Quantitative Market Research: A Guide + Examples

Quantitative market research is a numbers game.

It’s one of the four types of traditional market research; and a tried, trusted, and proven way to get answers to strategically important questions. 

Whether you’re already familiar with quantitative research, looking for practical examples, or considering using it in your business, I will cover everything you need to know.

What is quantitative market research?

Quantitative market research collects numerical data to help answer a research question or objective. Popular forms of quantitative research include surveys, polls, questionnaires, and demographical data from primary and secondary sources. The data can be easily quantified, compared, and analyzed to establish patterns, trends, and insights that disprove or prove a research question. It’s used by large and small organizations, thanks to modern market research tools like Similarweb.

What questions can quantitative market research answer?

Quantitative data can help a company find answers to strategic questions. It can help organizations find patterns, spot trends, make predictions, and establish averages. Most questions that can be answered by quantitative research help determine the: how, when, what, and where. Some of these include:

• What is the market size?
• How have the needs of a market changed?
• What is the number of people that make up your target audience?
• How many people are interested in buying your product?
• Is there a market for your products?
• Where does my target audience spend most of their time online?
• The frequency that people buy your product or service?
• How many people are aware of your brand, product, or service?
• What type of people are your best customers?
• How long do people spend on your website?
• What percentage of customers are happy with your product or service?

Read More: 98 Quantitative Market Research Questions & Examples

Types of quantitative market research design

Quantitative market research deals with secondary and primary data–as long as it’s presented in numerical form. There are five key techniques of quantitative research design to know.

Experimental research

Experimental research (AKA true experimental research) is a research technique that analyzes to prove a theory. In most cases, it will involve several theories yet to be proved or disproved.

This type of design creates a controlled environment where multiple variables are examined and observed to establish the cause and effect they each have. Various data types of manipulated in the process and each impact is assessed. The study aims to determine the precise conditions in which the different variables affect each other.

A few examples of experimental quantitative research design include

1. The effect of Black Friday Marketing on the success of a business.
2. Impact of service delivery issues on the perceived reliability of a brand.
3. The effect of a gift with purchase on customer satisfaction levels.

Choosing a suitable quantitative research method is vital, as data collection can be utilized for different effects. For instance, statistics can be correlational (which helps infer conclusions about differences) or descriptive (which help to summarize data).

Descriptive research

This type of quantitative research is used to learn more about a specific topic, for instance:

• Population
• Situation
• Phenomenon

Through observation, it measures different variables and investigates each in detail. It aims to describe characteristics– and is focused more on the ‘what’ of a research problem than the ‘why’ behind it. Aptly named, it describes a research subject without investigating why it happens.

A few examples of descriptive research include:

1. A company’s Black Friday marketing campaign description.
2. The description of service delivery issues a company or its customers face.
3. An outline of what companies offer a gift with online purchases.

Quasi-experimental research

This is similar to experimental research (aka casual comparative research), which seeks to evaluate cause-and-effect relations among variables. However, in the case of quasi-experimental research, the key difference is that it’s an independent and dependent variable that is used.

This type of quantitative research design takes at least two types of data, analyzing each together to examine the differences–using a typical cause-and-effect methodology. Research is usually undertaken in a near-natural setting, with information being gathered from two groups.

• A naturally occurring group that’s closely matched with the original environment.
• A group that is not naturally present.

In doing this, causal links can be made. However, not all casual links will be correct due to other variables impacting results.

Examples of descriptive quantitative design include:

1. The effect of the Black Friday campaign’s success on employee productivity.
2. Service delivery issues effect on the public perception of a brand.
3. The effect of free gifts on customer loyalty.

Correlational research

Correlational research is usually conducted to determine the relationship between two closely related entities. It looks at how each impacts the other and details the changes that occur.

This type of quantitative research design examines relationships between multiple data types. It will examine the extent to which they align with one another or where they differ. It will not delve into casual links any deeper than this.

Examples of quantitative correlational design include:

1. The relationship between Black Friday campaign success and annual revenues.
2. Correlations between delivery issues and brand reputation.
3. The relationship between free gifts and their perceived loyalty.

Quantitative market research data collection methods

You have a few options when considering which type of quantitative research is best. The first thing you’ll need to do is choose the data collection method. Below, I’ve summarized three of the most common quantitative research data collection methods.

Interviews

This applies to telephone, video conference, or face-to-face interviews. While it’s an ideal way to connect with individuals to collect data, it’s a method that utilizes resources due to the time it takes to set up and conduct them.

Surveys

A market research survey is a cost-effective way to collect quantitative data. Information can be obtained from large groups of people quickly, and the survey itself is relatively easy to set up. Your survey questions must be carefully considered for the results to provide meaningful data. When creating any form of survey for this type of market research, the questions should remain close-ended, giving participants a yes/no answer or one that requests a numerical result.

A few examples of quantitative market research survey questions include:

1. Would you recommend Similarweb to a colleague?

• Yes
• No

2. On a scale of 1-10, with one being the lowest and ten being the highest, how would you rate your experience with the Similarweb customer support team today?

