Market Information Management - Qualitative …srprojects.free.fr/desgest/downloads2/20051005-MIM_qualitative.pdfMarket Information Management - Qualitative Market Research Vincent

Market Information Management -Qualitative Market Research

VincentVincent GeleynsGeleyns, Philippe Mauchard, Philippe Mauchard

Brussels, October 5th, 2005Brussels, October 5th, 2005

SOLVAY BUSINESS SCHOOL, ULB

BRU_ZWF009_20051004_ Marketing research qualitative

1Market Information Management

OVERVIEW OF THE MARKET INFORMATION MANAGEMENT PROCESS

Critical steps for designing qualitative research

Critical steps for designing quantitative research

Study / surveyexecution

Informationanalysis

Market researchset-up

Feedback on strategy / results

Marketinformationcollection

Marketing strategydevelopment

Marketingstrategyimplementation



QuestionsQuestionsto considerto consider

Process is often highly iterative

Develop theDevelop theoverall researchoverall researchdesigndesign

DecideDecidesamplesample

Write theWrite thediscussiondiscussionguideguide

EnhanceEnhancethe groupsthe groups

OVERVIEW OF THE MARKET INFORMATIONMANAGEMENT PROCESS



CRITICAL STEPS IN DESIGNING QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

• What are theresearch objectives

• How many groups/interviews are beingconsidered

• Which specificqualitative techniqueis most appropriate









EXAMPLES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

What is thesize andscope of mymarket andwho are thecompetitors?

What is thebest way tosegment themarket/ aretheresegmentswhose needsare not beingmet?

Do I offer asuperiorproduct andprice valuepropositionto mysegments?

Do I offer asuperiorservicevalueproposition tomysegments?

Is my brandpositioningappropriatefor mysegments?

Do I havesystems inplace tomonitor myperformance?

Are mymarketingexpendituresefficiently andeffectivelyspent to reachmysegments?



1

5–20

• When you need tointerview a fewspecific people,when there are alimited numberof potentialrespondents.When issuesrequireconfidentiality orsensitivity

• Quick and simpleto organise.Great for videos

• Time consumingto conduct

2

4–10

• When decision-making involves2 people e.g.,husband and wifeor when theremay bedivergence inviews that youwant to explore atsome length

• Refined decision-making process,easy to recruit,richer, in-depthfeedback

• You lose thevalue of groupinteractions

4–5

2–12

• Whenrespondents areslightly difficultto recruit andthe topic isstraight forward

• Quick, very easyto video,excellent foransweringspecific questions

• Not very creative

7–10

2–8

• Whenrespondents areeasy to recruit andrelativelyhomogeneous.Topic beingresearchedneeds creativity

• Flexible, can beorganised inviewing facilities,generates goodgroup dynamics

• Difficult to achievehigh quality video;Difficult to probeinto all divergentview points

15–30

1

• When time islimited and youneed to testreactions toearlyhypotheses

• Provides semi-quantitativereaction to newideas

• Impossible tovideo; not verycreative

TYPES OF QUALITATIVE STRUCTURES

Group size

Number of groups

When you use it

Main benefits

Main limitations /weaknesses

One-to-One’s Diads Mini groups Standard groups Workshops



TYPE OF RESEARCH METHOD DEPENDANTON CREATIVITY LEVEL

Creative

Factual

Factual Creative

Insi

gh

tn

eed

edab

ou

tth

esu

bje

ct/t

op

ic

Insight needed about the participants

Internet groups

One-2-One Interviews

Focus Groups

Exploratory groups

Iterative groups

Van groupsExpert groups /Delphi panels

Two way groups

Experiencing groups Extendedcreativity groups

Nominal groups



FOCUS GROUPS

• . . . facilitates understanding ofcustomer needs andmotivations underlying theirbehaviour

• . . . is relatively cheap andeffective in exploring initialhypothesis or generating newprofiles

• . . . generates insight thatenables refinement of attributesor questions to be used for thequantitative and researchphase

• . . . facilitates understanding ofcustomer needs andmotivations underlying theirbehaviour

• . . . is relatively cheap andeffective in exploring initialhypothesis or generating newprofiles

• . . . generates insight thatenables refinement of attributesor questions to be used for thequantitative and researchphase

A focus group . . .



CLINICAL GROUPS - INTERPRETATIVE

What is it?

When doyou use it?

How do youdo it?

What do youget out of it?

