What are the most commonly used market research methods and why?

There are numerous ways to perform market research and acquire customer data, but you are not limited to a single strategy. Market research approaches that are frequently used include surveys, interviews, focus groups, and customer observation.

Which strategy you select will depend on the nature of your organization: e-commerce business owners have quite different aims than SaaS business owners, therefore it’s usually advisable to combine and match these methods based on your specific goals and information needs.

1. Surveys: the most often utilized method

Surveys are a type of qualitative research in which respondents are asked a brief series of open- or closed-ended questions via an on-screen questionnaire or email. When we surveyed 2,000 Customer Experience (CX) professionals on their organizations’ research practices, we discovered that surveys were the most frequently used market research technique.

What drives the popularity of online surveys?

They are simple and affordable to conduct, and they allow for rapid data collecting. Additionally, the data is rather simple to evaluate, particularly when dealing with open-ended questions whose responses initially appear tough to categorize.

2. Interviews: the most illuminating one

Interviews are face-to-face encounters with individuals of your target market. Nothing beats a face-to-face interview for digging deep (and picking up on non-verbal clues), but if an in-person appointment is not possible, video conferencing is an excellent alternative.

Whichever method you use, any form of the in-depth interview will yield significant benefits in terms of understanding your target clients.

What is it about interviews that makes them so perceptive?

By conversing directly with an ideal customer, you may develop a deeper understanding of their experience and pursue illuminating threads that can generate numerous ‘Aha!’ moments.

3. Focus groups: the most perilous type.

Focus groups bring together a carefully chosen group of individuals who are representative of a company’s target market. A skilled moderator facilitates a discussion about the product, user experience, and/or marketing message in order to elicit further insights.

What is it about focus groups that makes them so perilous?

Doing it well is costly, and if you cut corners, your study may suffer from a variety of flaws. Dominance bias (when one participant exerts undue influence over the group) and moderator style bias (when multiple moderator personalities produce inconsistent results in the same study) are just two of the numerous ways your focus group data might be affected.

4. Observation: the most potent weapon.

During a customer observation session, a representative from the company observes an ideal user interacting with their product (or a similar product from a competitor).

What makes observation so perceptive and effective?

Observation as a ‘fly-on-the-wall’ is an excellent alternative to focus groups. It’s not only less expensive, but you’ll observe customers interact naturally with your product without interfering with one another.

The only disadvantage is that you cannot see inside their brains, making observation ineffective as a substitute for customer surveys and interviews.