Focus Insite

  Recruiting for qualitative market research studies is the core of our business, so our ears perk up any time we read about focus groups or other sorts of qualitative methodologies. A recent newsletter posting in Planet Money caught our attention for its mention of examples when focus group findings flop. The example used in the article was the McDonald’s roll out of the Arch Deluxe burger back in the mid-nineties. On the face of it, McDonald’s took all the right steps before doing a very expensive, nation-wide release of the Arch Deluxe burger. Before the roll out of the new menu item the company conducted focus groups to get feedback on its new product offering. The results from the focus groups looked promising: the respondents loved the new product. Armed with successful insite research feedback, the company watched in dismay as the Arch Deluxe flopped. It failed to bring new customers into stores. Customers mostly ignored the new burger and opted for more familia

In last week’s blog we discussed when it’s appropriate to recruit market research participants from your organization’s customer database. This week we’ll turn our attention to recruiting external participants for your market research study. Market research studies aren’t a “one-and-done” undertaking. Whether your company is a start-up or an established brand, market research can help with everything from product-market fit to UX design. As with any qualitative study, market research recruitment of appropriate participants can make or break the final outcome. When to Recruit External Participants for Market Research Studies The following list will give you some idea as to when it’s more appropriate to recruit from external sources, rather than internal: • When developing a new product or service • Testing with new user or customer groups • Gaining insight into competitors’ customers • Usability testing for novice users Recruiting external participants for your market r

When deciding to move forward with a insite research , one of the first decisions to be made is who should be included to fillthe study. Sometimes companies make the assumption that only customers need to participate, and therefore recruiting should be a breeze. We have a few responses to this assumption. First, the scope of the study will determine if it’s appropriate to include only existing customers, a random sampling from the general population, or a mix of the two. Second, even if you’re recruiting from an existing customer database doesn’t mean that recruiting will be any easier. Finding potential study participants is only half of the job of the recruiter. The other half involves managing schedules, handling no-shows, participate in surveys and paying incentives for completed participation. Multiply this across multiple participants and it is quickly evident why qualitative research companies outsource recruiting to nationwide research recruiters. Let’s take