How to Do a Qualitative Research Budget

Contact other department managers to see what qualitative research projects they need.

Your qualitative research budget will likely be part of a larger marketing research or marketing budget. Therefore, you may need to get input from the marketing director or marketing vice president regarding the maximum amount you can spend on qualitative research. Ask for a copy of the marketing plan to gather more input on various marketing strategies. You may be able to suggest certain qualitative research projects if people in the company are unfamiliar with the benefits of qualitative research.

Things You'll Need

• Marketing plan

Instructions

1. Decide what your marketing research objectives are for the year if you are creating a qualitative budget for your own company. Talk to the head of your department if you are a marketing research manager in charge of creating the qualitative research budget. Discuss which qualitative research projects you will be repeating in the coming year, such as focus groups, one-on-one interviews, case studies or mall intercept research.

2. Meet with other departments in your company, such as brand, advertising, distribution and research and development. Ask department managers or directors if they need any qualitative research studies completed in the next year. Plan on adding four focus groups to your qualitative research budget, for example, if the brand group is introducing four new products during the year. Find out if any of the departments need advertising, pricing or distribution-related qualitative research done. Meet with any restaurant area managers, too, if you work in restaurant marketing research. Plan to add some observation-type qualitative research like mystery shops, where outside representatives may observe your restaurant's operations.

3. Write down all the qualitative research projects you will be doing for the marketing research department and other company departments. Contact several marketing research agencies or moderators that conduct qualitative research or focus groups, respectively. Ask the marketing research agencies and moderators to give you quotes on your list of projects.

4. Use the average price quotes to add up the costs for all your qualitative research projects. Cut your qualitative research budget if you exceed the maximum expenses allowed for your budget. Plan to write your own reports, for example, instead of having the research agency write them, advises Market Research Global Alliance, an online reference site.

5. Finalize your qualitative research budget. Add at least 5 or 10 percent more to your budget to account for any price changes for projects during the year. Type up your qualitative research budget and distribute it to your marketing director, vice president of marketing or your supervisor.

Tips & Warnings

• Evaluate your qualitative research budget each month. Make sure you are not exceeding your qualitative research project expenses. You may need to cut projects if you are exceeding your budget. However, talk to a supervisor or the department head before cutting any projects. The marketing vice president, for example, may be able to transfer a certain qualitative project to the brand group, for example.

References

• Quick MBA: Marketing Research
• Green Book: How to Maximize Your Research Budget in a Recession
• Market Rearch Global Alliance: Getting Lower Fees From Your Research Suppliers
• Quick MBA: Marketing Plan Outline