Many of you might be familiar with how hypnosis can help with weight loss and smoking cessation. But, did you know that hypnosis can also be used during pregnancy to help relieve anxiety and aid in calm, natural birth?
Hypnosis has been used for quite some time to help in numerous health-related issues, from relieving IBS symptoms to preparing for surgery to alleviating fear of dental procedures. Many pregnant women are now enjoying the benefits of hypnosis, allowing them to experience natural births with minimal pain.
In order to better understand how hypnosis can help pregnant women, it helps to gain a better understanding of hypnosis itself. To put it in simple terms, hypnosis is intense focus and concentration. Many people have likened the concentration with getting lost in a good book or television program. Utilizing that intense focus, hypnosis can actually slow down your brain waves.
Right now you’re probably in your waking state, which is Beta consciousness. But, by altering your conscious state through hypnosis, you are able to enter Alpha consciousness, where your brain waves actually slow down. And, when you slow down your brain waves you lose the “critical chatter” of the conscious mind and are able to slip in positive suggestions to the subconscious mind. These positive suggestions can be about any behavior you’d like to change, or any outcome you’d like to see take effect, such as having a natural, easy birth.
In addition, when you’re in a relaxed stated and imagining a desired outcome, the brain can’t tell the difference between reality and fantasy, and reacts as if the desired outcome was a reality. This phenomenon can be seen in pain management, when hypnotherapists use hypnosis and imagery on pain sufferers to help them lessen the intensity of their pain.
Hypnosis can aid pregnant women in so many different ways and in so many different stages of their pregnancies.
Hypnosis Can Aid in Fertility
Where inability to become pregnant is not due to a medical condition, many women have found relief with hypnosis. There are many who believe that if you can imagine it you can create it, and hypnosis is often paired with imagery to “visualize” oneself becoming pregnant and imagining a baby coming into one’s life. Hypnosis is also used to alleviate stress, which may be inhibiting a woman from becoming pregnant. Of course, women aren’t the only ones whose stress and anxiety may be inhibiting pregnancy. Many men feel the pressure to help their partners conceive. This stress can affect men’s sperm quality.
Hypnosis Can Aid in Helping a Woman Become More Comfortable
Many women experience discomfort from being pregnant, such as morning sickness, the intensity of which can be lessened through hypnosis. In women with high blood pressure, hypnosis can be helpful in helping them to relax, which in turn can help control the symptoms.
Hypnosis Can Help in the Actual Birth Process
Many women are now using hypnosis to help them have their baby naturally with no drugs. Utilizing hypnosis, women can help themselves relax during the baby’s birth. Since pain responses are greatly enhanced with fear and anxiety, creating a sense of calm helps in reducing the sensation of pain. The women will be awake and aware of everything that’s happening, including the contractions, but will be able to dictate to a great extent the intensity of the sensations she feels.
There are numerous hypnosis tapes and CDs available which can help reduce the fears and anxieties associated with pregnancy and the birthing process. If at all possible, it’s preferable to meet face to face with a hypnotherapist who can tailor the hypnosis to your specific fears, anxieties or needs.
How to Find a Hypnotherapist
The first place to look is your own doctor. (It’s always good to have your doctor’s input before beginning any treatment programs). Ask him or her for a recommendation to a good hypnotherapist. If your doctor does not have a recommendation you can utilize internet hypnotist referral networks to find one in your area. One good referral website is www.registeredhypnotist.com, where you can look up hypnotherapists in your area.
Another good internet resource is www.hypnobirthing.com, which lists practitioners across the country who’ve gone through the HypnoBirthing® The Mongan Method, a program specifically tailored to natural birthing.
Whether you plan on a natural birth or not, hypnosis can still help you relax more about the entire birthing process. Becoming more relaxed can help you gain control over your pregnancy, rather than have your pregnancy gain control over you.
About the Author
Shari Hearn is a writer and creator of Expecting Baby website, where you can learn about such things as baby nursery themes.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Conquering obesity - NOW!