• Approximately 1.5-2 hour discussion among 7-10 people led by a trainedmoderator typically with expertise in psychology and sociology.Research is carried out scientifically based on the premise that aperson's true motivations and feelings are subconscious in nature.Critically, the moderator probes and interprets under the level of thecustomers consciousness to reach a level of understanding and insightwhich is qualitatively different from the participant's understanding

• When you need to understand underlying reasons for behaviour and donot think that respondents will be able to rationalise their actions, e.g.,purchasing of luxury products

• Conduct focus groups• Moderator interprets focus groups using a psycho-dynamic theory to

interpret underlying behaviour, e.g., Freud, Jung etc. NB: it is criticalthat both the researcher and the team / client subscribe to the theory ofbehaviour before the groups are carried out

• Deep insight beyond anything that normal respondents may articulate –or nothing at all!



CLINICAL FOCUS GROUPS – EXAMPLE OUTPUT

• Clinical groups were conducted to understand why women were resistantto non-dairy coffee creamers

• The women were asked to role-play in the groups. Half were asked torole play-"the coffee" and the other half, "the creamer"

• When role playing the coffee they acted tough and strong, where roleplaying the creamer they were much softer, embraced each other more

• This was interpreted in terms of underlying masculine-femininepersonality dynamics

• The recommendation was therefore to feminise the creamer packagingand show male-female interactions in the advertising



THE "NOMINAL" GROUP

Used to generate ideas and new concepts

Problem / issue � individual idea creation

Gathering of all individual ideas on a white board

Asking some clarification about ideas and gathering ofsimilar ideas

Individually, vote for ideas which appears to be the mostrelevant concerning the issue

Phase I

Phase II

Phase III

Phase IV



THE "NOMINAL" GROUP

• Moderator calculates frequencies of each ideas• Discussion about the merits of the ideas appearing most frequently• At the last round, individually, one can revise its judgement• The participants give an « importance » score for each of the

retained items• The ideas and the importance of those are then sent to the person

who requested the study



TWO WAY GROUPS

What is it?

When do youuse it?

How do youdo it?


• Two sequential discussions. First group of 7-10 people discusses a subject for1.5-2 hrs, while being watched by a second group of people. Second groupdiscusses the view of the first group

• When trying to educate a group of people before asking them to express theiropinions, e.g., doctors may watch a group of patients talk about the symptoms of aparticular illness

• Hire a moderator• Recruit two sets of participants• Prepare two discussion guide• Attend both focus group(s)• Videotape both groups• Debrief moderator to determine conclusions• Edit video tapes to communicate conclusions

• Deeper insight into solving a problem that involves a two-way interaction and/ormay be difficult to understand



VAN GROUPS

What is it?

When do youuse it?

How do youdo it?


• Approximately 5-6 hour sessions when participants travel to different locations for areal-time experience (e.g., visit 2-3 different stores) and discuss each experiencein the van. Typically each experience is up to 30 minutes, followed by a 30-minutevan discussion

• This is followed by a 1-1/2 to 2 hour end-of-day focus group at a facility

• When immediate experience is essential to generate rich feedback on the likes,dislikes, reactions to atmosphere, service elements, etc., influencing apurchase decision

• Recruit 6-7 respondents willing to participate in a long session (typically need toprovide attractive monetary incentives)

• Gather at a facility and drive along a predetermined route to visit target locations.Choice of locations and facility must be optimized to reduce dead travel time

• Moderator and observers accompany participants in the van and at location visits(optional)

• Traditional focus group with back room viewing at the end of day

• Bonding among participants due to length of time spent together results in morecandid feedback

• Real-time experiences refresh memories and result in more insightful commentsand suggestions

• Tries to replicate the actual purchase / decision process




• What are theresearchobjectives

• How manygroups /interviews arebeing considered

• Which specificqualitativetechnique ismost appropriate

• Who is going tobe interviewed

• Where are thegroups going tobe conducted

• How will therespondents berecruited









1. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSINGTHE GROUP PARTICIPANTS

• Who are the users of existing / brands / categories, lapsed users,rejecters and non-users?

• What characteristic of the product or service may cause differentreactions among different types of people? Who are those people?

• Is this product or service analogous to another product or category.Should you interview people who use that product category?

• Who are the most valuable customers / potential customers?



2. LOCATIONS FOR CONDUCTING GROUPS

What is it?

When do youuse it?

