EP30: Qualitative vs. Quantitative

Description: As we approach the end of the year, we rely on the information we have to make decisions and plans for future growth. In order to have a full picture, it is critical to have been capturing high-quality qualitative as well as quantitative information. 

In this episode of In Demand, Asia Orangio, CEO of DemandMaven, breaks down why both types of information are important and examples of how to incorporate qualitative information to understand the ‘why’ behind your numbers.

TL;DL 

Timestamps:

• 4:50 - Quantitative insights are things like conversion rates, retention rates, daily active users, and most founders tend to be better about collecting these. But they are not super valuable on their own. 
• 5:50 - When you combine qualitative and quantitative insights, you start to see patterns emerge about where gaps and opportunities exist.
• 6:25 - Qualitative allows you to understand the 'whys' that are driving the quantitative data you're seeing
• 8:02 - Sometimes your qualitative and quantitative insights are contradictory. This brings up a lot of questions and creates moments when you can learn a lot about how your business is working. Often a contradictory qualitative insight comes up because of who you are talking to. 
• 11:30 - Customer research is just one example of qualitative information. There are things like the stories that filter through your organization, and information that you get from audience members, thought leaders, and marketing leaders in your industry.
• 13:10 - Customers can't tell you what's not working in your business, but they can tell you about their experience and their needs.
• 14:05 - It's not about one or the other, to build a business you should prioritize collecting high-quality quantitative and qualitative information.
• 15:35 - Retrospectives, done by team members at the end of projects, can be a precious qualitative resource to incorporate into your operations.
• 19:10 - If you're not doing both, then long-term planning is going to be way more difficult than it needs to be. As we close the year it is a great time to make sure you're collecting high-quality information on both sides.