An A/B test is a randomized experiment in which different versions of an idea, concept or product can be tested independently of one another through a structured division of the target group. For this purpose, a group of consumers is divided into several subgroups with identical demographic composition. Each of these sub-groups is presented with its own version of an idea, about which questions are answered. Afterwards, the answers to the different versions are compared and the strongest ideas are highlighted. The advantage of the method: In contrast to comparison tests, the direct liking of the idea is measured in the monadic test. This means that you are not dependent on other tested products. The disadvantage: Dividing the respondents into subgroups requires a larger number of participants in order to provide statistically representative information.

Consumers are accompanied when shopping by market researchers, observed and questioned at critical moments. In this way, direct knowledge can be gained about conscious and preconscious decision-making processes when purchasing as well as about the presentation and perception of goods and offers.

Augmented Reality describes the computer-assisted expansion of the perception of reality. Here, the real perception is usually visually expanded to include additional information or displayed content, in that this information or image elements are stored on a device with a camera and screen over the recorded image of reality. In contrast to VR, where complete virtual spaces or realities are depicted, AR can also be used without a complex headset, but via tablets or smartphones. The superimposed or superimposed elements can be, for example, automatic translations of text areas on filmed objects, or additional information in the form of distances to objects in the camera focus. However, the basic requirements for AR systems are still tied to an end device: it requires a camera, tracking systems and support software. Furthermore, AR applications can expand human sensory perceptions, e.g. in the form of representations of infrared recordings, distance measurements or radar information. Objects that do not actually exist can also be projected virtually in order to interact with them. Areas of application can be found, for example, in medicine, art, architecture, project management, advertising/marketing, learning or navigation. The connection of AR systems with image recognition and search engines can also provide additional information on objects in the field of view quickly and reliably. However, similar to VR, the applications in social and market research have not yet been fully developed, as it still has to be proven how reliable and valid results generated with AR are. In the coming years, AR systems are likely to be increasingly integrated into scientific contexts in order to understand them better and to be able to use them more purposefully.

Participating and non-participating observations come from ethnography and are also increasingly used in market research. The researchers enter a social space and document what is happening. This is done by densely describing different situations. Everyday situations, social interactions or the use of social spaces can be analyzed in this way. The reconstruction of lifeworlds or interactions are in the foreground here. Different types of observations also provide researchers with different approaches to the object of study. A distinction is made between open and covert observations, as well as participating and non-participating observations. The majority of the observations are open, participatory observations, in which the researchers reveal their identity (as scientists) and actively move in the events to be examined, perceive, record and later reflect on them. Events are recorded in minutes, individual situations are described in more detail where relevant, and individual people involved can even be interviewed briefly in order to record their perception of the situation. In market research in particular, it is advantageous not only to record the living environment of the respondents using interview material but also by means of observations. For example, you can find out how the respondents integrate certain products into their everyday lives, whether they use all the functions when using them and how important certain products are in everyday life. Observations can therefore provide important insights in order to give interview situations more context and to be able to better embed the statements of the interviewees in social reality.

A process designed to ensure a consistent brand image. At all points of contact with the brand, online and offline, consumer expectations should be met and a consistent value proposition conveyed.

Image of a brand and its dimensions in the competitive environment, or a structured graphical representation of all aspects of a specific brand.

Human characteristics associated with a brand. The brand personality is formed over time from the experiences and impressions of customers and stakeholders.

An analysis method in which the purchasing behavior for a specific product is compared with competing products and conclusions can be drawn about the brand value. The test person is given a choice of products with their price and decides which product he would most likely buy. The price of the selected product is now increased by a fixed interval and the subject selects again. This is repeated until the subject would no longer buy any of the available products at the corresponding price. Example: We tested the maximum willingness to pay for a new e-book reader and found that customers would spend 27% more for a branded product than for an unbranded product.

The extension of an established brand into new product or service categories. Example: Nivea expanded its range of products from purely care products to cosmetic products, Porsche also offers sunglasses, writing implements, knives and leather goods (Porsche Design) in addition to sports cars.

The strength of the impression an advertisement makes on the consumer. How much does the advertising experience encourage further engagement with the product or brand and how is brand perception influenced?

