or developing a theory in a controlled setting. Such an approach is appropriate for many physical and material sciences that rely on objective concepts such as the melting point of substances or the mass of objects. On the other hand, observational studies help capture socially constructed or subjective phenomena whose fundamental essence might change when taken out of their natural setting.

What is an example of observational research?

For example, imagine a study where you want to understand the actions and behaviors of single parents taking care of children. A controlled experiment might prove challenging, given the possibility that the behaviors of parents and their children will change if you isolate them in a lab or an otherwise unfamiliar context.

Instead, researchers pursuing such inquiries can observe participants in their natural environment, collecting data on what people do, say, and behave in interaction with others. Non-experimental research methods like observation are less about testing theories than learning something new to contribute to theories.

The goal of the observational study is to collect data about what people do and say. Observational data is helpful in several fields:

• market research
• health services research
• educational research
• user research

Observational studies are valuable in any domain where researchers want to learn about people's actions and behaviors in a natural setting. For example, observational studies in market research might seek out information about the target market of a product or service by identifying the needs or problems of prospective consumers. In medical contexts, observers might be interested in how patients cope with a particular medical treatment or interact with doctors and nurses under certain conditions.

Researchers may still be hung up on science being all about experiments to the point where they may overlook the empirical contribution that observations bring to research and theory. With that in mind, let's look at the strengths and weaknesses of observations in research .

Strengths of observational research

Observational research, especially those conducted in natural settings, can generate more insightful knowledge about social processes or rituals that one cannot fully understand by reading a plain-text description in a book or an online resource. Think about a cookbook with recipes, then think about a series of videos showing a cook making the same recipes. Both are informative, but the videos are often easier to understand as the cook can describe the recipe and show how to follow the steps at the same time. When you can observe what is happening, you can emulate the process for yourself.

Observing also allows researchers to create rich data about phenomena that cannot be explained through numbers. The quality of a theatrical performance, for example, cannot easily be reduced to a set of numbers. Qualitatively, a researcher can analyze aspects gleaned from observing that performance and create a working theory about the quality of that performance. Through data analysis, the researcher can identify patterns related to the aesthetics and creativity of the performance to provide a framework to judge the quality of other performances.

Weaknesses of observational research

Science is about organizing knowledge for the purposes of identifying the aspects of a concept or of determining cause-and-effect relationships between different phenomena. Experiments look to empirically accomplish these tasks by controlling certain variables to determine how other variables change under changing conditions. Those conducting observational research, on the other hand, exert no such control, which makes replication by other researchers difficult or even impossible when observing dynamic environments.

Observational studies take on various forms. There are various types of observational research, each of which has strengths and weaknesses. These types are organized below by the extent to which an experimenter intrudes upon or controls the environment.

Naturalistic observation

Naturalistic observation refers to a method where researchers study participants in their natural environment without manipulating variables or intervening in any way. It provides a realistic snapshot of behavior as it occurs in real-life settings, thereby enhancing ecological validity.

Examples of naturalistic observation include people-watching in public places, observing animal behaviors in the wild, and longitudinally studying children's social development at school. This method can reveal insights about behavior and relationships that might not surface in experimental designs, such as patterns of social interaction, routines, or responses to environmental changes.

Participant observation

Participant observation is similar to naturalistic observation, except that the researcher is part of the natural environment they are observing. In such studies, the researcher is also interested in rituals or cultural practices where they can only determine their value by actually experiencing them firsthand. For example, any individual can understand the basic rules of baseball by watching a game or following a team. Participant observation, on the other hand, allows for direct participation to develop a better sense of team dynamics and relationships among fellow players.

Most commonly, this process involves the researcher inserting themselves into a group to observe behavior that otherwise would not be accessible by observing from afar. Participant observation can capture rich data from the interactions with those who are observed to the reflections of the researchers themselves.

Controlled observation

A more structured observation involves capturing the behaviors of research participants in an isolated environment. Case-control studies have a greater resemblance to experimental research while still relying on observational research methods. Researchers may utilize a case-control study when they want to establish the causation of a particular phenomenon.

For example, a researcher may want to establish a structured observation of a control group and an experimental group, each with randomly assigned research participants, to observe the effects of variables such as distractions on people completing a particular task. By subjecting the experimental group to distractions such as noise and lights, researchers can observe the time it takes participants to complete a task and determine causation accordingly.

Longitudinal study

Among the different types of observational research, this observational method is quite arduous and time-consuming as it requires observation of people or events over extended periods. Researchers should consider longitudinal observations when their inquiry involves variables that can only be observed over time. After all, variables such as literacy development or weight loss cannot be fully captured in any particular moment of observation. Longitudinal studies keep track of the same research participants or events through multiple observations to document changes to or patterns in behavior.

A cohort study is a specific type of longitudinal study where researchers observe participants with similar traits (e.g., a similar risk factor or biological characteristic). Cohort studies aim to observe multiple participants over time to identify a relationship between observed phenomena and a common characteristic.

All forms of observational or field research benefit extensively from the special capabilities of qualitative research tools like ATLAS.ti . Our software can accommodate the major forms of data , such as text, audio, video, and images . The ATLAS.ti platform can help you organize all your observations , whatever method you employ.

Whatever your research, make it happen with ATLAS.ti.

Powerful analytical tools at your fingertips. Try for free by clicking here.

Like any other study design, observational studies begin by posing research questions . Inquiries common when employing observational methods include the study of different cultures, interactions between people from different communities, or people in particular circumstances warranting further study (e.g., people coping with a rare disease).

Generally, a research question that seeks to learn more about a relatively unfamiliar phenomenon would be best suited for observational research. On the other hand, quantitative methods or experimental research methods may be more suitable for inquiries where the theory about a social phenomenon is fairly established.

Study design

Study design for observational research involves thinking about who to observe, where they should be observed, and what the researcher should look for during observation. Many events can occur in a natural, dynamic environment in a short period, so it is challenging to document everything. If the researcher knows what they want to observe, they can pursue a structured observation which involves taking notes on a limited set of phenomena.

The actual data collection for an observational study can take several forms. Note-taking is common in observational research, where the researcher writes down what they see during the course of their observation. The goal of this method is to provide a record of the events that are observed to determine patterns and themes useful for theoretical development.

Observation can also involve taking pictures or recording audio for a richer understanding of social phenomena. Video recorded from observations can also provide data that the researcher can use to document the facial expressions, gestures, and other body language of research participants.

Note that there are ethical considerations when conducting observational research. Researchers should respect the privacy and confidentiality of their research participants to ensure they are not adversely affected by the research. Researchers should obtain informed consent from participants before any observation where possible.

Observational studies can be supplemented with other methods to further contextualize the research inquiry. Researchers can conduct interviews or focus groups with research participants to gather data about what they recall about their actions and behaviors in a natural setting. Focus groups, in particular, provide further opportunities to observe participants interacting with each other. In both cases, these research methods are ideal where the researcher needs to follow up with research participants about the evidence they've collected regarding their behaviors or actions.

As with many other methods in qualitative research , conducting an observational study is time-consuming. While experimental methods can quickly generate data , observational research relies on documenting events and interactions in detail that can be analyzed for theoretical development.

Unstructured data

One common critique of observational research is that it lacks the structure inherent to experimental research, which has concepts such as selection bias and interrater reliability to ensure research quality. On the other hand, qualitative research relies on the assumption that the study and its data are presented transparently and honestly . Under this principle, researchers are responsible for convincing their audiences that the assertions they make are connected empirically to the observations they have made and the data they have collected.

Researcher bias

In most qualitative research, but especially in observational research, the most important data collection instrument is the researcher themselves. This raises issues of bias and subjectivity influencing the collection and interpretation of the data.

Later in this guide, there will be discussion of reflexivity , a concept where the researcher comprehensively accounts for their place in the research relative to others in the environment. For now, it's important to know that social science researchers can and do adequately address critiques of researcher bias to maintain the empirical nature of their observational research.

Conduct your observational study with ATLAS.ti

From the inception of your study to disseminating to your research audience, get it all done with our powerful software platform. Start with a free trial.

EXCLUSIVE SUMMIT OFFER Join foundr+ and get Ecommerce Kickstarter program free!

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content

A magazine for young entrepreneurs

The best advice in entrepreneurship

Subscribe for exclusive access, the complete guide to market research: what it is, why you need it, and how to do it.

Written by Mary Kate Miller | June 1, 2021

Comments -->

Get real-time frameworks, tools, and inspiration to start and build your business. Subscribe here

Market research is a cornerstone of all successful, strategic businesses. It can also be daunting for entrepreneurs looking to launch a startup or start a side hustle . What is market research, anyway? And how do you…do it?

We’ll walk you through absolutely everything you need to know about the market research process so that by the end of this guide, you’ll be an expert in market research too. And what’s more important: you’ll have actionable steps you can take to start collecting your own market research.

What Is Market Research?

Market research is the organized process of gathering information about your target customers and market. Market research can help you better understand customer behavior and competitor strengths and weaknesses, as well as provide insight for the best strategies in launching new businesses and products. There are different ways to approach market research, including primary and secondary research and qualitative and quantitative research. The strongest approaches will include a combination of all four.

