This document summarizes research conducted to understand qualitative factors influencing house buying preferences. Focus groups were conducted with couples and individuals from middle-class and upper-middle-class families. Key insights included that commute, amenities, and basic necessities were prioritized over price. Religious aspects played a lesser role than peace and calm. Proper facilitation and analysis of focus groups provided insights into actual customer needs and perceptions. The conclusion recommends balancing consistency and specificity of responses, moderating intensity, using an effective communication strategy, and creating a memorable experience for participants.

1. ECMH Project:
QUALITATIVE
FACTORS
DETERMINING
HOUSE BUYING
PREFERENCES
Apartment-wallas
-Oni, Jhaji, Yeeai, Yennrri

2. Research objective
Objective
• Analyze customer preferences (qualitative)
in purchasing apartments
• Check whether the overhype of price as the
main criteria, has merit
Market segment
• Middle-class/Upper-middle class who wish to
purchase homes in the range of INR 40-70
lakhs
Research Sample
GD guide Key Insights Methodology Conclusion
Objective Selection

3. Sample selections
Couples Individuals
• Husband-wife interviews with • A mix of married and
both as participants in bachelors, but an all male
discussion group.
• Selected across India-based • Selected across India-based
and NRIs returning to India and NRIs returning to India
Research Sample
GD guide Key Insights Methodology Conclusion
Objective Selection

4. Strategies and insights
Pampered the
participants:
• Fed them well with Provided a
cold drinks and chips Listened to feeling that each
• Called each one of opinion of each participant is
them, explained the one and recorded important.
importance of their
involvement and sent their inputs. Sensitive to their
a personal invitation time restrictions
to each
Research Sample
GD guide Key Insights Methodology Conclusion
Objective Selection

5. Group Discussion guide
 The discussion points contained a mix of
projective techniques:
 Sentence association
 Word associations
 Color associations
 Story completion – 1
 Picture associations
 Discussions among the group regarding
each item
 Try to weave in response from all questions
to understand customers’ unsaid needs
Research Sample
GD guide Key Insights Methodology Conclusion
Objective Selection

6. Sentence associations
• Shady trees, Paved footpath, Bus/train
What comes stop nearby
to your mind?
• 3 Aartis and/or 5 Azaans a day – loud
How do you and clear
feel?
• Came home after 4 hrs of shopping.
I wish… Walked up 3 floors and entered my home
Research Sample
GD guide Key Insights Methodology Conclusion
Objective Selection

7. Word associations
10 th floor
Midnight
earthquake
Research Sample
GD guide Key Insights Methodology Conclusion
Objective Selection

8. Color associations
relaxation
food
family
preparation
argument exercise
Research Sample
GD guide Key Insights Methodology Conclusion
Objective Selection

9. Story completion
Time to go to office. I take the car out of
parking lot and drive out of the
apartment complex…
Research Sample
GD guide Key Insights Methodology Conclusion
Objective Selection

10. Picture associations – Part 1
Research Sample
GD guide Key Insights Methodology Conclusion
Objective Selection

11. Picture associations
Research Sample
GD guide Key Insights Methodology Conclusion
Objective Selection

12. …and the big confusion!!
Research Sample
GD guide Key Insights Methodology Conclusion
Objective Selection

13. Group 1
Research Sample
GD guide Key Insights Methodology Conclusion
Objective Selection

14. Group 2
Research Sample
GD guide Key Insights Methodology Conclusion
Objective Selection

15. Key insights
 Commute and amenities of city life take
precedence over price
 Places of religion play a lesser role than
daily peace and calm
 Peoples’ preference is largely affected by
availability of basic necessities such as:
 Water
 Electricity
 Proximity to shopping
 Proximity to open areas and parks
Research Sample
GD guide Key Insights Methodology Conclusion
Objective Selection

16. Key insights
 When given a visual stimuli, people react according
to their preferences and established needs
 e.g. A glass full of beer, could be
○ Relaxation with friends and family
○ Pub with a choice of beer
○ Something you do not want around
○ A negative attribute to society
 Insights from color associations
 Perceived property of a color is not necessarily reflected
universally
○ E.g. Saffron was found to be the color of relaxation, prayer
as well as violence.
 Places within house were painted differently by different
associations of utility.
Research Sample
GD guide Key Insights Methodology Conclusion
Objective Selection

17. Methodology, learning and
suggestions
•Avoid direct and quantitative mode of questioning
In-depth Interview •Try to go for face-face rather than phone
•Manage flow of thoughts, unobtrusively
Focus group •Do not prompt or direct the interview
discussion, with •Arrive at common ground after every question
•Managing more than 7 or less than 5 is a problem
projective techniques •Time management is critical
•Patterns emerge based on proper aggregation and
assimilation of information
Analysis •Insight into actual, not reported, behaviors
•Proper sampling helps in better results
•Critical to understand perceptions
Research Sample
GD guide Key Insights Methodology Conclusion
Objective Selection

18. Conclusion
 Internal consistency and specificity of
responses to be balanced
 Moderate the intensity of comments to
get to the subliminal layer
 Communication strategy is critical
 Make the sessions memorable for
participants (in a good way, i.e)
Research Sample
GD guide Key Insights Methodology Conclusion
Objective Selection