The marketing research 'first step': online forums or IDIs
The first step when experiencing a 'nagging wondering' about a marketing decision: qualitative research ...
When is it one needs to take a 'first step' with marketing research? You'll recognize the situations. It's when you or your management team are...
- Contemplating a market entry in a new-to-you segment;
- Getting conflicting or possibly biased reports from your field sales team as to why a product isn't selling, or a program is not working;
- Assessing a new product opportunity that a bit out of your usual playing field;
- Relying on no or old marketing research information about the state of buyer motives or behavior;
- Changing the brand identity of a key line.
These are examples that have one thing in common: there's a nagging wondering -- an information void -- about your decision choices and attitudes and opinions in the marketplace.
Why qualitative first?
When you have little or no information about preferences and attitudes of current or potential customers, employ the open-ended, exploratory interview approach available in such qualitative methods* as 1-to-1 depth interviews (IDIs) or online forums.
- Fast time-to-completion. These methods can be executed relatively quickly.
- Dynamic: The direction of qualitative interviews can be easily modified during the course of the project, and during the individual interview itself. Of course this requires highly knowledgeable, fast-thinking and conversant interviewers and forum moderators. Making online forum especially dynamic is the advantage of inviting clients to login to the project daily to view the results in-progress.
- Design Flexibility: In contrast to quantitative surveys, where questionnaires are precisely authored and organized, we have with these qualitative research methods a great deal of flexibility to go off-script of the predesigned starter questions and projective exercises. The advantage is that these methods allow us to, with astute interviewing, get “answers to unasked questions". Plainly put, we l can start out without the pressure of knowing exactly to ask. Process and method will guide us.
- Stimulate ideas: Due to their dynamic nature, the qualitative methods suggested are a very good vehicle for stimulating ideas and generating decision options.
- Guide Quantitative Design: What qualitative research does not do is allow us to formally estimate percentages or the magnitude of the insights obtained. it affords us however, valuable guidance for knowing what to measure and subsequent quantitative studies.
When you're in the dark of an information void and facing important product design, branding, or advertising decisions, think "qualitative first!"
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* Footnote: I have emphasized IDIs and online forums as the best 'go-to' methods. Focus groups are perhaps the most visible of qualitative methods, yet they are best used when there are specific research needs to have respondents interact face to face, examine a product, or to capture discussion on video. At Power Decisions Group, we tend to gravitate to IDIs and online forums for their cost efficiency, speed, and the unfettered latitude respondents have to contribute their views and insights.
Power Decisions Group
San Francisco USA
website: http://www.powerdecisions.com/inquire.cfm