Quantitative Marketing Research

When research techniques that are quantitative are applied in the marketing field then it is called Quantitative marketing research. The basics of the Quantitative marketing research technique lie both in the view (positivist) of the world, and the marketing viewpoint that is considered modern. It is based on the premise that marketing is where a seller and the buyer reach an agreement through an interactive process based on the marketing "four Ps" which are: Product, Price, Place (location) and Promotion.

Just like any other method of social research, quantitative research also involves constructing questionnaires and devising scales which are used to gauge public sentiment about product or service. People respond to these surveys or the respondents are asked to complete the survey and questionnaire. The results obtained are used by marketers to understand the needs of consumers in the marketplace. They then act upon the feedback to create strategies and marketing plans.

The research process has following five steps:

Definition of the Problem. : In this step a problem statement is made and important aspects of the situation are underlined.

Research Design. At this step, the questionnaire and survey is designed to conduct the research. The methodology is selected and the venue, timing and procedure for the administration of the survey are determined.

Collection of relevant data. At this step an endeavor is made to gather all relevant data from primary and secondary sources. The data can be collected via e-mail, telephone or internet.

Data Analysis. The collected data is analyzed by experts to identify the problems and trends. The findings are compiled in suitable form for better understanding.

Report Writing and presentation: The final step is to present the analyzed data in a form that can be easily comprehended and understood by the managers. The data can be summarized in graphs or flowcharts for comprehensive understanding.

Generally, people who are experts in quantitative research have social science background. They might have their degrees in Psychology, Economics or Sociology. These studies by their academic nature have borrowed techniques from the physical sciences that are designed in order to obtain data for natural and physical objects but these sciences inherently lack the ability to answer questions related to human behaviour, perceptions, future behaviour.

While conducting quantitative research it should be remembered that, it is practically impossible to cover the entire consumer spectrum .Therefore the sample population used for conducting the survey or interview should be carefully chosen so that final result truly represents the problems.