Advertising research have earned a great importance today in this time period of globalization. Researching about the trends in the target market and treating them as the basis of the creation of a new product is what gives most of the business an upper hand as compared to their competitors. Since advertising research helps the companies to gain the knowledge about the tastes of the customers towards a particular product type and putting that knowledge to their own advantage to ensure best practices, which may assist them in driving a whole new range of customers.
The methods of advertising research as numerous just like their advantages, where each method has its own set of strengths and weaknesses. These strengths and weaknesses are what determine whether a method is going to prove itself beneficial to your brand or not. Moreover, this choice also depends on upon the minimum time period for which you can wait and money that you are willing to spend for this purpose.
Advertising Research Methods
- Surveys
Surveys are definitely one of the most common methods to research and gather data. The cost per survey depends on upon the type of the survey and the target sample group. Furthermore, it is not necessary that every person who comes in contact with your survey might want to fill it up for you. Therefore, the average response rate also varies type to type. Moreover, the reliability of the data gathered differs, too, since it is impossible for the researcher to control the thoughts of the survey takers, so there’s no telling whether he’s filling up seriously or is just passing up the time. If we were to arrange the types of the surveys generally conducted on the basis of costs and the size of the sample group then the list goes as:
- Online Surveys
Just as their name suggests, these types of surveys find their application in the digital world where there are tremendous opportunities for getting the data and summing it up. Even though, it can involve the whole world as the sample group, but it is up to you whether you just want to focus on a particular group belonging to a special demographics or you are limiting your research to a certain age limit or a gender, etc. Here possibilities are endless just like the chances to go for it.
In terms of costs, these surveys are the least expensive of all the types of surveys used for the purpose of advertising research. The same is the case with the reliability of the results since you do not know about the personality of the person who is receiving the survey and filling it up. Despite its low response rate, it is its simplicity and the easiness of implementing it in the marketplace that attracts the researchers.
- Mail Surveys
A relatively expensive way to reach somewhat, a narrower range of the customers, mail surveys are put to use. With a high return ratio of 3-15% as compared to the online surveys, mail surveys give you access to a targeted sample groups, since it involves the people who are interested in a particular product type.
These types of the surveys are subject to the interest of most of the advertisers belonging to businesses at a smaller level who can’t afford In-person and telephonic kinds of surveys. Moreover the data gathered is reliable and includes enough uniqueness to be implied as the sole choice of advertising research for smaller companies.
- Telephone Surveys
Telephone-based surveys are costlier than both mail and online surveys, but cheaper than In-person surveys. These types of surveys are known to return more than 50 to 60% of the response rate and considered more reliable than the mail marketing and online surveys.
- In-person Surveys
The most expensive of all the survey types and the only reason for their huge costs is involvement of time and labor, which can take the cost per survey as high as $100. But this involved in high traffic locations that allow you to present samples of products to people and then, requesting for an immediate feedback right after it. With more than 90% of the response rate and extreme reliability stuffed in responses gathered, these are the ideal choice for most of the larger enterprises.
- Focus Group
This method of gathering data involves the formation of small groups among which a discussion about a particular topic is initiated by a moderator, who makes use of a series of questions scripted already. This whole procedure takes place in a neutralized location, totally free from any disturbance, which is further supplied by the equipment that helps in gathering the information as well as preserving it. Generally, it lasts about two hours or three at maximum, and surely feels like a lot of time to study the behavioral traits of the people who took part in it along with clashing the expectations to the real-time data.
- Personal Interviews
A relatively efficient way to achieve the objectives is through personal interviews that just like focus groups, make use of questions meant to initialize a discussion and are supposed to end up within one hour. This method is even more subjective than focus groups, but the reliability of data cannot be guaranteed because these represent the individual attitudes of customers towards a particular product, and therefore are difficult to be applied at a higher level.
- Observation
This technique of advertising research is surely old, but for most of the businesses, it becomes even more valuable than gold, because it realizes them that it is not necessary for the responses of the customers to the surveys and focus groups to go in parallel with their practical aspect of life. Since it’s their behavior which you are interested in, so videotaping them wherever the business is involved can help you to observe their behavior actually.
- Field Trials
Quite a strategic way of observing the response of the customers towards a particular product type is to set up a field trial for your product in the real world and evaluate the results. This option is quite better to go with other than introducing your whole stock in the market and risking it all since it lets you test it in different environments and keeping an eye in the change of behavior of customers towards each change.
Hello everyone! This is Richard Daniels, a full-time passionate researcher & blogger. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics. He loves to write about economics, e-commerce, and business-related topics for students to assist them in their studies. That's the sole purpose of Business Study Notes.
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