Frequently Asked Questions about Market Research

Why should I commission market research?
What is the difference between consumer and business-to-business research?
What is the difference between quantitative and qualitative research?
What is a focus group?
What is a depth interview?
How do you choose your sample?
Which data collection method should I choose?
What is CATI?
What is a physician diary study?
Can I buy lists from B2B Medical?

Click here for FAQs about our Medical Panel

Why should I commission market research?

Managers are always making decisions based on their experience, the facts known to them internally and their intuition. Perhaps the way forward is obvious, or the size of the decision doesn’t merit a huge spend on fact finding. Maybe action is required today and there is no time for formalised research even though it would be welcome.

There is nothing wrong with intuition and ‘common sense’, and it is a natural part of decision making in business. However, where the decisions require large financial resources and where the costs of failure are high, there is a need for decision making based on robust and reliable data. The purpose of market research is to reduce business risk whether you are looking to enter a new market, build your position in a market, create a new brand, find out how satisfied customers or employees are, target markets more efficiently, develop a new product, or test the effectiveness of an advertising campaign.

Market research is therefore the systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of information relevant to marketing decisions. Common information requirements met through market research are listed below although this is by no means exhaustive and can of course be classified in different ways.

Information That Can Be Obtained Through Market Research

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What is the difference between consumer and business-to-business research?

The most fundamental division of markets is between those involving members of the general public and people buying or specifying on behalf of another organisation such as a business.

In consumer markets, the number of potential buyers of a product is often a significant proportion of a total population running into millions. Techniques used to research these markets include quantitative methods based on rigorous sampling as well as qualitative techniques that explore complex consumer perceptions and motivations. Consumer markets can be further sub-divided between FMCGs (fast moving consumer goods – food and similar frequent purchases) and other markets – media, travel and leisure, financial, consumer durables, etc.

Business-to-business market research employs the same techniques but in different ways. Many business-to-business markets are characterised by a much smaller population to survey, often measured in hundreds or thousands rather than the consumer millions. What is more, the business-to-business markets are frequently very variable, made up of companies in different industries and with huge differences in size. A researcher may be looking at the market for office equipment and face a sample that could include General Motors and a 'mom and pop organisation' providing some form of services to the local community.

Within the businesses there are often complex groups involved in influencing the buying decision (the DMU or decision making unit). The obvious groups, such as procurement, place the orders but technical and production departments may set a specification and financial departments impose budgets.

In these complex business-to-business markets with smaller and more varied populations and with tangled decision making units, we need different research methods. Sample sizes are smaller in number and the researcher may be leaning as much on judgment and interpretation as on the rigor of the method.

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What is the difference between quantitative and qualitative research?

Quantitative research is concerned with measurement of a market and includes the calculation of market size, the size of market segments, brand shares, purchase frequencies, awareness measures of brands, distribution levels, etc. Such quantitative data is required to some level of accuracy (though not in all cases to very high levels) and the methods used must be capable of achieving this.

Qualitative information is rather harder to define but the emphasis is on 'understanding' rather than simple measurement – Advert A is recalled better than Advert B (quantitative information), but how does A work as an advert and why is it more effective than B? Much qualitative research is concerned with empathizing with the customer and establishing the meanings he or she attaches to products, brands and other marketing objects. Another focus is motivation. For example, why does one product rather than another meet customer needs and what are these needs that are being met? Qualitative research is conducted amongst a sample but in this case usually a small one since there is no attempt to extrapolate to the total population. In the case of attitudes to brands, for example, qualitative research may determine that there is a specific view held about the brand whereas quantitative research would tell us what proportion holds that view.

We are also highly experienced in semi-qualitative interviewing which is a hybrid method which uses traits from both quantitative and qualitative interviewing methods. Quantitative and qualitative research are often complementary and in a research design both may feature. The qualitative element frequently takes place at the front end of the study exploring values that need measuring in the subsequent quantitative phase. The “qual” research may offer a diagnostic understanding of what is wrong, while the “quant” research provides hard data across different respondent groups that can lead to specific recommendations with measures that can be used as controls to determine the effectiveness of actions.

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What is a focus group?

The focus group is a research technique used to collect data through group interaction on a topic. Essentially, it is a group experience comprising a small number of carefully selected people who are recruited to discuss a subject based on the commonality of their experience.

Focus groups are used to identify and explore behaviour, attitudes and processes. They are best used to throw light on the “why?”, “what?” and “how?” questions.

