Quantitative marketing research

Quantitative research is about measuring a market and quantifying that measurement with data. Most often the data required relates to market size, market share, penetration, installed base and market growth rates.

However, quantitative research can also be used to measure customer attitudes, satisfaction, commitment and a range of other useful market data that can tracked over time.

Quantitative research can also be used to measure customer awareness and attitudes to different manufacturers and to understand overall customer behaviour in a market by taking a statistical sample of customers to understand the market as a whole. Such techniques are extremely powerful when combined with techniques such segmentation analysis and mean that key audiences can be targeted and monitored over time to ensure the optimal use of the marketing budget.

At the heart of all quantitative research is the statistical sample. Great care has to be taken in selecting the sample and also in the design of the sample questionnaire and the quality of the analysis of data collected.

Market research involves the collection of data to obtain insight and knowledge into the needs and wants of customers and the structure and dynamics of a market. In nearly all cases, it would be very costly and time-consuming to collect data from the entire population of a market. Accordingly, in market research, extensive use is made of sampling from which, through careful design and analysis, Marketers can draw information about the market.

Types of marketing research.

The main distinction between the different types of market research is between "ad-hoc" and "continuous" research:

Ad-hoc Market Research

Ad-hoc research studies focus on specific marketing problems. They collect data at one point in time from one sample of respondents. Good examples of ad-hoc studies include:

• Product usage survey

• New product concept tests (where consumers are asked to trial new brands, product prototypes etc)

• Advertising development (how does the sample of consumers respond to a specific advertising campaign? Most TV adverts are researched in this way)

• Corporate image surveys (often quite enlightening)

• Customer satisfaction surveys (these can often turn into continuous research)

Continuous Research

Continuous studies interview the same sample of people, repeatedly. The major types of continuous research are:

Consumer panels

Consumer panels are formed by recruiting large numbers of households who provide information on their buying over time. Research agency AC Nielsen has one of the largest consumer panels in the world, continuously interviewing 125,000 households in 18 countries. The main competitor for AC Nielsen is TNS which runs panels in 20 countries.

Retail Audits

By gaining the cooperation of retail outlets, sales of brands can be measured (using bar coded sales data) to track changes in brand loyalty, market share and effectiveness of different retail formats.

Television Viewership / Radio Listening Panels

These panels aim to measure Viewer ship or listening minute by minute. This data is critical information for broadcasters to determine their programme strategy (what kinds of programmes to produce and when to broadcast them) as well as for advertisers (who is watching, listening, and when?). In the UK, the main source of such data is produced by the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board ("BARB").