Market Research Interview: Face-to-face and online interviews

Interviews are an important aspect in the market research process. It allows businesses to understand the nuanced and encompassing aspects of the market through gathering in-depth information and understanding consumer needs.

What are interviews in the context of market research?

Interviews are used in various contexts and situations. In the context of market research, interviews are conducted in an either qualitative or quantitative manner (depending on the research objectives) to gather data. These interviews are a widely used method in market research to gather insights from individuals or groups to know more about their perspective, preferences, opinions, attitudes, and behaviours of a specific product or service.

How are interviews conducted in market research?

There are several methods of collecting data through interviews, as listed below (list is non-exhaustive):

Personal Interviews
Group Interviews
Surveys / Questionnaires

These different forms of interview may take place face-to-face or online, depending on the requirements of the market research.

Face-to-face interviews for market research

Face to face interview during market research. In a physical location, interviewer is asking interviewee questions.

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Face-to-face (also known as F2F) interviews occur in-person, where the interviewer and the interviewee are at the same physical location.
Face-to-face methods are highly advantageous for researchers seeking to gather comprehensive qualitative insights, such as respondent’s reactions.

Advantages of face-to-face interviews

Interviews are able to observe social cues of the interviewees such as: body language, tone of voice, facial expressions
Face-to-face interviews are more effective due to reduced misinterpretation

Disadvantages of face-to-face interviews

Time consuming
- Pre, during, and post interview processes would take up a substantial amount of time. For instance, during the pre-interview, arranging the interview meeting time and date depends on both the interviewer’s and interviewee’s schedule which may result in back-and-forth communication
Interviewees might answer questions according to social expectations
- Consequently, interviewees may feel more pressured to answer a certain manner in front of the interviewer. Thus, this may result in less accurate information

Online interviews for market research

Online interview during market research. On a video conferencing tool, interviewer is asking interviewee questions.

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Online interviews are conducted over the internet. It can occur synchronously (takes place in real-time, such as by video call, web conferencing, live chats) or asynchronously (takes place not in real-time, such as email, pre-recorded images/video, Google Forms).
Online interviews are more preferable in situations where the interview respondents are spread across a large geographical area or when researchers require access to specific demographics such as expert interviews in niche markets.
Online interviews serve as an alternative to face-to-face interviews, especially in circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic due to protocols and restrictions.

Advantages of online interviews

Accessibility for interviewee participation
- Limitations such as travelling costs and geographical location are removed
Savings in costs for interviewers
- No requirement for budget such as equipment and venue booking

Disadvantages of online interviews

Interview flow being disrupted due to technological issues such as: connectivity issues, video/audio lag, unclear audio
Limitation for interviewers in observing interviewee’s non-verbal actions