“Virtually every business can benefit from conducting some market research,” says Niles Koenigsberg of Real FiG Advertising + Marketing . “Market research can help you piece together your [business’s] strengths and weaknesses, along with your prospective opportunities, so that you can understand where your unique differentiators may lie.” Well-honed market research will help your brand stand out from the competition and help you see what you need to do to lead the market. It can also do so much more.

The Purposes of Market Research

Why do market research? It can help you…

• Pinpoint your target market, create buyer personas, and develop a more holistic understanding of your customer base and market.
• Understand current market conditions to evaluate risks and anticipate how your product or service will perform.
• Validate a concept prior to launch.
• Identify gaps in the market that your competitors have created or overlooked.
• Solve problems that have been left unresolved by the existing product/brand offerings.
• Identify opportunities and solutions for new products or services.
• Develop killer marketing strategies .

What Are the Benefits of Market Research?

Strong market research can help your business in many ways. It can…

• Strengthen your market position.
• Help you identify your strengths and weaknesses.
• Help you identify your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses.
• Minimize risk.
• Center your customers’ experience from the get-go.
• Help you create a dynamic strategy based on market conditions and customer needs/demands.

What Are the Basic Methods of Market Research?

The basic methods of market research include surveys, personal interviews, customer observation, and the review of secondary research. In addition to these basic methods, a forward-thinking market research approach incorporates data from the digital landscape like social media analysis, SEO research, gathering feedback via forums, and more. Throughout this guide, we will cover each of the methods commonly used in market research to give you a comprehensive overview.

Primary vs. Secondary Market Research

Primary and secondary are the two main types of market research you can do. The latter relies on research conducted by others. Primary research, on the other hand, refers to the fact-finding efforts you conduct on your own.

This approach is limited, however. It’s likely that the research objectives of these secondary data points differ from your own, and it can be difficult to confirm the veracity of their findings.

Primary Market Research

Primary research is more labor intensive, but it generally yields data that is exponentially more actionable. It can be conducted through interviews, surveys, online research, and your own data collection. Every new business should engage in primary market research prior to launch. It will help you validate that your idea has traction, and it will give you the information you need to help minimize financial risk.

You can hire an agency to conduct this research on your behalf. This brings the benefit of expertise, as you’ll likely work with a market research analyst. The downside is that hiring an agency can be expensive—too expensive for many burgeoning entrepreneurs. That brings us to the second approach. You can also do the market research yourself, which substantially reduces the financial burden of starting a new business .

Secondary Market Research

Secondary research includes resources like government databases and industry-specific data and publications. It can be beneficial to start your market research with secondary sources because it’s widely available and often free-to-access. This information will help you gain a broad overview of the market conditions for your new business.

Identify Your Goals and Your Audience

Before you begin conducting interviews or sending out surveys, you need to set your market research goals. At the end of your market research process, you want to have a clear idea of who your target market is—including demographic information like age, gender, and where they live—but you also want to start with a rough idea of who your audience might be and what you’re trying to achieve with market research.

You can pinpoint your objectives by asking yourself a series of guiding questions:

• What are you hoping to discover through your research?
• Who are you hoping to serve better because of your findings?
• What do you think your market is?
• Who are your competitors?
• Are you testing the reception of a new product category or do you want to see if your product or service solves the problem left by a current gap in the market?
• Are you just…testing the waters to get a sense of how people would react to a new brand?

Once you’ve narrowed down the “what” of your market research goals, you’re ready to move onto how you can best achieve them. Think of it like algebra. Many math problems start with “solve for x.” Once you know what you’re looking for, you can get to work trying to find it. It’s a heck of a lot easier to solve a problem when you know you’re looking for “x” than if you were to say “I’m gonna throw some numbers out there and see if I find a variable.”

How to Do Market Research

This guide outlines every component of a comprehensive market research effort. Take into consideration the goals you have established for your market research, as they will influence which of these elements you’ll want to include in your market research strategy.

Secondary Data

Secondary data allows you to utilize pre-existing data to garner a sense of market conditions and opportunities. You can rely on published market studies, white papers, and public competitive information to start your market research journey.

Secondary data, while useful, is limited and cannot substitute your own primary data. It’s best used for quantitative data that can provide background to your more specific inquiries.

Find Your Customers Online

Once you’ve identified your target market, you can use online gathering spaces and forums to gain insights and give yourself a competitive advantage. Rebecca McCusker of The Creative Content Shop recommends internet recon as a vital tool for gaining a sense of customer needs and sentiment. “Read their posts and comments on forums, YouTube video comments, Facebook group [comments], and even Amazon/Goodreads book comments to get in their heads and see what people are saying.”

If you’re interested in engaging with your target demographic online, there are some general rules you should follow. First, secure the consent of any group moderators to ensure that you are acting within the group guidelines. Failure to do so could result in your eviction from the group.

Not all comments have the same research value. “Focus on the comments and posts with the most comments and highest engagement,” says McCusker. These high-engagement posts can give you a sense of what is already connecting and gaining traction within the group.

Social media can also be a great avenue for finding interview subjects. “LinkedIn is very useful if your [target customer] has a very specific job or works in a very specific industry or sector. It’s amazing the amount of people that will be willing to help,” explains Miguel González, a marketing executive at Dealers League . “My advice here is BE BRAVE, go to LinkedIn, or even to people you know and ask them, do quick interviews and ask real people that belong to that market and segment and get your buyer persona information first hand.”

Market research interviews can provide direct feedback on your brand, product, or service and give you a better understanding of consumer pain points and interests.

When organizing your market research interviews, you want to pay special attention to the sample group you’re selecting, as it will directly impact the information you receive. According to Tanya Zhang, the co-founder of Nimble Made , you want to first determine whether you want to choose a representative sample—for example, interviewing people who match each of the buyer persona/customer profiles you’ve developed—or a random sample.

“A sampling of your usual persona styles, for example, can validate details that you’ve already established about your product, while a random sampling may [help you] discover a new way people may use your product,” Zhang says.

Market Surveys

Market surveys solicit customer inclinations regarding your potential product or service through a series of open-ended questions. This direct outreach to your target audience can provide information on your customers’ preferences, attitudes, buying potential, and more.

Every expert we asked voiced unanimous support for market surveys as a powerful tool for market research. With the advent of various survey tools with accessible pricing—or free use—it’s never been easier to assemble, disseminate, and gather market surveys. While it should also be noted that surveys shouldn’t replace customer interviews , they can be used to supplement customer interviews to give you feedback from a broader audience.

Who to Include in Market Surveys

• Current customers
• Past customers
• Your existing audience (such as social media/newsletter audiences)

Example Questions to Include in Market Surveys

While the exact questions will vary for each business, here are some common, helpful questions that you may want to consider for your market survey. Demographic Questions: the questions that help you understand, demographically, who your target customers are:

• “What is your age?”
• “Where do you live?”
• “What is your gender identity?”
• “What is your household income?”
• “What is your household size?”
• “What do you do for a living?”
• “What is your highest level of education?”

Product-Based Questions: Whether you’re seeking feedback for an existing brand or an entirely new one, these questions will help you get a sense of how people feel about your business, product, or service:

• “How well does/would our product/service meet your needs?”
• “How does our product/service compare to similar products/services that you use?”
• “How long have you been a customer?” or “What is the likelihood that you would be a customer of our brand?

Personal/Informative Questions: the deeper questions that help you understand how your audience thinks and what they care about.

• “What are your biggest challenges?”
• “What’s most important to you?”
• “What do you do for fun (hobbies, interests, activities)?”
• “Where do you seek new information when researching a new product?”
• “How do you like to make purchases?”
• “What is your preferred method for interacting with a brand?”

Survey Tools

Online survey tools make it easy to distribute surveys and collect responses. The best part is that there are many free tools available. If you’re making your own online survey, you may want to consider SurveyMonkey, Typeform, Google Forms, or Zoho Survey.

Competitive Analysis

A competitive analysis is a breakdown of how your business stacks up against the competition. There are many different ways to conduct this analysis. One of the most popular methods is a SWOT analysis, which stands for “strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.” This type of analysis is helpful because it gives you a more robust understanding of why a customer might choose a competitor over your business. Seeing how you stack up against the competition can give you the direction you need to carve out your place as a market leader.

Social Media Analysis

Social media has fundamentally changed the market research landscape, making it easier than ever to engage with a wide swath of consumers. Follow your current or potential competitors on social media to see what they’re posting and how their audience is engaging with it. Social media can also give you a lower cost opportunity for testing different messaging and brand positioning.

SEO Analysis and Opportunities

SEO analysis can help you identify the digital competition for getting the word out about your brand, product, or service. You won’t want to overlook this valuable information. Search listening tools offer a novel approach to understanding the market and generating the content strategy that will drive business. Tools like Google Trends and Awario can streamline this process.

Ready to Kick Your Business Into High Gear?

Now that you’ve completed the guide to market research you know you’re ready to put on your researcher hat to give your business the best start. Still not sure how actually… launch the thing? Our free mini-course can run you through the essentials for starting your side hustle .

About Mary Kate Miller

Mary Kate Miller writes about small business, real estate, and finance. In addition to writing for Foundr, her work has been published by The Washington Post, Teen Vogue, Bustle, and more. She lives in Chicago.

