qualitative research methods marketing

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Qualitative Market Research : The Complete Guide

Content Index

What is Qualitative Market Research?

Qualitative market research methods and techniques, 4 types of qualitative market research testing methods, examples of qualitative market research.

• Ethical Considerations for Qualitative Market Research?

What are the Applications of Qualitative Market Research?

Advantages of qualitative market research, disadvantages of qualitative market research, online qualitative market research software- questionpro communities.

Qualitative market research is an open ended questions (conversational) based research method that heavily relies on the following market research methods : focus groups, in-depth interviews, and other innovative research methods. It is based on a small but highly validated sample size, usually consisting of 6 to 10 respondents .

The small size enables cost saving, while the “importance” of the samples and the lack of a defined questionnaire allows free and in-depth discussion and analysis of topics. Usually, the discussion is directed by the discretion of the interviewer or market researcher. You can use single ease questions . A single-ease question is a straightforward query that elicits a concise and uncomplicated response.

It is always better to have more heads than one. By canvassing a group of respondents for ideas and competence the quality of the data that is obtained is far more superior. This concept is known as crowdsourcing, derived from the two words “crowd” and “outsourcing”.

LEARN ABOUT: Perceived Value

Qualitative market research is most frequently used in political campaigning to understand voter perception of political candidates and their policies, interviewing business leaders and diving deeper into topics of interest, psychological profile studies and so on.

Qualitative market research is a relatively less expensive method to understand 2 critical factors in details – “what” the respondents think and feel about a certain topic and “why” they think and feel that way.

LEARN ABOUT:  Market research industry

Why do we ask for an opinion? Any opinion for that matter? We ask because the person’s opinion matters to our decision making. None of the successful organizational decisions are made through mere guesses or speculations, but through real information gathered from real and valuable people.

Market research , in general, has played a critical role in inducing a thought process in present day’s organizational leaders where information and data dictate policies and decisions.

However, in market research design , not all information is just numbers and quantitative research . Some are just – conversational and qualitative!

LEARN ABOUT: Research Process Steps

Remember the super hit series Desperate Housewives? And do you remember the lovely housewives calling their friends over for a cup of tea or a couple of drinks to discuss the flashy new products they have bought?

It is not just a vague practice to flaunt these products but a thoughtful one because it matters what the friends think. Whether, they agree or disagree with the quality, brand and other features of those products. It matters what people think. Voila! Welcome to the world of qualitative market research.

Qualitative market research is all about understanding people’s beliefs and point of views and what they feel about the situation and what are the deciding factors that influence their behavior.

LEARN ABOUT: Marketing Insight

To conduct qualitative market research usually, one of these market research methods are used:

• Focus groups: As the name suggests, a group of people comprising usually of  6-10 members are brought together to discuss a particular product and its market strategies. Usually, experts in that particular field will comprise of the group. This group will have a moderator who will stimulate the discussion amongst the members to derive opinions. Since the focus groups are becoming a rare occurrence, platforms like Communities is on the rise.
• In-depth Interviews: It is usually a one-on-one interview method conducted with a group of people, either face to face or over the telephone. This method is more conversational and asking open-ended questions helps gather better data.
• Innovative research methods: In this method, the researcher can click photographs of the person who is answering the questions or can even record their videos. Observing these photographs or videos later would tell the researcher about their responses/reactions to various situations.
• Observations or “Shop-alongs”: Qualitative Observations or shop-alongs are now becoming an increasingly used research method in qualitative market research. This method allows the researcher to observe from afar and actually see how a consumer reacts to an actual product and purchase experience. This mitigates the scope to be dishonest with feedback or even forget about the shopping experience at a later stage.

LEARN ABOUT: Qualitative Interview

• Lifestyle Immersion: A newer method of conducting qualitative market research is attending a social or family event that user/s are at and collecting feedback. This helps with the getting feedback from users when they are in a comfortable environment. This is a great way to collect candid feedback in a comfortable environment.
• Online Focus Groups: With the ease of access to social media, online focus groups are becoming easier to manage. It is easy to recruit people to a focus group based study and even manage data collection and analytics.
• Ethnography: Ethnographic research is the process of being in an end user environment and seeing the user indulge with a product in a real-life example. This qualitative research method is best positioned to help create immediate and impactful product tweaks.  
• Projective Techniques: Projective techniques are conducted by trained moderators who uncover hidden thoughts of the respondents. The questions or questioning methods are of an indirect nature and the moderator then deduces and uncovers underlying feelings that aren’t explicitly mentioned.  
• Online Forums: Online forums is now becoming an increasingly preferred way of conducting qualitative market research. Members in a panel are brought onto a common platform to discuss a certain topic and the moderator ensures the discussion is driven in the direction of the outcome required. The moderator probes, asks the right questions and coerces to ensure a thorough discussion is conducted.
• Online Sentence Completion and Word Association: One of the easier but exhaustive nature of completing qualitative market research is to get respondents to match words that may be related to a product or even complete sentences online and this provides a deeper insight into the thoughts of the user.

Learn more about qualitative research methods 

Here are the steps involved in conducting qualitative market research:

• Planning & Determining research objectives: Each research study needs to have a desired outcome at the outset so that the resources behind planning and executing are not wasted and it helps towards business agility.
• Deciding the method to conduct the research: Qualitative market research can be conducted in many ways. Depending on the nature of the study, target audience demographics , geographical location, a product that is being surveyed etc., would the survey method be utilized.
• Getting the right personnel for the job: Conducting a qualitative market research study requires moderators that know how to elicit and track responses from potential respondents.
• Purposive Sampling : In this method, the sample is created with a purpose in mind. The contours of the demographics are planned well in advance and users that fit this criterion are onboard for the market research survey.
• Quota Sampling: Quota sampling is the process of selecting samples from a given quota and the selected users are said to be a representative of the larger population. This can be a random sampling or put some qualifying criteria in.
• Snowball Sampling:   Snowball  sampling model is based on a reference model. Users that match criteria are asked to refer users that they are personally aware of that match the criteria.
• Survey design: The survey has to be designed in a way to elicit maximum value so that the responses received build towards robust and actionable feedback.
• Data collection: The data collection can be done via online or offline methods. It is imperative to collect the data in such a way that sense could be made of it and it could be used to analyze and report.
• Data Analysis: Data means nothing if it is not analyzed. Data that has been analyzed can give actionable insights for a product or brand to build on and this is imperative for a qualitative marketing research survey.
• Reporting: Once data has been collected and analyzed, it has to be reported in an easy to consume format to the relevant stakeholders as a milestone in the market research process.

LEARN ABOUT: Steps in Qualitative Research

There are 4 distinct types of qualitative market research testing methods that can be conducted. They are:

• Direct Exploration: This qualitative market research method is a no holds barred feedback method for a potential idea or product. This method is conducted where the users are told about the idea where no physical product is provided and all possible feedback is collected. This feedback is then collected and explored to form the basis of the new product.
• Monadic Testing: This method evaluates feedback by providing users with one single idea, concept, feature or product and asks for feedback. In this method, despite there being multiple concepts available, other designs are not shown. This method is important to elicit individual piece of feedback about a desired feature or concept.
• Sequential Monadic Testing: This testing method is similar to monadic testing because each concept, product or feature is shown one time. The only difference is that an alternate design to each concept is shown at the same time and feedback is collected on both from a user. This testing method is also called paired testing or paired nomadic testing.
• Discrete Choice Testing: Discrete choice testing is like paired nomadic testing but the only difference is that all choices are provided at once, not sequentially and the users are asked to pick one feature over another and then explain their choice.

LEARN ABOUT: User Experience Research

Successful businesses tend to use qualitative market research to keep pace with the ongoing market trend analysis , to make better-informed decisions and to achieve business excellence.

Whether your business is a start-up or a well-established entity, qualitative market research is a powerful method to identify your target audience and understand how they will respond to your product.

Before we dig deeper here are some of the real-time examples of qualitative market research case studies:

• AP, Norc and QuestionPro partner on geolocation exit polling app
• Washington State Ferry

Some examples of business expansion where qualitative market research plays a critical role by crowdsourcing concrete ideas for optimized decision-making :

• Branding : Many companies fail to understand how consumers perceive their brand or what is the brand positioning in comparison to their competitors.  The research is typically done by conducting interviews with customers or organizing focus groups to collect feedback on marketing content and collaterals. In this way, the surveyor can explore different topics in-depth and get feedback from the respondents. Using this market research method, brands can gather information that can help them upscale and reposition their brand better in the market. LEARN ABOUT: Brand health
• Understanding the Consumer Behaviour: Sometimes, organizations/ companies/ entrepreneurs need more information about their consumer in order to place their product in a better manner.  To do so they might need information about their gender, age, marital status etc. Qualitative market research helps them gather such information. For understanding the consumer behavior conducting in-depth interviews is the best option, as these interviews are conducted on one to one basis a decent amount of information can be collected.
• Measuring the reach of marketing activities: Many businesses go an extra mile to do a better job in promoting their brands. Here is where their marketing activities come into play.  Market research can provide organizations with information about their marketing effectiveness by gathering first-hand information on how consumers look at their marketing message. This helps organizations maximize their marketing budget.
• Identifying new business opportunities: Market research helps organizations explore new opportunities leading to business expansion.  By gathering data through market research through focus groups, organizations can pin a location, understand business dynamics, know their key competitors etc., to grow their business in the right direction.
• Getting insights on products: If a company comes up with a new product or looking to improve a current one, it is always better to take a market research in order to understand how acceptable is the product amongst the consumers.  When a product comes to the market people have an opinion about its shape, size, utility, color, features etc. Qualitative market research through in-depth interviews will help gather systematic data that can be later used to modify or make the existing product better.

LEARN ABOUT:  Market Evaluation

Employee Experience: Definition

Research ethics are as important as important as the ethics in any other research field. It is important to safeguard the participants’ interest. Like there is training and formal processes for researchers in other fields like in healthcare and medical research, market research is also governed by similar policies.

Due to the nature of qualitative market research, it is very important to have informed consent from a participant to be a part of the research study. This means that they are aware  of basic information like:

• Nature of the research
• Expected time of completion
• If there are any sociological or physical risks or benefits
• Will a monetary or remuneration in other form be present
• Confidentiality protection
• How will the name and other personal details be used
• Any legal repercussions

Since this is a relatively less expensive and a more flexible method of market research there are a few applications of this market research methodology:

• It helps to understand the needs of the customers and their behavioral research pattern.
• What consumers think and perceive your product as.
• To understand the efficiency of your business planning and also to know if the strategies and planning that you put in place are working or not.
• What sort of marketing messages has a strong impact on the consumers and what just fall on deaf ears?
• Whether or not there is a demand for your product or services in the market?

LEARN ABOUT:  Test Market Demand

Ultimately, qualitative market research is all about asking people to elaborate on their opinion to get a better insight into their behavioral pattern. It’s about understanding  “Why” even before “What”.

LEARN ABOUT: Behavioral Targeting

• It helps you gather detailed information: One of the major advantages of this market research method is that it helps you collect details information instead of just focusing on the metrics of data. It helps you understand the subtleties of the information obtained thus enabling in-depth analysis .
• It’s adaptive in nature: This market research can adapt to the quality of information that is collected. If the available data seems not to be providing any results, the researcher can immediately seek to collect data in a new direction. This offers more flexibility to collect data.
• It operates within structures that are fluid: The data collected through this research method is based on observation and experiences, therefore, an experienced researcher can follow up with additional open ended questions if needed to extract more information from the respondents.  
• Helps communicate brand proposition accurately: Through this market research method, the consumers can communicate with the brand effectively and vice versa. Any product terminology, product jargons etc are effectively communicated as this research method gives a chance to the brand and the consumer to express their needs and values freely, thus minimizing any miscommunication.
• It helps reduce customer churn : Consumer behaviors can change overnight, leaving a brand to wonder what went wrong. By conducting qualitative market research, brands have a chance to understand what consumers want and if they are fulfilling their needs or not, thereby reducing customer churn . Thus the brand-consumer relationship is maintained.

LEARN ABOUT: Market research vs marketing research

• It is time-consuming: Qualitative market research can take days, weeks, months and in some cases even years to complete. This isn’t good to get quick actionable insights. In some cases, the premise with which the survey began may be non-existent due to market evolution.
• It is expensive: Due to the time taken to complete, qualitative market research is extremely expensive. They are also expensive to conduct and create actionable insights because the data is humungous and people with certain research skill sets are required to manage the research process.
• It is subjective: What one user may think could be very different from another. Due to this, there is no standardization of responses. This also means that the lines between true and false blur out to the point that each response is to be considered at face value.
• No result verification: Data collected cannot be verified because in most cases in a qualitative market research, the data is based on personal perceptions. Hence for analysis, each opinion is considered as it is valid.
• Halo effect: Due to the highly subjective nature of the research, the preconceived notion of the moderator or the person conducting the analysis skews the reporting of the research. It is human tendency to gravitate towards what’s known and it is very tough to get rid of this research bias .

