Archive for the ‘Market Research’ Category

This afternoon, our founder and CEO Stephen Cribbett will be speaking on Radio NewMR alongside Rosie Campbell and Lenny Murphy (Green Book, US) about where he sees MROCs going and what's going to make waves in 2012.

To tune in and listen to the debate, click here

We'd like to welcome you to the first in what we hope to be many posts from qualitative researchers across the globe that have used our software - IdeaStream, HeadsUp and UpClose - to deliver outstanding research. We very much hope that the series stimulates debate and discussion, and we encourage you to post your comments and questions back to the author.

So without further ado, please welcome Dr Alison Lyons from Counterpoint Research. Alison recently worked with Dub to deliver an study that looked into premium lager consumption behaviours. Being Scottish, Alison assured us she knew her subject and could hold her own in any forum, so we put her to the test. Here's what she had to say....

Say hello and introduce yourself to our readers, highlighting your online and offline experience.

Hi there, I'm Alison Lyon and I've been a researcher for over 20 years. My first job was lecturing in Research Methods and Education, after which I moved into commercial market research. I kept up an interest in new methods though, and established a qualitative telephone unit at Network Research, before setting up Counterpoint Research in 1991. We were one of the very first UK agencies to start offering online methodologies, so it's really exciting to see them incorporated pretty much across the board nowadays.

From your experience, what do you glean from online qual methods (communities, bulletin boards etc) that you don’t get from more traditional f2f methods?

Time, reflection and creativity. Face to face is brilliant for living in the moment, pushing respondents into uncomfortable spaces, in-depth conversations and visceral reactions. Online is much better when you need more time to track not only how people feel 'in the moment', but also once they've thought about it, talked about it with their friends/ family, changed their minds a couple of times and (usually) landed on a compromise opinion.

It's also great when you want to encourage a lot of independent interaction between respondents. Often the most fascinating discussions start when participants ask each other questions : questions you might not ask as a moderator.

The most often-cited advantage of online methods is that they don't require participants to be physically present all at the same time, in the same location, so it makes peer to peer interaction possible between a much broader range of the population.

When you choose to use online methods, what are the most common drivers?

Most experienced researchers will look at the research problem and consider what methods will work best, in what kind of combination - nowadays that should mean considering on and offline methods.

I'd say the most common reasons I have for recommending an online approach are :

- when the service/ product/ problem to be researched is also based online

- as mentioned above - when you need to give respondents time and space to reflect, look at the issues from another angle, talk about it etc.

- when you need a balance between the individual's story and group reactions (e.g. including diaries/ blogs/ journals as well as online discussions)

- and yes, logistics (geographically spread sample, professionals/ stakeholders who can't commit to being physically available all at the same time etc)

- when the topic is extremely personal, and/ or complex - so respondents will struggle to express themselves well without feeling under pressure in a face to face environment

What do you see as the difference, if any, in the way people express themselves online versus in person?

There are lots of differences, which obviously need to be taken into consideration when designing and analysing online content - but they also vary depending on who you've invited online.

For instance, elderly investors unused to having anything like a discussion online are much more like their offline selves. They take time and spell out all their words, include all the punctuation and get annoyed when they make spelling mistakes.

Young people used to social networking tend to express themselves much more emphatically online - their emotions tend to be bigger, and expressed very quickly. But they'll also change their mind more quickly and be open to others' points of view.

An enormous benefit of online with young people is that there isn't that difficult, awkwardness you sometimes get when you ask a group of strangers to come together, open up and be frank with one another.

What tactics and tools do you use successfully to manage the rivers of data produced in online research communities?

The best online platform/ software providers allow you to organise the content as you're reading through it to respond to it - I really like features such as IdeaStream's 'rating' and annotation facilities. They work really well and are brilliant visual 'breaks' in a sea of text.

It also allows you to analyse video / photographic / graphics content alongside respondents' stories.

BUT ... the absolutely golden rule is whatever happens in your life / work / relationship / library subscription (remember those?!), stay on top of the content. If you fall behind you will not catch up.

Do you think clients are more or less excited by online research communities than researchers, and why?