Related Posts

How to Grow Your YouTube Channel and Gain Subscribers Quickly

How to Get More Views on Snapchat with These 12 Tactics

12 Instagram Growth Hacks For More Engaged Followers (Without Running Ads)

Create Viral Infographics That Boost Your Organic Traffic

How to Create a Video Sales Letter (Tips and Tricks from a 7-Figure Copywriter)

How to Write a Sales Email That Converts in 2024

What Is a Media Kit: How to Make One in 2024 (With Examples)

Namestorming: How to Choose a Brand Name in 20 Minutes or Less

10 Ways to Increase Brand Awareness without Increasing Your Budget

What Is a Content Creator? A Deep Dive Into This Evolving Industry

Content Creator vs Influencer: What’s the Difference?

How Much Do YouTube Ads Cost? A Beginner’s Pricing Breakdown

How to Get Podcast Sponsors Before Airing an Episode

How Founders Can Overcome Their Sales Fears with AJ Cassata

How to Write Good Instagram Captions That Hook Your Audience

FREE TRAINING FROM LEGIT FOUNDERS

Actionable Strategies for Starting & Growing Any Business.

Qualitative Market Research Methods + Examples

Qualitative market research is one of the most effective ways to understand consumer sentiment . If you really want to know how people feel about a product or business; and the ‘why’ behind it, qualitative research will tell you what you need to know.

This guide covers qualitative market research methods, including the different tools and techniques, their benefits, and examples of qualitative research in action.

What is qualitative market research?

Qualitative market research uncovers key insights into how people feel about a product or brand. It’s more of a touchy-feely type of market research than quantitative research , often performed with a small, handpicked group of respondents.

There are many different ways to conduct qualitative research. These include focus groups, interviews, ethnographic, observational research, and even biometrics. Although it takes time to conduct and analyze results, it’s one of the most popular types of market research .

Qualitative market research methods

Market research surveys are the most widely used qualitative market research method. Perhaps that’s down to their ease of use, availability, or the low cost of getting them out, in, and analyzed. But let’s be honest; all types of market research have pros and cons, which is exactly why picking the right technique is key.

Focus groups

What it is: Focus groups can be done in person or online. Participants are selected from within a target market or audience. Typically, people answer questions about the how, what, and why of a specific topic. While focus group formats vary, participant numbers should always be limited to ensure each person has the chance to contribute.

Best for: This type of qualitative market research is beneficial for testing new concepts or products in a market. It’s also good for getting feedback on existing products and things like usability, functionality, and ease of use.

Good to know: Online focus groups are becoming increasingly popular. As no interaction is required between participants, running them online allows responses to be collected in minutes without impacting data quality. It also reduces costs and means more people can attend due to fewer travel or time constraints.

What it is: Interviews are a tried-and-trusted qualitative research method that can be done in person or over the phone. It’s a highly personal approach that takes a conversational format between just two or three people. Researchers ask pre-set questions designed to collect intel and insights for further analysis. Interview formats vary depending on the research questions .

Best for Granular feedback from people within a target market or a target persona. Researchers obtain details about a person’s intentions, beliefs, motivations, and preferences.

Helpful Scroll to the qualitative market research examples section and view a copy of our template for customer interviews at Similarweb.

Read more: 83 Qualitative Research Questions & Examples

What it is: Most people have used or consumed case study content in the past without necessarily realizing it’s a type of qualitative research. It analyzes contextual factors relevant to a specific problem or outcome in detail. Case study research can be carried out by marketing professionals or researchers and typically follows a structured approach, exploring a problem, the solution, and its impact.

Case studies can take anything from one month upwards to a year to develop and often involve using other types of qualitative market research, such as focus groups or interviews, to inform key content.

Best for: They’re more commonly used as a marketing tool to showcase a solution or service’s impact within a target market or use case. But, new product or service developments are two other popular applications.

What it is: One of the lesser-known methods of qualitative market research is biometrics. There’s an article about this on Bloomberg , showcasing how Expedia uses biometrics in its market research stack. The format for their project takes the trusty focus group scenario, adding a modern twist.

In this example, research participants were asked to attach a set of skin response sensors to their hands. But there could also be eye-tracking, emotional analysis, heat mapping, or facial sensors being used to track responses in tandem. Individuals were tasked with surfing the web; a researcher requested they do specific tasks or carry out a search in a self-directing manner. Responses are recorded, analyzed, and translated into meaningful insights.

Depending on the tech being used, the direction, and the goal of the research, this type of qualitative market research can show:

• How people surf the web or use a site
• The way people react in a specific situation
• How they respond to content, CTAs, layouts, promotions, tasks, or experiences
• Insights into what drives people to take action on a site

Best for: Larger digital-first companies with a budget to suit; those who want to perform UX testing to improve the content, customer journey, experience, or layout of a website.

Insightful The adoption of biometric technology in market research was at an all-time high in 2020. With the technology becoming more widely available, the adoption cost will likely fall, making it more accessible to a larger pool of organizations.

Ethnography

What it is: Enthnograprhic market research (EMR) is one of the costliest types of qualitative research. An experienced ethnographic researcher is needed to design and conduct the study. It analyzes people in their own environment, be it at home, an office, or another location of interest.

Research can take place over a few hours, months, or even years. It’s typically used during the early-stage development of a user-centric design project. But it can also be useful in identifying or analyzing issues arising once a product or service has gone to market.

Best for: It’s widely adopted within useability, service design, and user-focused fields. Getting under the skin of a design problem helps develop a deeper understanding of issues a product should solve. Outcomes help to build improvements or new features in products or services.

Grounded theory

What it is: Researchers use various qualitative market research methods, such as surveys or interviews, and combine them with other types of secondary market research to inform outcomes. Typically, participant groups are between 20-60, making it a larger sample size than focus groups. Responses are collated, and a series of specialist coding techniques are used to formulate a theory that explains behavioral patterns.

Best for: Organizations can better understand a target audience by using research to generate a theory. The findings provide explanations that can inform design decisions or spark new innovation through features or improvements to products or services. A typical use case could be when particularly heavy use of a product occurs or frustrations arise with usability – grounded theory is then used to explore the reasoning behind these behaviors.

Observational

What it is: Contrary to belief, this type of qualitative market research can occur remotely or on-site. A researcher will observe people via camera or being physically present in a shopping mall, store, or other location. Systematic data are collated using subjective methods that monitor how people react in a natural setting. Researchers usually remain out of sight to ensure they go undetected by the people they observe.

Best for: Low-budget market research projects. Suited to those with a physical store or who seek to examine consumer behavior in a public setting. Researchers can see how people react to products or how they navigate around a store. It can also provide insights into shopping behavior, and record the purchase experience.

Useful to know: Observational research provides more effective feedback than market research surveys. This is because instinctive reactions are more reflective of real-world behaviors.

Online Forums

What it is: A web message board or online forum is quick and easy to set up. Most people know how they work, and users’ names can be anonymized. This makes it a safe space to conduct group research and gain consensus or garner opinions on things like creative concepts, promotions, new features, or other topics of interest. The researcher moderates it to ensure discussions remain focused and the right questions are asked to thoroughly explore a topic.

Organizations typically invite between 10-30 participants, and forums are open for anything between 1-5 days. The researcher initiates various threads and may later divide people into subgroups once initial responses are given.

Here’s an example.

If a group of male participants indicates they dislike a specific content on the forum. The moderator would create a subgroup on the fly, with the intent of probing into the viewpoints of that group in more detail.

Best for: Discussing sensitive research topics that people may feel uncomfortable sharing in a group or interview. Getting feedback from people from a broad area and diverse backgrounds is easy. And a more cost-effective way to run focus groups with similar aims and outcomes.

What it is: For a survey to be considered a type of qualitative market research, questions should remain open and closed-ended. Surveys are typically sent digitally but can also be done in person or via direct mail. Feedback can be anonymous or with user details exposed. Surveys are a type of primary research and should be tailored to the research goals and the audience. Segmentation is a great way to uncover more about a select group of people that make up a target persona or market.

Best for: A low-cost way to question a large group of people and gain insights into how they feel about a topic or product. It can be used to flesh out usability issues, explore the viability of new features, or better understand a target audience in almost any sector. Surveys can also be used to explore UX or employee experience in greater detail.

Read more: 18 Ways Businesses Can Use Market Research Surveys

Diary or journal logging

What it is: When you think about it, almost all qualitative research methods aim to help you understand the experiences, lives, and motivations of people. What better way is there to connect with how people think and feel than a journal? Yes, it’s pretty much exactly what it claims to be; a simple note-taking exercise that records regular input, insights, feelings, and thoughts over a period of time.

A survey or focus group captures sentiment at a single point in time. Whereas journal logging gives way to more frequent input without any pressures of time to consider. It’s also more reliable data, as there’s no requirement for people to think about and recall data, as input occurs at the moment. Popular formats include digital diaries, paper journals, and voice journals.

Key parameters are set out from the start. And offer prompts so people know what to record, how often they need to make an entry, the time of day (if relevant), how much they should write, and the purpose or goal of the research.

Best for: Measuring change or impact over time. They’re also a great tool to establish things like:

• Usage scenarios
• Motivations
• Changes in perception
• Behavioral shifts
• Customer journeys  

Start building your story with Similarweb today

Benefits of qualitative market research.

