Bureau West

Online bulletin board focus groups have been around for years now; they are one of the original online alternatives to in-person focus groups.  With online bulletin boards, participants log in at their convenience over the course of several days (or several weeks or more, depending on the project), and provide their responses to questions, as well as comments to others’ responses.  They’re not interacting in real-time, so there’s less spontaneity, but online bulletin boards have some important advantages.  For example:

• Everyone gets to answer every question, and they have time to think about each question before answering.
• Online bulletin board discussion participants tend to be more candid and less influenced by others’ opinions.

The challenge is to make sure participants treat the online discussion like a focus group and engage in the conversation, rather than treating it like a survey, and provide very brief answers.  There are a variety of ways to ensure participant engagement; a recent presentation by my colleague Holly O’Neill included some great strategies for doing so.  (Fellow researchers: Holly shared her expertise at a Qualitative Research Consultants Association chapter meeting.  One of the many reasons to become a member!)  Here are some of my favorite strategies, from both Holly’s and my experience:

• When recruiting participants, make it clear the online discussion is not a survey and will require their active engagement.
• Be specific in your initial requests for engagement, e.g., “I’d like you to go back through this morning’s conversation and make at least three comments on others’ posts.”
• Use indirect questioning techniques (such as projective techniques) early and often.  These techniques aren’t just for in-person focus groups, they can provide great value in online bulletin board discussions.  We’ve learned from the field of behavioral economics that people assume their decisions are based on logic only, when in reality, emotions and context play an important role.  Indirect questioning techniques give participants permission to consider factors beyond logic.  For example, we might ask participants to find images on the web that illustrate what they think of a product or service.  Or we might ask participants to tell us what people say about a certain topic, and then tell us what people really think about that topic.

To find the best ways to learn about your customers and prospects, give me a call at 818-752-7210 or email info at bureauwest.com.

Sources: “Turbo Charge Your Online Qualitative With Online Projectives & Exercises,” Holly O’Neill, QRCA So. Cal. Chapter, 3/14/15; Bureau West research

I frequently talk about how behavioral economics provides an important perspective we can use to obtain more accurate results when we conduct market research.  For marketers, one of the most important mechanisms of behavioral economics is called “frame of reference,” which refers to the context in which people make choices.  We commonly ask research participants how likely they would be to buy an item; behavioral economics shows us the answer to that question varies widely based on the other choices available.

But how do people make the choice among the options available to them?  I recently attended a great presentation given by a colleague of mine, Tom Rich, at the Qualitative Research Consultants Association annual conference in New Orleans.  He talked about how we make trade-offs to arrive at a decision.  We do it all the time: for example, is it worth paying an extra $50 for a non-stop flight or should I save the money and make the stop?  Tom says there are five different factors people consider when they make trade-offs:

• Time
• Energy (e.g., the hassle involved)
• Money
• Performance (quality)
• Self-esteem

When we conduct market research, we can ask questions to find out which of the above factors play a role in a given decision and then discuss how the different choices are perceived with regard to the relevant factors.

For example, in buying a car, all five factors may come into play, but especially money, performance and self-esteem.  Is it worth paying more for a prestigious car?  We may persuade ourselves we’re really paying extra for the vehicle’s performance, rather than admit that driving that car adds to our self-esteem!  Tom recommends uncovering the hierarchy of factors: determine which are the most important for a given decision and focus on how people make trade-offs with regard to those factors.  We may also be able to define different segments based on the different ways that people make trade-offs for a specific decision.

Want to find out how your customers make trade-offs?  Give me a call at 818-752-7210 or email info at bureauwest.com.

Source: “Leave the Gun. Take the Cannoli. Consumer Trade-Off Analysis,” QRCA 2014

My colleague Joe Sharlip just wrote an interesting piece about how friction uncovers insights when he conducts workshops with management teams to develop brand strategies.  This got me thinking: the same thing happens when conducting focus groups and other market research: some of the most valuable insights are uncovered when participants contradict themselves or disagree with each other.

Some examples:

• During a focus group, I asked a customer to explain to a non-customer what they like about the product being discussed.  When the customer described a specific feature of the product, the non-customer said, “when you put it that way, of course I’d be interested.”  We thus uncovered an important marketing angle for the product.

• I find that research participants tend to initially give “politically correct” answers to questions, but when given the opportunity, they will later contradict themselves and tell the truth.  For example, in an interview about retirement investing; the participant initially said he had put money aside for retirement every month for decades.  Later in the interview, when I mentioned “other people” who had difficulties saving consistently, he admitted to having the same challenge and we had a discussion about the barriers to saving on a regular basis.  That interview not only provided valuable information about the challenges of disciplined savings; it also gave us insight into some people’s attitudes that they should be saving and their embarrassment when they don’t.

In general, we always try to notice discrepancies, and then (politely) delve into them.  Do people say they love a commercial but they can’t remember the product being advertised?  Why is that?  Did people like a product at the beginning of the discussion and dislike it later (or vice versa)?  What made them change their minds?

To uncover insights about your customers, give us a call at 818-752-7210 or email info at bureauwest.com.

Sources: “Want to Uncover Hidden Brand Insights? Create Some FRICTION!” Mothership blog, 11/5/14; Bureau West research

“Content marketing” is a term we have been hearing increasingly over the past few years.  In a way, content marketing is something we should be doing already: it refers to the marketing tactic that provides valuable information to customers on an ongoing basis in order to ultimately increase sales.

One example of content marketing: this newsletter!  Its goal is to provide useful information to our clients and prospects, and at the same time, convey our expertise in marketing strategy and market research, so when our services are needed, it’s an easy decision to choose us.

But content marketing isn’t just for B2B marketing.  Take Intelligentsia Coffee’s Brew Guides (http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/brewing-guides).  The free guides include great photography and detailed instructions about how to brew the perfect cup of coffee, while at the same time, make their customers crave Intelligentsia coffee.  And of course, purchasing the coffee-making equipment is just a click away.

The above are just two examples; content marketing can be provided through a variety of channels, as long as it provides information of value; channels such as web pages, videos, podcasts and white papers.  And it doesn’t have to be online: books and magazines can also be forms of content marketing.

Scott Abel, content marketing expert and producer of Information Development World (www.informationdevelopmentworld.com) adds:

“Content marketing requires us to think of our prospects and our customers like a live theatre audience.  Your content should serve to dazzle, inform, and entertain them and leave them wanting more.”

One reason content marketing is becoming more and more important: nowadays, people have a great deal of information readily available to them in order to help them make their purchase decisions.  You need to provide the information about why customers should choose your products or services… and do it more effectively than your competitors.

To conduct research with your prospects to uncover the information they need to choose your company, give us a call at 818-752-7210.