Overview of Obesity
from Fritz Frei
Obesity is a disease that affects approximately 60 Million people in the United Stats and hundred of Millions allover the world.
Women are specially affected. Over one-third of women between the ages of 20 and 74 are obese,that the majority of them being African American or Mexican American.
With more and more pre packaged food and lessand less activity, the number of obese people in America has steadily increased since the 1960's.
Many people think obesity means that a person is overweight, but that's not exactly true. An Overweight person has a surplus amount of Weight, that includes muscle, bone, fat, and Water.
An obese person has a surplus of “body fat”.
Most health professionals concur that a man is Obese if he has over 25 percent body fat, and a women is obese if she has over 30 percent.
Women physiologically have more body fat than men, so that why there's a difference in the percentage. It is difficult to determine the exact percentage of body fat a person has, but estimatescan be made in a number of different ways.
First, using a tweezers-like-tool called a calliper, You can measure the thickness of skin folds On different points of your body and compare The results with standardized numbers.
You can also use a small device that send a
harmless electrical current through your body and measures your body fat percentage.
The most commonly used method to determine ifA person is obese is to look at his/her Body Mass Index (BMI).
A person with a BMI over 30 is considered to be Obese, and a BMI over 40 is considered to be severely obese.
It's important to remember thought that BMI could Be misleading in pregnant or lactating women and in muscular individuals.
With obesity, comes the increased risk of diseases Such as high blood pressure, Type II Diabetes, Heart disease, and breast, colon and prostate cancer.
In addition, obesity has been linked to mental health Conditions such as depression or feeling of shame And low self-esteem.
Health experts say's that even losing 10 to 15 percent Of your body weight can dramatically decrease the Risk of developing these serious conditions. In addition, Many obese people are discriminated against and targets of insults and other verbal abuse.
A number of factors, such as poor diet, lack of Physical activity, genetics, and certain medical disorders Cause obesity, but it can be conquered.
In our next information - we will show you -Obesity and It's relationship to Anorexia, Bulimia and other Special Eating Disorders- !
Even- you have special questions- use our e-mail Support
support@interhomebusiness.com
PS: This information is not presented by a medical Practitioner and is for educational and informational purpose only. Always seek the advice of your physican Or other qualified health provider with any questions
You may have regarding a medical condition.
About the Author
Conquering Obesity - If you’ve had enough & you’re looking for the latest, helpful information about how to conquer obesity, you’ve come to the right place.
from Fritz Frei
Obesity is a disease that affects approximately 60 Million people in the United Stats and hundred of Millions allover the world.
Women are specially affected. Over one-third of women between the ages of 20 and 74 are obese,that the majority of them being African American or Mexican American.
With more and more pre packaged food and lessand less activity, the number of obese people in America has steadily increased since the 1960's.
Many people think obesity means that a person is overweight, but that's not exactly true. An Overweight person has a surplus amount of Weight, that includes muscle, bone, fat, and Water.
An obese person has a surplus of “body fat”.
Most health professionals concur that a man is Obese if he has over 25 percent body fat, and a women is obese if she has over 30 percent.
Women physiologically have more body fat than men, so that why there's a difference in the percentage. It is difficult to determine the exact percentage of body fat a person has, but estimatescan be made in a number of different ways.
First, using a tweezers-like-tool called a calliper, You can measure the thickness of skin folds On different points of your body and compare The results with standardized numbers.
You can also use a small device that send a
harmless electrical current through your body and measures your body fat percentage.
The most commonly used method to determine ifA person is obese is to look at his/her Body Mass Index (BMI).
A person with a BMI over 30 is considered to be Obese, and a BMI over 40 is considered to be severely obese.
It's important to remember thought that BMI could Be misleading in pregnant or lactating women and in muscular individuals.
With obesity, comes the increased risk of diseases Such as high blood pressure, Type II Diabetes, Heart disease, and breast, colon and prostate cancer.