• Flexible – It can be adjusted according to the situation. For example, if the questions being asked aren’t yielding useful information, the researcher can change direction with open questions and adapt as needed.
• Clear and open communication –  Forums like these can help a brand and its customers communicate effectively. The voice of the customer is paramount, and participants are encouraged to express their values and needs freely.
• Provides detailed information – One of the biggest draws of qualitative research is the level of detail given by respondents. Data collected can be vital in helping organizations gain an in-depth understanding of consumer pain points and perspectives.
• Improve retention – Qualitative research gets under the hood, helping an organization know how consumers think or feel about a business or its products. The intel can shape future offerings or improve service elements, thus boosting loyalty.

Qualitative market research examples

Whether you’ve carried out qualitative research in the past or not, it’s never a bad idea to look at what others are doing. Who knows, it could inspire your research project or give you an example of qualitative research in action to use as a base.

Here are three qualitative market research examples in action!

Example 1: This Voice of Customer questionnaire is an example of qualitative research we use here at Similarweb. 

Example 2: A market research survey used in retail. It’s sent out with a digital copy of a store receipt and aims to explore how people feel about their in-store experience.

Example 3: A case study report published by Forrester Consulting. It highlights the ROI of Similarweb following a period of use and a forward-looking estimation.

A smarter way to get Similar results in less time

While different in nature, qualitative and quantitative research go hand in hand. In short, qualitative can explain what quantitative research shows. While qualitative research costs vary, it takes time to plan, conduct, and analyze. Not everybody has the luxury of time or the resources to carry out their own qualitative market research. And with how fast markets and consumer behaviors shift, it’s not always the optimal solution.

Feature spotlight: Audience Analysis 

Similarweb’s audience behavior research tool shows you where people in your target market spend their time online. Uncovering critical, unbiased insights at pace.

• Audience metrics show you demographics , geographics , audience loyalty , and interests.
• Competitive insights allow you to see any rivals’ reach and unpack their successes.
• Visualize your target market like never before – layered with insights that show where and how they spend time online.
• Segment your audience to see industry-specific consumer interests.
• Discover untapped audiences to acquire and grow your share of market.

As a single source of truth, Similarweb Research Intelligence lets you get the measure of the digital world that matters to you most. At a glance, you can see what’s happening in any market, and drill down into any rival or audience group to spot trends, analyze changes, and inform key decisions; fast. As far as market research tools go, it’s the only platform that brings together feedback from mobile web, desktop, and mobile apps in a single place. Giving you a complete and comprehensive picture of your digital landscape.

Wrapping Up…

Compared to quantitative research, the qualitative approach can take more time and cost more money. But, there are distinct benefits that make it hard to dismiss. While statistical research can show you the ‘what,’ ‘who,’ and ‘when’, qualitative research complements this and helps uncover the ‘why’ and ‘how’ – giving you the complete picture.

From the high-hitting budget owners to the SMBs who need to research a market or audience, qualitative research is a vital tool that’ll help you uncover insights and focus on growth.

Digital intelligence platforms like Similarweb can give you a framework to outline a story that can be filled in with qualitative research later down the line.

What’s the difference between quantitative and qualitative research methods? Qualitative market research is a type of primary research method that explores how people think and feel about a topic. Quantitative research is statistics-based and analyses numerical data.

What are the different types of qualitative market research? The most popular types of qualitative market research include Focus groups, interviews, ethnography, case studies, grounded theory, observational, online forums, open-ended surveys, biometrics, narrative, thematic analysis, diary or journal logging, thematic analysis, and phenomenological study.

How is qualitative research used in marketing? Qualitative market research serves as a tool that helps marketing teams identify consumer needs, refine product messaging, generate ideas for campaigns, discover new channels, and develop targeted campaigns that resonate with target audiences.

What Types of Questions are Asked in Qualitative Market Research? Qualitative market research often focuses on open-ended questions that allow respondents to provide detailed answers about their attitudes, opinions, and experiences. Examples of questions include: What factors influence your decision to purchase a particular product or service? How do you use a product or service? What do you like or dislike about a product or service?

What are the Limitations of Qualitative Market Research? Qualitative market research can be subjective and may be limited by the number of participants and the amount of time available for research. Additionally, qualitative research does not provide quantitative data, which can be useful for measuring and comparing consumer behavior.

Related Posts

What is a Niche Market? And How to Find the Right One

The Future of UK Finance: Top Trends to Watch in 2024

From AI to Buy: The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Retail

How to Conduct a Social Media Competitor Analysis: 5 Quick Steps

Industry Research: The Data-Backed Approach

How to Do a Competitive Analysis: A Complete Guide

Wondering what similarweb can do for you.

Here are two ways you can get started with Similarweb today!

• Find PPC Talent
• Monitor PPC Specialists

Customer Observation: The Golden Trend for Market Research

Customer observation is a solid trend in market research that’s gaining popularity for good reason. Why? By observing your customers using your product or service, you can see firsthand how they interact with it. This information can be used to improve the customer experience and make your business more profitable.

Let’s find out a little more about customer observation and why it matters.

What is Customer Observation?

Customer observation is a qualitative research technique that allows you to observe customers in their natural environment. It’s a valuable way to learn about customer behaviour, needs and expectations, and it can also be used to test new products or services.

Therefore, you are expanding your understanding of the customer experience by observing them interact with your product or service in different environments. This insight may well reveal opportunities for improvement or highlight unanticipated problems.

Customer observation is a key part of market research, and there is no shortcut – as useful as that would be.  

It is a systematic approach to observing customers in the marketplace, which helps you gather data on:

• Customer needs, wants and behaviours
• Attitudes and opinions
• Product preferences
• Adoption rates for new products or services
• Competition within the marketplace
• How they use your product
• What problems they encounter

One of the reasons this form of research is becoming more popular is because what humans say they do and what they actually do, can be startlingly different. The slightly iffy recall, gaps in their memory, or the undeniable issue of varying perspectives all play a role in skewing the data. 

The Process 

It’s fairly simple to conduct customer observation for physical products that are available at a retail outlet. Watching footage of how consumers interact with your product versus a competitor, taking careful note of returns, refunds, and complaints, and conducting surveys and interviews all work well. 

However, when delving into the digital realm, things get a little more technical. 

Customer observation now morphs into behavioural data , which measures crucial metrics based on direct user interactions. 

One article on this topic notes, “The “observer” takes one of three forms: human, software, or mechanical device. Human observation may be as simple as walking into a brick-and-mortar store and watching consumers pick up your product and your competitor’s product and compare them. Online observation includes tracking devices and web metrics to map user and consumer behavior; Google Analytics and heatmaps fall into this category. Mechanical observation entails the use of devices—such as cameras or footfall counters—that track consumer behavior in the non-virtual world.”

Business leaders who are in the trenches with their analytics teams no doubt reap the benefits of this golden data. 

However, digital behavioural analytics are unable to capture the whole picture, which includes human elements such as motives or attitudes. These lie firmly within the one-on-one realm, which needs face-to-face interaction. 

Customer observation is the act of observing customers in their natural environment. You want to see how they use your product or service, why they use it, and what they think about it.

You also want to understand how they feel about the experience they have with your brand. This requires you to observe them in their natural setting, not on a stage or in a studio where you might have asked them questions that influence their answers.

When Should You Observe Your Customers ?

Now that you know what customer observation is, how do you decide when to conduct it? There are several timing factors that can help you determine the best time for your observation.

• Pre-launch. Before you launch a new product or service, get out and talk to people about their needs. Whether it’s in person or online (through focus groups), learn as much as possible about what customers want and need from your company before rolling out something new.
• Post-launch. Go back out into the field after launching your product or service and observe if customers are using it as intended—and if there are any unmet needs being fulfilled by competitors’ products or services that could be addressed by yours instead of theirs!
• Brainstorming. There’s a possibility that your product or service can be used in ways that you didn’t anticipate. This offers a range of new ideas for improving, streamlining, or adding to your original concept.
• Finding a niche. You may find your customers are trying to use your product in an unintended way, which can identify unmet needs.
• Reducing customer attrition. The first-hand knowledge of your customers’ wants, needs, and problems allows you the opportunity to fix them before they go elsewhere. 

A Few Tips to Maximize the Impact of Customer Observation

• Observe in the field.
• Observe multiple customers.
• Observe customers in different situations.
• Observe customers using different products or services.
• Observe customers using your product or service as intended, but also when they use it in unexpected ways.

The Best Way to Understand How and Why Customers Use Your Product or Service Is to Watch Them Do It

Customer observation is a powerful way to understand how and why customers use your product or service, because it offers the opportunity to see how they use it in their daily lives. 

The process allows you to observe what your customers do with your product or service in order to understand better why they choose them over other options. It also gives you valuable information about their frustrations, which helps guide your design process and future iterations of the product or service. 

The information you gather from customer observation can then be used to improve not just one aspect of your business but also all aspects of it as a whole.

• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar
• Skip to footer
• QuestionPro

• Solutions Industries Gaming Automotive Sports and events Education Government Travel & Hospitality Financial Services Healthcare Cannabis Technology Use Case NPS+ Communities Audience Contactless surveys Mobile LivePolls Member Experience GDPR Positive People Science 360 Feedback Surveys
• Resources Blog eBooks Survey Templates Case Studies Training Help center

Home Market Research

Quantitative Market Research: The Complete Guide

What is Quantitative Market Research?

