At the end of the day, developing a product is all about offering value to a certain demographic.

And in order to gauge whether your product will do this, you have to factor in the thoughts and
feelings of that demographic. After all – how can you be expected to market things to people if
you can’t understand what motivates them, what they’re looking for in a product, what kind of
purchase decisions they’re likely to make, or how much they’re willing to pay? Market research
offers this invaluable insight – and it’s not the kind of insight you’ll find anywhere else.

Many of those consumers become loyal customers, which adds to the company's market share and
decreases market share for the company from which they switched.

By strengthening customer relationships, companies protect their existing market share by

preventing current customers from jumping ship when a competitor rolls out a hot new offer. Better
still, companies can grow market share using the same simple tactic, as satisfied customers
frequently speak of their positive experience to friends and relatives who then become new
customers. Gaining market share via word of mouth increases a company's revenues without
concomitant increases in marketing expenses.

Qualitative research is an effective product marketing research tool because it examines reality.

Product users decide product success or failure. They are experts about the products they use,
regardless of economic, social, or educational status. They know how they use them, what they
think about them, and what they feel about them.

Often, practical insights come from people who use products at home, work, or play. These insights
are powerful, authoritative information.

Use qualitative research to,

understand product use behavior

understand attitudes about products and brands

get suggestions for improvement

Product interviews find out how and why people use products, and they examine users’ satisfaction
and problems they face with products.

How to Do It – Qualitative Product Marketing Research

Product Use Behavior

How people use a product is behavior. Use behavior is fact. It is reality.

Observed behavior is the best. Self-reported behavior is sometimes less reliable. But if you can’t
observe behavior, use self-reported behavior.

Ask:

“How do you use a product?”

“Where do you use it?”
“When do you use it?”
“How often do you use it?”
“How easy or difficult it is to use?”
“How do you buy it?”

Product Attitudes

Find out why people use products. Discover perceptions, opinions, feelings, and desires about
products or services they use.

Laddering is a powerful technique to identify attitudes about products. Link product features and
benefits to emotions and beliefs because they influence attitudes.

Here are some example questions about attitudes:

“What is your overall opinion about product X?”

“What do like best about it?”
“What does the feature do for you?”
“What does the benefit do for you?”

Product Problems and Recommendations

Ask about product problems:

“What don’t you like about the product?”

“What is the biggest problem with product X?”
“What causes the problem?”
“What is the impact of the problem?”
Then ask about recommendations:

“What solutions have you tried?”

“Do solutions work? Please explain.”
“What would life be like if you could fix the problem?”
“What improvements do you suggest?”