Procedure to determine how much individual properties of a product contribute to the overall rating of the product. Respondents are asked to put product alternatives (e.g. a black car from brand A for €15,000, a red car from brand B for €18,000) in order. This process is repeated several times with different combinations of characteristics and characteristics, so that the influence of the individual characteristics can be determined statistically at the end. As a result, the provider can concentrate on particularly value-adding features.

Desk Research is the collection of secondary data from internal sources, the Internet, libraries, professional associations, government agencies and agencies, and published reports. It is often performed at the beginning of a study to determine whether more extensive primary research is warranted.

Dialogue groups are all groups that a company interacts with, but primarily customer groups. The customer groups used to be called 'target groups' because companies targeted a specific group with their communication and product development. Today, however, product development and communication take place more as an interaction (design thinking, social media).

Dyads and triads maintain the depth of an in-depth interview but add an interactive element to the discussion. Dyads involve two participants and can be structured in different ways. The first option is to recruit pairs of participants, i.e. H. two people who may know each other. This can be a couple, a parent and a child, two friends or two work colleagues. This is often the first choice when working with younger participants. The second option is to bring together two strangers who either have similar attitudes and behaviors or hold opposing views, which is known as a conflict couple. Conflict pairs are used to uncover and emphasize polarizing beliefs between participants.

Here, the subjects are not invited to a test studio, but observed at home or at work and (deviating from scientific ethnography) questioned in an exploratory manner. In this way, insights into the handling of products in the real context of use are obtained. Examples from our practice: basic study on the use of loose tea, study on the use of multifunction printers in everyday office life, lifestyle analysis of particularly wealthy people, support for drivers in different driving situations as a basic study for the development of new technologies.

The careful content planning and development of an online questionnaire or discussion guide for interviews or focus groups. This involves, for example, a meaningful order of the questions, a concise, precise and unambiguous question and a neutral formulation of the questions so that test persons are not influenced.

Hall testing is used when there is a need to get responses to a product or concept that is difficult to show to attendees at home or in the studio. For example, when food and beverages are carefully prepared and need to be presented in the right conditions to create an appropriate testing environment. Hall tests are so called because a suitable hall or venue is rented to conduct the study. A key point in conducting a Hall test is the need to show respondents something. Usually this is a product, but packaging and promotional material can also be tested. Hall tests are usually conducted with around 10-15 participants. "Clinics" refers to a similar methodology, but the terminology is primarily used in the automotive industry.

Using creative processes to develop new ideas. After defining the goal, the idea is the second step in a systematic innovation process, which ideally ends with the successful launch of a product.

Examination of associations with a brand. What are the strengths and weaknesses of a brand, how does the brand stand in the competitive environment. See also: Brand Mapping

In an in-home use test (HUT), consumers are given samples that they can try out at home. The testers are then asked about their product testing experiences using qualitative or quantitative methods. HUTs are often used for cleaning and care products, CURTH+ROTH uses HUTs primarily for consumer electronics and IT peripherals.

A cyclical process in product or campaign development. First concepts/prototypes are optimized immediately after direct customer feedback (e.g. through focus groups or in-depth interviews) and then tested again. This process is ideally repeated until the product/concept is ready for the market.

Pretest of the marketing concept (marketing) with regard to its market opportunities. A concept test not only provides information about the product acceptance (acceptance test) and the uniqueness of the concept, but also insights for the positioning of the concept/product.

These methods are often used in moderated innovation workshops to generate ideas, develop visions or solve problems. The aim is first to generate as many ideas as possible, then to discuss them and combine them if necessary in order to come closer to the best possible solution. Examples: brainstorming, brainwriting, collages, role-playing games, provocations, improvisational theatre, etc.