Main benefits

Mainlimitations

• Typically conductingfocus groups in anagency view facilitywhich has a two waymirror

• When conducting pointof purchase or point ofusage groups is notappropriate e.g., needto keep researchconfidential, difficult torecruit respondents tolocation, will not addvalue to research

• Convenience ofrecruiting

• Multiple people canview groups

• Customers are placed inan artificial environment

In viewing facility

• Conducting focusgroups in ‘natural’usage environment,e.g., in home, not atworkplace

• When trying to discoverissues relating toenvironment in whichproduct / service is used

• Customers in naturalusage environment

• Heightened stimulus

• Difficult to view groups• Difficult to get people to

locations

Point of usage

• Conducting focusgroups in naturalpurchasingenvironment e.g., in-store at car showrooms

• When ultimate brandpurchase decisionoccurs in-store

• Customers in theirnatural purchasingenvironment

• Difficult to allow multiplepeople to view groups

Point of purchase



3. RECRUITMENT STRATEGY

Highpenetration

Lowpenetration

Businessto business Consumer

Per

cen

tag

eo

fp

eop

lein

po

pu

lati

on

wh

oq

ual

ify

toat

ten

dd

iscu

ssio

n

Type of respondents

Lead users

Piggy backing Snowballing

Client customer listsHeightened creativity

Friendship pairs

Random dialling

Newspaper /magazineadverts




• What are the 3main questionsthat need to beanswered

• How sensitive /complex is thesubject matter




• Who is goingto beinterviewed

• Where are thegroups goingto beconducted

• How will therespondentsbe recruited









WRITING A DISCUSSION GUIDE

• Discussionatmosphere

• The discussion guide• Role of the moderator

• Categories ofquestions

• Phrasing of questions• Follow-ups• Probes• Questions to avoid• 10 classic questions

to ask in a group

• Developing the overallstructure

• Specific hints toenhance the flow ofthe discussion

• Example discussionguide

Basic principlesBasic principles How to askHow to askgood questionsgood questions

QuestionQuestionsequencingsequencing



THE DISCUSSION ATMOSPHERE

Type ofdiscussion

Type ofquestion

Groupcomposition

Groupparticipants

• Conversational

• Direct, forthright, comfortable andsimple

• Homogeneous respondents

• Articulate, confident and imaginativebut still representative of their group

• Stilted questions

• Unclear, ambiguous or embarrassing

• Highly disparate individuals

• Highly introverted, shy or non-representative of this group

Ideal environment Situations to avoid



THE DISCUSSION GUIDE

Overallcontent

Specificquestions

Length

• Identifies and prioritises the 3–5 mainareas that need to be investigated

• Overall phrasing of questionsagreed, but plenty of scope made forrevisions to the phrasing and order ofthe questions as the group is beingconducted

• 1–3 pages of questions, with clearprioritisation of areas to investigateand ‘nice to have’ subjects

Ideal guide

• No clear structure or priority of topicsto discuss

• Rigid expectation that every questionwill be asked verbatim, in the order ofthe guide

• 3+ pages of densely packedquestions. No priority betweenquestions

Situations to avoid



• Not a judge but moderator• Warm, welcoming, has this extra quality of empathy• Makes sure that everyone has the word

– Encourage the shy people to speak out– Calm the "leaders"

• Does not become involved in the discussion• Regularly, focuses the debate, gives momentum

– Rephrases neutraly (« You just told me that…),directly or with a delay

– Rephrases as a summary– Rephrases but as a "clarification" / interpretation

ROLE OF THE MODERATOR



QUESTIONNAIRE SEQUENCE

• Participants get acquaintedand feel connected

• Begins discussion of topic

• Moves smoothly andseamlessly into keyquestions

• Obtains insight on areas ofcentral concern to the study

• Helps researchersdetermine where to placeemphasis and bringsclosure to the discussion

Purpose

• Tell us your name and where you live

• Describe a healthy heart

• When you think of healthy heart, what comes toyour mind?

• Thinking back to the past several years, have youmade any changes in your diet, exercise, orpersonal habits? Tell us about them

• What prompted these changes?Follow-up: Friends, family or neighbours, writteninformation, media messages, medical advice,physical health, desire to change

• Which of those mentioned was most influential• Tell us about the things you tried to do but

discontinued; the changes you tried to make butwere not successful

• We are trying to help people make healthychanges to their lives. What advice do you havefor us?

Example for study on healthy hearts

Opening

Introduction

Transition

Key

Ending

Question type



PHRASING OF QUESTIONS

• What do you think of . . .• How do you feel . . .• Where do you go for . . .

