Focus Insite

It shouldn’t take data breaches making headlines to get people to think about privacy policies and how online data is protected. Conducting qualitative or quantitative market research inevitably requires sharing of personal information. If the subject of a research study happens to be medical in nature, a whole other layer of privacy matters comes into play.   We’ve highlighted the importance of privacy with market research recruiting firms in past blogs, but having robust privacy protocols isn’t limited to recruitment only. There are many other facets during a study where privacy needs to be protected and procedures in place to ensure the security of sensitive information, from recording in-depth interviews or focus groups to transcription. Boiler-plate privacy policies may be sufficient when making contact with potential recruits, but the subject of the study will determine what additional privacy measures need consideration. When deciding to partner with...

Qualitative market research produces copious amounts of data. Between focus groups, in-depth interviews, or mobile ethnographies, it isn’t unusual to end up with hundreds of pages of transcripts. Taking in all the data and distilling it down to find the patterns and themes that emerge in a study is why qualitative market insite research is so valuable to companies. Topics for qualitative market research vary widely, but the essence remains the same: to gain insight into consumers’ behavior and attitudes to understand what is driving their decision-making processes. The insights discovered through qualitative research can help answer what consumers think and/or feel about a service or product; why a product is chosen over a competitor’s; how design, branding, and packaging influence preferences; which marketing/branding messages resonate; how price factors into product selection; and if there is demand for a new service or product. Depending on the budget and scope o...

For those of us who work in the market research industry, we sometimes forget that those on the outside of our industry don’t realize the many steps required to take a qualitative market research project from concept to finished product. There are many steps involved in conducting market research, and we work with   market research recruitment agencies AND DIY clients. For clients who are undertaking a market research project on their own, in order to be successful, it’s first important to understand the various facets of tackling a market research study. No two studies are alike, but there is a basic framework that most market research studies are built upon. Hypothesis: before you can design a market research study, you must first clarify the hypothesis, or essential question to be answered. This will vary widely depending on the subject matter, but generally a company wants to know ‘how’ and ‘why’ consumers make the decisions they do. Once the essen...

Market researchers routinely mention that one of their biggest challenges is finding quality participants. There is no shortage of professionally embarrassing stories that researchers can share about inappropriate and unqualified research participants. It makes one wonder if there are fundamental flaws in the way market research recruitment is conducted. There is no simple yes or no answer to this question, but we can provide insight as to why this issue persists. One reason we know that researchers are frustrated by some of the participants who show up (or don’t show up--a whole other issue) to participate in market research studies, is that many of these researchers have contacted us to manage recruitment for them, once they realize how challenging and time intensive recruiting can be. Without a dedicated team focused on recruiting, nationwide qualitative research firms know that outsourcing recruitment to a qualified, participant recruitment agency saves time...