Qualitative Research?
Malcolm says
Everyone agrees that companies need to better understand what their customers are trying to tell them. Often it’s only by having this type of knowledge that real differentiation from the competition can be made. Many companies are starting to gather this intelligence in a variety of different ways, some successful and some not.
I’ve asked many companies how they are gaining this type of information about customers and the answers range from hiring consultants, to surveys and employing ex customers. I very rarely hear someone say that they are carrying out qualitative research. Unless they have a history, like P&G, of carrying out this type of work many companies don’t even know what it means. Harsh words but this is my experience. Just think about it. Getting something labelled “research” through the marketing budget approval process would be nigh on impossible in these difficult times. Add the word “qualitative” which is difficult for many people to say let alone understand and you can see why its avoided.
There is lots of “qualitative research” being carried out to better understand customers but much of it hidden under a variety of different labels. Perhaps if we just changed the name, it would be better understood!