Quantitative Market Research is a technique to ask questions to the target audience in an organized manner using surveys, polls or questionnaires. Received responses can be analyzed to make well-thought decisions for improving products and services, that will in turn help increase respondent satisfaction levels. Well-founded results can be achieved in case a large sample size that represents a population is surveyed.

The age of Information has transformed both selling as well as purchasing habits and norms. “Information” or “data” is now more valuable than gold. Companies rise and fall on the basis of how well they are able to collect and analyze data and make informed decisions based on the gathered insights.

LEARN ABOUT: Marketing Insight

Any evolved customer who makes a purchase online can tell how quickly businesses have become “customer-centric”. And the first step towards becoming a customer-centric business is through customer feedback and research design .

LEARN ABOUT: Market research vs marketing research

For instance, “Based on your overall experience with us, how likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?” – This one question, the Net Promoter Score question, changed the game for businesses across the Globe. With just 1 question, companies are now able to collect real data from real customers on how well their organic word-of-mouth referrals can grow their business and how less/more they have to spend on paid advertising and promotions or which area of their product or service quality requires improvements.

This is just 1 in hundreds of such Quantitative Market Research survey questions that have fundamentally and exponentially helped organizations, including nonprofits, charities, educational institutions and business alike, to make decisions that are based on real data!

Organizations are dependent on quantitative analysis for the statistical evaluation of data because it gives systematic, detailed information about the research problem at hand or the target audience. This market research technique revolves around surveys , questionnaires and polls and the data collected is evaluated numerically, statistically, mathematically to form better strategies and marketing plans.

LEARN ABOUT:  Market research industry

But before we dive into the steps that are required to carry out a successful Quantitative Market Research study, let’s look at a few more critical reasons why you need to do so.

LEARN ABOUT: Causal Research

Reasons to conduct Quantitative Market Research

• Research is the first step for a successful marketing campaign, be it a new product launch, sales pitch positioning or conducting a data-oriented statistical analysis .
• By conducting an online quantitative market research, insights about marketing activities like updating the website, social media page management or newsletters can also be received.
• By implementing Quantitative Market Research, questions like “Who are currently buying my products/services?”, “Why are the others not buying my product?”, “How to reach out to my potential clientele?” are answered.
• Quantitative research starts with survey creation, designing, and distribution. After the survey is sent out to the right people, data collection(active or passive data collection ) and analysis has to be done to get desired insights.

LEARN ABOUT: Best Data Collection Tools

Significance of Quantitative Market Research

As the name implies, Quantitative market research focuses on the quantity and structured collection of data. It began with face-to-face techniques and now has evolved into online surveys like those provided by QuestionPro. It is often used to capture data like customer behavior , size of the market, identifying reasons for product repurchase. This type of market research is usually based on a large number of samples.

LEARN ABOUT: Behavioral Research

Characteristics of Quantitative Market Research

The basic characteristics of quantitative market research are:

• The premise that quantitative market research operates on is to confirm the hypothesis of the phenomena of how many.
• The data collected is solely in the form of numbers and statistical formula can be applied to this data to come up quantified actionable insights.
• Data collected and the mode of collection is very structured. It is a mix of questionnaires , surveys etc.
• The research study is designed in a way that the questions are structured and the possible responses to these types of question are also structured. This is laid out well in advance before the study.
• Since the questions are not open ended, they point towards certain answers so the scope for uncertainty is limited.

What is the methodology for creating a successful quantitative market research survey?

Quantitative market research is a highly scientific method of market research. It uses deductive reasoning to come to a conclusion and create actionable insights from the data collected. This research method works on the principle of developing a hypothesis, collecting data and then analyzing that data to further prove or disprove the hypothesis. The milestone based procedure of the quantitative design is:

• Make an observation of something that is unknown to you. Investigate the theory that is related to your issue or the field that requires validation.
• Create an in-depth hypothesis to validate your research and findings and end objective.
• Plan for how to prove or disprove this hypothesis and create a structure to achieve this objective.
• Collect and analyze your data. If your data validates your hypothesis, prepare for final validations and to present findings. If the data disproves your hypothesis, you can either start afresh with a new hypothesis or drop your current research.

The milestones mentioned above fall under 5 quantitative design types namely; survey research , descriptive research , correlational research , causal-comparative/ quasi-experimental research and experimental research .

LEARN MORE: Descriptive Research vs Correlational Research

What are the common techniques to conduct a quantitative market research?

Quantitative market research can be conducted by primary and secondary research types. Some of the Some of the most common ways to conduct a quantitative market research are:

Primary quantitative market research techniques

Primary techniques are the most common forms of conducting quantitative market research. Some of the most common and widely used forms are:

• Cross-sectional research survey:  Cross-sectional market research is a quantitative market research method that analyzes data of variables collected at one given point of time across a sample population. population or a pre-defined subset. This research method has people who are similar in all demographics but the one that is under research.
• Longitudinal research survey:  Longitudinal market research is a quantitative market research method where research is conducted over years or decades on a target demographic markets or certain individuals to collect statistical data. 

LEARN ABOUT: Research Process Steps

• One-on-one Interviews: This quantitative data collection method was also traditionally conducted face-to-face but has shifted to telephonic and online platforms. Interviews offer a marketer the opportunity to gather extensive data from the participants. Quantitative interviews are immensely structured and play a key role in collecting information. There are two major sections of these online interviews:
• Face-to-Face Interviews: An interviewer can prepare a list of important questions in addition to the already asked survey questions. This way, interviewees provide exhaustive details about the topic under discussion. An interviewer can manage to bond with the interviewee on a personal level which will help him/her to collect more details about the topic due to which the responses also improve. Interviewers can also ask for an explanation from the interviewees about unclear answers.
• Online/Telephonic Interviews: Telephone-based interviews are no more a novelty but these quantitative interviews have also moved to online mediums such as Skype or Zoom. Irrespective of the distance between the interviewer and the interviewee and their corresponding time zones, communication becomes one-click away with online interviews. In case of telephone interviews, the interview is merely a phone call away.

Secondary quantitative market research techniques

Secondary techniques to conduct quantitative market research are a means to validating a hypothesis or drawing conclusions from empirical data and primary data. This research method is a form of observational research where historical data helps validate the statistical observations of the primary data. For example: mapping the purchase of snowblowers to the months where sales spike with historical data of inclement weather helps manage supply and demand as well as trained personnel during those months.

LEARN ABOUT:  Test Market Demand

5 steps needed for creating a successful quantitative market research survey:

• Specify the Goal: Why do you want to conduct this market research? There should be a clear answer to this question so that the steps that follow are smoothly executed.
• Have a Plan Sketched Out: Every step that needs to be achieved has to be put to paper like the tools that are required to carry out the research,  survey templates , the target audience etc. This may vary from project to project.
• Collect Data: This is the most crucial step in this market research. Data is collected through 3 main mediums: online surveys, telephone interviews or email surveys .

• Compile Reports: A report consisting of graphs, charts, and tables should be created so that the person in-charge of the report can incorporate the observed changes.  

Learn more about Quantitative Data

Guesswork or limited awareness of numbers can never result in the success of an organization. Quantitative market research offers the perfect medium for researchers to analyze customer behavior and adaptability so that the growth of the organization isn’t hampered.  

Quantitative market research questions – Use and Types

According to the objective of research, the survey creator can decide the type of questions to be used. To put it briefly:

• Quantitative market research questions produce answers for “Who” and “What”.
• Qualitative market research questions produce answers for “Why”.

Quantitative questions are usually close-ended and are simpler to analyze when compared to the qualitative counterparts which are open-ended and much harder to analyze. If you’re looking to obtain statistics and quantifiable results, you can implement quantitative market research questions.

These questions are easy for the respondents to answer. Due to their close-ended nature, a sizeable quantity of questions can be asked without having to worry about whether the respondents will get irritated by them or not.  Quantitative questions can start with “how” or “what” and can be used in questions such as “how frequently” or “how many” or “what are” or “what is the extent”.

The most used quantitative market research questions are:

Net promoter score : This question can be asked to evaluate customer satisfaction and brand shareability. It’s usually a 0-10 scale which provides a very filtered yet efficient perspective about brand recommendation. The respondents are divided on the basis of the provided input.

Likert-scale: It’s a psychometric question to evaluate customer opinions towards a particular situation with two polarities at each end of the scale. The Likert-scale question has a statement and 5, 7 or 9 response options for the respondents to choose from. These questions used for customer satisfaction , employee satisfaction , and academic surveys .

Semantic-scale: Semantic differential rating scale is used to ask quantitative questions about ideologies, products or events with grammatical opposite options at the polar positions of the scale to measure their implicative meaning.  

Multiple-choice: These fundamental components of a survey can be vital in getting the best responses in quantitative research as they provide the exact options that an organization would want their respondents to choose from.

Matrix questions: These are multiple choice questions assembled in form of a matrix. They are extremely convenient for survey makers to create and analyze these kinds of questions and for respondents to construe and answer.

Read more: Survey Questions and Sample Survey Questions

Statistical Analysis in Quantitative market research

Quantitative market research uses a host of statistical analysis techniques to process the response data and derive meaningful and clear insights. These insights gathered from statistical analysis enables researchers to derive the final conclusion of the quantitative research.