3. Could you find the information you were looking for on our site today?

• Yes
• No

4. On a scale of 1-10, with one being the lowest and ten being the highest, how easy could you find the information you were looking for on our site today?

5. Was your query resolved in full by our support representative?

• Yes
• No

Polls

While similar, a poll is a shorter survey version. It’s often used to give researchers a point-in-time perspective of a large group of people. Data can be collected in person, over the phone, or online. The costs for polls can vary, depending on whether you buy questions on an existing poll, such as YouGov, or if you opt for a more bespoke survey that you create from scratch.

Fun fact: The origins of polls date back to the 19th century. They were first used in America to predict the outcome of the presidential elections.

Quantitative market research advantages and disadvantages

As with all market research, there are pros and cons to consider. While there are many benefits of using quantitative market research, it’s important to weigh these up with the drawbacks to ensure you make the best choice for your project.

Benefits of quantitative market research

The information you obtain directly results from the questions asked and the audience you choose. Get these two factors right, and you’ll reap the rewards in your research. Here’s a quick summary of the advantages doing quantitative research offers.

1. Collect a vast volume of data efficiently with a larger sample pool.
2. Get a generalized view of a target audience and demographic.
3. Results can be processed quickly as they are highly structured.
4. Easy comparison of results from different groups of participants.
5. Its objective–relying on solid numbers with fewer variables.
6. Number-based research is ideal for analysis.

Disadvantages of quantitative market research

While all quantitative market research collection methods can generate insightful data showing a wider opinion, there are limitations to consider.

1. If respondents are not representative of your target audience, this could potentially impact the accuracy of results–it’s also known as a sampling error.
2. The wording of questions can impact the findings–consider this carefully when designing interviews, polls, or surveys.
3. Quantitative research is close-ended, with no ability to receive data about the ‘why’ or ‘how’ behind the numbers. Findings can only provide a small part of the story without two-way dialogue.
4. You’ll need a hypothesis and an appropriate model to avoid invalid results or bias to collect and analyze the data.

What strategies are used to ensure the accuracy of quantitative market research?

Researchers employ several strategies to ensure the accuracy of their quantitative market research. This includes using various data sources to ensure that no single source is unduly influencing the results. Additionally, researchers may use advanced statistical techniques such as regression analysis and factor analysis to ensure that their results are accurate and valid. Lastly, researchers may employ survey design principles such as random and stratified sampling to ensure that the results represent the studied population.

Using Similarweb for quantitative market research

For all the advantages that quantitative market research offers, it’s hard to ignore the limitations. Things like timeliness, bias, and the close-ended nature of this method all matter when you need to make important decisions and don’t have time to take on a lengthy research project.

That’s where we come in.

Depending on your market research questions, there’s usually a faster way to achieve your goals with insights gained from digital research intelligence software like Similarweb. Whether you want to learn more about a target audience, market, industry, or competitors, you can get up-to-date intel that’s on point, easy to understand, and accurate.

Consider your research question, and see what insights and information are available to you right now. With a world of data at your fingertips, you can harness Similarweb Digital Research Intelligence to uncover telling facts, that inform research and strengthen your position. Use it for:

Market Research

Benchmarking

Audience Insights

Company Research

Consumer Journey Tracking

Use it to uncover the insights you need to make decisions and develop strategies that help you win. 

Wrapping up

With all types of market research, it’s important to take a balanced approach. Organizations that use quantitative market research to get numerical data must balance this with qualitative data to understand the sentiment behind the numbers. So, while quantitative research has its advantages, it must be done in tandem with other research types to provide a complete picture that tells you what, when, how, and why.

Similarweb’s suite of digital intelligence solutions offers unbiased, accurate, honest insights you can trust. Take it for a trial run today, and see how it can power up your research and save you time. 

FAQs

What are the four types of market research?

The four main types of market research include primary, secondary, quantitative, and qualitative. While there are subcategories, most research falls into one of these four key categories.

What is the difference between quantitative and qualitative market research?

Quantitative market research is focused on numbers. It collects numerical data to inform a research question or develop a theory. On the other hand, qualitative research is more about consumer sentiment, looking at how and why people feel a certain way about a product, service, or brand.

What are the benefits of quantitative market research?

As it deals with numerical data, quantitative research data can be analyzed quickly and consistently. Future replication is an easy and effective way to conduct a broad study across a large sample size. There are also fewer variables as data is close-ended. Both collection and analysis can be automated and costs less than qualitative research.

What types of questions can quantitative market research answer?

Quantitative research can help answer questions that explain what, how much, when, and where. It seeks to quantify attitudes, behaviors, and opinions but can also be used for establishing averages, making future predictions, and trendspotting.

Who is quantitative market research for?

Quantitative research data delivers information that can help shed light on a market or business. This makes it valuable to both established firms and start-ups of any size. Practically, it can help with market sizing, forecasting, market validation, and more.

What advancements have been made in quantitative market research?

In the past decade, technological advances have enabled quantitative market research to become even more precise and comprehensive. AI and machine learning have allowed researchers to collect and analyze large amounts of data faster and more accurately.