Online Research: An Emerging Methodology

Though it’s still an emerging methodology, online research can have strategic advantages over more traditional types of research. It’s quicker and more cost-effective, not to mention that researchers gain access to a national audience instead of being city-specific.

As online research becomes more prevalent, it’s important that both client-side and supply-side researchers are open to experimenting with options made available through technology.

Recently, we helped a client – a major entertainment network – conduct a series of in-facility television show pilots. When the facility research was complete, the client came back to FPG and asked about options for re-contacting the original group of respondent’s for follow-up research on a different, new television show.

FPG’s leadership team created a solution that included a 10-minute online questionnaire that determined TV viewing habits. The data gathered from this questionnaire was used to choose respondents to participate in the follow-up, online research, where they were asked to view a 22-minute pilot of the new show and answer a post-viewing survey.

The project engaged more than 1,000 respondents and was completed – from start to finish! – in just a week, during the always-hectic 4^th quarter.

Stay tuned for an in-depth case study on online pilot show testing, where we’ll reveal details about the client, the marketing issues at hand, the research methods used, and what was learned from the study. In the meantime, contact your FPG Pointe Person today to see how you can take advantage of online research methods.

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Find The Right Focus Group Respondents: Screening Confirmation

As any experienced marketing researcher knows, the key to focus group success is gathering the right respondents. Earlier this week, we talked about the importance of finding and filtering respondents with a well-crafted recruitment screener.

But the screening process shouldn’t stop there. Once you’ve identified the best group of respondents based on your initial online survey or phone screening and scheduled them for your focus group event, follow up with a confirmation call. Over the course of this call, ask some questions to help you verify your respondents’ initial responses, ensuring that they are still accurate and in line with your requirements.

Switch up your original screener. Try asking each question a little differently … If it was originally a “yes or no” question, reformulate it to invite a more open-ended response. Now that the initial screening round is complete, don’t hesitate to probe a little deeper and try to draw out your respondents’ views, values and opinions in more detail with your follow-up screening.

Try to find any holes in the respondent’s story. Identifying any discrepancies or areas of requirement weakness at this follow-up stage helps you avoid discovering unqualified or under-qualified respondents once your focus group is in session. What’s more, if you need to go back and recruit additional respondents, the sooner the better!  

For more helpful follow-up screening and requirement confirmation guidance, stay tuned to the FPG blog or click on the button below to schedule a consultation with one of the experts at Focus Pointe Global.

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