Laddering is an interview method in which specific questions are used to uncover the connections between product features and their subjectively significant benefits. The term "laddering" describes a so-called "cognitive ladder" which the interviewer climbs higher and higher with the respondent (e.g. the buyer of a car brand). A typical ladder begins with traits (rational level) followed by direct benefits (functional level) followed by higher order benefits (emotional) followed by fundamental value (emotional). This is done by the moderator working out the individual meaning of each attribute (why is that important to you? What would be missing if x didn't exist? ...to find out the ultimate subjective value that a product benefit has for the customer at the end of the chain of questions In this way it can be worked out why, for example, Volvo buyers attach so much importance to safety and why Volvo addresses the underlying need better than its competitors.The basis for valid results is a very meticulous questioning technique and a lot of patience on the part of respondents, researchers and clients, since the results only slowly condense. (e.g. you have to question it until the ladders contain clear if-then links in both directions. In international projects, an extremely careful translation of the terms is crucial for comparability of the results. In practice, laddering is about that Rarely used for time and budget reasons.

The targeted, systematic creation and presentation of strengths and qualities that clearly and positively differentiate a brand from other brands in the target group's assessment. (Wikipedia)

Wikipedia defines brand management as follows: Brand management (originally: brand technology) refers to the development and further development of a brand over time. The main aim of brand management is to distinguish one's own performance from that of the competition and to differentiate oneself noticeably from the competition through one's own products or services. This is based on the knowledge that a brand has a higher recognition value and that the consumer associates characteristic properties, attributes or services with a brand. In this way, the brand should help the consumer to better orient himself among the offers and radiate trust. By developing and managing a brand, a company promises a competitive advantage that should result in higher market share and higher profits. Today, a brand is often also represented in monetary terms in the form of a brand value that is attributed to the company's assets. The aim of brand management is then to achieve an increase in this brand value and thus the company value through suitable measures. Successful brand management is no longer possible without systematic market research.

Denotes the monetary value of a brand, whereby immaterial properties such as image / associations of consumers are also taken into account. This explains, for example, why a car manufacturer can charge a higher price than another manufacturer for an identical model with identical equipment. (e.g.: SEAT Mii, VW Up, SKODA Citygo)

Market intelligence describes the comprehensive and systematic collection and evaluation of internal, external, central and decentralized information - about competitors, core and target markets, technologies, trends, customers, Customer preferences, etc. Your advantage: At CURTH+ROTH, we make use of the implicit and explicit knowledge available in your company and consolidate this knowledge for decision-making. The result: relevant market insights, concrete recommendations for action. Implementation: ad hoc analysis or continuous monitoring.

Market Navigation is a structured consulting process for the efficient development of new or improved technical products and innovative services. With Market Navigation, product development is already geared towards the real needs of the relevant target group at a very early stage by specifically integrating findings from market research into the development process. In this way, costly mistakes in development are avoided and optimized products are brought to market more quickly. As a result, Market Navigation delivers important decision-making factors: the strengths and weaknesses of a product defined customer requirements the concrete market potential price thresholds for marketing the product This is how Market Navigation creates important competitive advantages: low investment risk reduction of time to market earlier return on investment Market Navigation consists of individual modules, which can be used independently.

Qualitative and quantitative social and market research offers a wide range of analysis methods, survey procedures and theoretical orientations. These different tools are subject-specifically adapted in practice to deliver the best research results. Therefore, in addition to the large methods and statistical analysis processes in their pure form, one sees more mixed forms in the application, which are used in so-called mixed-method designs or multi-method designs. Mixed-method designs combine survey methods, data collection and analysis methods from both qualitative and quantitative social research. This combination can be done in different ways within a study. E.g. in the form of qualitative preliminary studies, which are intended to open up a subject area for a subsequent quantitative main study. Here, among other things used the preliminary study to create a more precise questionnaire for the survey phase and to later enrich the results of the statistical analysis with interview data. A quantitative preliminary study can serve to work out relevant characteristics of an investigation group and to explore them hermeneutically in the qualitative main study. These procedures are consecutive and weighted. Other mixed-method approaches let qualitative and quantitative research strands run parallel to each other in order to be able to compare the results later. Models that fully integrate both approaches are also possible in order to be able to carry out a tailor-made and precise analysis of a complex subject area.

