The first step in analyzing quantitative data is to clearly define the problem or question that needs to be answered. This could be a business problem such as determining the most profitable product line, or a personal question such as figuring out the most cost$-$effective way to reduce household energy consumption. For this example, let's say the problem is to identify which marketing channel $($social media, email, or direct mail$)$ provides the highest return on investment $($ROI$)$ for a small business.