When organizations enter into strategic planning, they conduct different types of relevant research and analysis. As part of this process, marketers often talk about collecting qualitative and or quantitative data. Before we start, let us list the learning goals for this video. Firstly, the goal is to establish a connection between qualitative and quantitative research and the rest of the research analysis and strategic planning process. Secondly, the goal is to gain an understanding of what qualitative and quantitative data is, the pros and cons of each, and how we can conduct these two types of research. So let us begin. When organizations enter into strategic planning, they conduct different types of research and analysis. They might conduct both secondary and primary research. They would consider using qualitative and or quantitative research and different survey types. They would check the quality of their research data by critically applying the terms validity and reliability. The gathered data might be used in a process of conducting different analysis, internal analysis, which could include a look at the company accounts, current business model, core competencies, and others, and external analysis such as PEST, Portus 5 Forces, Competitor Analysis and others. And ultimately, they might summarize all their research in a SWOT analysis. This might be followed by a TOWS model in order to identify several strategic options to choose between. This will enable them to make informed strategic decisions about which direction to take. Qualitative and quantitative research is what we will address with this video. So what is qualitative and quantitative research? And how could we go about using these two types of data? Let us use an example. This cafe is located in a large city close to a busy high street. It's called the French Cafe, and it specialises in serving high quality cakes and desserts. The French Cafe is troubled by the fact that less and less customers visit the cafe and sales are decreasing as a result. The owner of the French Cafe would like to find out why the customers are looking elsewhere for their cakes and coffee. This could help him make decisions about what to do to turn things around. Therefore, he has decided to do some research. So how could the French Cafe find out what the customers want? Let us introduce a few types of qualitative research. They could invite a group of customers in for a focus group interview, a discussion with the customers about their experiences, thoughts and feelings about the French Cafe. This could provide them with the important clues of what the customers like and what they don't like. They could also choose to perform in-depth interviews on a one-on-one basis rather than in groups. They could also observe how customers behave when visiting the cafe. Interpreting facial expressions, actions and body language in general might also uncover elements of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. We call these types of research qualitative research. Now let us list the characteristics of qualitative data. Qualitative data is based on asking open-ended questions such as what, how, when and so on so that the respondents can express themselves using their own words. Qualitative data cannot be quantified or counted. No two answers or observations are exactly the same, which is why they can't be counted. Qualitative research can be used to uncover people's motivations, feelings, attitudes, references and behaviours exactly as they choose to express them. The benefits of qualitative data are that it can uncover detailed in-depth information from each respondent and that it is often relatively low cost to carry out. However, the disadvantages are that only a few respondents are used and that they are unlikely to be representative of the entire target group. What can be difficult to interpret, making the results subjective? Now let us introduce a few types of quantitative research. The French cafe could design a questionnaire, with a set of predefined answers for the respondents to choose between. They could, for example, ask the respondents to indicate to what extent they are satisfied or dissatisfied with the service they receive in the cafe. They could also carry out an experiment where they test customers' reaction to the launch of a new cake and measure how many new cakes are sold. And they could carry out a structured observation, for example counting how many customers stop to look at the menu outside the cafe and how many of those choose to enter the cafe or to walk away. Similarly, they could use Google Analytics to observe online behaviour, for example by measuring interactions with the book a table feature on their website. We call this type of research, quantitative research. So let us summarize the characteristics of quantitative data. Quantitative data can be counted and or measured. It's quantifiable. It is based on asking closed-ended questions, for example by providing predefined answer options in a questionnaire. The benefits of quantitative data are that it can be representative of the target group since a larger number of respondents can be covered and that it is objective. However, the disadvantages are that it doesn't uncover in-depth motivations detailed reasons or underlying feelings and attitudes. And some types of quantitative research can be fairly costly to carry out. So what is best? Should the French cafe conduct qualitative or quantitative research? As marketers, we would advise them to consider what type of information is important for them to make decisions upon. Do they want in-depth and detailed insights into what some of the customers think and feel? Or is it more important to them to have a high volume of representative and measurable data? We would also advise them to consider their available resources, both in time, money and the skills required. No two cases are the same, but if time, money and skills allow, a combination of qualitative and quantitative research is often a good solution. We have now established a connection with the rest of the research analysis and strategic planning process. And subsequently we have used an example to illustrate what qualitative and quantitative research is. We have highlighted the pros and cons of each and provided different examples of how we can conduct these two types of research. If you want to learn more about research, analysis and strategic planning or about other marketing related subjects, then I suggest that you watch additional videos on my channel. To further support and substantiate your learning, I recommend that you read market research and statistics by four or by others, as well as principles and practice of marketing by Jobber and Ellis Chadwick. And if you are able to read Danish, international market's firing, by Ruliehed Andersen and others. My name is Tina Wade. Thank you for watching.