I've seen an incredibly wide range of responses to the whole online research offer from both clients and researchers. But it's rare that either researchers or clients have experienced online qualitative research without being excited by it ... and those who weren't were few and judging online options as "cheap" options. Which they're not.

What do you most enjoy about running online research communities?

Like with face to face research, it's the people. I absolutely love the way research participants will share their feelings, ideas, experiences, fears, aspirations in such a generous way. The difference with online is that we give them so many ways to explore and feedback - it's not just time limited and mainly speech-based.

I also love working longer term with participants and clients - that is incredibly fulfilling.

Finally, I enjoy the buzz participants get out of working in such cool and innovative ways, and being able to see what a difference they make as their ideas are acted upon.

How do you sell the benefits of online research communities to your clients, and what do you see as the ongoing challenges of encouraging clients that it’s the right fit with their objectives?

I talk about the frankness, the creativity and the depth they'll get from their participants, and about how involved they'll be able to get.

I also talk about the beautiful transparency of online approaches, and how they'll have a much closer relationship with their customers because of online communities.

I also talk about their responsibilities - if they're asking their customers to give so much to them, they have to think carefully about what they're giving back.

What participants do you think are the best fit with online methods and why?

Do you know, I've used online approaches with the least tech-savvy people and had absolutely fantastic results. But obviously the less the participants have been online, the more work needs to go into preparing an environment where they feel comfortable.

So I'd say don't rule anyone out, and don't automatically think that young people will always be right for online on every topic.

Do you have any examples of online tasks and exercises that have worked extremely well and exceeded your expectations?

I conducted a series of online forums on the topic of egg and sperm donation for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority recently. The target audience was the general public and those with an active faith. The forums took place over 5-6 days and were absolutely fascinating. By encouraging participants to talk with friends and family about the issues being raised in the forum we were able to understand attitudes on a much deeper level.

Participants also started interacting with one another in a fascinating way, sharing some very personal, private and difficult moments with one another, and providing support and encouragement.

At the end of the project I had received a mountain of personal emails from participants, saying how amazed they were that they were able to participate so easily and how perfect an environment online had been for exploring such complex, difficult and personal issues.

Whatever the task, the best online platforms make it fun, easy and quick for respondents to feed back what they've done in a creative, interesting and thoughtful way. It has to make them look good to keep them engaged and involved.

What are you most excited about in the world of online qual research right now?

I'm really excited about how online platforms are much more flexible, and how easy it is now to combine approaches: so a few key participants in a longer term community can be asked to participate in mini-focus groups, tasks can be analysed alongside forum responses, or blogs etc. In the past researchers had to decide on either a forum, or an online texting group, or a video-conference, or a community ... nowadays we can spec what we think is appropriate for different issues and participants, and the software/ platform can cope with it.

The team here at Dub spend countless hours helping clients (agencies and brands) optimise their research design for the online research community or ad-hoc online qual project that lays ahead. As the relationship with our client extends, the support we give them sees us transfer the knowledge and experience of online research design we have, to the point where the level of help and support they need is simply in applying some of the rules surrounding tone-of-voice and audience engagement.

When applied correctly, these rules make for an effective online research design and, in turn, result in better response and happier participants. So without further ado, here are some of the top tips that, when applied, will turn your online research design from being good to great!

Talk like a person, not a corporation
Remove any potential ‘corporate’ speak that implies laziness and a lack of thinking, such as ‘tell us what you think’. These are not good at building a sense of community since they can make the moderator appear distant and disengaged

Engage, question, probe
When constructing a question, lead with an explanation of the objectives, then supply the question, and finally weave in more information and as and when you probe (or comment) on their post. Building the conversation in this way helps to establish the participants confidence and expand their response with greater ease and enjoyment.

Talk ‘to’ people, not ‘at’ them
Communicate with your participants as you would in everyday life. Write in the 1st person and show that you are a real person who will acknowledge and support them through the project or community. Knowing there is someone, a real person, listening and responding helps create a sense of community and builds relationships.

