Our clients are always looking for ways to understand how their customers truly interact with their product or service.  One way to do this is to go to where the customers live, work or shop and observe and interview them there.  This can be very effective, but we always have to consider how the researcher’s very presence could affect the respondent’s behavior.  In some cases, we’ve found another option that can be less intrusive: video diaries. 

We send respondents a webcam, ask them questions (either in a video clip or in writing), and when it’s convenient and appropriate for them, respondents answer by talking to the webcam.  They tend to be more natural, open and honest, since they don’t have a stranger in the room with them, and they’re participating at a time that makes sense to them, not on the researcher’s schedule.

Now we’ve started using a new method that combines the strengths of video diaries with the benefits of group interaction.  It works like an online bulletin board focus group, except it uses video.  Respondents answer questions by talking to a webcam, and then they watch the video responses recorded by other participants.  So we still get the benefit of participants’ unbiased responses, but we get the added richness that comes from the “cross-fertilization” of a group discussion (e.g., “oh yeah, now that you say that, I forgot to mention…”).

To find the optimal research method to learn about your market, give us a call at (818) 752-7210.

As we’ve mentioned in the past, when companies say they want to conduct “website usability testing,” they usually want to know about more than just usability.  They also want answers to questions such as what users think of the site and what would motivate them to use the site versus other options.  That’s why we typically include a qualitative interview along with our usability sessions.  But in some cases, clients want to focus on usability issues and gain a deep understanding of how users move through their website.  In these cases, we recommend conducting quantitative remote usability testing.

With remote usability testing, several hundred respondents interact with websites from their own homes or offices, and we record all their clicks and their paths through the sites.  We can also ask them questions about their experiences (both typical survey questions and open-ended questions).  Now in the old days (and by “the old days,” I mean 1999!), this required that respondents download special software.  But nowadays, it’s possible to record respondents browsing any website without downloading software and without any programming on the website.  That means that companies can even learn how users interact with their competitors’ websites!

Costs have come down, too.  Usually, a remote usability study with 200 respondents can be conducted for about the same cost as an in-person study with 15 respondents.  This provides a large enough sample to enable us to analyze the behavior of different segments, or what we call “personas” – that is,  different groups with distinct ways of interacting with a given website.

To discuss the best way to conduct research to make your website more effective, give us a call at (818) 752-7210.