LEARN ABOUT: Self-Selection Bias

With the increasing competition in the business world, the extensive need for business research has also increased. QuestionPro Communities is a qualitative research platform that is interactive, where existing customers can submit their feedback and also stay well informed about the market research activities, helps researchers undertake studies to maximize sales and profits. Through the communities platform, researchers can carry out research to effectively target and understand their customers, understand what is the market trend, prevent future research problems and thereby reduce customer churn .

This qualitative research platform helps in developing businesses to know their competitors and help identify the latest trends in the market. To carry out a well-directed research, businesses need a software platform that can help researchers understand the mindset of the consumers, interpret their thoughts and collect meaningful qualitative data .

QuestionPro Communities is the World’s leading platform for conducting analytics powered qualitative method . This online qualitative market research software helps researchers save their time, using niche technology like text analysis , where computers are used to extract worthwhile information from human language in an efficient manner, increase flexibility and improve the validity of qualitative research questions . This online platform help researchers reduce manual and clerical work.

QuestionPro Communities Qualitative Market Research Tools Includes:

Discussions

The online qualitative research software and tool, Discussions, allows a researcher to invite respondents to a community discussion session and moderate the focus group online. This can also be done live at a specific time that is convenient to the researcher and offer the users the flexibility to post responses when they login to their community. Invitations can be sent out well in advance to a specific target group the researcher would like to gather feedback from.

In case you are looking for respondents to share their ideas and allow others to analyze and offer a feedback and vote on the existing submissions, then this is a great tool to manage and present your results to the key stakeholders.

In this online community, you can submit topics, cast your vote in the existing posts and add comments or feedback instantly.

QuestionPro Communities is the only panel management and discussion platform that offers a seamless mobile communities experience. When it comes to engagement, how you reach respondents matter! Go mobile and take Discussions, Topics, and Idea Board anywhere your respondents go.

Feel free to explore our latest blog discussing practical examples of qualitative data in education – a valuable resource to deepen your insights into student experiences and learning dynamics. Why not give it a read and discover fresh perspectives for enhancing educational practices?

Learn about the other market research method: Quantitative Market Research

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Qualitative research in marketing: definition, methods and examples

Apr 7th, 2022

What is qualitative research? 

Qualitative research methods, how to design qualitative research , qualitative research examples.

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Qualitative research allows businesses to determine customers’ needs, generate ideas on improving the product or expanding the product line, clarify the marketing mix and understand how the product would fit into customers’ lifestyles. The research will be useful for businesses of any size and type. For example, entrepreneurs can use qualitative research to gain insight into customers’ feelings, values, and impressions of the product or service. With qualitative research, you can understand the reasons and motives of customers’ reactions and use this information to create marketing and sales strategies .

The research can also help you design products and services that meet the requirements of your target audience. For instance, imagine you are a restaurant owner and want to introduce a new menu; you can conduct qualitative research and invite local residents to give you feedback on the food, service, and pricing. This approach will increase your chances of success.

Qualitative research studies the motives that determine consumer behavior by employing observation methods and unstructured questioning techniques, such as individual in-depth interviews and group discussions. The approach involves the collection and analysis of primary and secondary non-numerical data. The goal of qualitative research is to understand the underlying reasons for making purchasing decisions and learn about customers’ values and beliefs. 

Qualitative research asks open-ended questions beginning with the words “what”, “how”, and “why” to get feedback concerning a new product or service before the launch or development phase. This method reveals customers’ perceptions of the brand, buyers’ needs, advantages, and drawbacks of the product or service. Furthermore, it helps evaluate promotional materials and predict how the product or service can influence the lives of your customers. 

This research method emerged in the early 1940s when American sociologist Paul Lazarsfeld introduced focus group interviews to study the impact of propaganda during World War II. In the late 1940s, American psychologist and marketing expert Ernest Dichter developed a new type of consumer research called motivational research. Dichter used Freudian psychoanalytic concepts to understand the motives of consumer behavior. He conducted in-depth interviews to learn more about customers’ needs and attitudes towards certain products. 

In the 1960s, marketing academic John Howard began studying consumer behavior from the perspective of social sciences, including psychology, anthropology, and economics. At the same time, market researchers focused on the emotions, feelings, and attitudinal elements of consumption. As a result, in-depth interviews, video-recorded focus groups, and computer-assisted telephone interviews became prevalent qualitative research techniques. 

With the advent of the Internet and mobile devices, qualitative research has undergone numerous changes. Today the Internet allows researchers to conduct surveys on a much larger scale. The marketers can use hyper-segmentation and hyper-personalization to launch targeted advertising campaigns, utilize market research analysis software and gather customer opinions using social media analysis. Let us take a detailed look at the basic methods of qualitative research.

The most common qualitative research methods include focus groups, individual interviews, observations, in-home videos, lifestyle immersion, ethnographic research, online sentence completion, and word association. We will consider each of them in more detail below.

Focus groups

Focus groups are discussions dedicated to a specific product and its marketing strategies . The groups typically consist of 6-10 people and a moderator who encourages them to express their opinions and feelings about the product. Usually, focus groups are held in-person to study consumers’ verbal and non-verbal reactions to the product or advertising campaign. 

This method has several applications, including testing marketing programs, evaluating the overall concept for a product, examining the copy and images of the advertisements, and analyzing the new types of product packaging. Nowadays, in-person focus groups are losing popularity, while online discussions via video conferencing tools are attracting a lot of attention from researchers. 

Social media analysis

Social media and mobile devices give brands more opportunities to gather and analyze information. Customers now interact directly with brands on social media platforms where they spend their free time. Content analysis of Facebook posts, comments, tweets, YouTube videos , and Instagram photos allows brands to track consumers’ activities, locations, and commonly used words. 

You can ask for users’ feedback , encourage them to fill out a brief survey, or engage with customers to inform them of your marketing plans and the development of new products. Furthermore, the qualitative research participants can provide additional contextual information like photos and videos, which gives a better understanding of their thoughts and attitudes.

Individual interviews

An individual interview is usually conducted in person, over the phone, or via video conferencing platforms. The interviewer asks the existing customer a number of questions to determine his motivation to buy a particular product. One-to-one interviews are held as a free-flowing conversation and include open-ended questions. The interviews can be flexible, semi-structured, and unstructured. You can ask about the customer’s frustrations concerning the product, motivations and reasons for purchase, and the sources of information from which they learned about the product.

Observations

Observations allow researchers to see how the customers react to the products in the store and analyze their shopping behavior and purchase experience. This method is more effective than written surveys as it provides better insight into consumer reactions. For example, the researchers can observe how customers stop outside the store, what attracts them to the shop window and which way they walk once they enter the store. In addition, observations help determine problems related to product placement on store shelves, clutter, or products that are out of stock. You can also collect customer feedback to improve some aspects of the shopping process, like packaging design.

In-home videos 

In-home videos allow researchers to watch how customers engage with the product in the comfort of their own homes. Using this method, you can monitor user behavior in a natural and relaxed environment. Thus, you can have a better picture of the ways people use your product. The customers can keep video diaries or film the videos with detailed comments concerning your product. You can store the qualitative content in one place and create an insight hub to analyze and reuse the collected information in the future.

Lifestyle immersion

Lifestyle immersion is another method that allows obtaining customer feedback in a comfortable environment. Immersion refers to the researcher’s profound personal involvement in a customer’s life. For instance, the researcher visits an event, such as a party or family gathering, and observes the user’s reactions and behaviors in a familiar setting. Watching how users speak to their family and friends is an increasingly effective technique that allows learning more about their needs, challenges, and motives. 

Ethnographic research

Ethnography is a type of research that originates from 20th-century anthropology and involves observing people in a natural environment rather than a lab. Namely, the researchers watch how respondents cope with their daily tasks, such as grocery shopping or preparing dinner. This helps see what people actually do instead of what they claim to do. 

Ethnography applies a variety of approaches, including direct observation, video recordings, diary studies, and photography. Researchers can observe the user’s behavior at home, at the workplace, or with their family or friends. Passive observation as a method of ethnographic research implies following and watching users without interacting with them or interfering with their actions. Active observation, in contrast, entails working or cooperating with consumers, asking them questions about a product or service, and joining their team or group.

Online sentence completion and word association

Sentence completion is a projective technique used in qualitative research to allow customers to express their opinions and feelings. According to this method, the respondents receive the survey with unfinished sentences. They should complete sentences that describe the product or find the words that would be appropriate in the context of the sentence. With this method, the researcher can put qualitative data in a structured form. 

Word association is a similar technique that helps researchers gather information about brand awareness , images, and associations related to a specific product or brand. The respondents are given the trigger words and instructed to write the first word, association, or image that comes to mind. In contrast to the interviews and focus groups, sentence completion and word association techniques can reach more people when conducted online. Moreover, it takes less time to analyze the results and understand users’ perceptions. 

Once you have learned about the most widely used qualitative research methods, it is time to plan the research process step by step. 

The success of your research outcomes greatly depends on adequate planning and appropriate strategy. Here we will list some general guidelines on how to conduct qualitative research.

Determine research objectives

The first step to designing or running qualitative market research is understanding the goals you want to achieve with your study. In particular, the research objectives might include discovering the existing or potential product or brand positioning , understanding perceptions about the company or product, investigating how people react to advertising campaigns,  packaging or design, evaluating website usability, and identifying strengths and weaknesses in the product. The absence of clear objectives would create challenges for the researcher as qualitative research involves open-ended questions and in-depth replies that are difficult to interpret and analyze directly.

Choose the methodology to conduct the research

Determine the most suitable method to perform market research taking into account demographics, geographical location of your target audience, lifestyle behaviors, and the product that is being examined. Market researchers usually collaborate with professional recruiters who find and screen the participants. A significant part of the researcher’s work is to develop a list of topics for discussion in small groups. You need to involve moderators who would spend from 90 to 120 minutes with the group asking questions, observing their reactions, and analyzing behavior.

Investigate various data collection methods

Once you have chosen the observation method, you need to involve a moderator to examine the participants’ behavior and take notes. This approach usually requires a video camera or a one-way mirror. You can also combine qualitative and quantitative research to collect numerical data and analyze metrics together with customers’ replies and observation results. 

When running focus groups, you can either organize one discussion with eight to ten participants or a series of online meetings which will last three-four days. Respondents will answer the questions from the moderator or react to prerecorded videos.

When you conduct one-on-one interviews, you need to speak with the respondents on the phone or organize a personal meeting. This method will be suitable if you want customers to try the product and share their impressions.

Analyze the collected data

Researchers will typically need a few days to a few weeks to collect the information. Then researchers will examine the data to provide responses to your questions. The next step is qualitative coding or the technique of categorizing the findings to identify themes and patterns. The specialists might also include the statistics to explain what the data is indicating. Besides, the report might contain a narrative analysis of underlying messages and phrasings.

Study the report and recommendations

The final step is to review the report provided by the researchers. It can be a written document or video recording. The paper, based on MECE principles , will help you group the patterns and similarities and sort them according to demographics and other customer characteristics. The document will contain specific recommendations, so you can draw conclusions and start making improvements to your product marketing strategy .

In the next section of this article, we will review how famous brands have put qualitative research methods into practice.

Qualitative market research helps brands strengthen their reputation and credibility, segment customers , identify market trends, increase awareness, rebrand products , and get feedback from the consumers on their preferences. Let us discover how McDonald’s, Starbucks, and LEGO use data to confront tough competition.

When conducting market research, McDonald’s asks the customers several critical questions regarding best-performing products, the most appropriate pricing , the effective advertisements, and the most attended restaurants. Finding answers to these questions allows for analyzing whether the company managed to expand its customer base. 

Furthermore, McDonald’s collects customer feedback to improve the products. In particular, many customers were disappointed with the lack of healthy and organic options on the menu. As a result, the company added apple slices and other healthy items to the menu and launched an advertising campaign to show that chicken nuggets and burgers were made of real meat.

Starbucks encourages customers to share feedback on the official site and contribute ideas via Twitter . The company monitors social media, tracks cultural trends, and offers customers to test the products in the stores. From 2008 to 2018, Starbucks used the My Starbucks Idea platform to collect ideas and continuously improve its products. The company implemented over 275 consumer ideas, including recommendations about new products and methods to improve corporate responsibility.

Some years before, LEGO was considered to be primarily a boy-oriented company. Then LEGO decided to promote inclusivity and create toys targeted at all genders. The company conducted research involving 3,500 girls and their parents to examine children’s behavior while playing with toys. Later LEGO used the collected data to determine the size of the figures and create bright packaging for the new toy line called “Friends” which was designed specifically for girls.