LEARN ABOUT:   Statistical Analysis Methods

Here are 5 commonly used statistical analysis techniques:

• Conjoint Analysis:

Conjoint analysis is a method used to identify the value of various attributes such as cost, features, benefits for the customers that lead to the purchase of a particular product or service. With increasing technology implementation features in devices and gadgets, this analysis method has been widely adopted for product pricing, market placement, and product launch.

• TURF Analysis:

TURF (Total Unduplicated Reach and Frequency) analysis allows an organization to gain insights on a combination of products/services that’ll attract the highest number of customers. This is done by producing the reach and frequency of unduplicated data from the obtained responses.

• GAP Analysis:

GAP analysis is used to calculate the difference between the desired and actual performance of a particular product/service. By measuring GAP analysis , an organization can make improvements to mend the gap and make their attributes more appealing to reduce the gap.

• MaxDiff Analysis:

Also known as “best-worst” scaling, MaxDiff is choice-model used to acquire customer preferences of multiple characteristics such as product features, brand images, and preferences, activities around the branding etc. It does have some similarity to Conjoint analysis but is much simpler to implement and analyze.

• Cross Tabulation:

Cross-tabulation is a statistical analysis tool that allows comparison of two or more categories in a brief tabular format for convenient data analysis .

Advantages of quantitative market research:

• Produces numerically rational theories: The result of the quantitative research is based on numbers because of which results are extremely instrumental for an organization to make well-thought decisions to market a product/service in a better manner. The numbers analyzed in this can be then put into charts and graphs for better representation and review.
• Easily calculable and analyzable data: Due to the exactness in the answers received for quantitative questions, it’s extremely favorable for research to evaluate the data.
• Enhanced willingness of respondents: Quantitative research mostly comprises of close-ended questions which are quick and less time-consuming for the respondents to answer. This is an essential reason for high response rates for this market research.
• Less investment to create brand awareness: These days, quantitative research is used for brand awareness which is generally conducted through online mediums. Cost invested in the research is thus reduced to create awareness about the brand.

Disadvantages of quantitative market research:

• Statistical data isn’t always complete: Data could be collected from a huge number of people but there is no way to dig deep down into they “why” of an answer. Data isn’t actionable with just numbers and no concrete explanations to back that data.
• Structured interviews and questionnaires: The biggest strength but also a weakness of quantitative market research questions is the limited scope to digress from a structured answer. Whilst this provides actionable numbers, the research questions do not allow to validate those numbers due to the nature of how the survey is set-up.
• Sample size isn’t indicative of a larger population: If the respondents of the market research survey have attributes that do not match those of a larger demographic, the data collected cannot be equated to a larger sample as the data collected isn’t necessarily a representation of the larger audience.
• Self-report isn’t always trustworthy data: People when given the liberty to respond to a survey are skeptical to give out too much information and if any information provided is incorrect or haphazard, that discounts the complete validity of the survey.

How does Quantitative Market Research  work  using QuestionPro?

QuestionPro offers a string of standard and advanced question types like single select, multi-select, Net Promoter Scale or Van Westendorp etc. that can be chosen to create a powerful survey. The survey has to be branded and personalized as per your company policies and also has to include logic and branching suitably.

Distribution of surveys using the right mediums is an integral part of data collection. You can reach as many people as you wish to by using sources like Emails that can also be scheduled, QR code, Mobile application that allows offline data collection , Automated IVR surveys , and Web intercept surveys .

Responses are updated on a dashboard as and when respondents take the survey. As a survey maker, you can keep an eye on the live updates of the customers who’ve started the survey but not yet finished it or who’ve completed it or who’ve just begun, on the dashboard.

LEARN ABOUT: Level of Analysis

Using techniques like Conjoint Analysis, SWOT Analysis, TURF Analysis, one can obtain a solid statistical understanding of the collected data for organizations and academicians. The updates in analytics are done in real-time using advanced analytics programs.

LEARN ABOUT: 12 Best Tools for Researchers

This marketing research method is used to know how alike do people think about a certain product and derive results for data-oriented decision making. When a new product is being launched or a product is being upgraded, quantitative market research can be put to use to know what the target audience thinks about the change and whether it will be well adapted.

LEARN ABOUT: Average Order Value

MORE LIKE THIS

NPS Survey Platform: Types, Tips, 11 Best Platforms & Tools

Apr 26, 2024

User Journey vs User Flow: Differences and Similarities

Best 7 Gap Analysis Tools to Empower Your Business

Apr 25, 2024

12 Best Employee Survey Tools for Organizational Excellence

Other categories.

• Academic Research
• Artificial Intelligence
• Assessments
• Brand Awareness
• Case Studies
• Communities
• Consumer Insights
• Customer effort score
• Customer Engagement
• Customer Experience
• Customer Loyalty
• Customer Research
• Customer Satisfaction
• Employee Benefits
• Employee Engagement
• Employee Retention
• Friday Five
• General Data Protection Regulation
• Insights Hub
• Life@QuestionPro
• Market Research
• Mobile diaries
• Mobile Surveys
• New Features
• Online Communities
• Question Types
• Questionnaire
• QuestionPro Products
• Release Notes
• Research Tools and Apps
• Revenue at Risk
• Survey Templates
• Training Tips
• Uncategorized
• Video Learning Series
• What’s Coming Up
• Workforce Intelligence

Observational Techniques in Marketing Research

• Small Business
• Advertising & Marketing
• Market Research
• ')" data-event="social share" data-info="Pinterest" aria-label="Share on Pinterest">
• ')" data-event="social share" data-info="Reddit" aria-label="Share on Reddit">
• ')" data-event="social share" data-info="Flipboard" aria-label="Share on Flipboard">

Quantitative Methods for Business Decisions

What is inductive content analysis, what is the wagner preference inventory.

• How to Apply Cognitive Psychology to Accounting
• The Advantages of Survey for Market Research

Through direct observation of people, marketing specialists are able to identify actions and watch how subjects respond to various stimuli. For a small business, observational marketing research is one of the most simple ways that one can find out many things about their customers and clients.

Observational Technique Definition

Observational marketing research is a qualitative method of collecting and analyzing information obtained through directly or indirectly watching and observing others in natural or planned environments, according to Zoho . It is often the first, and sometimes only, step in developing a marketing plan or project. Social research techniques and observational research methods may be done covertly or overtly to obtain the best, most efficient results. Additionally, researchers may participate in the experience to provide a more informed report.

Advantages of Observational Techniques

There are many advantages to utilizing observation techniques when conducing marketing research for your small business, says Fuel Cycle . During observation only, subjects often behave more naturally and do not purport to demonstrate their "ideal selves" instead of their true actions. Recall error is not a problem when conducting observational research. In clinical settings, behaviors are reported in relationship to activities or other stimuli.

In observational research done in natural settings, subjects are reported as doing exactly as what was observed. Observational research can be modified to obtain the best results possible, if necessary. For instance, if one cannot see clearly enough from a particular location, he may choose to move to a closer observing spot. Observational techniques often provide the only way to conduct certain research, such as determining the number of shoppers visiting a store or the behavior of children.

Disadvantages of Observational Techniques

While observational techniques have many advantages, they also have some faults, too. Researchers have no control over the situations and environments typically used in observational research. Additionally, observational research is time consuming. One must have patience and time to devote to watching a set number of individuals or settings to obtain the information necessary. Researchers may also become distracted while observing, which can taint the results of the research. Anomalies may pose themselves as regular occurrences without the high accuracy of statistics, making it hard to build a comprehensive market observation report.

Examples of Observational Techniques

Several common marketing observation examples exist and are used frequently. Perhaps, one of the most common ways researchers use observational techniques is through cookies on computers, used to track users' web views and visits.

Focus groups utilize observational techniques, as does the Nielson ratings used to track popular viewing habits of television programs. Transportation departments use observational research to conduct traffic counts and usage patterns. Many retail marketers use observational techniques when they count license plates in parking lots, record purchasing behavior through bar-coded transactions and observe package scrutiny and preference.

• Zoho: Conducting Observational Research for Your Business
• Fuel Cycle: The 3 Most Common Observation Research Methods

Related Articles

What is the difference between the target population & the experimentally accessible population, how to use conjoint analysis in pricing studies, oral questioning as an evaluation strategy, do internet service providers track private browsing, how is market research used to analyze demand, advertising analysis examples, the basic steps of the marketing research process, types of business research methods, the disadvantages of target marketing, most popular.

• 1 What Is the Difference Between the Target Population & the Experimentally Accessible Population?
• 2 How to Use Conjoint Analysis in Pricing Studies
• 3 Oral Questioning as an Evaluation Strategy
• 4 Do Internet Service Providers Track Private Browsing?

• Search Search Please fill out this field.

What Is Market Research?

• How It Works
• Primary vs. Secondary
• How to Conduct Research

The Bottom Line

• Marketing Essentials

How to Do Market Research, Types, and Example

Joules Garcia / Investopedia

Market research examines consumer behavior and trends in the economy to help a business develop and fine-tune its business idea and strategy. It helps a business understand its target market by gathering and analyzing data.

Market research is the process of evaluating the viability of a new service or product through research conducted directly with potential customers. It allows a company to define its target market and get opinions and other feedback from consumers about their interest in a product or service.

Research may be conducted in-house or by a third party that specializes in market research. It can be done through surveys and focus groups, among other ways. Test subjects are usually compensated with product samples or a small stipend for their time.