• Thinking back to the last time youwent to the hospital, how were youtreated?

• What are the three things youthink of when buying . .

• Please rate this product on a scaleof 1 to 10

• Which of these alternatives do youlike best ? What are its keyfeatures ?

• How would you rank the following…

Example

• It reveals what is on the respondentsmind, as opposed to what theinterview suspects is on theinterviewees mind

• It lets the interviewee know that youwant to be specific and grounded intheir responses, rather than repeating‘hearsay’

• It allows the participants a fewseconds to think

• Forces people to give a definitiveopinion

• Quickly identifies attractive options

Example for study on healthy hearts

Open ended

Thinking back

Listing things

Scales

Choose amongalternatives

Classify

Question type



FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS TO GAINMORE DEPTH – e.g., IF … THEN

• Opinion• Interpretation• Behaviours

• Cause• Resolution

• Antecedents• Consequences

• Response

Follow up (then)

• "What are the needs of our community?" then"Which of these is most important?"

• "What is the major problem in our community?"then "What are the causes?"

• "What’s the greatest challenge facing you today?"then "What should we do about it?"

• "Is violence a growing concern in our schools" then"What should be done about it?"

Example

Facts

Problems

Situation

Stimulus

Set up question(if)



PROBES BY MODERATOR

• Would you explain further?

• Can you give me an example?

• Would you say more?

• Is there anything else?

• I don’t understand

• Please describe what you mean

Example

• Not every comment warrants a probe.Moderators gradually probe more atthe start of a group to set the tone forthe need for detail

Comments

Probes

Question



QUESTIONS TO AVOID

Why

Interviewerprovidesexample

• Why did you go to thezoo?

• How does the handlingof customercomplaints influencehow satisfied you are?

Example

• Break the why questioninto different questions,e.g.– What prompted you

to go to the zoo?– What features of the

zoo do youparticularly like ?

• What influences yoursatisfaction with thecompany ?

Preferred alternative

• Question is too open,respondent mayrespond on the basis of– Influences – e.g.,

because my kidsmade me go

or– Desirable attributes –

e.g., because /wanted to see thewhale

• Limits peoplesresponses to singleideas that many unfairlydominate the discussion

Major problem



TEN CLASSIC QUESTIONS TO ASK IN A FOCUS GROUP

1. If you were in charge, what kind of changes would you make?2. What would it take for this (product) to get a gold star? If this product

received award, what would it be for ?3. If you were the moderator, what would be the next question you would ask

the group ?4. What would you tell a best friend or family member about this product?5. Assume this product could talk, what would it say about itself?6. If you could change any thing about this product, what would you change,

and what’s the main reason that any thing needs changing ?7. What would it take for this to get an A ?8. Can you tell me five positive things to say about this product, no matter how

small that positive this is ?9. If you were responsible for selling this product, what key point would you

stress in the ad campaign ?10. What do you need to know about this product in order to accept or reject it ?

Source: Henderson (1994)



DEVELOPING THE OVERALL STRUCTURE

5 10 20 40 15

OpeningOpeningquestionquestion

IntroductoryIntroductoryquestionsquestions

TransitionTransitionquestionsquestions

KeyKeyquestionsquestions EndingEnding

TimingMinutes

= 1hr 30m



SPECIFIC HINTS TO ENHANCE THEFLOW OF THE DISCUSSION

1. Provide background information to participants – e.g., why the session isbeing held, who the sponsor is, how the information will be used

2. General questions before specific – e.g., broad to narrow, abstract tospecific, open to focused

3. Positive questions before negative questions – e.g., what do you like, andwhat do you dislike

4. The un-cued (open) questions before the cued (closed) questions –"what should be done to fix problem x", then "what do you think about theseideas to fix problem x"

5. Ask participants to give categories / lists before providing the categories /list, – e.g., "Please give me a list of reasons for going to the zoo", then "hereis a list of reasons other people have been given for going to the zoo"

Source: Henderson (1994)



CRITICAL STEPS IN DESIGNINGQUALITATIVE RESEARCH

• What homework bythe respondents

• Which "projective"techniques to useduring the groups

• Do we recontact therespondents

• What are the 3main questionsthat need to beanswered

• How sensitive /complex is thesubject matter




• Who is goingto beinterviewed

• Where are thegroups goingto beconducted

• How will therespondentsbe recruited









APPROACHES TO ENHANCE FOCUSGROUP OUTPUT

• Extended product / service use• Product / service deprivation• Diary keeping• Pantry / wardrobe check• Accompanied shopping trip• Observational research• Real life research• In house visits

