Staying top of mind is no mean feat for brands in the 21st century, with the sheer volume of competitor noise in the marketplace. Adding yet more complexity to the brand manager’s role is the reality that consumer behavior is neither straightforward nor predictable. In fact, the evidence shows that what consumers say and what they do are often two very different things.
The do/say gap has a history of leaving marketers scratching their heads after their brand’s latest initiative has fallen flat despite what the data says. For this reason, brands are looking for more innovative approaches that overcome the shortfalls of traditional market research methods and help them better understand shopper behavior. The answer? Mixed methodologies.
Quantitative versus qualitative market research
Qualitative and quantitative market research methods are designed to give brands important but very different insights into consumer behavior. Where quantitative data offers hard statistics and a broad overview (28% of shoppers are switching stores due to inflationary pressures), qualitative data provides powerful and detailed insights into what drives consumer decisions (Jenny prefers to buy Dove soap because her mother always used it and she has fond memories of the brand, for example). In basic terms, quantitative research shows us the ‘what’, whereas qualitative research aims to give us the ‘why’.
Each of these methods delivers valuable insights into what’s happening both in the market and in the shopper’s mind – helping marketers to act on current trends and predict future ones. Unfortunately, both approaches have their shortcomings.
When consumer behavior doesn’t match the data
“The older I get, the less I listen to what people say and the more I look at what they do.” – Andrew Carnegie
Consider the current trend towards buying ‘green’. Around 65% of shoppers claim to be concerned with making eco-conscious purchases, yet the research shows that only 26% of them follow through in their buying behavior. And while we know that 10% of consumers are switching stores to avoid impulse buying, what do the numbers show us about the decline (if any) of impulse purchases? Likely, the desire to avoid KitKat temptation at the check-out counter doesn’t quite equate to a chocolate-free shopping cart for most shoppers.
In academic research done by some of our team at Explorer Research, respondents to a qualitative study claimed to exercise four to six times per week. But the quantitative approach revealed that it was more likely to be once or twice per week for most participants. So, why are consumers skirting the truth? Is it a genuine desire to deceive, or something more subtle? It could be societal pressure to be perceived to be virtuous, a wish to impress the researcher, or any number of strange and unpredictable human behaviors. If marketing experiments of the past have taught us anything, it’s that market research is not an exact science. When working with human behavior, we can take nothing at face value.
Does that mean brands should ditch the market research altogether? Absolutely not. Nor does it mean reinventing the wheel. With two powerful methodologies at our disposal, it simply means taking a new approach; bridging the gap between qualitative and quantitative data to create research results more valuable than the sum of their parts.
Mixing methodologies means the best of both worlds
Both quantitative and qualitative market research are invaluable to brands. The numbers produced through quantitative data help researchers to calculate variables and predict outcomes based on everything from the number of items in the average shopping cart to the stopping power of a planogram placement, thanks to eye-tracking technology. One the other hand, qualitative research offers compelling insights into the lived experience of shoppers, through surveys that ask for detailed stories about purchasing decisions and the customer’s hierarchy of needs.
Both research methods are effective to a point, yet both stop short of providing a full picture. Mixing both qualitative and quantitative methodologies offers consumer behavior specialists the opportunity to create a balanced and real-world picture of shopper behavior.
For example, whether a study is qualitative or quantitative might not be the most burning question a brand manager has. Instead, he or she knows they need a planogram study for shelving displays in a particular supermarket chain, to better understand the impact packaging and placement are having on shopper behavior. At first glance, the solution may seem simple. Eye-tracking technology will reveal which product is top-of-mind and getting the most attention. But even this doesn’t provide the full picture. Experienced researchers understand that adding a qualitative interview after an eye-tracking study can improve the results by revealing the motivations behind buyers’ behavior.
“As researchers who favor the pragmatic over the academic, we know that the more information we can gather, the more credible and trustworthy insights we can deliver. By mixing methodologies, we can generate a more robust set of data that delivers not only hard numbers but deep insights into consumer behavior. In doing so, we not only create value for our clients, but help brands develop products and experiences that customers relate to and enjoy.” – James Brandner, Explorer Research
Here at Explorer Research, we know that many brand managers prefer to work with quantitative data. Reading the numbers and making conclusions based on that data is second nature to marketers. But by digging a little deeper, and extending a study to include a qualitative component, the study results are enriched with narrative, emotion, and motivation from study participants.
Better still, qualitative and quantitative methods can be combined in tailored ratios, to deliver on the specific type of data a brand requires, and within the budget and timeframe available to them. From an 85% quantitative/15% qualitative mix, to any number of combinations, mixing methodologies gives brands more control over the type of results delivered, to provide the most valuable and workable research data possible.
