Qualitative studies

Defining your marketing target

A detailed knowledge of the attitudes, perceptions and motivations of the users of a product or service allows us to better define its future characteristics.

This is an extension of quantitative studies.

Tools for qualitative studies

Tools that favour human contact

Teamwork

Focus Group in person or online

Group discussion (6 to 8 people) led by a moderator for 2 to 4 hours, based on a facilitation guide developed with the client.

b

Ethnographic interview

Individual interview taking place at the interviewee’s home.

n

Individual interview

Individual interview of the directive or semi-directive type. Generally lasting from 1½ to 2h maximum.

Guided tours

Visit to a sales area with the respondent in order to better understand behavior during the purchasing process.

Workshop

A facilitator-led working group, also called a collaborative workshop. This allows the various participants to structure a concept/idea and to come up with a concrete draft at the end. It usually lasts half a day or a whole day.

Sensory study

A sensory study consists mainly in analyzing the organoleptic properties of the products by the organs of the senses, namely sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. It is mainly used in the food and cosmetic sectors.

b

Home Use Test - HUT

It takes place in the respondent’s home because it is done over a certain period of time and reproduces the user’s actual conditions.

Meeting

Forum online

Online discussion space where each user can log in whenever they like and answer a certain number of questions each day. They can view some of the answers from other users and bounce back to them. A moderator manages the forum.

To define a qualitative study, it is necessary to:

  • Select the only information to look for (taking into account the information already available)
  • Build the study plan (survey technique, sample)
  • Collect the information
  • Analyze and format the results.