Qualitative Research helps to get in touch with the experiences that people have with brands and products and the relationships people develop with those brands and products.

When the numbers tell you that your brand is gaining or losing sales, qualitative research will tell you why that is happening and help you to adjust your strategy.

Qualitative research is based on psychology. It deals with the feelings and emotions that affect how people relate to brands and companies. If people like your brand they move towards it. If they dislike it they move away from it.

Training in psychology is a must in the development of a good qualitative research consultant. This training insures that the focus group will be run professionally by the research consultant and therefore that the focus group meets its objectives. However, for the qualitative researcher the job really only begins when the group discussion ends. Most of the work involves analysing the feedback that comes from the focus groups and drawing from it the ideas and insights that will be of value to the client’s business.

Focus groups are probably the best known way of conducting qualitative research. In a focus group six to eight people who represent the people in a brand’s target market meet for an informal discussion designed to cover issues that are important to the brand owner. The qualitative researcher’s job is to moderate the discussion by encouraging people to express their motivations and feelings. To learn more about focus groups, click here.

A qualitative project is likely to involve a number of focus groups with men and women of different ages, social classes and interests to make sure that the views of all relevant people are taken into account.

In some cases individual in depth interviews or friendship pairs are more suitable than focus groups. The Research Centre guides our clients to make sure that the most suitable methodology is applied to each project.

In Summary

Use Qualitative Research to investigate the emotions, experiences and thoughts which motivate people to move towards or away from your brand.

Do not expect qualitative research to provide statistical information.

Contact Us Today! - Instant Access to a Qualitative Research Specialist

Contact The Research Centre and we will identify the right qualitative research methodology to help you get a better understanding of what your consumers think of your brand.

Call 00 353 87-257 3346 or 003531 2886934 and in an instant access world you will get instant access.

Alternatively e-mail colm@theresearchcentre.ie with your details and we shall contact you to discuss your research requirements.