They can be used in three ways in the research design:

• Standalone method: where the focus groups are the sole data collection method and they serve as the principal source of data.
• Supplementary to a survey: where they are used to enhance alternative means of data collection. Typically this would be as a precursor to a quantitative stage – determining the issues to be covered in the structured interviewing and giving insights into the problems or opportunities that are being researched.
• As part of a multi-method design: where studies use several sources of data collection and no one method determines the use of the others.

Typical applications for focus groups are:

• To unravel complex processes from the basics e.g. a complicated buying process
• To identify customer needs i.e. where there is a complex interaction of factors influencing motives
• To identify how products are used
• To test new products i.e. where something needs showing to people
• To explore a concept, perhaps with stimulus aids so that people can visualise what it would look like

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What is a depth interview?

A depth interview is a loosely structured interview that allows freedom for both the interviewer and the interviewee to explore additional points and change direction if necessary. Depth interviews are a qualitative data collection method which offer the opportunity to collect rich, descriptive data about people’s behaviours, attitudes and perceptions, and unfolding complex processes. They can be used as a stand alone research method or as part of a multi method design, depending on the needs of the research.

Depth interviews can be carried out face to face so that rapport can be created with respondents and body language can be used to add a high level of understanding to the answers. However, the telephone can be used to carry out depth interviews by a skilled researcher with little loss of data and at a tenth of the cost.

The style of the interview will depend on the interviewer. Successful depth interviewers listen rather than talk, have a clear line of questioning and use body language as a cue to building a rapport. The interview is more of a guided conversation than a staccato question and answer session.

The interview is conducted using a discussion guide (as in focus groups) which facilitates the flushing out of the respondent’s views through open ended questioning.

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How do you choose your sample?

Samples are taken from directories and often built from several sources. Whilst not completely free from bias, these samples are good enough for most purposes. There are also other issues important in business-to-business research apart from sample frame limitations and particularly those relating to the fact that the populations in different organizations are not of equal size.

Sample may also be provided by the client when targeting a specific group of respondents, e.g. a follow up study to an action that has already occurred such as customer satisfaction or feedback after a sales visit.

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Which data collection method should I choose?

Telephone Interviews

The greatest advantages of the telephone interview is its speed and low cost. The telephone is quicker and cheaper than other methods of interviewing with the added options of quantitative, qualitative and semi-qual interviewing.
Click here for more information on different types of telephone interviews.

Online Surveys

Web surveys, or e-mail surveys as they are sometimes known, first found their place in research by replacing the slower and more expensive methodology of self-completion postal surveys.

Today, most e-surveys are completed by invitation and this would typically be through an e-mailed invitation. Therefore, if you are thinking about carrying out an e-survey you first need to check the following details:

• Do you have a quality list of respondents with accurate e-mail addresses?
• Does the target audience use computers and the Internet in their day-to-day working environment?
• Are you looking for answers to concise questions that lend themselves to being within a structured questionnaire format that can be completed in less than 10 minutes?

If you have answered yes to all the above then an online e-survey may be the right technique for collecting your data. 
However, if you have short, strict deadlines then this may not be the most appropriate methodology as it is heavily reliant upon independent completion by respondents.

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What is CATI?

CATI stands for Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing. In the same way that computers are replacing the clip board and questionnaire in face-to-face fieldwork, so too they are taking over in telephone interviews. Interviews carried out by telephone can be guided by a questionnaire displayed on the screen of a computer. The interviewer records answers via the keyboard, entering numbers which correspond with the pre-coded responses displayed on the screen.

CATI interviewing offers considerable advantages:

• The interviewer is left free to concentrate on the interview itself as the routing instructions are taken care of
• Data is entered directly and the subsequent transactions of data processing are eliminated. Costs and punching errors are reduced
• The whole process is speeded up because data is entered as it is obtained
• An analysis of results can be obtained immediately after the last interview has been completed.

In general, CATI is best suited to structured interviews, especially repeated surveys where all the possible answers have been worked out and can be listed as pre-coded responses.  However, this method can also be used to effectively obtain open ended verbatim responses.

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What is a physician diary study?

The diary studies that we regularly conduct consist of a face-to-face interview and a number of record forms completed by physicians about the patients that they see within a given time period.  The record form usually includes questions regarding patient demographics, symptoms exhibited and treatment decisions.  There is also the option to ask these patients to complete a questionnaire giving their view of their illness.  Patient confidentiality is maintained throughout.

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Can I buy lists from B2B Medical?

Although you are unable to purchase lists directly from B2B Medical, the use of our panel members will be taken full advantage of when B2B Medical is commissioned for a piece of research. 

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