In addition, obesity has been linked to mental health Conditions such as depression or feeling of shame And low self-esteem.
Health experts say's that even losing 10 to 15 percent Of your body weight can dramatically decrease the Risk of developing these serious conditions. In addition, Many obese people are discriminated against and targets of insults and other verbal abuse.
A number of factors, such as poor diet, lack of Physical activity, genetics, and certain medical disorders Cause obesity, but it can be conquered.
In our next information - we will show you -Obesity and It's relationship to Anorexia, Bulimia and other Special Eating Disorders- !
Even- you have special questions- use our e-mail Support
support@interhomebusiness.com
PS: This information is not presented by a medical Practitioner and is for educational and informational purpose only. Always seek the advice of your physican Or other qualified health provider with any questions
You may have regarding a medical condition.
About the Author
Conquering Obesity - If you’ve had enough & you’re looking for the latest, helpful information about how to conquer obesity, you’ve come to the right place.
Skin - Stretch Marks Avoidance
Stretch marks are not for women only. They affect many teenagers and body builders. What are stretch marks? The fine lines that change in color over a time and appear on different parts of body generally after pregnancy or after sudden weight increase are Stretch marks.
Skin care and stretch marks formation-
Stretch marks don't form only because the skin stretches during certain periods. Let us look at this carefully. Most of the women believe that they get stretch marks because of their body expanding during pregnancy. This is true, but please note that the marks that you see in your skin get formed when the skin does not stretch and therefore tears. This not stretching of skin is believed to be because of certain hormones. These hormones don't allow the dermis to make more collagen and elastin. If the skin had made enough collagen and elastin to support the stretching, no marks would have appeared. This hormone called glucocorticoids is responsible for formation of stretch marks.
Skin Care and stretch mark avoidance-
Stretch marks form during pregnancy in women, in teenagers when they gain weight very fast, in body builders and in some conditions such as Cushing's syndrome. Use of steroid creams over along period may also form stretch marks.
Skin care and stretch marks treatment-
There is no proven treatment available for stretch marks. Rather than trying any product that claims to treat stretch marks, please consult your doctor. Chemical peeling and laser is being tried to remove them. Vitamin C creams and retionoids are said to help. Your doctor is the best judge. Please consult him/her and find the remedy if possible. Even otherwise don't get disheartened. They fade away over time.
This article is only for informative purposes. This article is not intended to be a medical advise and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult your doctor for your medical concerns. Please follow any tip given in this article only after consulting your doctor. The author is not liable for any outcome or damage resulting from information obtained from this article.
About the Author
C.D.Mohatta writes on skin problems, skin treatments and skin care. Please visit skin care guide for more information about how to have good skin. You can also read his articles, advice and tips on love, dating, relationships and break-ups. The author also writes for free ecards and free greeting cards on http://www.ecarduniverse.com . You can send free ecards on birthday, holidays, wishing good luck, expressing love and for every other topic.
Skin care and stretch marks formation-
Stretch marks don't form only because the skin stretches during certain periods. Let us look at this carefully. Most of the women believe that they get stretch marks because of their body expanding during pregnancy. This is true, but please note that the marks that you see in your skin get formed when the skin does not stretch and therefore tears. This not stretching of skin is believed to be because of certain hormones. These hormones don't allow the dermis to make more collagen and elastin. If the skin had made enough collagen and elastin to support the stretching, no marks would have appeared. This hormone called glucocorticoids is responsible for formation of stretch marks.
Skin Care and stretch mark avoidance-
Stretch marks form during pregnancy in women, in teenagers when they gain weight very fast, in body builders and in some conditions such as Cushing's syndrome. Use of steroid creams over along period may also form stretch marks.