Companies would not create new offers, improve their existing products, satisfy the needs of their customers, or solve the most difficult challenges without market research. Qualitative research will help you obtain a clear understanding of your target customers, recognize the emotional connections to your brand, identify potential obstacles to purchase and features that are missing in your offer, and as a result, develop an outstanding product. 

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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  

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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.

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The Complete Guide to Qualitative Market Research

So what exactly is qualitative research? At a glance, this type of research method seeks to gather in-depth data about a phenomenon without focusing on numerical data or on quantities.

But there is much more to this kind of study method. Learn holistically about qualitative market research with this complete guide.

What Defines & Makes Up Qualitative Research?

Qualitative research is centered around experiences, ideas and opinions. As such, it does not focus on statistical or quantitative outcomes. Instead, it seeks out an in-depth understanding of an issue, occurrence or phenomenon.

Thus, this research method zeroes in on the “what” and more importantly, the “why” of a research subject. (Unlike quantitative research, which focuses on the “how much”).

Here are some of the applications of qualitative research:

Understanding an issue in greater depth

Finding the reason behind an occurrence (whether it’s desirable or undesirable)

Uncovering trends in target market opinions

Forming educated solutions to address customer/studied subject concerns

Discovering the causes of certain actions

Qualitative research generally relies on a smaller sample size in order to get a deep read of happenings, causes and motivations. This kind of research method functions through the usage of open-ended and exploratory questions.

Understanding the “why” behind an issue is then used to make decisions on how to resolve the issue or how to improve on an existing productive situation.

Qualitative data must occur in natural environments. This denotes a kind of environment in which participants discuss their opinions at length and at ease, which researchers use to gain deeper knowledge and form inferences around a topic.

Prior to the internet, this kind of research was conducted in-person, but with the advent of the internet and innovations in market research, qualitative data has been collected online. The digital space can also serve as a natural environment.

The Five Main Types of Qualitative Research

Just as with quantitative research, there is not a single approach to conducting qualitative research. On the contrary, there are five main varieties of performing qualitative research. Aside from their methodology, these sub-categories also seek different types of answers and conclusions.

1. Narrative Research

This research is used to form a cohesive story, or narrative, by way of consolidating several events from a small group of people. It involves running in-depth interviews and reading up on documents featuring similar actions as a means of theme-searching.

The point of this is to discover how one narrative is shaped by larger contextual influences. Interviews should be conducted for weeks to months and sometimes even for years. The narrative that the researcher uncovers does not have to be presented in sequential order.

Instead, it should be projected as one with defined themes that attempt to reconcile inconsistent stories. This method can highlight the research study’s ongoing challenges and hardships, which can be used to make any improvements.

2. Ethnographic Research

The most common qualitative research method, ethnography relies on entrenching oneself in various participant environments to extract challenges, goals, themes and cultures.

As the name suggests, it involves taking an ethnographic approach to research, meaning that researchers would experience an environment themselves to draw research. Using this firsthand observation, the researcher would not need to then rely on interviews or surveys.

This approach may seem to be far-fetched where market research is concerned, but it is doable. For example, you’d like to see the effectiveness or frustration that customers face when using your product. Since you can’t follow them home, you can request videos that show them using it. Many big brands have call-outs on their websites (ex: on product pages) for their customers to send in videos of their interactions with the products.

3. Phenomenological Research

This qualitative method entails researchers having to probe a phenomenon or event by bringing lived experiences to light and then interpreting them. In order to achieve this, researchers use several methods in combination.

These include conducting surveys, interviews and utilizing secondary research such as available documents and videos on the studied phenomenon. Additionally, as in ethnographic research, phenomenological research involves visiting places to collect research.

These will help you understand how your participants view your subject of examination. In turn, you will gain insight into the participants’ motivations.

In this research type, you would conduct between 5 and 25 surveys or interviews, then peruse them for themes. Once again, you would scrutinize experiences and sentiment over numerical data.

4. Grounded Theory Research

In contrast to phenomenological research, which seeks to fully form the core of an issue, grounded theory attempts to find explanations (the why) behind an issue. To achieve this, researchers use interviews, surveys and secondary research to form a theory around the issue/occurrence.

The sample of this study tends to be on the larger side, at 20-60 participants. Data extracted from this type of research is interpreted to determine the reasoning behind, for example, heavy usage of or frustration with a product. These types of studies help a business innovate an existing product by getting into the weeds of how it’s used.

5. Action Research

This type of research involves researchers and participants working collaboratively to bring theory to practice. Also called participatory research, collaborative inquiry, emancipatory research and action learning, this method entails the act of “learning by doing.”

This means a group of researchers come together to find and address a problem, resolve it and then study the success of their endeavors. If they underperformed or their outcomes don’t satisfy their expectations, they would then reattempt the process.

In action research , a researcher spends a considerable amount of time on collecting, analyzing, and presenting data in an ongoing, periodic process. This involves researchers coming up with their own surveys and interviews around a subject matter, then presenting their findings to one another to draw conclusions and solutions.

They would put into practice the means to improve a situation and continue measuring their success throughout the process.

Examples of Questions for Qualitative Research

When working within the capacity of any of the above research types, it’s crucial to ask the right questions. Here you’ll find the questions you can use when conducting each of the five types of qualitative research.

Bear in mind that some of these questions will appear to be similar in nature; some are even interchangeable. That is normal, as researchers may search for the same answers, but apply a different approach in their research method.

In any case, all of the below features questions that fit within the larger qualitative research framework.

Learn more about asking insightful market research questions . Here are a few examples of the questions within the five categories:

1. How do people who witnessed domestic violence understand its effects in their own relationships?

    Variable: Views of domestic violence on one’s own relationships

    Demographic: People in relationships, who’ve witnessed domestic violence

    Qualitative Research Type : Narrative

2. What are the lived experiences of working-class Americans between the ages of 20 and 40?

    Variable: Experiences and views of a working-class background

    Demographic: Working-class Americans ages 20-40

3. How do Asian Americans experience reaching out to address mental health concerns?

    Variable: The experiences in seeking out care for mental health

    Demographic: Asian Americans seeking help for mental health

    Qualitative Research Type: Ethnographic

4. What do you enjoy about this product or service?

    Variable: The positive experiences of using a particular product/service

    Demographic: The target market of a product or service

5. How have people who have experienced poverty changed their shopping habits when they entered the middle (or higher) class?

    Variable: The changes or stagnation in shopping habits

    Demographic: those who experienced poverty, but climbed the social ladder

    Qualitative Research Type : Phenomenological

6. What was it like when you had a negative online shopping experience?

    Variable: unpleasant shopping experiences

    Demographic: a group that is most likely to shop at a particular online store

7. What influences managers in private sectors to seek further professional advancement?

    Variable: Motivation for seniority

    Demographic: Managers in the private sector

    Qualitative Research Type: Grounded Theory

8. How do women in third world countries set up financial independence?

    Variable: Efforts at reaching financial independence

    Demographic: Women in third-world countries

9. What impact does collaborative working have on the UX optimization efforts of a telecommunications company?

    Variable: effects of collaboration on the UX of a telecommunications company

    Demographic: workers in the telecommunications space

    Qualitative Research Type: Action Research

10. What strategies can marketing managers use to improve the reach of millennial customers?

    Variable: Strategies to improve millennial reach and their outcomes

    Demographic: Marketing managers

When to Use the Research and How to Analyze It

The qualitative research method has specific use cases. You ought to consider which is best for your particular business, which includes your strategy, your marketing and other facets.

The core of qualitative research is to understand a phenomenon (a problem, an inadequacy, and a slew of other occurrences) including its causes, its motivations, its goals and its solutions. Researchers do this by observing smaller portions of a population.

Researchers should use this form of research whenever you need to get the gist of a particular occurrence or event. It is particularly useful for studying how your target market experiences certain situations and how it feels about them.

There are several more specific ways that elucidate why this research style is valuable if not completely necessary. Here are some of the most crucial ways this method of research is vital:

Helps brands see the emotional connections customers have with them

Allows brands to find gaps in customer experience (CX) and user experience (UX)

Enables brands to create experiences that are more tailored to their target market

Helps businesses understand how they can improve on their product, service or CX

Finds experiences that customers had that highlight sensitive topics/language for them

Shows businesses how customers compare them to their competitors

Identifies possible solutions and innovations based on customer attitudes and experiences

To analyze qualitative research, you should first identify your subject of study and decide on the type of research you need to conduct based on the five types of research that fall under the qualitative category.

Then, brainstorm several questions that you can use to form the base of your studies. During the process make sure to jot down (either digitally or otherwise) your observations. For example, record interviews and store surveys in an organized database.

Make sure you ask open-ended questions in surveys, interviews, focus groups, et al. Aggregate secondary research such as government database documents, articles in your niche,  images,  videos and more.

Search for patterns or similarities within your findings. When you group them together and organize them by demographics, you can start drawing conclusions and proposing solutions.

The Benefits and Drawbacks of Qualitative Research

Qualitative research can be extraordinarily beneficial. But as with other aspects of research and beyond, it too comes with a set of drawbacks. As a business owner, marketer or market researcher, you should know both the pros and cons. Here are some notable ones:

More intimate understanding of context and causation: besides understanding “what” in a granular way, you also learn the “why” and “how” of a particular situation.

Understanding key experiences: Open-ended questions lead to unique answers, exposing things numerical-based surveys can’t answer.

A foundation of deep insights: The design of the study is made to understand how customers relate to particular occurrences, events, ideas and products.

Context-driven: Finding insights on motivation and past behaviors allows researchers to understand what their target market needs and what it tries to avoid.

No need to find and create the correct measuring units: Open-ended questions don’t require a scale, a number range or any other measuring tools — one less thing to worry about.

Smaller sample size: Smaller sample sizes allow researchers to study responses more thoroughly to form more accurate hypotheses and conclusions.

Inspirational : The responses received can also help researchers form new studies.

Flexible and detail-oriented : Since questions aren’t based on scales and other units, you can ask more creative and in-depth questions. Questions focus on details and subtleties for robust insights.

Relies on researcher experience: It relies on the researchers’ experience; not all are familiar with industry topics.

Not statistically representative: Only collects perspective-based research; does not provide statistical representation. Only comparisons, not measurements can be executed.

Difficult to make copies of data.  Individual perspectives make it hard to replicate findings, making it it more difficult to form conclusions.

More likely to have researcher bias: Both conscious or subconscious of the researcher can affect the data. The conclusions they draw can thus be influenced by their bias. (This can be avoided by using controls in data collection.

The Final Word

Market research is a wide-spanning undertaking. It has a wide swath of aspects, practices and applications. As such, researchers should know its main categories and qualitative research is one such category of significance.

As opposed to quantitative research, which has four methods, qualitative research has five — not all of which will be of use to your particular market research needs. In any case, this type of research involves imbuing as much context and particularities around a phenomenon as possible.

As such, researchers should create questions more specific to the aforementioned examples of this article. That is because those are more encompassing, generalized questions that researchers can attempt to answer after conducting all of their research and parsing of the findings.

But prior to that, researchers should ask several related questions around a particular topic and tailor those questions as best as possible to the target audience.

Frequently asked questions

What is qualitative research.

Qualitative research is a type of research that is conducted to gain deep or unexpected insights rather than focusing on numeral or quantitative data.

Why is qualitative research conducted?

Qualitative research is conducted to find the “why” of the research subject, rather than the “what’ of that subject. For example, qualitative research might be conducted to understand an issue more deeply, to understand why something is happening, or to learn how to address a target market’s concerns.

What is narrative research?

Narrative research is a type of research that is used to create an in-depth story about a phenomenon or event. It is conducted by interviewing a small group of people who were directly involved in the event.

How is ethnographic research conducted?

When conducting ethnographic research, the researchers use firsthand observations of an environment to more deeply understand the goals, challenges, or opinions of the target audience.

What is action research?

Action research is a type of qualitative research in which researchers and participants collaborate to better understand a phenomenon. Together the group works to find and solve the problem by gathering information on an ongoing and evolving basis.

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7 Types of Qualitative Research + 6 Types of Qualitative Methods of Research

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Jennifer Butler Keeton

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Do you want to learn about the types of qualitative research and some examples of methodologies?

Qualitative studies are vital to the market research process. They provide an understanding of the reasons and motivations behind consumer decisions. You can use this information to improve your marketing and increase sales.

What does that mean for your business?

If you have a product that isn’t selling as well as you expected, qualitative research can help you understand why. Or, if you’re launching a new marketing campaign, qualitative studies can help you create ads that will entice your target audience.

If you’re new to this kind of market research, you’re in the right place.

In this guide, you’ll learn the basics of qualitative market research. We’ll also share how your business can use qualitative data to better appeal to your customers.

What is Qualitative Research?

