Page 68 - BA1 Integrated Workbook STUDENT 2018

Chapter 5

6.3 Quantitative research

WHAT? WHERE? WHEN?

Quantitative research tries to answer the what, where and when
questions. The answers to these questions will be factual and
numerical, for example the number of units of a particular product sold
or the value of sales in a period. This would largely be carried out using
interviews and questionnaires. Statistical methods such as ratios or
trend analysis can then be used to analyse this data.

When carrying out quantitative analysis, select and discuss only those
ratios that have an impact on the company problems. Then compare
these ratios with industry averages to discover if the company is out of
line with others in the industry.

6.4 Aspects of quantitative research

 Non-financial quantitative analysis

Another important aspect of quantitative analysis is the gathering of non-
financial data, such as number of customers, customer complaints etc.

The financial indexes are useful, but they cannot show some competitive
advantages characteristics such as the product differentiation or the
responsiveness to customer questions.

 Rankings and ratings

Once the quantitative data has been gathered, it can be useful to rank and rate
competitors. Competitors can be assigned a score for each product/service
area measured. Companies may weight some of these areas if they are viewed
as more important. This approach results in an aggregate measure for each
competitor which can be compared to the company’s own measures for
comparison purposes.

62