Skin care and stretch marks treatment-
There is no proven treatment available for stretch marks. Rather than trying any product that claims to treat stretch marks, please consult your doctor. Chemical peeling and laser is being tried to remove them. Vitamin C creams and retionoids are said to help. Your doctor is the best judge. Please consult him/her and find the remedy if possible. Even otherwise don't get disheartened. They fade away over time.
This article is only for informative purposes. This article is not intended to be a medical advise and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult your doctor for your medical concerns. Please follow any tip given in this article only after consulting your doctor. The author is not liable for any outcome or damage resulting from information obtained from this article.
About the Author
C.D.Mohatta writes on skin problems, skin treatments and skin care. Please visit skin care guide for more information about how to have good skin. You can also read his articles, advice and tips on love, dating, relationships and break-ups. The author also writes for free ecards and free greeting cards on http://www.ecarduniverse.com . You can send free ecards on birthday, holidays, wishing good luck, expressing love and for every other topic.
Picking Up Women At The Local Laundromat
Ok, you’ve probably heard that Laundromats are great pick up places, better than a singles bar – that’s because they are! Maybe not better, but certainly a great alternative that’s just as good. You can pretend your entire motive is to wash clothes, and that you’re not on the make. The woman won’t have that feeling like you’re just trying to pick her up if you strike up a chat here – even if that’s exactly what you’re doing!
What really helps you out here is that women like to talk, and they love to give advice – especially to “helpless” men! First of all, pick a good Laundromat – meaning one where you’ve seen lots of attractive women who aren’t dragging a bunch of kids with them or wearing wedding rings. Basically, pick one in a neighborhood with lots of young, single women – they’ll be using the Laundromat close to home. And don’t worry if you already have a washing machine at home, it’s worth the trip out and a little change to meet women! If you meet someone that eventually makes it back to your place and discovers you have a machine at home, just tell her it was broken, or better yet, be honest and say you went to the Laundromat hoping to meet someone, and that was the best decision you ever made because you met her.
But let’s back up, first you’ve got to meet her! So go to the Laundromat with your basket of clothes – no detergent. Make sure you don’t bring anything a woman might find disgusting – like really dingy, holey underwear, badly stained
T-shirts, or socks that used to be white but now look like you walked through mud in them. However, something slightly stained won’t hurt – like a grass stain on your jeans or chocolate sauce on a shirt. You can use this later to help with the conversation
Go in, plop your laundry basket down on a machine near one or more ladies you wouldn’t mind picking up, and start digging through the basket like you’re looking for something. Then say out loud to yourself, “Oh, man, I forgot the detergent!” Laundromats usually have a vending machine selling detergent, so go over and start browsing. Act like you don’t know which one to pick, then go to the woman you want to chat up and say, “Excuse me, they don’t have my regular detergent here and I don’t know what to use. Can you help me pick one out?” Women can’t resist an opportunity to give advice, and they love the idea that men might be helpless when it comes to some chores, like laundry. This is where, if you’ve got the grass stain or whatever, you can bring that up and say you don’t know what to do to get it out. She may come over and show you how to rub detergent on the stain, etc. After you get the detergent, go back to your machine, fumble around, and go back to her and say, “I’m sorry to keep bothering you, but these machines are different than what I’m used to and I don’t know what setting to use. Could you give me a hand? I’m sorry to seem so helpless.” Milk the helpless bit for all it’s worth. Ask her how much detergent to use, what colors you can wash together, and what temperature to set the water at – whatever you can think of.
Also, if the Laundromat doesn’t have a vending machine for detergent, ask the woman if you can borrow some of hers. Insist on paying her back by paying for her washing or dryer use. Either way, once you’ve got her talking, keep chatting about clothes as long as that stays interesting – once it starts to get lame and boring, ditch the topic! Make sure and introduce yourself and get her name, then start asking her about herself. Find out where she works, what she does for fun, what movies or bands she likes, what her favorite types of food are. You can use that info as she’s packing up her clothes to leave – Say, “Thanks so much for the help. I’d love to pay you back by taking you out for some Italian food (or going to hear that band you like, or see that movie you said you’d been dying to see.)”