• Direct questioning– Laddering– Funneling– Consensor– Brand / product mapping/

groupings• Projective techniques

– Word associations– Symbolic analysis (Semiotics)– Collaging– Complete the sentence– Drawing a picture– Creating analogies /

personifications– Fantasies and daydreams– Thematic apperception tests

• Group activities– Developing a campaign– Role playing

• Face-to-face or telephone one-to-one depth interviews

• Reconvened groups

PrePre--focus group homeworkfocus group homeworkexerciseexercise

Techniques to useTechniques to useduring focus groupduring focus group

PostPost--focus group followfocus group follow--upup



OBSERVATION

Source: McKinsey

What is it?What is it?• Observing consumers/customers in their "natural habitat",

using cameras or discreet tracking by interviewers• May or may not involve a short follow-up interview

What is it usedfor?What is it usedfor?

• Providing detailed, unbiased information on howcustomers purchase and/or consume products andservices– Shopping/consumption patterns and occasions– Decision processes– Frames of reference/Substitute products– Pain points

When is itused?When is itused?

• To generate new product ideas• To guide merchandising strategy• To inform brand strategy• To optimize brand portfolio decisions



EXAMPLES OF INSIGHTS FROM OBSERVATION

Source: McKinsey

U.S. FoodsCompany

Approach

• General Mills observedhow cereal "Cheerios"is consumed in house-holds

• Observed usage of spray-on cooking oil

• Watched car ownersloading cars

Insights

• Parents of small children use"Cheerios" as a convenient andtransportable snack rather thana traditional breakfast

• Customer applied cooking oil tobottom of lawn mowers

• Car owners wrestled often withback seats to fit cargo

• Unknown attributes

Type of insight

• Unusual usage

• Unarticulated needs(led to developmentof mini-vans)



FLOW MAPS FROM OBSERVATION RESEARCH CAN DRIVESTORE LAYOUT DECISIONS

Source: McKinsey

Potential insights

• Very difficult to assemble a meal quickly for "tonight’sdinner" from the center store

• Key consumer segments do not even venture intocenter store on critical shopping occasions

L1L1

S3

CW

L1C6P4

CW

CDCW CWCW

M2

C4K1

RRCW CWLAYAWAY

P2 S2A1

F4

CW

D1

H4 H2C1

S1O3F1

F2

F1

H3 E1 H1

P3H5

T2

H5

H1C5P4

H3

F3

P1

P5

S4

N1

C3 B1

B2M

FIT

M1G1

N1

WFIT

W2W3

W7

28% of theseshoppers completed

the loop

L1L1

S3

CW

L1C6P4

CW

CDCW CWCW

M2

C4K1

RRCW CWLAYAWAYCW CWLAYAWAY

P2 S2A1

F4

CW

H4 H2C1

S1O3F1

F2

F1

H3 E1 H1

P3H5

T2

H5

H1C5P4

H3

F3

P1

P5

S4

N1

C3 B1

MFIT

M1

N1

WFIT

W2W3

W7 W8

W9

J1

W5

W4

W3

W6

W1

CW

CW

T1

R1

28% of these shopperscompleted the loop


17% of shop-persturned left upon

entering

36% of shop-persturned right upon

entering


47% of shop-persentered the middle



OTHER EXAMPLES OF USING OBSERVATIONAL RESEARCH

Source: McKinsey

Company Description

• Developed "Follow Me Home" methodology, wheremarketers and engineers observe customersinstalling software at home

• Observed consumers to understand their needsrelated to refrigerator usage

• Recommended product design to maximizecapacity while recognizing consumers’ constraintson space

• Developed occasion-based approach, afterconsumer observation revealed that occasion is akey driver in the canned tuna market

• Reorganized store, based on discovery that coredepartments were not easily accessible

Consumer DurablesManufacturer

Packaged GoodsManufacturer

Department Store



OBSERVATIONAL RESEARCH: EXAMPLES

• A pharmaceutical company follows GPs around all day to identifyproblems / stresses they face

• Honda sent R&D engineers to showrooms in California to see howAmericans interact with their car

• Small video cameras in retail stores record how customers makedecisions at the shelf

• Ivory soap was created by observing that women tended to lose theirsoap when washing clothes in the Ohio rive

• A supermarket accompanied a number of its shoppers around the storeto evaluate the store layout and the key stress points of shopping

• A house in West London has been equipped with cameras in every roomso that companies can record people using their products in a real lifeenvironment

• Sega developed game centres to observe customers using products onan ongoing basis



LIVING AS THE CONSUMER

Source: McKinsey

What is it?What is it?• Spending time alongside consumers in their natural

habitat, sharing their behaviors and experiences

What is it usedfor?What is it usedfor?