Why use qualitative research, 7 types of qualitative research, 6 types of qualitative methods of research.

• Ideas for Analyzing Qualitative Data

Qualitative research is any research that provides subjective, non-numerical information. It focuses on people: their experiences, beliefs, and behaviors. It’s generally conducted using observation or unstructured questioning.

Qualitative research is used across many fields and industries, including sales, marketing, health care, education, and social sciences.

Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research

You likely hear the term “qualitative” used in contrast with “quantitative.”

Quantitative research generates specific numerical data. Its goal is to quantify and generalize the results of a study through numbers, percentages, and statistics. Quantitative research seeks to answer the what , where , when, and who of decision-making.

Qualitative market research, on the other hand, provides insights into the deeper motives behind consumer purchases. Qualitative research answers the why and how .

Why should your business use qualitative research as opposed to quantitative research?

Well, first of all, you should not use qualitative market research instead of quantitative. The 2 are complementary to each other.

Qualitative research on its own is not conclusive. However, you can use it to:

• Explain quantitative research results.
• Conduct market research when traditional surveys are unavailable. For instance, when your topic involves sensitive or complex questions.
• Conduct market research when more structured research is not possible.

Let’s look at an example of combining quantitative and qualitative research.

For instance, we’ll say that your business wants to conduct research to improve your website.

Quantitative research would give you information such as:

• The number of website visitors
• The length of time users stay on each page
• The number of leads generated from each email signup form
• More quantitative data, such as online shopping statistics and conversion rates

This information is all important data about user behavior. But it doesn’t give you the why behind this behavior.

Qualitative research fills in the rest of the picture with information such as:

• Which parts of your website users find difficult to use
• Whether users find your lightbox popups to be intrusive
• Which special offers and coupon codes shoppers find exciting
• More subjective information about how users view the style, relevance, and usability of your site

A complete website study should include both quantitative and qualitative research. Then, you can improve your website based both on hard numbers and users’ experiences and opinions.

Qualitative market research collects subjective feedback and observations from consumers and users. However, as with most data collection, it’s much more complicated in practice.

Experts divide qualitative research into 7 main types. These are also sometimes called types of qualitative research designs.

Below, we’ll quickly explain the basics of each qualitative research approach before diving into qualitative research methods you can use for your market research.

Don’t feel like you have to memorize and fully understand all of these approaches. However, reviewing them will give you a good introduction to the field of qualitative research.

1. Phenomenology

Phenomenological research is based on the root word “phenomena.” It seeks to discover how individual people view specific experiences. Phenomenology focuses on lived experiences and individuality instead of generalizations about larger groups.

2. Ethnography

In the ethnography approach, researchers immerse themselves in a specific culture to gain qualitative data through observation and interaction. Ethnographic research provides more in-depth and nuanced information than, say, questionnaires or interviews. This approach also provides data about specific demographics.

3. Grounded Theory

The term “grounded theory” essentially describes the order in which researchers develop a theory.

In most other types of qualitative research, researchers start with a hypothesis and then conduct a study to test that hypothesis. However, researchers using grounded theory begin with qualitative data, such as interviews and observations, and then analyze it to develop a theory. This approach is helpful when you have no working theory for why consumers behave in a certain way.

4. Case Study

Case studies are in-depth examinations of a business, process, product, person, or group of people. They also often include quantitative research, but they become qualitative when they focus on the reasons behind that data and the participants’ individual experiences.

For instance, in our case study of AdamEnfroy.com , we present subjective feedback in addition to quantitative data:

See more examples of OptinMonster’s case study research.

5. Historical Research

The historical approach to research is reasonably self-explanatory. Researchers analyze data from the past to form expectations about the present and future. In qualitative market research, this might mean analyzing consumer feedback from throughout the history of your company or industry.

6. Narrative Research

The narrative approach seeks to tell a story about people’s experiences. Researchers conduct interviews and collect observations over a period of time. Then, they use this information to develop a narrative about the experiences of an individual or small group of people.

7. Action Research

Action research aims to investigate and solve a specific, immediate problem. This type of research is cyclical. Researchers apply an action, analyze the data, draw conclusions, and start again.

Now that you have an overview of the different types of qualitative research, we’ll explore types of qualitative methods of research along with some practical examples.

The approaches above are fairly abstract. Now, we’ll share some concrete qualitative methods to collect data for your business. Even beginners and small businesses can use these methodologies.

Here are some of the most common types of qualitative research methods to give you greater insight into your customers. Next time that you are ready to launch a new product or start a new marketing campaign, try out one or more of these methods. You’ll get valuable feedback that will help you succeed.

1. In-Depth Interviews Let You Dig Deep

In-depth interviews (IDIs) are a great way to get detailed consumer feedback. An IDI can be conducted over the phone, in person, or via webcam, using services like Skype or Zoom.

Webcam interviews have become the most common qualitative research method. 34% of researchers report regularly conducting webcam IDIs as 1 of their top 3 data collection methods.

Regardless of your interview method, your IDIs should focus on your ideal user or an existing customer. You ask each person a series of research questions and follow-ups to learn what motivates them to buy a product like yours.

For qualitative research, you should always ask open-ended questions. Avoid simple yes/no questions that provide only quantitative data.

You should go into the interview with some questions prepared, but you shouldn’t stick to a script. If the participant says something interesting, ask follow-up questions that dig deeper.

Here are a few initial questions you could ask:

• What frustrates you about [your topic]?
• If I had a magic wand and could give you the perfect product, what would it look like?
• Have you bought [your type of product] before? If so, what motivated you to buy it?

IDIs provide detailed information about individuals. Therefore, they are especially common in the phenomenology and narrative types of qualitative research.

2. Focus Groups Allow for the Exchange of Ideas

Like IDIs, focus groups can be face-to-face or online. These groups usually involve sample sizes of 6-10 people. They provide a safe and comfortable environment for your users to talk about their thoughts and feelings surrounding your product.

The advantage of in-person focus groups is that you observe the consumer’s verbal and non-verbal reaction to your product or advertising. Group members can also bounce off each other’s thoughts and ideas, which means you’ll get even greater insights.

You can use focus groups to:

• Test a new product or website
• Explore the general concept for your product
• Evaluate your advertising copy and imagery
• Explore new packaging ideas

Online focus groups are similar to in-person ones. They’re more cost-efficient, allow you to include more people, and are less time-consuming to organize. Now that more people are comfortable with Zoom and Skype, online focus groups are more accessible than ever before.

You can also use social media to your advantage. Create a community of people interested in your topic and use it to foster a conversation. Then, observe the dialogue. You’ll gain a lot of interesting insights!

3. Shopping Observations, or “Shop-Alongs,” Give Real-Time Insight

An in-person observation of shopping behavior lets you watch the consumer react to your products in-store. With a shop-along, you get to see consumers’ real-life shopping behavior. Because you see immediate reactions, this method provides different insight than a written survey.

These qualitative studies highlight problems with shelf displays, clutter, or out-of-stock products. You may also interact with consumers to get deeper insights during the shopping process. You can get real-time feedback on package design, for example.

4. In-Home Videos Show Realistic Product Use

In-home videos allow you to observe how users interact with your product in real life, in their own homes.

This research method’s advantage is the setting of the participant observation. You can see your user’s behavior in a natural, comfortable environment. You’ll get a more realistic view of how people use your product.

5. Lifestyle Immersion Lets You Hear Real-World Dialogue

Lifestyle immersion is when you attend an event, such as a party or a family gathering. This research method gives you an uninterrupted view of users’ attitudes and behaviors. Immersion is another excellent way to get candid insight in a comfortable, familiar setting.

During these activities, observe your users having a dialogue with their friends. Listen to these real-world conversations to learn about consumers’ desires, frustrations, and motivations.

6. Journal or Diary Studies for Honest Feedback

Have your user or potential customer keep a journal or a diary to document their experience with your topic or product. Users may be more likely to be completely honest when they’re not face-to-face with an interviewer or moderator.

Journals can be handwritten or digital. Either way, it will capture your user’s voice, which is extremely valuable for optimizing your marketing copy.

3 Tips for Qualitative Data Analysis (to Help You Understand Your Customers)

Using the methods and types of qualitative research discussed above, you can gather excellent information about consumers’ opinions, experiences, and behaviors. The next step is to analyze your data.

Since qualitative data is unstructured, it can be tricky to draw conclusions, let alone present your findings. While qualitative data is not conclusive in and of itself, here are a few tips for analyzing qualitative research data.

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1. Summarize the Key Points

For interviews and focus groups, have the moderator write up some key points from the discussion. For example: “Common concerns among participants about our pizza were cheese overuse, greasiness, and bland sauce.”

Here is an example of a qualitative summary from a market research project for Pizza Hut Pakistan

2. Code Responses

Coding is the process of organizing and labeling your qualitative data into categories. You can “code” your unstructured data into labels you can summarize with tables or charts.

For example, a researcher might have asked the open-ended question, “How often do you wear a watch?”

Every respondent’s answer would likely be a little different. But you could code them in categories such as:

• Once in a while

This process gives you coded data sets to analyze and report.

3. Create a Word Cloud

Create a “word cloud” out of the keywords used by consumers. Put your field notes into a word cloud generator like WordClouds.com . In your cloud, the words that research participants used most often will be the largest. You’ll be able to spot the most prominent words easily.

Use Qualitative Research to Improve Marketing and Sales

You can use these qualitative research types, methods, and analysis strategies to understand your users and customers. Qualitative data collection will help you improve your product development and marketing strategy, leading to more sales and revenue.

If online surveys are part of your research process, check out our survey best practices .

Once you clearly understand your customers, apply what you’ve learned to your email marketing strategy . Using in-depth qualitative data, you’ll generate more leads and sales than ever before.

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The qualitative market research guide: actionable methods for best results

What is qualitative market research, the ethics of qualitative market research, how to conduct qualitative market research, what are the applications of qualitative market research, overcoming the challenges of qualitative market research.

If you’re thinking about skipping qualitative market research and just going with your gut, this article is a must-read.

While some brands and products in the past have won big based on someone’s intuition, it certainly isn’t a reliable recipe for success — because many more who’ve invested based on an instinct, have failed. Hard.

That’s why we want to highlight the importance and value of qualitative market research. It’s what explains why people pick one product over another that seems just as good.

Qualitative research digs into the nuances, offering insights that can significantly impact your marketing approach and product development. Here we’ll show you exactly how you can turn it into your secret weapon.

Qualitative market research goes straight to the core of your customer’s thoughts and feelings. It’s not just about how many people clicked or bought, but why they did it, or even why they didn’t.

This kind of research lets you in on the stories behind the statistics, giving you a more in-depth understanding of your target audience’s behaviors, perceptions and motivations. And with this rich insights and data, you can tailor your products and marketing strategies to truly resonate with your audience.

Here’s a quick rundown of the types of market research out there:

• Quantitative research: Deals with numbers and measurable forms.
• Qualitative research: Focuses on understanding the quality of consumer interactions and thoughts.
• Mixed methods: Combines both quantitative and qualitative research.

It’s good to know qualitative and quantitative research make a great pair – it helps you give context to numbers, and vice versa. And it’s good to know when you could run qualitative research:

• Before your quantitative research ? If you’re grasping for ideas and inspiration, qualitative market research can be a great source. Your respondents will often flag issues or make suggestions that you and your team might never have thought of. And for extra peace of mind, you can follow-up your qualitative research with quantitative studies to make sure that inspo is truly representative.
• After your quantitative research ? Often teams will have run quantitative studies and spotted threads they’d like to pull at and see whether there’s more to learn. This is where qualitative market research comes in – it can add flavor and context to your quant data. And it can be a great way to personalize your data for internal or client signoff.

Of course, there are different ways of gathering qualitative data. So when we talk qualitative research, these are the main methods you’ll come across:

• Ethnographic research: observing your customers in their natural environment, seeing how they live, work, and play.
• Narrative research: collecting stories from individuals to better understand their experiences.
• Phenomenological research: used to understand common experiences among a group of people, researching shared perceptions.
• Grounded theory: developing a theory based on the data you collect, starting with the data and working towards a theory.
• Action research: a collaborative approach, working with groups to identify solutions to problems and implement changes.

Each of these approaches gives you unique insights into the minds and lives of your customers, helping you make more informed decisions that can drive your brand forward.

If you want to know more about the ins and outs of different research types, check out our blog about the difference between quantitative vs qualitative research , and here’s a quick video summary to get you started…

While it’s not exactly mind reading, qualitative market research does touch more on personal thoughts and opinions than, for instance, quantitative research does. That means it requires trust – and that’s where ethics come into play. Here’s what keeping it ethical looks like:

• Participant confidentiality : Keeping the identities of your participants under wraps is a non-negotiable. 
• Informed consent : Participants need to know what they’re getting into, how their insights will be used, and how they can change their involvement.
• Sensitive information : Any data that could be considered sensitive deserves extra protection and consideration.

