Beyond Big Data: The Indispensable Role Qualitative Research Plays in Marketing Strategy
Credit: Unsplash
By Melanie Oltmann, VP, Research & Insights and Luke Brodbeck, Senior Director, Research & Insights
In an era where companies are inundated with data, investing billions annually in analytics and technology, understanding the “why” behind customer behavior has never been more important.
From initial consideration to point-of-sale and post-purchase reactions, brands have more data on the customer journey than ever before. This has led many marketing and product leaders to incorrectly believe that they no longer need to invest in primary, qualitative research given the plethora of CRM, transactional, and other data already available to them.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. More than ever, it's crucial for brands to dig deeper to understand the motivations behind data to better predict customer behavior and inform decisions.
That’s precisely what qualitative research does: it helps brands to make better use of the quantitative data they already have on who, where, when, and how customers are engaging across channels along the path to purchase, while also putting that data in strategic context and explaining ‘why’.
In this blog post, we discuss the indispensable role that qualitative research plays as a stand-alone methodology or part of a powerful qual/quant combo in better-predicting customer behavior and shaping marketing strategy.
Understanding customer behavior to make better decisions
To truly gain a holistic picture of customer behavior, qualitative research is essential. Success starts with asking the right questions: Who are your brand’s highest-value customers? What motivates people to select your brand and products? What factors influence their purchase decisions? Who isn’t buying your products and services – those people beyond the reach of your transactional databases – and why aren’t they engaged with your company? By investing in qualitative research, brands can answer these key questions and others, while making data they already collect more actionable and valuable.
Credit: Unsplash
“To truly gain a holistic picture of customer behavior, qualitative research is essential. Success starts with asking the right questions: What motivates people to select your brand and products? What factors influence their purchase decisions? Brands can answer these key questions and others while making data they already collect more actionable and valuable. ”
At GBK Collective, we take a bespoke approach to every client research project. We not only take time to understand our client's goals, target customers, and strategic priorities but also the critical questions and business decisions the research needs to inform.
Methods such as individual in-depth interviews, focus groups, online discussion boards, and ethnographic studies help to provide a narrated view of the customer's own experience to better understand the emotions, motivations, and decision-making processes that drive their actions.
The depth that qualitative research provides, particularly in asking 'why' questions, is invaluable. For example, we recently conducted an in-depth ethnography study for a client, conducting one-on-one shop-alongs with consumers. The approach helped to unlock unique and unexpected insights around shopper behavior that we never would have captured had we only used traditional quantitative methods. By gathering in-the-moment feedback from consumers, we were able to get a more detailed understanding of what motivated their purchase decisions, how they planned their shopping trip, and what factors were most influential to decisions before, during, and after shopping, among other insights.
Qualitative as a stand-alone research solution
Contrary to popular belief, qualitative findings can stand on their own without a complementary quantitative survey – depending on the research objectives. Qualitative methodologies allow for exploration and discovery into the unknown when you just don’t know what you don’t know. It is a way to foster idea generation for new product development or improvements. Behaviors and emotions can be explored at a deeper level. Qualitative research is also a great tool when testing concepts or messages and exploring refinements based on individual or group discussion.
The role qualitative research plays in combination with survey research
Qualitative research is particularly crucial in advanced analytical methodologies. In structural equation modeling (SEM), qualitative insights inform the development of key components of the survey instruments, ensuring the attributes included in the model accurately reflect the motivations and preferences of target customers.
Going back to the shop-along example above, the unique insights GBK was able to uncover from customers directly inform the key attributes in the SEM analysis. By conducting in-depth qualitative research, the results and recommendations that come out of the broader study will be more impactful and immediately actionable for the brand.
“Qualitative methodologies allow for exploration and discovery into the unknown when you just don’t know what you don’t know. It is a way to foster idea generation for new product development or improvements. Behaviors and emotions can be explored at a deeper level.”
Qualitative data is also an important part of any successful segmentation study. And yet, as marketing becomes more technology-driven, there can be a tendency by organizations to place less importance on primary research with customers.
As our colleague GBK SVP Christine Odishoo notes, “there are a myriad of challenges that can impact the effectiveness of your segmentation approach — from how you identify and define your target segments to the quality of your data and ability to turn customer insights into actionable strategies.”
Ultimately defining a successful marketing strategy to reach target customers requires that brands question their existing assumptions and seek out better data based on a combination of qual and quant research.
For instance, in a project for a fashion label, we conducted a choice model study to segment the jeans market across different distribution channels. Qualitative insights around attitudes and behaviors helped to inform the conjoint analysis to determine which product lines and marketing strategies to focus on by channel to reach each target segment.
Why this all matters
To stay ahead of the curve, brands need to keep qualitative approaches in their research toolbox to gain a holistic understanding of customer behavior. At the end of the day, qualitative insights not only help us to understand the stories behind the data but make better decisions to solve business problems and drive customer growth.