Qualitative versus Quantitative Research in Marketing

It is ironic that at a time when wehave more quantitative data aboutconsumers than ever before – so-called “bigdata,” scanner data, loyalty programpurchase histories, trails of Internet searchesand social media activity, and much more –that businesses nevertheless increasinglydesire qualitative information. I am nottalking about the ubiquitous focus groupswhich have long been a staple in exploratorymarketing and advertising research. Suchfocus groups continue to be used, but theyare one of the weakest techniques inqualitative research. The sort of qualitativeconsumer research I have in mind insteadincludes ethnography, netnography, videography,qualitative data mining, projectivemethods, various types of observation, anddepth interviews. What these techniquespotentially provide is more naturalistic insight into how individual consumers andgroups of consumers behave in everyday life.