Data isn’t high quality when it isn’t ethical, and vice versa. If your respondents don’t feel that their answers will be handled with care, they might not answer honestly – if at all.

At Attest, we’re all about making sure your insights are built on a solid foundation of excellent data quality, trust and transparency – for both you and your respondents. 

Because what’s the point of qualitative research if you can’t trust the results? Check out how we assure data quality that you can rely on.

The research you do should be the foundation of the actions that follow — don’t just conduct research for the sake of it. Choosing the right qualitative research methods and tools is crucial, but there’s more to it.

By following the steps below, you’ll not only gather rich, qualitative data but also pave the way for meaningful changes in your product development, marketing strategy, and overall brand experience. 

1. Create a research plan

When you conduct qualitative research, or any kind really, the steps you take should be based on your research objectives, and related to the actual changes you might be making. This is what makes market research crucial for marketing experts : it shows you which actions to take, instead of just doing creative guesswork. 

First, decide on your qualitative research methods—will you go for surveys, focus groups, or a mix? Define clear objectives. What do you want to learn? Keep in mind how to balance your research approach: you can opt for direct exploration for fresh insights, monadic testing for focused feedback, sequential monadic testing for comparative insights, or discrete choice testing to understand preferences. Each method has its place, and combining them strategically can offer a fuller picture of your market.

Next up, consider your sampling methods. Who are your ideal participants? Where can you find them? (Hint: we help you with this!)

Once you know what to ask and who you’ll be speaking to, it’s time to start crafting your survey — and using our templates makes that even easier. Take your pick and start tweaking. 

The final step of your research plan, is choosing which qualitative market research tool to choose for. The steps below give you some guidance on what to look for.

2. Recruit the right participants

The power of qualitative research lies not in the most fancy tools, but in the quality of your participants. 

You’re looking for individuals who reflect your target audience or represent a new market you’re exploring. The key is to ensure diversity and relevance to get a comprehensive understanding of consumer behavior and opinions. Read more about how we help you get in touch with the right people — picking from an audience of 125 million people in 59 markets spread across the globe.

3. Conduct interviews, surveys or focus group research

Jumping into your audience’s world, interviews, surveys, and focus groups are essential tools in your research kit. But how do these qualitative market research methods add value?

• One-on-one interviews offer a closer look into what your consumers are thinking and feeling, providing valuable insights into their personal experiences and expectations. This intimate format fosters detailed conversations that can uncover deep-seated motivations and stories.
• Surveys allow for a broad reach, enabling you to connect with a wide audience very quickly to collect various data points. This method is great for identifying trends, preferences and behaviors on a larger scale.
• Focus groups, on the other hand, bring a unique dynamic. In these sessions, participants’ interactions can generate new insights and perspectives, offering a diverse view of your product or service. This collaborative environment encourages research participants to build on each other’s ideas, revealing insights that might not emerge in individual settings.

Remember: you don’t have to limit yourself to only one option – but pick a mix that works best for your research goals, and your audience. Their participation is key here.

4. Conduct observational research (optional)

Now this is optional, but if you want an extra layer to your research process, observational research is a great supplement to your qualitative study.

Instead of just hearing what your target audience is thinking, you are going to see how it affects their actions, by tracking how they interact with your products, navigate your stores or use your website.

Watching from a distance, you might discover that consumers use your product in ways you hadn’t imagined. It might also clarify some statements you heard or uncovered during the survey or interview phase – observational research can unearth gems of insights that are invisible in one-on-one conversations or online focus groups.

Of course, this approach requires patience and a non-intrusive stance. You don’t want to influence people, and it’s not easy to do it at a large scale – but in some scenarios adding an extra research method like this certainly gives extra depth to your findings. 

5. Analyze your research data

With data in hand, it’s time to sift through the stories and sentiments to find patterns and themes. Qualitative data analysis can be complex, but it’s where you begin to understand the ‘why’ behind the behaviors that drive your customers’ choices. 

Don’t just use qualitative insights to confirm your hopes and beliefs. Actively look for commonalities, differences, and surprising insights that can guide your strategy.

6. Report and communicate findings to key stakeholders

This is the springboard to action. If you can package your findings in a way that resonates with your team, management, or clients, you’re one step closer to meaningful and impactful changes. 

Clear, compelling reporting translates your research into actionable insights – and our tool helps you get them. 

Share stories, highlight key themes, and suggest next steps. Make your qualitative research findings a cornerstone for your decision-making and strategy development.

Get the full picture with qualitative research from Attest

Whether you’re looking for inspo, or backing up your quant research with qual context, you can run your research studies side-by-side with Attest

You can use qualitative market research for practically every aspect of your business. But let’s highlight some of the most popular applications first:

• Product development: Before your product hits the shelves or the digital marketplace, qualitative research helps you tune into what your customers really need and want. Insights gained can directly inform product features, design and enhancements to meet consumer needs effectively.
• Creating data-driven marketing strategies: Armed with qualitative insights, you can craft marketing campaigns that resonate deeply with your audience. Tailored messaging and campaigns can address specific consumer pain points, preferences and values, increasing engagement and conversion rates.
• Understanding customer perceptions: Ever wonder how your brand is viewed through the eyes of your consumers? If you haven’t, you should. It’s not something to be scared of, it’s something to learn from – through, you guessed it, qualitative research. It will uncover the perceptions, misconceptions, and the emotional ties customers have with your brand, and be a trusted guide on how to position yourself in the market.
• Consumer segmentation: Two customers might seem alike, but not shop alike. That’s because there are underlying differences. By identifying distinct consumer segments within your broader audience, qualitative research allows for more targeted and personalized marketing efforts. Understanding the varied needs and motivations of each segment leads to more effective and efficient marketing strategies.

Beyond the usual suspects, qualitative market research has some lesser-known yet incredibly valuable applications. 

• Examining the impact of customer service language tweaks on overall customer satisfaction and loyalty.
• Exploring consumer reactions to different packaging materials to align brand perception with sustainability goals.
• Refining the user experience on your website based on nuanced user feedback about navigation and content.

The possible applications of qualitative market research are limitless – and brands who experiment with really specific, seemingly small applications, often find suggestions for meaningful changes that drive big results. Just check out our customers’ stories for some inspiration.

We won’t tell you that qualitative market research is something you can do on autopilot or with your eyes closed – doing it right is challenging in some ways. But not in ways you can overcome. 

Let’s walk through some common obstacles and how to vault over them, and how using Attest can turn these challenges into opportunities for richer insights.

• What to do : Use targeted recruitment to ensure your sample closely mirrors your target market. Attest helps you find and engage with the right participants, making even small sample sizes filled with insights.
• What to do : Streamline the process with efficient planning and execution. Attest offers streamlined survey design and distribution tools that cut down on both time and cost, making in-depth qualitative research more accessible. And with your designated research manager to guide you , you know your studies will be well designed and give you reliable results.
• What to do 2 : Bear in mind that good qualitative market research, with a clear purpose and action plan, will lead to better business results. It could affect your bottom line, increase sales or impact your ROI in other ways. It’s not investing in qualitative research that could cost you way more money.
• What to do : It starts with awareness, and implementing protocols that avoid bias. Attest’s platform is designed to ensure unbiased data collection, with features that support anonymity and objectivity in responses. And this is also where you Customer Research Manager can steer you towards honest, unbiased research.
• What to do : Make the most of technology to conduct efficient and effective research within your means. Better yet, choose Attest. You’ll get access to your very own dedicated research expert that will help you get the most value out of your research.

Get the best of quantitative and qualitative research with Attest

To ensure your market research truly hits the mark, blending the depth of qualitative insights with the breadth of quantitative data is key. For the clearest picture of your market landscape and the most informed decisions, a platform that offers both qualitative and quantitative insights is your best bet. Attest provides this comprehensive approach, equipping you with the tools to not just navigate but thrive in your market. Ready to see the full picture?

Discover how Attest can elevate your research game and support your brand’s growth with expert-backed insights.

Customer Research Manager 

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Qualitative Research

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Qualitative market research: the ultimate guide.

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Qualitative market research help businesses understand customers’ needs, identify market potential, uncover ideas for product launch/improvement, or understand how the product fits the target customer’s lifestyle. 

Any business of any type or size can benefit from qualitative research as it helps you find out how the target market feels about your product and uncover how you can improve it to increase sales. 

In this article, we’ll dive into qualitative research methods, how to conduct them, how to use them for market research, and more.

What is qualitative market research?

In simple terms, qualitative research can be defined as a method used for market research that aims at obtaining data with open-ended questions and conversations with the target consumers. 

This method helps establish not only “what” consumers think but also “how” they come to that opinion and “why” they think so. 

For instance, if you find out that more men are visiting your online garment shop than women, it is just a systematic observation. Qualitative market research will help you understand why women do not visit the store. 

You can gain this information by conducting an in-depth interview of potential women who could become customers, i.e., women who shop online regularly. In this way, qualitative research focuses on understanding a query or problem statement in a humanistic or idealistic approach.

• Qualitative research methods are used to understand the beliefs, experiences, attitudes, and behaviors of people. 
• It also helps in understanding the interactions people have with others who are similar to them.  
• Qualitative research is increasingly becoming popular because it gives a voice to the participants. 
• It gives us valuable insights into each individual and their feedback can prove to be valuable and enriching.  

What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative market research?

We have described what qualitative market research is, but let’s also see how it differs from quantitative. 

Quantitative Vs Qualitative market research: 

Quantitative research gathers numerical data that helps you test and draw conclusions regarding your research. The data helps you generate conclusive results. 

• It helps answer the “what” people think. 
• You can use it to confirm a hypothesis. 
• You can collect quantitative data via surveys , experiments, and observations.  

Qualitative research helps you gather non-numerical data that digs deeper to understand customer behavior. 

• It helps answer “why,” people think the way they do & “how” they make decisions. 
• You can use it to understand concepts. 
• You can gather qualitative data via interviews, ethnography, focus groups, case studies, and observation. 

You can leverage a market research tool to conduct research of your choice using multiple channels and gather integrated data. 

Additional read: Qualitative Vs quantitative research – Know the difference!

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5 qualitative market research methods

Qualitative research methods have originated from social and behavioral sciences. There are five common methods that researchers and marketers use to collect qualitative research data. 

These five methods are based on how you can collect data from the target audience. So, let’s discuss these five data collection methods. 

1. Interview  

Interviewing the target audience is one of the most common practices in qualitative market research. You can carry out an interview either face-to-face, on phone , or online with one respondent at a time. This is a conversational method of gathering information and allows the researcher to get a detailed response from the respondent.

The advantage of the interview method is that it gives one an opportunity to gather detailed and precise information about people’s beliefs, motivations, and experiences.  

If the researcher has experience in asking relevant and correct questions, it can help them collect meaningful data. These interviews usually last up to an hour or two, depending on how detailed and specific the researcher wants the data to be.  

Interviews can be structured, semi-structured, or unstructured. Semi-structured interviews are most commonly used because they give researchers an outline of what topics and areas to cover. Also permitting them to tap into any area relevant to the participant’s experiences.

Additional read: Research Interviews – Uncovering their types and methods.

2. Ethnography

Ethnographic research includes direct observation of the concerned group you want to study. This qualitative market research involves studying video recordings of the interactions between customers and products as they indulge in the purchased product in real life. 

Ethnographic researchers can observe their clients or participants of the research from anywhere, including the individual’s workplace, their familial environment, or when the individual is spending time with their peers.

Researchers fully immerse themselves into the lives of the customers. They observe and listen to the customers in their natural settings in a nondirected way. The goal, here, is to see people’s behaviors as they occur and on their terms, not our interpretation of those terms. 

This observational method enlightens researchers about the context in which consumers are using the products they are analyzing and the meaningful contribution of the product in their lives.  

3. Focus Groups

Another most commonly used method in qualitative market research is the focus group. In this method, the researcher gathers a limited number of consumers from the target market to create a focus group. 

The main aim of this focus group is to answer questions relating to the “why” “what” and “how” of behaviors. 

In a focus group, a trained moderator usually leads a discussion lasting about 30-90 minutes that is designed to gather useful information. The moderator’s main task is to hear the responses and probe respondents for any other specifications required while answering the questions.

Focus groups can now be sent an online survey on their preferred devices and their feedback can be collected through that. However, a disadvantage of focus groups is that they are time-consuming and costly. 

This method is usually recommended when the market is launching a new product and needs in-depth insight from the target audience’s perspective.

4. Case Studies

Case studies have evolved to become a valuable method for qualitative market research . It is used for explaining a case of an organization or an entity. This is one of the simplest ways of conducting research because it involves an exhaustive understanding of the data collected and the interpretation of the same.