Identify the active participants early on, and harness their energy
As you build your community, you’ll begin to see patterns of participation and spot some of the more active and willing members. Work with these people and use them to help encourage others to speak up if they are lagging. So for example, ‘I’d love to hear your thoughts on this Ian and Amanda’.

Combine open and closed questions
We always encourage our clients to be creative and write research that allows the respondents to creatively express themselves using the range of tools available. But at the same time, we emphasis the need to combine open and closed questions to provide a change of pace and offer some respite.

Don’t be afraid to offer your opinion during the course of a task
You’re likely to be asking for the opinions of your participants throughout the life of your community, so don’t be afraid to offer your own as a way of encouragement. However, this is research so don’t bias the response, only offer up your opinion to help lift the level of response and get deeper into the conversations.

Use narrative
When constructing your questions or discussion, try and write it as though it were a story, with a clear beginning, middle and end. By this we mean frame the question. Tell them whey you are asking the question, and why you want their feedback, then drop the question or task, and finally explain what you have found out and what, if possible, you will do with their response. Online research gives you the opportunity to share feedback in a constructive way, and this is a great way of retaining attention and motivating on going participation since your participants feel as though they are genuinely contributing to something meaningful, rather than just being raped of their time for little else than cash.

Be yourself, interact
Despite not being with your participants in person, it is still possible to come across as a genuine person who cares passionately about the subject and who is going to be supportive. Try to interact with respondents as much as possible through ‘commenting’, even if it’s simply to say ‘thanks for your response’. The more effort you put into this, the more relaxed, open, communicative and natural your participants will be.

If you’d like to know more on how to optimise your research design, why not drop us a line by emailing us@dubstudios.com or calling +44 (0) 20 7247 3327 (UK) or +1 310 997 5779

With Spring in the air and an extra special Royal Wedding Bank Holiday to enjoy (for those lucky devils in our London office!), not to mention the Easter Bank Holidays, we wanted to let you know that it’s business as usual at Dub Towers. Our team will be on hand around the clock over this period to help you with your online research projects and communities.

For help and support from our UK team, contact Tom Watts on +44 (0) 20 7247 3327 or emailtom@dubstudios.com

If you’re located in the US or nearby, contact Kerry Hecht on +1 310 997 5779 or email kerry@dubstudios.com

A right Royal offer!

To mark the special Royal occasion, we’re offering our clients the chance to order projects during the week commencing 25th April 2011 and get a discounted initial week at £300, that’s a massive 50% discount.

Hurry, this offer ends on 28th April 2011, when we must have received confirmation.

I had the honour of spending three days with some of the market research industry's leading brains recently in Malta, at Merlien Institute's Qualitative Consumer Research & Insights 2011 conference. Among those attending were MR legend Ray Poynter, Di Tunney of Live Insights, Frank Geers of InSites, Jochum Stienstra from Ferro Explore! and Will Goodhand, Juicy Evangelist from BrainJuicer.

You can see a selection of the presentation here for yourself, and in particular I'd draw your attention to a fantastic presentation and discussion lead by Aaron Reid of Sentient Decision which centred on 'free will' and the science of neuroscience, an area that is clearly becoming much lauded within MR circles.

My presentation is also here for you to see in glorious technicolour (below). As you will see, I challenged the role and approach of MR agencies as the onslaught of social media led methodologies continues to encroach on old-world techniques. Tell me what you think, join the debate....
Research communities an agency proposition or brand asset

We were very pleased with ourselves and feeling proud when we received this testimonial from one of our Australian clients in our inbox today. I think you'll see why when you read it...

It’s a combination of simplicity and sophistication that makes IdeaStream from Dub one of the best market research software packages that we’ve used.

Simplicity is for the participants – the ease of registration, the ability to customise the design of the platform and the user friendly interface means it’s easy to quickly establish a relationship with the people you need to engage with and ensure they are comfortable with your objectives and needs.

The sophistication is the back end and the research expertise that has so clearly gone into the design of the product.  From project management to reporting, IdeaStream allows researchers and their clients to have access to a powerful live platform.

Our company has evaluated and used competitor offerings and IdeaStream is by far, superior in all aspects.

