Besides quantitative research, TechConsult is also offering to conduct quantitative research projects for ICT vendors.

Qualitative market research aims at understanding the complex processes behind the customers' investment and acquisition decisions. On this background, qualitative market research goes beyond the goals of quantitative research, trying to discover the motivations of customers and B2B decision makers. Whenever it is not sufficient to know who is buying what, when, where, and how often, but instead becomes necessary to capture and describe the reasons behind the behaviour observed, then qualitative research is becoming indispensable.

Within the ICT market, qualitative research concentrates on these areas:

• Motivations research: What are the circumstances causing a customer to buy an ICT product or to employ a service?
• Image research: Which image attributes is an ICT vendor ascribed by customers or non-customers?
• Product research: What features do customers expect, and how do they treat new products?
• Advertising research: Which messages do reach potential customers, and what is the success of a marketing campaign?
• Segmentation of target groups: How can customers be divided into homogeneous and addressable target groups?

From the repertoire of qualitative research, TechConsult is successfully applying the following methods in customer projects:

• Focus group discussions
• Delphi inquiries
• In-depth / expert interviews
• Brainstorming
• Laddering

As compared to our competitors, TechConsult's unique selling point (USP) is our ability to combine both qualitative market research to discover and describe motivations and reasons and quantitative market research for reliable verification of qualitative results. This investigative approach is concentrating on the demands and markets of the ICT industry. Due to this focus, TechConsult can efficiently realize projects in this market because the screening and recruiting can be conducted on the basis of a long-term market experience.

TechConsult is regularly conducting projects in the fields mentioned above. Some examples:

• Product acceptance:
  • Customer: a European systems manufacturer
  • Goal: acceptance of tablet PCs, investigation of customer expectations
  • Method: three focus groups conducted in TechConsult's Kassel office with altogether 18 participants from business customers
• Image research:
  • Customer: a European IT service provider
  • Goal: evaluation of an image profile in five different vertical markets
  • Method: expert interviews with representatives from the bying centers of enterprise customers from different industries
• Markteintrittsplanung:
  • Customer: a European telecommunications provider
  • Goal: formulation of customer expectatiosn against new types of IP telephony in the B2B segments
  • Method: nine focus groups conducted in different locations throughout Germany with IT managers and executives

For more information, please feel free to contact us.