Qualitative & Quantitative Research | SIS International

Primary Research Methods

Qualitative and Quantitative Research Designed Around the Decision, Not the Method

Most research briefs start with a method: “We need a survey” or “We need focus groups.” The right starting point is the decision the research needs to inform. SIS International designs qualitative and quantitative studies around specific leadership decisions, then selects and sequences the methods that produce the evidence required. B2B expert interviews, ethnographic fieldwork, conjoint analysis, segmentation, and Voice of the Customer programs across 135+ countries.

Qualitative and quantitative market research: B2B expert interview for strategic decision support

B2B Expert Interviews

SIS conducts structured expert interviews with senior decision-makers who are difficult to reach through panel surveys: C-suite executives, procurement directors, regulatory specialists, and technical buyers. We typically run 15-30 interviews per study, each lasting 45-60 minutes, using a semi-structured discussion guide that combines open-ended exploration with targeted probing. Samsung, Pfizer, and JPMorgan have used SIS expert interviews to inform pricing strategy, market entry decisions, and competitive positioning. The method works where surveys fail: complex B2B decisions where sample sizes are small and the insight requires depth, not breadth.

Focus Groups and Online Qualitative

SIS moderates in-person focus groups at facilities in New York, Los Angeles, and partner locations worldwide, and runs online qualitative sessions for geographically dispersed audiences. Groups are recruited by specific screening criteria: category usage, purchase authority, brand awareness, and demographic profile. We use projective techniques, concept sorting, and stimulus rotation to move past stated preference into underlying motivation. But focus groups answer “why” and “how.” They do not answer “how many.” SIS designs qualitative phases to generate hypotheses that the quantitative phase tests at scale.

Ethnographic and Observational Research

SIS researchers observe consumers and professionals in their natural environments: homes, offices, retail stores, clinical settings, and factory floors. Ethnographic research captures behaviors that respondents cannot self-report because they are habitual, unconscious, or socially influenced. Procter & Gamble built its Swiffer product line on ethnographic insights about how consumers actually clean floors versus how they describe cleaning floors. SIS designs ethnographic studies with structured observation protocols, video documentation, and behavioral coding frameworks that translate field observations into actionable product and service design recommendations.

Conjoint Analysis and Choice Modeling

Conjoint analysis forces respondents to make trade-offs between product attributes, revealing which features drive purchase decisions and how much consumers will pay for each. SIS designs choice-based conjoint (CBC) studies, adaptive conjoint (ACA) for complex product categories, and MaxDiff exercises for feature prioritization. The output is a utility model that predicts market share under different product configurations and price points. BMW used conjoint analysis to determine that heated seats drove more purchase intent than a premium sound system at equivalent cost. The method replaces opinion-based product decisions with trade-off data.

Segmentation and Cluster Analysis

SIS designs attitudinal and behavioral segmentation studies that go beyond demographics. We use latent class analysis, k-means clustering, and discriminant analysis to identify segments based on needs, motivations, usage patterns, and value sensitivity. Each segment is profiled with demographic overlays, media consumption data, and channel preference to make it targetable. A financial services client discovered through SIS segmentation that their fastest-growing customer cohort was not defined by age or income but by a specific attitude toward financial risk that cut across all demographic categories.

Voice of the Customer (VOC) Programs

SIS designs ongoing VOC programs that combine quantitative tracking surveys with periodic qualitative deep-dives. Unlike one-time satisfaction studies, VOC programs monitor changes in customer needs, competitive perception, and service gaps over time. We build structured interview guides for key account reviews, design NPS and CES measurement frameworks, and conduct win/loss analysis interviews with prospects who chose a competitor. The output is a quarterly intelligence package that product, sales, and service teams use to adjust strategy based on what customers are actually saying, not what internal dashboards suggest.

RESEARCH DESIGN INTELLIGENCE

Three Design Errors That Produce Research Nobody Uses

DIAGNOSIS 01 //

STARTING WITH THE METHOD INSTEAD OF THE DECISION

The Backwards Brief Problem

A VP requests “six focus groups.” The research agency runs six focus groups. The findings confirm what the team already believed. The study cost $120,000 and changed nothing. The failure occurred at the briefing stage, not the execution stage. Nobody asked what decision the research needed to inform, what evidence would change that decision, and which method would produce that specific evidence. SIS starts every engagement by defining the decision, the evidence gap, and the minimum viable research design required to close it.

DIAGNOSIS 02 //

QUALITATIVE FINDINGS TREATED AS QUANTITATIVE EVIDENCE

The Sample Size Confidence Trap

Eight participants in a focus group said they would pay more for a specific feature. The product team treated that as a pricing signal and set the price point. At launch, conversion fell short of projections. Focus groups reveal what matters to consumers and why. They do not produce statistically valid estimates of willingness to pay, market share, or purchase probability. That requires quantitative methods like conjoint analysis with sample sizes large enough to support predictive modeling. SIS sequences qualitative discovery into quantitative validation so that hypotheses are tested before decisions are made.

DIAGNOSIS 03 //

ONE-TIME STUDIES INSTEAD OF CONTINUOUS INTELLIGENCE

The Snapshot Research Decay Problem

A segmentation study produces sharp insights at the time of fielding. Within 18 months, customer needs shift, a competitor repositions, and the segments no longer reflect the market. Companies that treat research as a one-time project operate on decaying intelligence. SIS designs VOC programs and tracking studies that refresh the evidence base on a recurring cycle so product, pricing, and positioning decisions stay calibrated to current market conditions rather than historical ones.

PRIMARY RESEARCH DELIVERABLES

What SIS Delivers to Research and Strategy Teams

Decision-Linked Research Design

Every engagement starts by defining the leadership decision, the evidence gap, and the minimum viable research design. We select and sequence qualitative and quantitative methods around the specific decision being made, not around a preferred methodology. The output is a research architecture document before any fieldwork begins.

B2B Expert Interviews with Hard-to-Reach Decision-Makers

15-30 structured expert interviews per study with C-suite executives, procurement directors, and technical buyers. Semi-structured discussion guides that combine open exploration with targeted probing. Transcribed, coded, and analyzed to produce pattern-level findings, not anecdote collections.

Conjoint, Segmentation, and Predictive Quantitative Models

Choice-based conjoint for pricing and feature trade-off analysis. Latent class and k-means segmentation with demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal overlays. MaxDiff for feature prioritization. Each deliverable includes a utility model or segment profile that product and marketing teams can act on directly.

Ongoing VOC Programs with Quarterly Intelligence Packages

Recurring quantitative tracking combined with periodic qualitative deep-dives. NPS and CES measurement, win/loss analysis, and key account review interviews. Delivered as a quarterly intelligence package that product, sales, and service teams use to track shifts in customer needs, competitive perception, and satisfaction drivers over time.

THE SIS DIFFERENCE

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