5. Observation

Observation can be systematic or naturalistic. Qualitative observation of respondents’ answers or their behaviors in particular settings can yield enriching insights. 

The research observes the customer/consumer from a distance to see how they interact with an actual product. Often also called “shop-alongs”, this method reduces the possibility of a customer forgetting their shopping experience and providing false feedback at a later stage. 

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Methods to analyze qualitative market research data

There are different methods that are used to analyze qualitative market research data. The most commonly used method is the thematic analysis and text analysis.

Text analysis: 

In text analysis , researchers analyze the qualitative data collected directly from the audience and decode the sentiment and meaning behind the feedback. The analysis method helps identify a pattern/trend and make sense of the sentiment associated with the words used by the audience. 

Thematic analysis:

In thematic analysis , researchers find out the major themes or patterns in the respondents’ answers that are repeated several times. 

This kind of analysis helps researchers understand the themes that are important in the respondents’ life and the experiences that matter the most to them. They can then understand how the product they are aiming to improve or launch can affect these major themes in the lives of the respondents.  

Other qualitative analysis methods include content analysis, discourse analysis, and grounded theory. These methods differ in difficulty levels of conducting the analysis, and the steps to be followed while analyzing data.

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What are the uses of qualitative market research?

Qualitative data helps you uncover hidden data and make meaning of customers’ purchase behavior. You can use qualitative research in business to make important decisions. 

Qualitative market research helps you gather contextual and unbiased feedback. You can gather deeper insights from the target market to understand consumers’ feelings about your brand and evaluate the brand-customer relationship.  

It provides you with hard facts on where you stand and helps you benchmark your performance.

2. Consumer behavior insights: 

You can use qualitative data to create an in-depth buyer/consumer persona. The customer behavior survey helps brands understand the needs, demands, and wants of the customers which helps them better market the product. 

3. Market/business opportunities: 

Explore new markets for business expansion by gathering qualitative insights. Leverage market research surveys to understand business trends, key competition, potential, or an ideal location for new opportunities. 

4. Product research: 

Be it a product upgrade or a new product concept , market research will help you understand if the target consumers will accept the product. Gather opinions and suggestions from consumers on various aspects of the product to create

How to conduct qualitative market research?

We have discussed the methods of data collection and uses of qualitative research so now let’s look at the steps to conduct qualitative market research. 

1. Determine the objective for conducting research: 

The research you want to conduct must have the desired outcome which explains what you want to achieve with this research. Determining the objective helps you map the research process and keep it aligned with the ultimate goal. 

2. Decide what methodology to use:

You can conduct qualitative research in many ways. We have explained five common methods – interview, ethnography, focus group, case study, and observation – above. 

3. Sample respondents: 

It’s not practical to gather responses from the entire target audience . Creating a sample audience enables you to gather relevant data that represents the target audience. 

It’s important to note a large sample size, gives you more accurate responses. There are three sampling methods – purpose, quota, and snowball sampling. 

You can also leverage a market research panel, like Voxco Audience , to create an ideal respondent panel for your research. A research panel gives you access to verified respondents willing to participate in research. 

Additional reads : What are sample surveys?

4. Design your survey: 

The questions you ask play an important role in the type of responses you gather. Personalize the survey, and write relevant and meaningful questions to engage the audience. 

5. Determine the data collection channels:

You can gather customer data online, offline, or by phone. For example, you can conduct a phone interview, a face-to-face interview, or a mobile-offline interview. Depending on the nature of the research, location, and the research topic, you can use a channel that will bring the most responses. 

6. Analyze the gathered data: 

Data analysis helps you make sense of your customer’s feedback. It helps you convert the data into actionable insights so you can make strategic business decisions. We have explained the analysis methods used for qualitative market research data above. 

7. Report the findings:

Share the findings with stakeholders, colleagues, executives, and everyone else in a way that is easy to understand. Use charts and graphs to give context to the findings instead of handing over long paragraphs. 

This sums up the seven steps to conducting qualitative research. Let’s look at some of its benefits.

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Benefits of qualitative market research

Qualitative research is often used because it preserves the voice and perspectives of the respondents which are usually converted into numerics in quantitative research. The advantages of qualitative research are listed below:

• The process of data collection and analysis is flexible and conversational in qualitative research; they are not rigidly defined and do not have to be systematically planned or decided beforehand.
• Qualitative research takes place in a naturalistic environment and provides insight into how individuals behave in natural settings.
• Since qualitative market research uses open-ended questions when collecting data, they offer a huge deal of new information that can be uncovered and studied by the researcher.
• Qualitative research is recommended when studying the launch of a new product in the market, developing a new product in the market, understanding the strength and weaknesses of the product in the market, and exploring the marke t in terms of consumer behavior, demographics, perception of the brand and product under study.

Be it a start-up or an established company, qualitative market research helps you understand customers’ motivation, feelings, and perceptions of your products and services. This research method enables you to learn why consumers make certain decisions and use the feedback to build your marketing and sales strategies. 

FAQs on qualitative market research

Qualitative market research helps you gather data that explains why customers make certain purchase decision. It enables you to understand customers’ feelings, values, and thoughts about your products or services. 

The four types of qualitative research are: 

• Focus group
• Ethnography

Quantitative market research gathers numerical data that you can quantify and convert into statistical insights. It helps you find out “what” customers think of your brand. 

Qualitative research gathers textual or verbal data that you can use to understand “why” customers buy your products and “how” they make that decision. 

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The 8 types of market research: definitions, uses and examples.

13 min read What are the different types of market research that can help you stay ahead of the curve with your marketing strategy? Understand how to use each type, and what the advantages and disadvantages are.

Market research (also called marketing research) is the action or activity of gathering information about market needs and preferences. This helps companies understand their target market — how the audience feels and behaves.

There are 8 types of market research, each with their own methods and tools:

• Primary research
• Secondary research
• Qualitative research
• Quantitative research
• Branding research
• Customer research
• Competitor research
• Product research

Let’s start our list by exploring primary and secondary research first.

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1. Primary research

Primary research is research that you collect yourself but going directly to the target market through a range of methods. Because it is data you create, you own the data set.

Two types of results — exploratory information (determines the nature of a problem that hasn’t yet been clearly defined) and conclusive information (carried out to solve a problem that exploratory research identified) — from participants are collected as raw data and then analyzed to gather insights from trends and comparisons.

This method is good for getting the views of a lot of people at one time, especially when time is short, but it comes with its own management issues. The interviewer must prepare a way to gather answers and record these, while engaging in conversation with many people.

Participants may be affected by the group setting, either from acquiescence bias (the desire to say yes to please the interviewer), dominance bias (stronger participants can alter the results from less dominant participants) or researcher bias (where the research leads or impacts the participant responses indirectly).

This provides a structured setting where the interviewer can listen to what’s being said and investigate further into an answer. The interviewer can also pick up on non-verbal cues from body language can help the interview understand where to deep-dive and broaden their understanding.

However, some of the same biases (acquiescence and researcher) still exit in this format. The method is time consuming to do the interviews and collect the data afterwards.

A survey is an excellent method for carrying out primary research as participants do need to be physically present with the interviewer to carry it out. The survey can be completed anywhere there is an internet connection, meaning there is flexibility for the participants to use different devices and for interviewers to contact participants in different geographical time-zones.Preparation is key, however, as the researchers must segment the market and create a list of participants to send the survey to. Hiring a panel or using existing marketing lists can help with this.

2. Secondary research

Secondary research is the use of data that has previously been collected, analysed and published (and therefore you do not own this data). An example of this for market research is:

Most information is freely available, so there are less costs associated with this kind of secondary research over primary research methods.

Secondary research can often be the preparation for primary research activities, providing a knowledge base. The information gathered may not provide the specific information to explain the results, which is where primary market research would be used to enhance understanding.

There is also a logistics planning need for a recording solution that can handle large datasets, since manual management of the volumes of information can be tricky.

Both primary and secondary research have its advantages and disadvantages, as we’ve seen, but they are best used when paired together. Combined, the data can give you the confidence to act knowing that any hypothesis you have is backed up.

Learn more about primary vs secondary research methods

The next market research types can be defined as qualitative and quantitative research types:

3. Qualitative research

Qualitative market research is the collection of primary or secondary data that is non-numerical in nature, and therefore hard to measure.

Researchers collect this market research type because it can add more depth to the data.

This kind of market research is used to summarise and infer, rather than pin-points an exact truth held by a target market. For example, qualitative market research can be done to find out a new target market’s reaction to a new product to translate the reaction into a clear explanation for the company.

4. Quantitative research

Quantitative research is the collection of primary or secondary data that is numerical in nature, and so can be collected more easily.

Researchers collect this market research type because it can provide historical benchmarking, based on facts and figures evidence.

There are a number of ways to collect this data — polls, surveys, desk research, web statistics, financial records — which can be exploratory in nature without a lot of depth at this stage.

Quantitative market research can create the foundation of knowledge needed by researchers to investigate hypotheses further through qualitative market research.

The next four variations of market research are specific to topics areas, that bring about specific information.:

5. Branding research

Branding market research assists a company to create, manage and maintain the company brand. This can relate to the tone, branding, images, values or identity of the company.

Research can be carried out through interviews, focus groups or surveys. For example, brand awareness surveys will ask your participants whether the brand is known to them and whether it is something they would be interested in buying.

Additional areas for brand research is also around brand loyalty, brand perception , brand positioning , brand value and brand identity .

The aim of research will be to understand how to know if:

• Your brand is performing in relation to other competitors
• There are areas to improve your brand activities
• There are positives to showcase to enhance your brand’s image

6. Customer research

Customer market research looks at the key influences on your target customers and how your company can make changes to encourage sales.

The aim of this research is to know your customer inside out, and continuously learn about how they interact with the company. Some themes covered by this include:

• Customer satisfaction – Exploring what keeps customers happy, as higher customer satisfaction is more likely to lead to increased customer retention.
• Customer loyalty – This looks at what experiences have happened to lead to greater customer loyalty across the customer lifecycle.
• Customer segmentation research – Discovering who the customers are, what their behaviour and preferences are and their shared characteristics.

Relevant desk research may look at historical purchase records, customer journey mapping , customer segmentation, demographics and persona templates.

Primary research, such as NPS and customer satisfaction surveys , or customer satisfaction interviews at the end of customer support calls, can also give more details.

7. Competitor research

Competitor market research is about knowing who your competition is and understanding their strengths and weaknesses, in comparison to your organization. It can also be about your competitive offering in the market, or how to approach a new market.

The aim of this research is to find ways to make your organization stand out and future planning through horizon scanning and listening to customer preferences.

For example, for competitive analysis, researchers would create a SWOT for your business and your competitors, to see how your business compares.

Primary research could interview customers about their buying preferences, while secondary sources would look at competitor’s market dominance, sales, structure and so on. With this thorough analysis, you can understand where you can change to be more competitive, and look for ideas that make you stand out.

8. Product research

Product market research is a key way to make sure your products and services are fit for launching in the market, and are performing as well as they can.

The aim of this research is to see how your product is perceived by customers, if they are providing value and working correctly. Ideas can also be formed about upgrades and future product development.

There are a number of avenues within product research:

• Product branding – Does the product brand and design attract customers in the intended way?
• Product feature testing – this can happen at various stages of development with target markets (in early development, between versions, before product launch, etc.) to check if there are positive reaction to new or improved features
• Product design thinking – what solutions would solve your customers’ current or future problems?
• Product marketing – Do the marketing messages help your product’s memorability and saleability, or can they be improved?

Primary research methods have a clear advantage in this kind of market research: Surveys can ask for rankings on the popularity or usefulness of features or conduct conjoint analysis, while in-person observation interviews (where the participant can handle a product) can be particularly useful in seeing what customers do with the product in real time.

How to use market research types in your company

In a good marketing strategy, it’s preferable to have a mixture of data across:

• Qualitative and quantitative research
• Primary and secondary research
• Your specific topic area or area of focus

With these three components, you can make sure your market strategy gives you a complete picture of your market’s operational data and experience data , — what your market does and why .

Economical experience data (O data)

This type of experience data is quantitative in nature (including operations, featuring sales data, finance data and HR data ). As it can be quantified into numerical values, it can be measured over and over, providing datasets.

There is the opportunity to use a data-driven approach to understanding the results and making predictions based on historical trends.

This sort of data can be measured more easily than emotions and feelings. But it can only tell you about past activities and what happened. It can’t tell you what will happen in the future and why things will happen — this is where X data comes in.

Emotional experience data (X data)

This type of experience data seeks to find reasons to explain emotional decisions and how brands ‘sit’ in people’s minds. In this way, this data is qualitative in nature.

Companies that have X data have a ‘mental advantage’ over other companies,  as they are able to understand the perceptions of the customer, their needs and values.

When you have tangible insights on the audience’s needs, you can then take steps to meet those needs and solve problems. This mitigates the risk of an experience gap – which is what your audience expects you deliver versus what you actually deliver.