And one last thing, be ready with an explanation of why you’re using this particular Laundromat if it’s not in your neighborhood, just in case she asks. Make sure you pick one that’s not too far from home, and just say the one in your neighborhood was full and you didn’t want to wait for a machine. Now grab some change, a pile of dirty clothes, and get ready to bag that babe!
About the Author
Rachel Davis shows you how to pickup women anywhere by enhancing your conversation skills. Visit her site at www.conversation-king.com
What really helps you out here is that women like to talk, and they love to give advice – especially to “helpless” men! First of all, pick a good Laundromat – meaning one where you’ve seen lots of attractive women who aren’t dragging a bunch of kids with them or wearing wedding rings. Basically, pick one in a neighborhood with lots of young, single women – they’ll be using the Laundromat close to home. And don’t worry if you already have a washing machine at home, it’s worth the trip out and a little change to meet women! If you meet someone that eventually makes it back to your place and discovers you have a machine at home, just tell her it was broken, or better yet, be honest and say you went to the Laundromat hoping to meet someone, and that was the best decision you ever made because you met her.
But let’s back up, first you’ve got to meet her! So go to the Laundromat with your basket of clothes – no detergent. Make sure you don’t bring anything a woman might find disgusting – like really dingy, holey underwear, badly stained
T-shirts, or socks that used to be white but now look like you walked through mud in them. However, something slightly stained won’t hurt – like a grass stain on your jeans or chocolate sauce on a shirt. You can use this later to help with the conversation
Go in, plop your laundry basket down on a machine near one or more ladies you wouldn’t mind picking up, and start digging through the basket like you’re looking for something. Then say out loud to yourself, “Oh, man, I forgot the detergent!” Laundromats usually have a vending machine selling detergent, so go over and start browsing. Act like you don’t know which one to pick, then go to the woman you want to chat up and say, “Excuse me, they don’t have my regular detergent here and I don’t know what to use. Can you help me pick one out?” Women can’t resist an opportunity to give advice, and they love the idea that men might be helpless when it comes to some chores, like laundry. This is where, if you’ve got the grass stain or whatever, you can bring that up and say you don’t know what to do to get it out. She may come over and show you how to rub detergent on the stain, etc. After you get the detergent, go back to your machine, fumble around, and go back to her and say, “I’m sorry to keep bothering you, but these machines are different than what I’m used to and I don’t know what setting to use. Could you give me a hand? I’m sorry to seem so helpless.” Milk the helpless bit for all it’s worth. Ask her how much detergent to use, what colors you can wash together, and what temperature to set the water at – whatever you can think of.
Also, if the Laundromat doesn’t have a vending machine for detergent, ask the woman if you can borrow some of hers. Insist on paying her back by paying for her washing or dryer use. Either way, once you’ve got her talking, keep chatting about clothes as long as that stays interesting – once it starts to get lame and boring, ditch the topic! Make sure and introduce yourself and get her name, then start asking her about herself. Find out where she works, what she does for fun, what movies or bands she likes, what her favorite types of food are. You can use that info as she’s packing up her clothes to leave – Say, “Thanks so much for the help. I’d love to pay you back by taking you out for some Italian food (or going to hear that band you like, or see that movie you said you’d been dying to see.)”
And one last thing, be ready with an explanation of why you’re using this particular Laundromat if it’s not in your neighborhood, just in case she asks. Make sure you pick one that’s not too far from home, and just say the one in your neighborhood was full and you didn’t want to wait for a machine. Now grab some change, a pile of dirty clothes, and get ready to bag that babe!
