Online Research | Intelligent Horizons, Inc.

Description

An online bulletin board group is a great web-based market research tool for in-depth, structured discussions with 15-25 participants

It is often compared to a focus group, but differs in many respects. For instance, the group may last a few days, weeks, or months, depending on the application

Respondents can log on from anywhere, anytime of day, at their convenience

There is plenty of time for everyone to contribute their opinions, delve deeply into behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs and to interact with each other

The session platform will accommodate uploading pictures, video and other media, as well as allow clients and moderators to review discussion progress, track and record insights, and make adjustments in time for the next session

Applications

Profiling target audience: who they are; their lifestyle, their current behavior, category and brand usage, and an in-depth look at how they think, feel, and relate to your topic

Keeping in touch over time with a panel of customers, advisory group, or experts.

Assessing brand image, brand position, or company identify, compared to the competition

Works very well with new product work, product usage, packaging design, and concept development

Also works with advertising development and in some cases assessments of advertising

Gaining insights about consumer processes (i.e.. purchasing, serving, and consuming food and beverages) or business processes (i.e.. prospect insights about ideal responses to RFP's)

Benefits

Richer, more insightful data because respondents have time to reflect, the moderator has time to probe, and each individual contributes individual opinions and then gets to read and respond to others.

100% of the participants get to answer every question, and there is usually a 100% show rate

Participants develop a real affinity for the group and the topic and feel that their opinion counts. It gives them the opportunity to connect with others to share knowledge, to be heard, to enhance their talents, and demonstrate compassion

They get to read and react to other's comments, and build upon ideas presented by others on the panel

The groups tend to be much more representative, regionally and globally. They include people that would normally not choose to travel to focus group facilities. Respondents tend to spend more time answering questions online than moderators and clients expect. In many consumer panels the incentive can be lower than in-person groups. Though participants need to have access to a computer, that is less of a problem than a few years ago

Clients commitment and involvement is only a few hours each week, and no travel is required. Each week, the client can review with the moderator new learning's and talk about what's coming up next. Similar to viewing focus groups sessions, client get to hear respondent stories, but in greater depth. Clients also have the option to work with the moderator to update the discussion format, insert new questions, or load in newer stimuli

Expands recruitment and study options--involving physicians, attorneys, business executives, persons with health conditions that limit travel options, and others normally too busy to schedule an interview at any particular day or time

Because respondents type their answers, a transcription is generated for analysis

When clients are reviewing qualitative research budgets and newer options like the online bulletin boards, most moderators working in the field, would be pleased to present an overview of the process for the client team

Online Surveys

Description

A survey which is hosted on the internet. Participants are usually invited via e-mail or prompted directly during a web site visit

Works best as a quantitative research tool

Involve people from remote areas, with time constraints or physical limitations, or those not interested in completing telephone or mail surveys or traveling to focus group facilities

Applications

Gather information from prospects and customers about product, segments and usage, to use to create or update marketing plans

A good source for global research

Mystery shoppers with pda or notebook computers can complete structured forms and send shopping experience reports instantly online for analysis

Works very well in retail by providing survey links and rebate incentive offer on sales receipts to encourage buyers to share satisfaction feedback about the purchase experience

Used to measure purchase intent and frequency, customer satisfaction, product usage, service experience, brand awareness and preference, and ideas for improvement

Great way to gather feedback from web site visitors

Almost any application where speed and efficiency are crucial

Benefits

Online surveys are cost-effective, timely, and managers can access online survey data quickly to make well-informed business decisions

Participants can complete the survey at their convenience. They can also take their time answering each question, and in some cases and save inputs, and return later to complete the survey

An accepted alternative to telephone and mail studies, which are experiencing declining response rates

People interested in participating in online surveys can join (opt-in) a panel. Panel members complete detailed preliminary surveys providing demographic and usage information, and validate their email address

Pictures, story boards, video clips, and other non-print media can be embedded in the survey and provide new sources of stimuli for feedback

Surveys designed for online use make use of logical skip patterns and can accommodate most types of questions and formats

With an appropriate market intelligence plan any organization can strengthen relationships with specific customers by tracking and integrating data from multiple sources such as surveys, service complaints, sales data, etc.

Clients can sometimes have access to up-to-date progress assessments via the internet before the survey is completed