Conditions for approaching shared value creation management in the Japanese rice flour-related business: application of mixed methods research

• Open access
• Published: 03 June 2024

Cite this article

You have full access to this open access article

• Lily Kiminami   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1784-6283 1 ,
• Shinichi Furuzawa 1 &
• Akira Kiminami 2  

This is the second paper on creating shared value (CSV) management in Japanese rice flour-related businesses conducted by the same authors. In the first study, the relationships among business philosophies, business strategies and business outcomes of rice flour-related corporates in Japan were clarified using structural equation modeling (SEM) and cognitive mapping of questionnaire survey results. The management philosophy, effective altruism, influences business strategies (potential head market, tail market, organizational learning, and proposals from stakeholders) of rice flour-related corporates, inducing innovation and determining current business performance and future prospects for shared value creation. The business performance reflects their expectations for the rice flour market, and influences the direction of market development. In addition, we showed a need for policy innovations that strengthen effective altruism and create shared value through organizational learning of the stakeholders in rice flour-related businesses. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to clarify conditions for approaching CSV management in domestic rice flour-related businesses by applying mixed methods research (MMR). Specifically, a latent class analysis (LCA) was introduced to classify the management characteristics of rice flour-related businesses with survey results, and a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) conducted on the CSV management entities extracted from the LCA to clarify the necessary and sufficient conditions for achieving CSV management. The results revealed that there are very few rice flour-related businesses in Japan that have approached CSV management, and sufficient conditions for approaching CSV management in rice flour-related businesses are a combination of effective altruism and various management strategies (long tail/organizational learning/innovation/stakeholder proposals). Therefore, we conclude that to achieve a sustainable regional development of rice flour-related businesses, policy innovations that integrate pull-type and push-type strategies are important.

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

1 Introduction

The production volume of rice for rice flour (a part of new demand rice) in 2022 reached 45,903 tons in Japan. The top five prefectures of Niigata (12,731 tons; 27.7%), Tochigi (8035 tons; 17.5%), Saitama (4395 tons; 9.6%), Akita (2569 tons; 5.6%), and Ishikawa (2176 tons; 4.7%) account for 65.1% of the whole country (MAFF 2023 ). The reason why the production of rice for rice flour is concentrated in specific regions is that it is necessary to develop actual users and to collaborate with primary processors, secondary processors, and distributors to receive subsidies (Kinoshita 2012 ). On the other hand, a survey report on the use of rice flour by food manufacturers conducted by the NPO Domestic Rice Flour Promotion Network ( 2017 ) pointed out that the characteristics of consumers targeted by companies that sell domestically produced rice flour products are those with high health consciousness and allergies, and insisting on `domestic production' and `local production for local consumption'; the high price of rice flour is the most important issue in expanding its usage.

However, through an interview survey, Takahashi ( 2012 ) revealed that the formation of a self-sustaining industrial cluster in Kumamoto Prefecture is contributing to the development of a rice flour-related business aimed at solving social issues. In particular, by collaborating with producers, distributors, processing companies, and related research institutions, flour milling companies have succeeded in reducing costs and creating demand by introducing high-yield rice.

As an empirical study on the CSV management of rice flour-related corporates in Japan, Kiminami et al. ( 2024 ) clarified the relationships among business philosophy, business strategy, and business outcome of rice flour-related corporates by introducing structural equation modeling (SEM) and cognitive map analysis to the results of a questionnaire survey. The results revealed that the management philosophy (Effective Altruism, and member of the Rice Flour Association) of rice flour-related corporates influences their business strategies (potential head market, tail market, organizational learning, and proposals from stakeholders) which induce innovation and determine business performance (current performance and future prospects for shared value creation), and the business performance reflects their expectations for the rice flour market and influences the direction of market development. Based on the analytical results, the research suggested a policy innovation that strengthens effective altruism and creating shared value through organizational learning of stakeholders in rice flour-related businesses.

Therefore, the purpose of our study is to clarify the conditions for approaching CSV management in the domestic rice flour-related businesses following up the results of previous study. The methodology of this research is unique in that latent class analysis (LCA) was introduced to the survey results for classifying the management characteristics of rice flour-related businesses, and a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) was conducted on the CSV management entities extracted from the LCA to clarify the necessary and sufficient conditions for approaching CSV management. Based on the empirical analysis results, we will derive policy implications of regional science.

2 Literature review

2.1 creating shared value.

Creating shared value (CSV) is the idea that companies create social value by working to solve social needs and problems, and as a result, economic value is created (Porter and Kramer 2011 ). CSV is often criticized as being vague in its differences from corporate social responsibility (CSR). According to Dembek et al. ( 2016 ), the definition of CSV is roughly divided into those that emphasize conceptual theory and those that emphasize the relationship with real society. The former includes Porter and Kramer, and the later includes Maltz et al. ( 2011 ). These different positions on the definition of CSV are also reflected in different views on the relationship between CSV and sustainability. In addition, as pointed out by Horings ( 2015 ), there are three ways to understand regional value: economic, intentional, and symbolic approaches. In terms of sustainable regional development, it is thought that the companies introducing CSV have a formation process with management philosophy and market strategy that is different from the companies without introducing CSV.

Although there are no studies targeting the rice industry or rice flour, there are some empirical analyses on shared value creation in the agriculture and food sectors. Wiśniewska-Paluszak and Paluszak ( 2019 ) found that companies engaged in CSV in Polish agribusiness are gaining new competitive advantages through solving social issues and redefining business models through cooperation with stakeholders. Additionally, Saraswati ( 2021 ) pointed out that Indonesian food companies create value by placing the highest priority on consumers, while also creating shared value with society, employees, the environment, and business partners. Furthermore, using mixed methods research, Kiminami et al. ( 2022 ) found that social entrepreneurs as the creative class in Japanese urban agriculture are approaching shared value creation while generating cognitive innovation through organizational learning with stakeholders.

2.2 Effective altruism

Effective altruism (EA) is an evidence- and theory-based philosophy or movement that seeks to maximize the improvement of the world, with particular emphasis on the areas of global poverty, human existential risk, and animal welfare (MacAskill 2015 ). EA is particularly useful for maximizing social impact with limited resources when the scale is large (social problems that can be solved), the visibility is low (niche), and there are no other viable alternatives. The idea of EA enables impact assessment and prioritization of projects that solve social problems, and many efforts are already being put into practice. As a practical initiative in the agriculture and food sectors, there is a movement to promote the production of alternative proteins (Good Food Institute), as well as R&D and market entry by private companies. In addition, research is being conducted to focus on the awareness and behavior of individuals who engage in donation behavior based on EA, and to analyze the factors that promote and inhibit it (e.g., Jaeger and van Vugt 2022 ). However, there are no examples of empirically analyzing the decision-making and actions of existing businesses and companies from the perspective of EA.

2.3 Social innovation in rice market

Kiminami et al. ( 2021a ) pointed out that the bottleneck in creating innovation in Japan’s rice cultivation to date is that agricultural policies (push policies), including rice policies, have not had the expected effects. Although rice production adjustment has been officially abolished, it still exists as a game equilibrium and customary system, and even if there are structural reforms in the economic realm, cultural belief systems (peasantism) dominate the political and social realm of the system.

On the other hand, Christensen et al. ( 2019 ) classify innovation into three types: sustaining innovation, efficiency innovation, and market-creating innovation, and point out the following: market-creating innovations create new markets that serve people for whom products either did not exist or where existing products were not affordable for a variety of reasons, making complex and expensive products far more affordable. Market-creating innovation is a strong foundation for sustained economic prosperity; for markets to be created and sustained, they must be profitable, or at least have the prospect of producing profits in the future. It is also important to create jobs and, most importantly, to change the culture through new markets. On the other hand, it is pointed out that because a society’s institutions reflect the culture and values of its people, a pull strategy is needed, rather than simply pushing effective institutions.

Social innovation (SI) is a new solution to meet social needs. It also leads to new or better capabilities and relationships, and better utilization of resource assets, increasing a society's ability to act (Murray et al. 2010 ). Europe explicitly incorporated SI in its food and agricultural innovation policies in 2010 (European Commission 2010 ). In 2020, the "Farm to Fork Strategy (F2F)" was launched with the aim of creating a sustainable food system, and it is introducing policies that place particular emphasis on addressing environmental and climate change issues (European Commission 2020 ). These can be said to be policy innovations that combine push and pull strategies to promote SI in the food and agriculture sector by popularizing the CSV-type management.

2.4 Long tail theory and corporate strategy

Traditionally, sales at brick-and-mortar stores focused on best-selling products, which accounted for about 20% of the total sales, based on the Pareto principle (80% of sales are generated by 20% of good customers). However, consumer choice theory in economics has been extended to accept considerations, such as the cost of information gathering, the incompleteness of information, and the limitations of consumers’ cognitive abilities in gathering and processing information.

As Anderson ( 2008 ) has argued, e-commerce and other new technologies improve efficiency by facilitating the entry of new producers and innovations, creating a “long tail” of niche products. And reducing the market share of previously popular products. However, the development of a long-tail market requires not only an efficient distribution system for a wide variety of products and services, but also the ability to meet consumers with diverse niche needs and provide products and services that meet their needs. Salvador et al. ( 2020 ) found that business success in long-tail markets requires reducing the cost of creating and maintaining large assortments on the supply side and exploring large assortments on the demand side.

However, the characteristics of a company’s long-tail strategy differ depending on the characteristics of the business (e.g., online retailer, brick-and-mortar retailer, manufacturer, etc.). Therefore, to establish a long-tail market, promotions that increase latent demand in the tail, a system that can supply many niche products at low prices, mechanization, and mass customization to efficiently produce a wide variety of products in small quantities are necessary (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries 2019 ). Furthermore, Kiminami et al. ( 2021b ) explicitly used the long-tail market concept to study the Japanese rice market. The results showed that rice consumption can be expanded through market-creating innovation to expand the head portion by satisfying latent needs for rice, and expand the tail potion by doing business that leverages consumers’ internal motivation.

2.5 Organizational learning

There are various theories on organizational learning, each with different learning subjects, purposes, processes, and styles. Huber ( 1991 ) describes organizational learning as a process by which an organization acquires new information and knowledge, periodically modifies that knowledge, and changes the organization’s potential scope of action. Senge ( 2006 ) considers an organization that continuously develops its ability to adapt and change to be a learning organization, with growth in five areas: systems thinking, personal mastery, mental models, building a shared vision, and team learning. According to Iriyama ( 2019 ), in business administration, innovation is a part of organizational learning in a broad sense, and it is common to acquire new knowledge through learning and reflect it in organizational outcomes.

Tippins and Sohi ( 2003 ) used structural equation modeling to evaluate the introduction of organizational learning in IT companies using four indicators (knowledge acquisition, knowledge diffusion, knowledge interpretation, and organizational memory), and found that organizational learning has an impact on corporate performance. Furthermore, Attia and Eldin ( 2018 ) analyzed the impact of knowledge management capabilities, organizational learning, and supply chain management on organizational performance of food companies in Saudi Arabia, and found that organizational learning improves corporate performance. Furthermore, Kiminami et al. ( 2024 ) clarified the relationship between a company’s management philosophy, management strategy, and management performance.

3 Analytical framework and methods

3.1 analytical framework.

Based on the results of the literature review above, we frame our research questions as follows: What is the current situation of CSV-type management in rice flour-related businesses in Japan? What are the conditions for approaching CSV management under the circumstances? If policy innovation is required for rice flour-related businesses? The analytical framework for this study is shown in Fig.  1 . To achieve the research purpose, we formulate the following hypotheses for verification. In addition, in this study, latent class analysis (LCA) will be applied to verify Hypothesis 1 and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) will be applied to verify Hypothesis 2.

Analytical framework

Hypothesis 1: There are very few rice flour-related businesses in Japan that have approached CSV-type management.

Hypothesis 2: A sufficient condition for approaching CSV-type management in rice flour-related businesses is the combination of the management philosophy of effective altruism and various management strategies (long tail/organizational learning/innovation/stakeholder proposals).

3.2 Data and analysis methods

3.2.1 questionnaire survey.

The questionnaire was distributed to retailers and stores listed on each Agricultural Administration Bureau website, members of the National Rice Flour Association (only those listed on the website), companies supporting the R10 Project, Footnote 1 and rice flour distributors. The survey was conducted by mail in September 2022, and the final distributed number was 974 (excluding those to unknown addresses), and the returned number was 240. The main asked questions include basic attributes (industry classification, number of employees, sales), effective altruism, market potential, organizational learning, innovation, and management performance. Table 1 is a summary of surveyed attributes. Looking at the industries, “food manufacturing” accounts for more than half, followed by “agriculture, forestry and fisheries”, “food distribution”, and “restaurant”. In terms of sales, “10 million yen to less than 30 million yen” was the most common, followed by “100 million yen to less than 500 million yen” and “less than 10 million yen”. The percentage of companies with sales of 500 million or more is about 24.3%, and large companies account for a certain number. In terms of number of employees, “0 to 5 or less” was the highest, followed by “6 to 20 or less” and “21 to 50 or less”. In addition, 231 samples were used in the analysis, excluding samples whose basic attributes were not answered (Appendix 1 ).