About the Author
Rachel Davis shows you how to pickup women anywhere by enhancing your conversation skills. Visit her site at www.conversation-king.com
An Example with Qualitative and Quantitative Research
In a previous article “Market Research: Qualitative, Quantitative and Everything In-Between” we explained the differences between quantitative and qualitative market research studies. We also promised to provide an example of a two-phased research approach, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative research approaches, in order to highlight the differences of the two types of research. Here’s our example:
QuickStop Convenience Stores
Once upon a time there was a successful line of convenience stores. We’ll call this group of stores “QuickStop”. At some point a staff-member realized that QuickStop seemed to be patronized by many more men than women. This was passed along to the management team and they asked the store tellers to informally keep track of the proportions of men to women who came into their stores. It turned out that the theory seemed to hold true, and in fact far more men patronized QuickStop than did women. This information was passed along to the other managers at other QuickStop stores and they found the same trend. This received some higher level management attention and they began to wonder why this was occurring. Eventually management made the decision that this was too large a group of potential customers to lose, and a decision was eventually made to study this phenomenon and to understand why it was taking place, and if anything could be done about it.
Research Objective
A research project was designed to understand how women felt about shopping at QuickStop stores and why. It was decided that this research should be qualitative and the specific methodology would be In-depth-Interviews (this is research with one professional interviewer and one respondent at a time – in this case the decision was made because there were suspicions that there could be sensitive issues that wouldn’t be discussed as candidly in a group setting).
Qualitative Research
About two dozen current or potential female customers were paid to come into a research facility to discuss the use of convenience stores in general, and later in the interviews the discussion was directed specifically to QuickStop convenience stores, in particular. The results were very surprising to the management team. The major qualitative findings included the following:
• Women viewed convenience stores to be primarily designed for men, with little or no consideration for women,
• The bathrooms at convenience stores were believed to be the dirtiest that could be found in a city - “gross” was the most common description – and that perception permeated everything that women felt about convenience stores in general
• QuickStop was seen as one of the worst of convenience stores “kind of the place for a man to buy gas, get a six-pack of cheap beer and cigarettes, but not the kind of place I want to go”.
Quantitative Research
Once the management team had an understanding of what issues they faced with female customers, they felt that they needed to understand how broadly these beliefs were held. Now they needed to get some hard numbers, and that meant that they needed to conduct quantitative market research. The research objective for this phase of research were:
• Understand how female customers of QuickStop differ from those that don’t regularly visit these stores.
• Understand whether or not a renovation of QuickStop could entice each group to visit more frequently (or at all depending on whether the respondent currently avoided QuickStop entirely).
For the quantitative phase of research they decided to conduct 250 telephone interviews with a combination of female respondents. The requirements to participate in this phase of research were that: half of the respondents stated that they had used QuickStop at least five times in the last year, and the other half admitted to intentionally avoiding QuickStop altogether, although they did use other brands of convenience stores. The major results from the quantitative phase indicated that:
• Over 76% of all female QuickStop customers were women under 30 years old, without children, while women with children and with higher incomes were 5 times less likely to shop at QuickStop
• The good news was that of the women who didn’t currently use QuickStop, 64% said that if these stores were to update their color schemes, clean up their bathrooms and update their health and feminine products that they would be willing to try QuickStop again.
The two phases of research gave the QuickStop management team a very good understanding of where they currently stood with female customers and why. Their quantitative research also indicated that those women who were not currently using their stores would “forgive” them if they changed their ways. Their decision now was to decide if gaining more middle-aged women as customers was worth the cost of updating their stores and spending more money to keep them clean and neat, and better stocked with the types of products that middle-aged women with children needed. But that’s another story, for a future article. Stay tuned for further adventures.
Research note: in general when conducting two phases of research (in this case qualitative and quantitative market research) it’s most often the case that the qualitative research phase is conducted first as a “lead-in”. Qualitative research tends to help the management team understand the underlying issues, and then the second phase (quantitative in this case) helps to understand how pervasive these feelings/attitudes are among a certain target audience.
About the Author
Chris Hawkes is a Senior Market Researcher at MarketResearch101. Chris has been conducting market research for over a decade and has researched a variety of topics in over 20 countries across the world. MarketResearch101 is the web's greatest source of Market Research information.
