This article is intended as a brief overview and reminder of some valuable, but often overlooked, techniques for collecting data on international markets and consumers.

When thinking about market research, surveys are most likely the first technique that comes to mind. However, surveys are quantitative research, and to understand customer behavior and the social and cultural context in which our business will operate, we will also need to conduct qualitative research.

Qualitative methods are certainly a more appropriate option when you need to investigate patterns and attitudes in customer behavior, understand the depth of the environment around the customer, and understand the cultural characteristics that later influence a customer, especially when the marketer you are not familiar with the country of culture.

There are certain situations in which qualitative research alone can provide the marketer with all the knowledge necessary to make decisions and take action; while in some other cases quantitative research may also be necessary.

We will go through the main qualitative techniques and see how and where they can be used in international marketing.

Craig and Douglas (2000) mention three main types of qualitative data collection techniques:

– Observation and quasi-observation techniques;

– projective techniques and in-depth interviews;

– Creative group sessions (synectic).

1. Observation and quasi-observation techniques

Observation techniques involve direct observation of phenomena (in our case, consumer behavior) in their natural environments. Observational research may be somewhat less reliable than quantitative research, but it is more valid and flexible, as the marketer can change his or her approach whenever necessary.

The disadvantages are given by the limited behavioral variables and the fact that such data may not be generalizable; We can observe the behavior of one customer at a certain time and situation, but we cannot assume that all other customers will act in the same way.

Quasi-observation techniques are reported to have increased in use over the past decades, due to the large-scale use of surveillance cameras inside stores. Such techniques cost less than purely observational ones, since the costs associated with video surveillance and recording are much lower than the salary of an investigator; the tape can be viewed and analyzed at a later time, at the marketer’s convenience. By videotaping consumer behaviors, consumers can be asked to provide feedback and ideas about their thoughts and actions, while the conversation itself can be further recorded and analyzed.

Pure observation– The marketer observes the behavior of customers in real-life situations, either in the place or videotaping consumers (less intrusive). Videotaping can be specifically recommended when studying patterns from different cultures, as we can easily compare recorded behaviors and highlight similarities and / or differences.

Follow-up measures: consist of collecting and recording traces of consumer behavior. Such traces can be fingerprints or package rips, empty packages, trash can scanning, and any other way a marketer can think of (it’s all about creativity here!). In eMarketing, tracking measures are in the form of visits and logged visits – there are numerous professional applications that can help an emarketer analyze visitor behavior on your company’s website.

Archival measurements– It can be any type of historical records, public records, archives, libraries, collections of personal documents, etc. This data can be very useful for analyzing behavioral trends and changes over time. Marketers can also identify the cultural values ​​and attitudes of a population at a given time by studying the content of the media and advertising for the time period in question.

Entrapment measures: they are indirect techniques (compared to those mentioned above) and consist of asking the respondent to react to a specific stimulus or situation, when the actual research topic is totally different. The marketer plants the real stimulus among many false ones and studies the reactions. The method is fairly unobtrusive and the marketer can collect valuable, non-reactive data. When the respondent realizes the true subject under investigation, it could change the behavior and compromise the study.

ProtocolsThey are another observational market research technique that asks respondents to think aloud and verbally express all their thoughts during the decision-making process. The protocols are of great value in determining the factors of importance to a sale and can be collected in real or simulated shopping trips.

2. Projective techniques

These techniques are based on the respondent’s performance of certain tasks assigned by the marketer. The purpose is for consumers (surveyed) to express their unconscious beliefs through projective stimuli; to express associations towards various symbols, images, signs.

Cooper (1996) suggested that projective techniques can be used successfully to:

– indicate emotional and rational reactions;

– provide verbal and non-verbal communication;

– give permission to express novel ideas;

– encourages fantasy, idiosyncrasy and originality;

– reduce social constraints and censorship;

– encourage group members to share and “open up”.

Projective market research techniques can take the following forms, presented below.

Collages – used to understand brand perceptions and lifestyles, respondents are asked to put together a collage using images and symbols from selected stimulus sets or from magazines and newspapers of their choice.

Image completion – certain images can be designed to express and visualize the subject under study and respondents have to make associations and / or attribute words to the images given.

Analogies and metaphors they are used when a broader range of projection is needed, with more complexity and depth of ideas and thoughts about a given brand, product, service or organization. Respondents are asked to freely express their association and analogies with the object under study; or they may be asked to select from a set of stimuli (eg, photos) those that fit the test subject.

Psycho-drawing It is a technique that allows study participants to express a wide range of perceptions by drawing pictures of what they perceive to be the brand (or product, service).

Personalization It consists of asking respondents to treat the brand or product as if it were a person and begin to make associations or find images of this person. This technique is especially recommended to understand what type of personality consumers assign to a brand / product / service.

3. In-depth interviews

These market research techniques emphasize verbal communication and are efficient, especially when it comes to uncovering underlying attitudes and motivations towards a specific product or market / consumer situation.

In-depth individual interviews They are done in a person-to-person setting and the interviewer can get very specific and precise answers. These interviews are common in B2B market research practices, for example when a company conducts research on a product among its existing corporate clients.

Interviews can be conducted over the phone or over the Internet, from a centralized location – this can greatly reduce the costs associated with market research, and the results are almost as accurate as face-to-face. The only downside would be the lack of non-verbal visual communication.

Focus groups they are basically discussions conducted by a researcher with a group of respondents who consider themselves representative of the target market.

These meetings are usually held in an informal setting and are moderated by the investigator. Videotaping sessions is common these days and you can add more sources of analysis at a later time.

Focus groups are perhaps the ideal technique, if available in terms of cost and time, to test new ideas and concepts towards brands and products; to study customer response to creative media such as advertising and packaging design or to spot trends in consumer attributes and perception. One of the important advantages of focus groups is the presence of several respondents at the same time, which provides a certain synergy. The disadvantages are mainly related to the costs involved and the shortage of good professionals to conduct the interviews and discussions.

To conclude, we must consider how important non-survey data collection techniques are in today’s market research. Not only do they provide more depth of analysis, they can be performed in much less time than surveys and are better suited to be used during the exploratory phases of international market research.