Whether it's a project meeting, workshop or group discussion, moderation is an essential part of market research. Various organizational techniques and interviewing techniques are used here and are constantly being further developed. What all applications have in common is the creation of a pleasant, respectful and productive atmosphere, from which the most diverse goals are to be worked out. The focus here is good and professional moderation in order to achieve these goals. The art here is to include all participants in the conversation in an equally appreciative manner, without ignoring anyone or putting them in uncomfortable situations. The moderation is usually responsible for working through various items on the agenda, the course of various workshop phases or dealing with all desired topics during a group discussion. Only through are project goals transparently presented and also achieved. Good moderation requires a lot of empathy, training and knowledge of conversation dynamics, participant roles, activation strategies, discussion processes and questioning techniques.

Such research designs describe the application of different survey and analysis methods within a methodical discipline. For example, combinations of different qualitative survey methods such as group interviews, participatory observations and individual interviews can already be evaluated as multi-method approaches. The combination of interview data with a body of material consisting of legal texts, newspaper articles or political speeches also falls under this research design. With regard to the evaluation, for example, coding techniques from grounded theory and content analysis can be combined with description techniques from ethnography or elements of discourse analysis in order to be able to carry out a more comprehensive analysis.

Statistical methods in which relationships or dependencies between several variables can be examined at the same time.

Narrative interviews are the most open variant of common interview procedures. They are often used in lifeworld analysis or life course research and are determined by maximum openness. Here, a short thematically oriented narrative stimulus is set, on which the respondents can develop their story. The interviewers assume a listening position and try to maintain the natural flow of the interviewee's narrative and only ask further questions after a narrative has been completed. This form of interviewing makes it possible to generate natural narratives about certain topics, such as experiences in school, which provide deep insights into, for example, the self-image or coping strategies of the respondents.

The NPS is a business indicator that measures the willingness of consumers to recommend a product or service. The NPS was developed by Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company and Fred Reichheld in 2003 and can correlate with company success in some industries. To measure NPS, a representative group is asked how likely it is (on a scale of 0-10) that you would recommend a particular company/brand/product to a friend or colleague. Participants are divided into three groups based on their answers. Promoters (9 or 10 probability of recommendation), Detractors (0 to 6 probability of recommendation), and Indifferent (7 or 8 probability of recommendation). The NPS is calculated from this subdivision in the next step as follows: NPS = promoters (% of all respondents) − detractors (% of all respondents) The NPS always reaches a value between -100 and +100, the higher the number, the higher the Willingness to recommend.

A quality criterion in empirical research. The results of a study should not depend on who conducts it.

The participants in the study document their daily experiences with a product, brand or service over a certain period of time in a digital diary. The written impressions are often supplemented by photos or videos. This method enables changes in the behavior and attitudes of the participants to be examined over a longer period of time. Diary apps support direct documentation.

The participants fill out a questionnaire on their own computer or mobile device. With this method, a large sample can be surveyed quickly. Good results are only possible with professional questions and careful target group selection. As with all statistical methods, a sufficient size of the individual cells is a basic requirement for a valid analysis.

A method that explores the reactions to packaging. Here it can be determined how appealing the packaging is designed and how well it fits the brand (brand fit) or the packaged product (product fit).

A persona represents a prototypical customer of a brand or user of a specific product. A persona usually includes characteristics, needs, knowledge, skills, desires and rejections of the target group(s) and is intended to help keep the end customer in focus during product development. A perona is ideally a construct of quantitative user data and insights from qualitative and ethnographic research.

Carried out after the start of the campaign to check whether the objective has been achieved and the desired effect has been achieved. The results can also be used for campaign management/media optimization.

Can be used in the early stages of campaign development. Subjects can be presented with several alternatives. In this way, it can be checked which concept is most likely to achieve the desired effect and adjustments can be made in good time to ensure the best possible success.

The Price Sensitivity Meter or Van Westendorp Analysis is a market research method used to determine the optimal price of a product or service based on consumers' willingness to pay. Respondents to a survey are asked to provide four different prices for a product or service under investigation. • The amount below which the price is so low as to raise doubts about the quality. • The amount above which the price becomes too high • A reasonable but still affordable price. • A high but still reasonable price. The price assumptions of the participants are compared in a diagram. The intersections of the curves define the acceptable price range. The upper limit of the price range is the optimal price for the product or service. The advantages of the procedure are that it can be carried out quickly and inexpensively and that the pricing can be clearly understood. The methodology is particularly well suited for pricing new products, since the PSM does not take into account the influence of the prices of other products and the influence on the quantities sold of other products.