QuickStop Convenience Stores
Once upon a time there was a successful line of convenience stores. We’ll call this group of stores “QuickStop”. At some point a staff-member realized that QuickStop seemed to be patronized by many more men than women. This was passed along to the management team and they asked the store tellers to informally keep track of the proportions of men to women who came into their stores. It turned out that the theory seemed to hold true, and in fact far more men patronized QuickStop than did women. This information was passed along to the other managers at other QuickStop stores and they found the same trend. This received some higher level management attention and they began to wonder why this was occurring. Eventually management made the decision that this was too large a group of potential customers to lose, and a decision was eventually made to study this phenomenon and to understand why it was taking place, and if anything could be done about it.
Research Objective
A research project was designed to understand how women felt about shopping at QuickStop stores and why. It was decided that this research should be qualitative and the specific methodology would be In-depth-Interviews (this is research with one professional interviewer and one respondent at a time – in this case the decision was made because there were suspicions that there could be sensitive issues that wouldn’t be discussed as candidly in a group setting).
Qualitative Research
About two dozen current or potential female customers were paid to come into a research facility to discuss the use of convenience stores in general, and later in the interviews the discussion was directed specifically to QuickStop convenience stores, in particular. The results were very surprising to the management team. The major qualitative findings included the following:
• Women viewed convenience stores to be primarily designed for men, with little or no consideration for women,
• The bathrooms at convenience stores were believed to be the dirtiest that could be found in a city - “gross” was the most common description – and that perception permeated everything that women felt about convenience stores in general
• QuickStop was seen as one of the worst of convenience stores “kind of the place for a man to buy gas, get a six-pack of cheap beer and cigarettes, but not the kind of place I want to go”.
Quantitative Research
Once the management team had an understanding of what issues they faced with female customers, they felt that they needed to understand how broadly these beliefs were held. Now they needed to get some hard numbers, and that meant that they needed to conduct quantitative market research. The research objective for this phase of research were:
• Understand how female customers of QuickStop differ from those that don’t regularly visit these stores.
• Understand whether or not a renovation of QuickStop could entice each group to visit more frequently (or at all depending on whether the respondent currently avoided QuickStop entirely).
For the quantitative phase of research they decided to conduct 250 telephone interviews with a combination of female respondents. The requirements to participate in this phase of research were that: half of the respondents stated that they had used QuickStop at least five times in the last year, and the other half admitted to intentionally avoiding QuickStop altogether, although they did use other brands of convenience stores. The major results from the quantitative phase indicated that:
• Over 76% of all female QuickStop customers were women under 30 years old, without children, while women with children and with higher incomes were 5 times less likely to shop at QuickStop
• The good news was that of the women who didn’t currently use QuickStop, 64% said that if these stores were to update their color schemes, clean up their bathrooms and update their health and feminine products that they would be willing to try QuickStop again.
The two phases of research gave the QuickStop management team a very good understanding of where they currently stood with female customers and why. Their quantitative research also indicated that those women who were not currently using their stores would “forgive” them if they changed their ways. Their decision now was to decide if gaining more middle-aged women as customers was worth the cost of updating their stores and spending more money to keep them clean and neat, and better stocked with the types of products that middle-aged women with children needed. But that’s another story, for a future article. Stay tuned for further adventures.
Research note: in general when conducting two phases of research (in this case qualitative and quantitative market research) it’s most often the case that the qualitative research phase is conducted first as a “lead-in”. Qualitative research tends to help the management team understand the underlying issues, and then the second phase (quantitative in this case) helps to understand how pervasive these feelings/attitudes are among a certain target audience.
About the Author
Chris Hawkes is a Senior Market Researcher at MarketResearch101. Chris has been conducting market research for over a decade and has researched a variety of topics in over 20 countries across the world. MarketResearch101 is the web's greatest source of Market Research information.
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