• Understanding how customers behave and interactwith products and services in context

• Determining their needs and how the brandexperience fits with their needs

• Understanding customer pain-points• Immersing management in the consumer mindset

When is itused?When is itused?

• To generate new product ideas• To guide product/service performance improvements• To inform brand strategy• To embed customer insights within the

organization



LIVING AS THE CONSUMER

• Senior managers role played the segments and purchased outfits for different wear occasions• They then dressed mannequins in these outfits and had to describe their shopping

experiences, where they bought each item and why, and how much each outfit cost –just as the segment character would

• Senior managers role played the segments and purchased outfits for different wear occasions• They then dressed mannequins in these outfits and had to describe their shopping

experiences, where they bought each item and why, and how much each outfit cost –just as the segment character would

"Super Trendy""Super Trendy""Fashion Maven""Fashion Maven""Value Seeker""Value Seeker"

CASE EXAMPLEWOMEN’S APPAREL

Source: McKinsey



OTHER EXAMPLES OF LIVING AS THE CONSUMER

Source: McKinsey

Company Description

• Managers stay in touch with consumers by ridingalongside them at company-sponsored events

• Lived with consumer families to gain deeper insight• Led to innovative product development resulting in

24% increased sales in football in 2002

• Design engineers took lodgings with Japanesefamilies to understand how they used their cars



EXTENDED PRODUCT / SERVICE USE

What is it?

When doyou use it?

Mainbenefits

Mainlimitations

Example

• Focus group participants are given product / service prototype to usefor 1 week prior to group discussion

• When objective is to solicit feedback on a new product / service and/orwhere usage is required for customer understanding

• Feedback based on actual experience. All participants will havesomething to contribute

• Practicality of having product / service prototype available, confidentiality

• When conducting research into benefits of instant cameras, consumerswere asked to use product for 1 week period

• Insight generated: "takes pictures" regular cameras cannot, e.g.,personal photos of girlfriend, photos of spectacle frame in store forhusband who could not go shopping with wife



PRODUCT / SERVICE DEPRIVATION

What is it?

When doyou use it?

Mainbenefits

Mainlimitations

Example

• Focus group participants are asked not to use product / service for 1week prior to group discussion

• Useful for uncovering new opportunities for commodity products /services

• Heightened sensitivity to "value" of product / service in customer’slife. All respondents will have something to contribute

• Participant compliance and practicality of total deprivation

• When conducting research into benefits of milk, consumers were askedto not use product for a 1 week period

• Insight generated – milk is such an "everyday essential" and it enhancesthe pleasure of many occasions, e.g, taking a coffee break, social event



DIARY KEEPING

What is it?

When doyou use it?

Mainbenefits

Mainlimitations

Example

• Focus group participants are asked to record product / service usageover 1 week period prior to group discussion, e.g., what, when, where,with whom

• When objective is to understand usage occasions and ensuingbehaviour

• Rich source of actual customer behaviour information to use as promptin group discussion

• Rely on honesty of participants to maintain diary accurately

• When conducting research on apparel purchase decisions• Participants were asked to record design and last 3 apparel purchase

trips, and to classify their clothing in a diary prior to the group discussion



RESULT FROM "DIARY SURVEY": HIGH WEEKEND ANDLOW WEEKLY SPENDING ON TV SPOTS NOTREFLECTED IN CONSUMER VIEWERSHIP PATTERNS

0.690.59

0.74

0.350.51

1.60

1.19

0

100

200

300

Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat Sun0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

Consumerswatching TVMinutes per day

Customer contacts viaTV commercialsMillions per day

* Based on CPM for a 30' TV spot

Source: Banking client; McKinsey MediaMatics research, 2005

Bankingcustomers(unique users,%)

88 7781 81 83 79 66

TV, all days

Share of contacts

Existing customers

Potential reallocation ofTV spending acrossweekdays

• Should spending onSaturdays andSundays be so high?(customers have limitedaccess to their bank onthese days)

• Should spending onweekdays (i.e. onThursday/Friday) beincreased to reachmore customers?

