1st Edition

Qualitative Marketing Research Understanding Consumer Behaviour

By Dominika Maison Copyright 2019
    246 Pages 53 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    246 Pages 53 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    This is a perfect guide to understanding the core principles of qualitative marketing research. It presents qualitative marketing research in the broader context of marketing and managerial decisions, consumer psychology and contemporary knowledge about unconscious and automatic processes. Different types of qualitative marketing research methods are examined, from the classic focus group interview (FGI) and individual in-depth interview (IDI), to more cutting-edge methods such as ethnography or bulletin boards, which enable marketing researchers to discover and understand real consumer motivations, needs, values, and attitudes.

    With numerous international case studies, including PepsiCo, Unilever, Danone, Nestle, Aviva and Citibank, the book is uniquely practical in its approach. It is vital reading for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of marketing research, consumer behaviour and consumer psychology.

    Chapter 1. Why do we need qualitative research methods – the role of research in marketing

    1.1. Data-based marketing decisions

    1.2. Qualitative vs. quantitative – choosing the right methodology

    1.3. How qualitative research can help to answer marketing questions

    Chapter 2. From consciousness to unconsciousness – Evolution in understanding consumers and its consequences for qualitative marketing research

    2.1. Traditional way of understanding the consumer: a rational being aware of own attitudes and needs

    2.2. New way of understanding the consumer: an emotional being not fully aware of own attitudes, needs, and motives

    2.3. Discovering the unconscious mind and its consequences for qualitative marketing research

    2.4. Marketing evidence for the existence of unconscious and automatic processes

    2.5. Evolution in qualitative research: from collecting information to the search for understanding

    Chapter 3. Qualitative methods – a range of tools for the marketing researcher

    3.1. Classic qualitative research methods – focus groups interviews (FGI) and individual in-depth interviews (IDIs)

    3.2. Shorter, longer, differently – variations around focus groups

    3.3. Interactive methods – confrontation and creativity groups

    3.4. Closer to the real experience – ethnographic research and observation in the marketing research context

    3.5. Exploring new technologies – qualitative online research (bulletin board and MROC – market research online community)

    Chapter 4. Projective and enabling techniques – a way to go beyond declarations

    4.1. What are projective techniques?

    4.2. When projective and enabling techniques can and should be used in marketing research?

    4.3. Types of projective techniques: individual vs. group, verbal vs. nonverbal, relational vs. non-relational, etc.

    4.4. Key success factors: appropriate selection of stimuli

    4.5. Projective and enabling techniques most commonly used in marketing research

    4.6. Examples of enabling techniques

    4.7. Analysis and interpretation of projective and enabling techniques

    Chapter 5. Step 1 – Defining the research questions and research schemata

    5.1. Defining the research area: from marketing questions to research questions

    5.2. Designing research schemata – quantitative thinking in qualitative research

    5.3. Additional rules for selecting respondents

    5.4. Number and type of interviews – final design of research schemata

    5.5. Most common mistakes in planning research schemata

    Chapter 6. Step 2Discussion guide – the art of asking the right questions

    6.1. Elementary rules for a good research guide

    6.2. Question types rules

    6.3. Question and topic sequence rules

    6.4. Pilot interview – the last check of the discussion guide

    Chapter 7. Step 3Conducting an interview – the difference between a good and bad moderator

    7.1. Good moderator – a skill or a gift?

    7.2. Choosing a moderator for a particular research project

    7.3. Characteristics of a good moderator

    7.4. Types of skills advisable for group discussion

    7.5. Types of skills advisable for ethnographic research

    7.6. Additional skills essential in qualitative research

    7.7. Six major mistakes in moderation

    Chapter 8. Step 4 – Analysing and interpreting qualitative data

    8.1. Why qualitative data analysis is difficult?

    8.2. Qualitative data analysis framework

    8.3. Types of qualitative marketing research results presentation

    8.4. Principles of qualitative data analysis

    8.5. The final report

    Chapter 9. Concluding chapter – future developments in the qualitative research

    Biography

    Dominika Maison is owner of Maison&Partners, a market research company specializing in strategic marketing research, and Dean of the Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Poland. She was the President of The Polish Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (PTBRiO) between 2003 and 2008, and from 2012 to 2016 was a European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR) representative for Poland - the largest international organization dealing with opinion and marketing research. She has also authored numerous articles and books.