Key Takeaways

• Companies conduct market research before introducing new products to determine their appeal to potential customers.
• Tools include focus groups, telephone interviews, and questionnaires.
• The results of market research inform the final design of the product and determine how it will be positioned in the marketplace.
• Market research usually combines primary information, gathered directly from consumers, and secondary information, which is data available from external sources.

Market Research

How market research works.

Market research is used to determine the viability of a new product or service. The results may be used to revise the product design and fine-tune the strategy for introducing it to the public. This can include information gathered for the purpose of determining market segmentation . It also informs product differentiation , which is used to tailor advertising.

A business engages in various tasks to complete the market research process. It gathers information based on the market sector being targeted by the product. This information is then analyzed and relevant data points are interpreted to draw conclusions about how the product may be optimally designed and marketed to the market segment for which it is intended.

It is a critical component in the research and development (R&D) phase of a new product or service introduction. Market research can be conducted in many different ways, including surveys, product testing, interviews, and focus groups.

Market research is a critical tool that companies use to understand what consumers want, develop products that those consumers will use, and maintain a competitive advantage over other companies in their industry.

Primary Market Research vs. Secondary Market Research

Market research usually consists of a combination of:

• Primary research, gathered by the company or by an outside company that it hires
• Secondary research, which draws on external sources of data

Primary Market Research

Primary research generally falls into two categories: exploratory and specific research.

• Exploratory research is less structured and functions via open-ended questions. The questions may be posed in a focus group setting, telephone interviews, or questionnaires. It results in questions or issues that the company needs to address about a product that it has under development.
• Specific research delves more deeply into the problems or issues identified in exploratory research.

Secondary Market Research

All market research is informed by the findings of other researchers about the needs and wants of consumers. Today, much of this research can be found online.

Secondary research can include population information from government census data , trade association research reports , polling results, and research from other businesses operating in the same market sector.

History of Market Research

Formal market research began in Germany during the 1920s. In the United States, it soon took off with the advent of the Golden Age of Radio.

Companies that created advertisements for this new entertainment medium began to look at the demographics of the audiences who listened to each of the radio plays, music programs, and comedy skits that were presented.

They had once tried to reach the widest possible audience by placing their messages on billboards or in the most popular magazines. With radio programming, they had the chance to target rural or urban consumers, teenagers or families, and judge the results by the sales numbers that followed.

Types of Market Research

Face-to-face interviews.

From their earliest days, market research companies would interview people on the street about the newspapers and magazines that they read regularly and ask whether they recalled any of the ads or brands that were published in them. Data collected from these interviews were compared to the circulation of the publication to determine the effectiveness of those ads.

Market research and surveys were adapted from these early techniques.

To get a strong understanding of your market, it’s essential to understand demand, market size, economic indicators, location, market saturation, and pricing.

Focus Groups

A focus group is a small number of representative consumers chosen to try a product or watch an advertisement.

Afterward, the group is asked for feedback on their perceptions of the product, the company’s brand, or competing products. The company then takes that information and makes decisions about what to do with the product or service, whether that's releasing it, making changes, or abandoning it altogether.

Phone Research

The man-on-the-street interview technique soon gave way to the telephone interview. A telephone interviewer could collect information in a more efficient and cost-effective fashion.

Telephone research was a preferred tactic of market researchers for many years. It has become much more difficult in recent years as landline phone service dwindles and is replaced by less accessible mobile phones.

Survey Research

As an alternative to focus groups, surveys represent a cost-effective way to determine consumer attitudes without having to interview anyone in person. Consumers are sent surveys in the mail, usually with a coupon or voucher to incentivize participation. These surveys help determine how consumers feel about the product, brand, and price point.

Online Market Research

With people spending more time online, market research activities have shifted online as well. Data collection still uses a survey-style form. But instead of companies actively seeking participants by finding them on the street or cold calling them on the phone, people can choose to sign up, take surveys, and offer opinions when they have time.

This makes the process far less intrusive and less rushed, since people can participate on their own time and of their own volition.

How to Conduct Market Research

The first step to effective market research is to determine the goals of the study. Each study should seek to answer a clear, well-defined problem. For example, a company might seek to identify consumer preferences, brand recognition, or the comparative effectiveness of different types of ad campaigns.

After that, the next step is to determine who will be included in the research. Market research is an expensive process, and a company cannot waste resources collecting unnecessary data. The firm should decide in advance which types of consumers will be included in the research, and how the data will be collected. They should also account for the probability of statistical errors or sampling bias .

The next step is to collect the data and analyze the results. If the two previous steps have been completed accurately, this should be straightforward. The researchers will collect the results of their study, keeping track of the ages, gender, and other relevant data of each respondent. This is then analyzed in a marketing report that explains the results of their research.

The last step is for company executives to use their market research to make business decisions. Depending on the results of their research, they may choose to target a different group of consumers, or they may change their price point or some product features.

The results of these changes may eventually be measured in further market research, and the process will begin all over again.

Benefits of Market Research

Market research is essential for developing brand loyalty and customer satisfaction. Since it is unlikely for a product to appeal equally to every consumer, a strong market research program can help identify the key demographics and market segments that are most likely to use a given product.

Market research is also important for developing a company’s advertising efforts. For example, if a company’s market research determines that its consumers are more likely to use Facebook than X (formerly Twitter), it can then target its advertisements to one platform instead of another. Or, if they determine that their target market is value-sensitive rather than price-sensitive, they can work on improving the product rather than reducing their prices.

Market research only works when subjects are honest and open to participating.

Example of Market Research

Many companies use market research to test new products or get information from consumers about what kinds of products or services they need and don’t currently have.

For example, a company that’s considering starting a business might conduct market research to test the viability of its product or service. If the market research confirms consumer interest, the business can proceed confidently with its business plan . If not, the company can use the results of the market research to make adjustments to the product to bring it in line with customer desires.

What Are the Main Types of Market Research?

The main types of market research are primary research and secondary research. Primary research includes focus groups, polls, and surveys. Secondary research includes academic articles, infographics, and white papers.

Qualitative research gives insights into how customers feel and think. Quantitative research uses data and statistics such as website views, social media engagement, and subscriber numbers.

What Is Online Market Research?

Online market research uses the same strategies and techniques as traditional primary and secondary market research, but it is conducted on the Internet. Potential customers may be asked to participate in a survey or give feedback on a product. The responses may help the researchers create a profile of the likely customer for a new product.

What Are Paid Market Research Surveys?

Paid market research involves rewarding individuals who agree to participate in a study. They may be offered a small payment for their time or a discount coupon in return for filling out a questionnaire or participating in a focus group.

What Is a Market Study?

A market study is an analysis of consumer demand for a product or service. It looks at all of the factors that influence demand for a product or service. These include the product’s price, location, competition, and substitutes as well as general economic factors that could influence the new product’s adoption, for better or worse.

Market research is a key component of a company’s research and development (R&D) stage. It helps companies understand in advance the viability of a new product that they have in development and to see how it might perform in the real world.

Britannica Money. “ Market Research .”

U.S. Small Business Administration. “ Market Research and Competitive Analysis .”

• How to Start a Business: A Comprehensive Guide and Essential Steps 1 of 25
• How to Do Market Research, Types, and Example 2 of 25
• Marketing Strategy: What It Is, How It Works, and How to Create One 3 of 25
• Marketing in Business: Strategies and Types Explained 4 of 25
• What Is a Marketing Plan? Types and How to Write One 5 of 25
• Business Development: Definition, Strategies, Steps & Skills 6 of 25
• Business Plan: What It Is, What's Included, and How to Write One 7 of 25
• Small Business Development Center (SBDC): Meaning, Types, Impact 8 of 25
• How to Write a Business Plan for a Loan 9 of 25
• Business Startup Costs: It’s in the Details 10 of 25
• Startup Capital Definition, Types, and Risks 11 of 25
• Bootstrapping Definition, Strategies, and Pros/Cons 12 of 25
• Crowdfunding: What It Is, How It Works, and Popular Websites 13 of 25
• Starting a Business with No Money: How to Begin 14 of 25
• A Comprehensive Guide to Establishing Business Credit 15 of 25
• Equity Financing: What It Is, How It Works, Pros and Cons 16 of 25
• Best Startup Business Loans for April 2024 17 of 25
• Sole Proprietorship: What It Is, Pros and Cons, and Differences From an LLC 18 of 25
• Partnership: Definition, How It Works, Taxation, and Types 19 of 25
• What Is an LLC? Limited Liability Company Structure and Benefits Defined 20 of 25
• Corporation: What It Is and How To Form One 21 of 25
• Starting a Small Business: Your Complete How-to Guide 22 of 25
• Starting an Online Business: A Step-by-Step Guide 23 of 25
• How to Start Your Own Bookkeeping Business: Essential Tips 24 of 25
• How to Start a Successful Dropshipping Business: A Comprehensive Guide 25 of 25

• Terms of Service
• Editorial Policy
• Privacy Policy
• Your Privacy Choices

10 Observational Research Examples

Observational research involves observing the actions of people or animals, usually in their natural environments.

For example, Jane Goodall famously observed chimpanzees in the wild and reported on their group behaviors. Similarly, many educational researchers will conduct observations in classrooms to gain insights into how children learn.