0.0

1.0

BANKING EXAMPLE



RESULT FROM "DIARY SURVEY": SPENDING ON TVCOMMERCIALS SHOULD BE MORE FOCUSED AROUNDPEAK VIEWERSHIP TIMES

0.20

0.10

0.05

0.20

0

20

40

60

80

100

0.00

0.25

0.50

Consumerswatching TV(minutes per 4 hours)

Customer contacts viaTV commercials(millions per 4 hours)

Source: Banking client; McKinsey MediaMatics research, 2005

3 12 21 26 1862

3 - 7 7 - 11 11 - 3 3 - 7 7 - 11 11 - 3

(Early) morning Day/afternoon Evening/night

Bankingcustomers(unique users,%)

TV, weekendIllustrative example;company spend by timeof day n.a.

BANKING EXAMPLE

Share of contacts

Existing customers

• Should timing of TVspots be increasedduring peak times(7 - 11pm)?

Potential reallocationof TV spending acrosstime

• Can daytime TV ad-vertising be reduced tofree funds for theevening?



PANTRY / WARDROBE CHECKS

What is it?

When doyou use it?

Mainbenefits

Mainlimitations

Example

• A visit to a respondents home to inspect the contents of his/her pantryor clothes cupboards

• To gain a deeper understanding of the respondents shopping / purchasepreferences

• It makes it easier to appreciate what type of products a respondentprefers and why they do/don’t like the products / retail share that theywill be discussing in the qualitative research

• Some respondents may deliberately tidy their homes before the visit andnot show you all of their purchases / clothes

• A retail chain was looking to develop a new range of own label clothes.A wardrobe check was conducted among existing customers tounderstand how their current outfits would match the new range.Photographs of their wardrobes were taken so that the designers couldunderstand what type / style of garments were preferred



IN-HOME VISITS

What is it?

When doyou use it?

How do youdo it?


• Visit respondents in their home and experience customerenvironment (where are products stored, how is product used etc.)

• Useful with low-involvement products when customers may notremember where products are stored or how it is used in a controlledfocus-group session. Or when it’s difficult to bring products to a focus-group session (car, clothes, house, etc.)

• Recruit respondents and make appointment for a 1–2 hour visit of theirhome

• Prepare discussion guide• Debrief interviewer to determine conclusions

• Insight into real product usage• Potential product improvement ideas



CONSENSOR

• A series of response boxes connected to a computer to get theresponse to a question from a large group of people simultaneously

• A useful tool when a direct feedback is needed from a large group ofpeople (up to 25 people) independent from each other

• Recruit a group of respondents• Book the consensor equipment• Install the software on your laptop and set up the equipment (don’t

forget to test it in advance)• Brief the respondents well

• A direct response to a question from a group of respondents unaffectedby each others answers

• Please note the results to a consensor are based on a limited number ofrespondents and therefore not statistically significant

What is it?

When doyou use it?

How do youdo it?




WORD ASSOCIATIONS

What is it?

When doyou use it?

Example

• Technique often used to link a brand name with product attributes,customer benefits, relative price, use / application, user / customer,celebrity / person, lifestyle / personality etc.

• To get beneath the reaction to a brand name

• Word associated with McDonalds: Golden arches, everywhere, familiar,greasy cheap, fat

• Competitor brand had stronger associations with fun, variety andnutritious and lower associations with everywhere, familiar, greasy



SYMBOLIC ANALYSIS

What is it?

When doyou use it?

Example

• Techniques to understand the symbolic meaning of objects bycomparing them to their opposites

• To understand emotional / personal reasons behind behaviour

• Airline discussion– Interviewer: What would it be like if you could no longer use airlines?– Respondent: Without planes, I would have to rely on long distance

calls and letters– Implication: Advertise the benefits of meeting friends face to face

rather than sending letters



COLLAGING

• Respondents are asked to cut out pictures from different magazines todescribe how they feel about a particular topic or subject. They are thenasked to describe why they choose each picture

• When you need to understand problems or issues that people may feelembarrassed about, or may be unwilling / unable to discuss directly.Often powerful to get client to develop collage on "topic," e.g., brandimage, and then compare to customer perceptions

• A group of employees were asked to form a collage to describe howthey felt about the company they worked in. The pictures illustrated aconcern that the company was not sufficiently creative. This concernhad not emerged in 4 hours of direct conversation

What is it?

When doyou use it?

