As you may know, I’m part of an international alliance of researchers, ThinkGlobal Qualitative.  We recently conducted multi-country research with dog owners.  One of the goals was to generate new product ideas.

We utilized a hybrid methodology, starting with a mobile diary, where dog owners in each country answered questions each day on their smartphones over the course of a week.  We then conducted an online bulletin board focus group, where participants could interact with each other.  This combination of methods was particularly effective: the mobile diary increased participants’ awareness of the details of dog ownership and primed them for the group discussion.  The diary, followed by the synergy of the group discussion, led to a large number of new product ideas.

One benefit of conducting the research in multiple countries: we were able to learn from each other.  After we saw some diary responses such as “nothing new to report today,” we came up with the idea of adding a “question of the day” for the U.S. research: each day, in addition to reporting about their interaction with their dogs, participants were also asked to focus on a more general question that helped prepare them for the coming discussion (e.g., best ways to teach your dog something new, biggest challenges of dog ownership).

Are you looking for new ideas?  Please contact us to discuss.

Sources: “Mobile Unleashed: Dogs Go Mobile and Connect Online,” ThinkGlobal Qualitative, 6/5/14; Bureau West research