Popular Research Methods

There are various ways to conduct market research and collect consumers’ data. Market research is very essential to know consumer behavior and product trends. We present below four popular types of market research techniques which include surveys, interviews, focus groups, and public domain data.

The most commonly used method: Surveys

Surveys are a popular method and the most commonly used technique for research. Here, surveyors ask respondents a short series of questions that can be asked via the phone or email or online through a questionnaire. Surveys are popular because they are easy to conduct and an economical method. Plus, a lot of data collection can be done quickly.

The most informative method: Interviews

Here the survey is conducted by the interviewer, either face-to-face with the respondent or on the phone or sometimes through video conferencing. This type of market research method is considered personal as the interviewer gets more clarification and communicated with the respondent directly. In such a method, the interviewer can conduct his research more elaborately. But, the drawback here is that it is time-consuming and in many cases, it becomes difficult to connect with the respondent. But, the Interview research method definitely helps in understanding your target market and customers in a better way.

Focus or community groups

Another popular method is community or focus groups where a group of respondents are asked the same sets of questions. You get few respondents into a room, ask them about certain products or services and record their answers. From the answers, the interviewer will try to pull out some insights, or come out with a conclusion. The best part of focus groups is that you get to hear the opinions of several people for the same topic and accordingly you can create a conclusion for your report.

Public domain data

Last but not the least, the Internet is the storehouse of knowledge. For those in need for resources, or those simply need additional information to support their research with some more data, there is the availability of data on the Net. These are open data: polling data, research reports, government databases available on the Net which are useful for market research.