Example



COMPLETE THE SENTENCES

• Technique to understand what a person thinks or feels, by asking themto complete a sentence or describe a drawing by using the third person

• When dealing with personal or sensitive issues. It may also be used ifyou want the respondents to reflect on a subject before they respond

• "The average person considers television . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .".• "People collecting government benefits are . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .".• "When I found that my cholesterol was too high, I felt . . . . . .. . . . . . . ."

What is it?

When doyou use it?

Example



DRAWING A PICTURE

• Respondents are asked to draw pictures to describe how they feel abouta particular topic

• When you need to understand problems or issues that people may feelembarrassed about, or may be unwilling / unable to discuss directly,e.g., weight watching, fragrances – and you do not want people to beconstrained by the picture you supply (or when you would like to buildcollage boards, but do not have enough time)

• To understand employee morale– Draw a picture of an employee– Draw an arrow to his mouth and write down what he is saying about

the organization– Draw another picture to his head and write down what he thinks about

the organization– Draw another picture to his heart and write down that he feels about

the organization

What is it?

When doyou use it?

Example



USING PICTURE DRAWING TO GENERATE CUSTOMERINSIGHT ON PORSCHE

Focus groups asked tofill in the thought bubble

Porsche drivers draw "theway they feel about their

cars"Children asked to draw

dream car

11 22 33

1 in 5 gave overtlynegative response

Drivers see their cars aspart of the environment

From a young age childrenidentify Porsche as their

"dream car"

What was done as aresult

Porsche launchedrebranding strategybased upon• Redefining image of

Porsche driver• Environments your

Porsche will takeyou to

• Recapturing youth

Insight

You Porsche

EXAMPLE

Source: Jon Steel (Truth, Lies and Advertising)



CREATING ANALOGIES / PERSONIFICATION / FAMILIES

• Respondents are asked to imagine how a target topic could be likeanother topic or person or family, and then to describe why they thinksimilarities / differences exist

• When you need to generate potential solutions to a problem byunderstanding how other markets work or what characteristics certainpeople possess or how the problem links to other situations

• If this company were a car, what type of car would it be? What type ofcar would the competitor company be?

• If this company were a person, what would they be like?• If this industry were a family, who would be the mother and father, who

would be the children, who would be the black sheep, the crazed aunt,the adopted son, etc. Who would not belong to the family?

What is it?

When doyou use it?

Example



SO WHEN SHOULD I USE NON-TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES?

• To identify latent, unmet, or poorly met needs• Reported usage is subject to bias or memory lapse

(e.g. alcohol consumption)• Significant portion of the decision-making is

unconscious or routine• To get at the more emotional benefits of a product/

service

When respondents can’ttell you

When respondents won’ttell you

• Topic is sensitive or people may feel discomfortdiscussing it

When fishing for new ideas • Category has been "researched to death"• To surface innovation ideas

To immerse client inconsumer world

• To get clients quickly up the learning curve• To embed research findings in organization



WHEN ARE TRADITIONAL FOCUS GROUPS STILLAPPROPRIATE?

• When the buying decision/ process is very simple• When trying to hypothesize potential segments for a

known product/ service• When need a basic understanding of the consumer

lexicon• When the main issues to explore are issues

customers can talk about (e.g. functional benefits)

When problem issimple

When socialinteraction isimportant

• To test specific ideas/ screen concepts andconsumer interaction is important

• Emotional reinforcement is beneficial – e.g. “Gee, Ithought I was the only one who had that problem!”

If client isn’t ready • Client is cynical or less sophisticated



OVERVIEW OF THE MARKET INFORMATION MANAGEMENT PROCESS

Critical steps for designing qualitative research

Critical steps for designing quantitative research

Feedback on strategy / results

Marketinformationcollection

Marketing strategydevelopment

Marketingstrategyimplementation

Study / surveyexecution

Informationanalysis

Market researchset-up





AGENDA

• Level 1

• Level 1

• Level 1

– Level 2

– Level 2

• Level 1





Appendix

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Exhibit ##

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High

Medium

Low

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CAGR 2000-02(Percent)

High

Medium

Low

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Line 2

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CAGR 2000-02(Percent)

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ESTIMATES

• Text

Text

* FootnoteSource: McKinsey analysis

Documents

Market Information Management - Qualitative …srprojects.free.fr/desgest/downloads2/20051005-MIM_qualitative.pdfMarket Information Management - Qualitative Market Research Vincent