3.2.2 Mixed methods research

Traditional research has adopted either the “qualitative method”, which understands phenomena by describing them in detail and accurately, or the “quantitative method”, which captures phenomena quantitatively and understands them through statistical analysis. However, to elucidate complex phenomena and problems, the data to be collected and analysis methods may become complex. For this reason, a mixed methods approach that integrates qualitative and quantitative research is currently attracting attention as a research method.

Creswell and Plano Clark ( 2017 ) summarized mixed methods approaches into three types: convergent designs, explanatory sequential designs, and exploratory sequential designs. In a convergent design, quantitative and qualitative data are collected and analyzed separately, and the results of the analyses are combined or compared. In an explanatory sequential design, quantitative data are collected and analyzed first, then qualitative data are collected and analyzed to explain the results. An exploratory sequential design first explores an issue through qualitative data collection and analysis, followed by quantitative data collection and analysis to develop measurements and interventions based on the findings. The mixed methods approach used in this study collects quantitative data from a questionnaire survey to extract CSV-type management through latent class analysis (LCA), and analyses the conditions for realizing CSV-type management through QCA (qualitative comparative analysis). Therefore, it is a mixed methods approach with an explanatory sequential design.

3.2.2.1 Latent class analysis (LCA)

Latent class analysis is a method that identifies the latent types (= latent classes) that a population of respondents consists of and reveals the structure of each (Bollen 2002 ; Magidson 2020 ). In recent years, researches applying LCA have been increasing in those such as consumer knowledge and environmentally conscious behavior in food selection (Peschel et al. 2016 ), joint venture decision-making in agriculture (Kragt et al. 2019 ), and farmers' willingness to pay for animal welfare investments (Peden et al. 2019 ). Therefore, it is also effective in analyzing long-tail markets, where diversity of preferences and behavioral patterns of economic agents is important.

3.2.2.2 Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)

QCA is a standard method for drawing causal relationships from a small number of cases. QCA is innovative in that it uses set theory and Boolean algebra to systematize formal procedures for inferring causal relationships from case comparisons. Research results using QCA have increased rapidly since the 2010s, and have been published mainly in business administration, political science, environmental studies, sociology, etc. (Oana et al. 2021 ). The method characteristics of QCA are that small data can be analyzed, even fuzzy concepts can be analyzed, integrated analysis with cases is easy, and causal complexity (inferring complex causal paths from cause to effect) can be revealed from cases.

QCA is effective in bridging quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis, so it is effective to use it as one of the analysis methods in mixed methods research. For example, in an empirical study that combines SEM and QCA, Torres et al. ( 2021 ) used SEM and fsQCA to clarify the process and necessary and sufficient conditions for the influence of gamification on consumer brand loyalty.

4 Analytical results

4.1 results of latent class analysis (lca).

Here, we use the technique of latent class analysis (LCA) to classify rice flour-related businesses. As a result of searching for the optimal number of classes using Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), the optimal number was two for the BIC standard and four for the AIC standard (Appendix 2 ). Considering interpretability, the number of classes was finally set to four (AIC = 2661.833, BIC = 2947.554, Chi-square value = 1010.19). Table 2 shows the analysis results when the number of classes is specified as four, and shows the proportion of each class and the expected probability for each question item.

Class 1 businesses selected many items for “current performance'' and many answered “Strongly agree'' to all items for “future prospects'', so these businesses can be interpreted as CSV-type managements (attribution probability:18.3%). Among Class 2 businesses, those who answered "no selection" for "current performance" and "strongly disagree" or "somewhat disagree" for all items of "future prospects" were the most likely, and they can be interpreted as non-CSV type I managements (attribution probability 13.4%). On the other hand, Class 3 businesses have "1" or "4" selections for "current performance" and answered "somewhat agree" to all items for "business prospects", and they can be interpreted as a weak CSV or CSR type managements (attribution probability: 39.3%). Finally, Class 4 businesses have the second highest percentage of respondents who answered “no selection” for “current performance” and the largest number of respondents responded “neither agree nor disagree” for all items of “future prospects”, they can be interpreted as non-CSV type II managements (attribution probability: 29.0%).

Next, we performed a cross-tabulation analysis based on the above LCA results, and found that CSV-type management is characterized by "secondary processing", "membership of the Rice Flour Association", and a “management philosophy” of effective altruism (Table  3 ).

On the other hand, regarding management strategy, it was found that CSV-type management emphasizes “latent demand'' (market potential), organizational learning, potential head markets, tail markets, and proposals from stakeholders (Table  4 ). Furthermore, regarding innovation, CSV-type management emphasizes all four innovation types (Table  5 ), and regarding management results, it emphasizes both "current performance" and “future prospects” (Table  6 )

To summarize the results of LCA and cross-tabulation analysis, CSV-type rice flour-related businesses have following characteristics: secondary processing and sales, members of related associations, and a high level of effective altruism as management philosophy. This means that CSV-type companies place the highest priority on effectively resolving social issues through rice flour-related businesses and are striving for sustainable business development. In addition, the companies’ management strategy for realizing this goal is to view the rice flour market as a niche market with high potential, and to stimulate multifaceted innovation related to rice flour through organizational learning and collaboration with stakeholders. As a result, the business performances are improving. However, there are very few corporates that have approached CSV management in rice flour-related businesses (Class 1: 18.3%). Our Hypothesis 1 is supported.

4.2 Results of qualitative comparative analysis (QCA)

The QCA in this study is performed with reference to previous research (Tamura 2015 ; Yokoyama and Azuma 2022 ). The flow of analysis is: (1) setting up and coding of causal conditions and outcome, (2) analysis of necessary conditions, and (3) analysis of sufficient conditions. The analysis used the software packages of R and SetMethods for QCA (Oana et al. 2021 ; Mori 2017 , 2018 ).

Based on the literature review and analysis results of previous research, we set and coded the following five factors as the cause conditions for the success of rice flour-related businesses in creating shared value (Table  7 ). In this research, we set "future business prospects" as an outcome and conduct analysis. The data matrix after coding is shown in Appendix 3 .

First, we conduct a necessary condition analysis for approaching CSV management in rice flour-related businesses. The results of the analysis are shown in Table  8 , with "future prospects" as the business outcome. In general, the standard for the degree of consistency in necessary condition analysis is high, with a value of 0.9 or higher being considered as a guideline. Among the analysis results of this research, there are no causal conditions for which the degree of consistency is 0.9 or higher. Therefore, there are no factors that can be said to be necessary conditions for approaching CSV management in rice flour-related businesses. However, among the positive groups, the one with the highest degree of consistency is stakeholders (0.71), followed by innovation (0.70) and effective altruism (0.66).

Second, we complete a truth table to explore the sufficient conditions for CSV success in rice flour-related businesses. Footnote 2 In standard QCA analysis, there are three solutions: “complex solution”, “simplest solution”, and “intermediate solution”, each with different assumptions regarding logical residuals. Since it is generally recommended to use an “intermediate solution”, the results of the intermediate solution are used here as well. The completed truth table is shown in Appendix 4 .

Table 9 and Fig.  2 show the results of the “intermediate solution” regarding future prospects. The logical formula are derived from I to V as follows. The consistency level of the results was set at 0.8. All directional predictions of causal conditions were assumed to be “present”. The consistency of solution is 0.851 and the coverage is 0.857, so the results are generally good. The inherent coverage is all less than 0.1. There are four relevant combinations: effective altruism and stakeholders; organizational learning and innovation; long tail and innovation; and effective altruism and long tail. It can be said that an appropriate combination of these causal conditions is necessary to improve the business prospects of CSV-type companies.

Venn diagram of intermediate solution for sufficiency conditions

FuzEfAltru2*FuzStHold (I)

 + FuzOL*FuzInno (II)

 +  ~ FuzLongTail*FuzStHold (III)

 + FuzLongTail*FuzInno (IV)

 + FuzEfAltru2* ~ FuzOL*FuzLongTail (V)

To summarize the results of QCA, there are no factors that can be said to be necessary conditions, and the relative importance of stakeholders, innovation, and effective altruism was confirmed. On the other hand, regarding sufficient conditions, it has been revealed that the combinations of the management philosophy of effective altruism and various management strategies (innovation, long-tail, stakeholder, and organizational learning) are important. Companies that carry out CSV-type management related to rice flour are causing SI through businesses that aim to solve social issues. Our Hypothesis 2 is supported.

5 Conclusions and policy implications

In this study, we conducted an analysis using mixed methods research (MMR) with the aim of clarifying the conditions for approaching CSV management in domestic rice flour-related businesses. Based on the above-mentioned analysis, we obtained the following results.

Table 10 shows the types of policies based on the strengths and weaknesses of push-type strategies and pull-type strategies. Japan's rice policy to date has focused on a push-type strategy (Policy B) in the absence of a pull-type strategy, and production has been promoted in a direction that does not match the latent needs of consumers or social needs. There was a lack of perspective on fostering and expressing the entrepreneurship of producers. As a result, market-creating innovations that can increase both economic and social value have not been realized. In general, the development of the rice flour-related business is strongly determined by the regional supply structure of raw material rice both in terms of price and quality, and is influenced by overall rice policy. Like the overall rice policy, the policy for rice flour-related business emphasizes a push-type strategy at the production stage of raw material rice (Policy B), and some pull-type strategies in the distribution, processing, and sales stages. Under the circumstances, only some of the rice flour-related businesses that engaged in distribution, processing, and sales are approaching CSV management. Therefore, CSV-type managements in rice flour-related business are in the infant stage. Considering the situation at the regional level, Kumamoto Prefecture (type C) has a strong tendency toward a pull-type strategy, and Niigata Prefecture has a push-type strategy (type B). Footnote 3

To promote rice flour-related businesses to approach CSV management in the future, it is necessary to have policy innovation that integrates pull-type and push-type strategies (Policy A). First, there is a need to form clusters for rice flour-related businesses crossing boundaries of industries and regions. The current push-type strategy emphasizes the formation of food system for rice flour within the regions without rationality. Second, it is important not only to respond to consumers' latent needs and increase consumption, but also to bring about a change in stakeholders’ awareness in the form of a cultural change regarding rice flour (both consumer side and producer/supply side). Thirdly, it is important for each rice flour-related business to evolve the management philosophy of effective altruism and constantly review and explore management strategies through systematic triple-loop learning (Barbat et al. 2011 ). Finally, rice flour-related businesses are expected to expand from micro-level SI activities to macro-level activities that transcend industries, regions, and national borders, and have an impact on social structures. By facing the issues that have been neglected in the food system such as social needs (food safety and health, etc.) and social value (food security and climate change, etc.), a shared vision can be built through organizational learning.

Data availability

The datasets analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

The R10 project is an initiative implemented in Niigata Prefecture as a movement to replace 10% or more of wheat flour consumption with domestically produced rice flour. Efforts are underway to develop large-scale users, develop demand in new fields, and spread the use of the product in household consumption. Companies that support the project will be registered as supporting companies.

In a complete truth table, when there are five causal conditions, there are 2 5  = 32 possible combinations of existence/absence of the causal conditions.

Niigata Prefecture is the region with the highest production of rice as well as raw material rice for flour. Most of the rice flour-related businesses have been a response to the adjustment of rice production. On the other hand, Kumamoto Prefecture is not a major rice-producing prefecture, but its rice flour-related businesses have been promoted through private initiatives. This has led to the development of popular varieties for rice flour such as Mizuho no Chikara. Additionally, a council made up of rice flour-related businesses has become a platform for innovation creation.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by JSPS KAKENHI under Grant No. 20K06256 (Analysis of social entrepreneurship in urban agriculture: Creating shared value through social business), No. 20H03089 (Comprehensive study on structure and process of entrepreneurship in agriculture and rural sector), and No. 20K12280 (Analysis on innovation of social enterprise for sustainable agriculture and food systems). The authors wish to express our gratitude for the support.

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See Table 11 .

See Fig. 3 .

Scree plot of AIC and BIC versus number of latent classes

See Table 12 .

See Table 13 .

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Kiminami, L., Furuzawa, S. & Kiminami, A. Conditions for approaching shared value creation management in the Japanese rice flour-related business: application of mixed methods research. Asia-Pac J Reg Sci (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41685-024-00342-w

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Received : 18 December 2023

Accepted : 18 May 2024

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s41685-024-00342-w

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