Problem-oriented interviews focus on a specific topic, which is illuminated from different levels. Here, sometimes confrontational questioning techniques are used, which tempt the respondents to deal intensively with a specific problem. This serves to reconstruct problems in the dialogue and to reconstruct the previous knowledge or problem-solving strategies of the respondents. The previous knowledge of the interviewees should be compared with that of the interviewers in order to fill in any gaps and get new perspectives on the problem at hand. Furthermore, guidelines can be used to list certain levels of the problem that are to be queried in the interview. This type of interview combines aspects of open, narrative interviews with guideline-based interview procedures in order to repeatedly ask respondents about new solution strategies or problem perceptions.

Qualitative research deals with "understanding" the (potential) customer. It is about perceiving connections, capturing and interpreting less tangible constructs such as desires, feelings and needs. Qualitative research is not a survey. The questions are designed to learn more about the person than to get straight answers. The analysis of the situation and the interviewee is decisive: "The really psychological thing is expressed in the groaning in between...". Best practices are focus groups and in-depth interviews. In focus groups, 6-10 people are interviewed and analyzed at the same time. The group dynamics, which must be taken into account when interpreting the results, amplify emotional and non-verbal reactions (e.g. surprise or anger). In the individual interview, deeper-lying motives can be explored in more detail, but embarrassing or socially difficult topics can also be addressed. Qualitative research is often used to generate ideas. It can be used to develop relevant items for questionnaires, which are then checked for their relevance in a quantitative study.

Quantitative research is based on survey and statistics. Responses are measurable by usually given response categories. A statement about the situation can then be made with a certain statistical accuracy. Quantitative methods are essential when it comes to assessing potential (e.g. price test, etc.) or when factors are to be weighed against each other (e.g. conjoint analyses, etc.). Care must be taken to ensure that the questions are formulated clearly and concisely. Questionnaires can be protected from targeted manipulation using so-called “lying items” or other control mechanisms. Recommendation: Talk to us about your goals! First of all, you have to consider together which type of study result best answers your question. Both methods have their advantages. The rule of thumb is: If I want to understand my customer or generate ideas, I should conduct qualitative research. If I want to estimate a fact statistically (sales potential, prices, etc.), then quantitative research is appropriate.

Contacting and inviting subjects for a research project. The candidates are selected based on predetermined criteria (screening). Among other things, care is taken to ensure that the participants do not take part in MaFo projects too often or do not come from the market research customer's industry. Since the assumptions about the target group often miss reality, the feedback from the recruiting process can be a reality check and an important result building block. Good recruitment is the basis for good research (wrong person = wrong answer) and is ideally carried out by a call center that works with high, transparent quality standards.

Reliability Is a quality criterion in empirical research and refers to whether you get the same answer when you use an instrument to measure something more than once. Put simply, reliability is the degree to which the research method produces stable and consistent results; i.e. the degree of repeatability of the study. A measurement method (e.g. a survey design) is considered reliable if its application to the same measurement object leads to the same results several times. To ensure the reliability of a study, a solid research design, the selection of the appropriate methodology and sample, and careful and consistent conduct of the research are necessary.

A remote user test is a usability study that is carried out autonomously by the participant on a computer, tablet or smartphone without the presence of a UX expert. As a rule, the participants are provided with software/app and possibly a camera. With remote tests, certain questions can be evaluated relatively inexpensively and quickly. Remote tests are a useful addition to basic UX investigations, in which motives and emotions are also evaluated.

The results of studies are collected using random samples. If the sample corresponds to the population with regard to the distribution of certain criteria (e.g. socio-demographic data or milieu criteria), the results are statistically representative. Psychological representativeness is based on the morphogenetic theory that each part contains the information of the whole or group. If you analyze motives, desires and needs qualitatively, a smaller sample is sufficient - because you ask more deeply and analyze more precisely - to get all the information.