Market research finds answers through techniques called "methodologies" by cognoscenti. Essentially, there are two types of research methodologies: quantitative and qualitative.

You use quantitative research methodologies to develop statistics about your target market. To do this, you survey the target audience using mail or phone surveys. Recently, Web surveys have also started to become popular. Quantitative surveys are good for answering numeric questions such as "How many ...?" or "How much ...?" Quantitative research can give you a snapshot of a market at one point in time and the results of a properly run quantitative survey can be projected to the larger universe of the entire target audience. Examples of quantitative research include customer satisfaction studies and competitive product analysis.

You use qualitative research when you want a "feel" for the target audience or if you need very fast input on an idea from your target audience. Qualitative research is also the preferred approach if you want to probe specific issues deeply with a target audience. If you want to "get inside their heads" to find out what they like and what's bugging them, qualitative market research is the appropriate tool. The types of qualitative research include focus groups (including Beacon's own Focus Group Plus), mini groups, triads, depth interviews (one on one), and Usability Labs.

Qualitative and quantitative research methodologies are both very useful research tools. Which one you use depends on your questions, your research budget, how sure you must be about the answers to your questions, and how fast you want to collect those answers.

Beacon Technology Partners thoroughly understands and employs all of the above research methodologies. Contact us for a consultation on your own market research requirements.