People who perform market research often face a difficult task when trying to measure perceptions of their target audience. It's difficult to convince someone to take the time to fill out a digital survey, take part in a focus group, or provide written feedback after an event.
Just getting people to take the time to talk to you can be challenging. “Often you find that it’s necessary to offer some sort of incentive in order to get feedback,” says Spencer, an Option Technologies client and market researcher from R3. Hal, another Option Technologies client, faced similar obstacles in his work as a market researcher for OPS.
“Getting people to react to research questions during focus group sessions was a real challenge,” said Hal. “We had trouble quickly implementing and tabulating web or paper based surveys so we could tee up focus group discussions and drill down on participants’ perceptions.”
It was for these reasons that both Spencer and Hal decided to turn to Option Technologies for help with an audience response system for focus group research. Audience response systems use wireless keypad input devices, tablets, or smart phones to capture participant responses in real time. Often the speed and functionality these systems deliver can make a huge difference in the success of a company's market research efforts.
Rather than respond to a paper or online survey, research subjects use handheld devices to answer questions. Questions can measure perceptions about products, services, packaging or other marketing topics. Depending on the type of research involved, quantitative or qualitative, there are a variety of significant benefits of using audience response technology, including:
- faster data collection
- automatic data tabulation
- real-time results displays and reports
- stronger discussions
- honest input
- higher response rates
"We used the interactive audience response technology for simple multiple-choice questions,” Spencer said. "The value for us was the instant feedback and the sense of inclusion it created for our clients." Spencer said the feedback about the interactive technology and keypads has been good; study participants enjoy the experience.
In addition, wireless keypads allow market researchers to create electronic survey instruments in just minutes. These surveys are then presented to focus group participants who answer in real time. Response rates are consistently higher. They share their perceptions about products, services, or other marketing questions for which prospect input is required. After gathering the data, researchers are able to instantly review results and then facilitate discussions about the results with study participants. They are then able to present the quantitative data to the group and drill down to learn more about their perceptions.
The real time tabulation functionality in the interactive software allows a facilitator to show similarities and differences in sub-group reactions on screen immediately after the survey is complete. The researcher can foster discussions to get insight from the group on why those differences may exist. Study participants are typically engaged and interested in sharing during this process.
Using this approach, audience response technology provided Hal with a quantitative tool that helped accelerate and enhance his qualitative research. “Survey participants are very interested in reviewing survey results and more open in discussing their perceptions,” Hal said. These facilitated discussions provide greater insights into the key research questions.
More advanced polling systems provide support for multiple computers and data displays. One computer system can gather and display data in a research room with study participants while another system can explore and analyze data separately in an observation room. This allows researchers to adjust the study in real time with multiple rounds of questions and facilitated discussions. They can cover more subjects and get deeper insights during the limited time research subjects are available.
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