If you'd like to find out what makes online qual tick and have the same experience as our friends around the world, contact Stephen Cribbett on +44 (0) 20 7247 3327 or email us@dubstudios.com

Thinking about using online qual research techniques for business-to-business research, then look no further. Dub recently completed a research community for a B2B supplier to the construction industry that enabled them to evaluate the potential for a completely new service offering. The iterative nature of the research community allowed the agency client to fully explore these respondents spontaneous wants and needs for additional services before introducing a series of prompts (covering the service concept, detailed aspects of the service, potential naming/identities and marketing communications).

The online research  approach pioneered by Dub enabled the client to generate a level of interaction between respondents that would not have been feasible using 'off-line' methodologies, as it would not have been practical to conduct groups with this geographically disparate, busy business audience. As a result of the study, the b2b client is now in the process of launching this new service offering that will represent a real breakthrough within their industry.

To find out more about how Dub's approach to online research can get you closer to your customers than ever before, contact Stephen Cribbett on +44 (0) 20 7247 3327

Dub has recently completed a great project with one of the UK's leading brand innovation agency clients, on behalf of a major own label ready meal producer.

Objectives
To explore consumer attitudes towards different ready meal cuisine types offered by one of the UK's leading supermarkets. The purpose of this online research community was to evaluate perceptions of several newer cuisines that had recently been introduced within the stores, understand how they impacted on more established cuisine offerings, and to identify any further opportunities/gaps.

Results
The extended nature of the online research community approach meant that we were able to dedicate discussion streams to fully explore consumer responses to a wide range of issues, and to respond/react to comments and insights.

A potential new range opportunity that only emerged in the final couple of days of the online research community is now being actively pursued by our client and is likely to lead to significant incremental business with a major retailer.

For more information contact Stephen Cribbett on +44 (0) 20 7247 3327 or by emailing stephen@dubstudios.com

Courtesy of our client, we've got another great case study to share with you. This time the study was for a salad dressing manufacturer and brand owner, to help them understand current consumer attitudes and dynamics within the sector.

Approach
The study was undertaken over a two week period in the summer of 2010 to coincide with the peak usage of salad dressings, thus enabling 'real-time' experiences to be conveyed. The ongoing nature of the online research community enabled continued probing and interrogation of consumer responses, as well as the introduction of positioning stimulus that helped our agency client to identify the most credible and appealing proposition for our client's brand.

Client comment
"This simply would not have been achievable within the more limited time constraints of a more traditional research methodology (ie; focus group discussions)", say no more!

For more information or to understand how your brand or organisation can benefit from online research communities, contact Stephen Cribbett on +44 (0) 20 7247 3327

As 2011 begins and we all  start to look forward (while trying to forget how much we’ve eaten or how much exercise we need to do to work of how much we’ve eaten!), we thought we’d give you 10 good reasons to work with Dub in 2011 if  you're looking to accelerate your online qual research or build an online research or innovation community.

#1 We’ve quickly become one of the world’s leading online research business, serving up smart software and clever people in over 14 countries to some of the leading market research, advertising and innovation agencies including Added Value, Flamingo, TNS, Ipsos, Incite, BBH, McCann Erickson and ORC International.

#2 We’re researchers and community experts, not just software geeks, so we understand how you deliver your research to clients

#3 We provide more than just great software; a range of essential research services including online research design, moderation, translation, recruitment and project management - all designed to help you get the absolute maximum from your online methodology

#4 For just a single (low) cost, our software allows you to deploy blogs, bulletin boards, brainstorms, surveys and polls as you wish. (Other vendors often bolt additional costs on!)

#5 We're thought of as online research partners rather than not just software suppliers by our clients! With our help they design engaging, creative research and always go beyond their clients' expectations.

#6 We've got global coverage, both in terms of localised software in over 17 languages, and offices in LA and the UK to support customers in all timezones

#7 It's not just helping you have conversations with consumers that we can help with, we've also got some great knowledge management and researcher/client collaboration tools to improve your working relationship and bring clients closer to the project

#8 As one of our client's put it, 'all of the functionality of the IdeaStream platform is geared towards an excellent participant experience as well as ensuring researchers can successfully and easily gather the insight they need'

(more to follow...)