COVID-19: Qualitative Market Research Tools

During this period of disruption, organizations and marketers are doing everything they can to adapt to the changing consumer. The coronavirus pandemic will continue to alter the way customers will behave and shop for the time being, and for the foreseeable future. Now more than ever, organizations need to establish steady frameworks to continue their market research and transition to a secure, digital environment.

Market leading companies conduct market research on their customers for a variety of purposes, lately many have been doing so to understand the changing customer journey and buying process, as well as enhance the overall adapted customer experience (CX).

Using Communities for Qualitative Research 

When thinking of traditional qualitative market research methods the most likely ones to come to mind would be in-person focus groups and in depth interviews. In today’s environment, some of these methods may not be readily available. Today, many companies have transitioned to using digital methods such as market research online communities for a variety of reasons, some being that communities are cost-effective, efficient, and are always accessible. Budget-wise, when compared to tools such as focus groups, for example, communities have a lower cost per engagement because the panel is already recruited, and travel isn’t a concern.

Market research communities allow researchers to collect information, gather feedback, and interact daily with customers in a number of formats. For example, researchers can send out a survey to community members, and then contact the same set of participants with a follow-up survey. This seamless follow-up approach can be extremely difficult to implement successfully with traditional market research tools. Communities also allow researchers to collect a much higher number of responses, which means more feedback, in less time. As we’ve learned during these times, fast feedback can be priceless towards how consumers view an organization. Supporting customers and understanding them emotionally is currently absolutely essential to be able to best help and guide them.

Market research online communities also offer more accessibility to participants as well as advanced capabilities. The leading-edge technology that powers communities makes participation simple for customers because they can use any of their devices anywhere to access tools including surveys, quick polls, discussions, collages, and more. When using communities, researchers have the opportunity to easily access and interact with thousands of consumers. In addition, it is much easier to analyze data and generate actionable insights that can drive daily decision making while using a community platform due to the wide range of online reporting tools available.

Also some communities suppliers have expanded capabilities that include online focus groups and personal interviews through video chat. In today’s environment especially, video chat is changing the way that researchers are able to communicate and connect with consumers through these times.

Some Projects May Require Additional Tools

When it comes deciding what data collection method to use, certain projects may have needs extending beyond a community toolset, however, a community can be a primary market research tool. Communities are a flexible, versatile, and innovative method that can handle the majority of research needs as more and more organizations adapt to online.

My-Take is a greater Boston based consumer insight technology and analytics company that offers an advanced market research online community (MROC) platform and a team of professional researchers to deliver actionable insights for clients.

Looking to transition your research to be online based? We can help you determine what best fits your needs. Contact us today for a free consultation.