Examples of Observational Research

1. jane goodall’s research.

Jane Goodall is famous for her discovery that chimpanzees use tools. It is one of the most remarkable findings in psychology and anthropology .

Her primary method of study involved simply entering the natural habitat of her research subjects, sitting down with pencil and paper, and making detailed notes of what she observed.

Those observations were later organized and transformed into research papers that provided the world with amazing insights into animal behavior.

When she first discovered that chimpanzees use twigs to “fish” for termites, it was absolutely stunning. The renowned Louis Leakey proclaimed: “we must now redefine tool, redefine man, or accept chimps as humans.”

2. Linguistic Development of Children

Answering a question like, “how do children learn to speak,” can only be answered by observing young children at home.

By the time kids get to first grade, their language skills have already become well-developed, with a vocabulary of thousands of words and the ability to use relatively complex sentences.

Therefore, a researcher has to conduct their study in the child’s home environment. This typically involves having a trained data collector sit in a corner of a room and take detailed notes about what and how parents speak to their child.

Those observations are later classified in a way that they can be converted into quantifiable measures for statistical analysis.

For example, the data might be coded in terms of how many words the parents spoke, degree of sentence complexity, or emotional dynamic of being encouraging or critical. When the data is analyzed, it might reveal how patterns of parental comments are linked to the child’s level of linguistic development.

Related Article: 15 Action Research Examples

3. Consumer Product Design  

Before Apple releases a new product to the market, they conduct extensive analyses of how the product will be perceived and used by consumers.

The company wants to know what kind of experience the consumer will have when using the product. Is the interface user-friendly and smooth? Does it fit comfortably in a person’s hand?

Is the overall experience pleasant?

So, the company will arrange for groups of prospective customers come to the lab and simply use the next iteration of one of their great products. That lab will absolutely contain a two-way mirror and a team of trained observers sitting behind it, taking detailed notes of what the test groups are doing. The groups might even be video recorded so their behavior can be observed again and again.

That will be followed by a focus group discussion , maybe a survey or two, and possibly some one-on-one interviews.  

4. Satellite Images of Walmart

Observational research can even make some people millions of dollars. For example, a report by NPR describes how stock market analysts observe Walmart parking lots to predict the company’s earnings.

The analysts purchase satellite images of selected parking lots across the country, maybe even worldwide. That data is combined with what they know about customer purchasing habits, broken down by time of day and geographic region.

Over time, a detailed set of calculations are performed that allows the analysts to predict the company’s earnings with a remarkable degree of accuracy .

This kind of observational research can result in substantial profits.

5. Spying on Farms

Similar to the example above, observational research can also be implemented to study agriculture and farming.

By using infrared imaging software from satellites, some companies can observe crops across the globe. The images provide measures of chlorophyll absorption and moisture content, which can then be used to predict yields. Those images also allow analysts to simply count the number of acres being planted for specific crops across the globe.

In commodities such as wheat and corn, that prediction can lead to huge profits in the futures markets.

It’s an interesting application of observational research with serious monetary implications.

6. Decision-making Group Dynamics  

When large corporations make big decisions, it can have serious consequences to the company’s profitability, or even survival.

Therefore, having a deep understanding of decision-making processes is essential. Although most of us think that we are quite rational in how we process information and formulate a solution, as it turns out, that’s not entirely true.

Decades of psychological research has focused on the function of statements that people make to each other during meetings. For example, there are task-masters, harmonizers, jokers, and others that are not involved at all.

A typical study involves having professional, trained observers watch a meeting transpire, either from a two-way mirror, by sitting-in on the meeting at the side, or observing through CCTV.

By tracking who says what to whom, and the type of statements being made, researchers can identify weaknesses and inefficiencies in how a particular group engages the decision-making process.

See More: Decision-Making Examples

7. Case Studies

A case study is an in-depth examination of one particular person. It is a form of observational research that involves the researcher spending a great deal of time with a single individual to gain a very detailed understanding of their behavior.

The researcher may take extensive notes, conduct interviews with the individual, or take video recordings of behavior for further study.

Case studies give a level of detailed information that is not available when studying large groups of people. That level of detail can often provide insights into a phenomenon that could lead to the development of a new theory or help a researcher identify new areas of research.

Researchers sometimes have no choice but to conduct a case study in situations in which the phenomenon under study is “rare and unusual” (Lee & Saunders, 2017). Because the condition is so uncommon, it is impossible to find a large enough sample of cases to study with quantitative methods.

Go Deeper: Pros and Cons of Case Study Research

8. Infant Attachment

One of the first studies on infant attachment utilized an observational research methodology . Mary Ainsworth went to Uganda in 1954 to study maternal practices and mother/infant bonding.  

Ainsworth visited the homes of 26 families on a bi-monthly basis for 2 years, taking detailed notes and interviewing the mothers regarding their parenting practices.

Her notes were then turned into academic papers and formed the basis for the Strange Situations test that she developed for the laboratory setting.

The Strange Situations test consists of 8 situations, each one lasting no more than a few minutes. Trained observers are stationed behind a two-way mirror and have been trained to make systematic observations of the baby’s actions in each situation.

9. Ethnographic Research  

Ethnography is a type of observational research where the researcher becomes part of a particular group or society.

The researcher’s role as data collector is hidden and they attempt to immerse themselves in the community as a regular member of the group.

By being a part of the group and keeping one’s purpose hidden, the researcher can observe the natural behavior of the members up-close. The group will behave as they would naturally and treat the researcher as if they were just another member. This can lead to insights into the group dynamics , beliefs, customs and rituals that could never be studied otherwise.

10. Time and Motion Studies

Time and motion studies involve observing work processes in the work environment. The goal is to make procedures more efficient, which can involve reducing the number of movements needed to complete a task.

Reducing the movements necessary to complete a task increases efficiency, and therefore improves productivity. A time and motion study can also identify safety issues that may cause harm to workers, and thereby help create a safer work environment.

The two most famous early pioneers of this type of observational research are Frank and Lillian Gilbreth.  

Lilian was a psychologist that began to study the bricklayers of her husband Frank’s construction company. Together, they figured out a way to reduce the number of movements needed to lay bricks from 18 to 4 (see original video footage here ).

The couple became quite famous for their work during the industrial revolution and

Lillian became the only psychologist to appear on a postage stamp (in 1884).

Why do Observational Research?

Psychologists and anthropologists employ this methodology because:

• Psychologists find that studying people in a laboratory setting is very artificial. People often change their behavior if they know it is going to be analyzed by a psychologist later.
• Anthropologists often study unique cultures and indigenous peoples that have little contact with modern society. They often live in remote regions of the world, so, observing their behavior in a natural setting may be the only option.
• In animal studies , there are lots of interesting phenomenon that simply cannot be observed in a laboratory, such as foraging behavior or mate selection. Therefore, observational research is the best and only option available.

Read Also: Difference Between Observation and Inference

Observational research is an incredibly useful way to collect data on a phenomenon that simply can’t be observed in a lab setting. This can provide insights into human behavior that could never be revealed in an experiment (see: experimental vs observational research ).

Researchers employ observational research methodologies when they travel to remote regions of the world to study indigenous people, try to understand how parental interactions affect a child’s language development, or how animals survive in their natural habitats.

On the business side, observational research is used to understand how products are perceived by customers, how groups make important decisions that affect profits, or make economic predictions that can lead to huge monetary gains.

Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1967). Infancy in Uganda . Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A

psychological study of the Strange Situation. Hillsdale: Erlbaum.

Crowe, S., Cresswell, K., Robertson, A., Huby, G., Avery, A., & Sheikh, A. (2011). The case study approach. BMC Medical Research Methodology , 11 , 100. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-11-100

d’Apice, K., Latham, R., & Stumm, S. (2019). A naturalistic home observational approach to children’s language, cognition, and behavior. Developmental Psychology, 55 (7),1414-1427. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000733

Lee, B., & Saunders, M. N. K. (2017).  Conducting Case Study Research for Business and Management Students.  SAGE Publications.

Dave Cornell (PhD)

Dr. Cornell has worked in education for more than 20 years. His work has involved designing teacher certification for Trinity College in London and in-service training for state governments in the United States. He has trained kindergarten teachers in 8 countries and helped businessmen and women open baby centers and kindergartens in 3 countries.

• Dave Cornell (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/dave-cornell-phd/ 25 Positive Punishment Examples
• Dave Cornell (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/dave-cornell-phd/ 25 Dissociation Examples (Psychology)
• Dave Cornell (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/dave-cornell-phd/ 15 Zone of Proximal Development Examples
• Dave Cornell (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/dave-cornell-phd/ Perception Checking: 15 Examples and Definition

Chris Drew (PhD)

This article was peer-reviewed and edited by Chris Drew (PhD). The review process on Helpful Professor involves having a PhD level expert fact check, edit, and contribute to articles. Reviewers ensure all content reflects expert academic consensus and is backed up with reference to academic studies. Dr. Drew has published over 20 academic articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education and holds a PhD in Education from ACU.

• Chris Drew (PhD) #molongui-disabled-link 25 Positive Punishment Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) #molongui-disabled-link 25 Dissociation Examples (Psychology)
• Chris Drew (PhD) #molongui-disabled-link 15 Zone of Proximal Development Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) #molongui-disabled-link Perception Checking: 15 Examples and Definition

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *