One service that we frequently provide for clients here at Research & Marketing Strategies (RMS) is qualitative research through either focus groups or recruitment.  Our QualiSight focus group facility and call center in Upstate, NY enables us to meet all of your qualitative needs.  Qualitative research serves many purposes and is done through a variety of modes beyond just focus groups, including in-depth interviews (IDIs) and mystery shopping.  This type of research is very personable, allowing the researcher to interact with participants on a more personal level.  This is something that is often overlooked in today’s digital world.

I recently came across a great article (click here to read it) from Quirk’s, which talks about some tips and pointers to assist you with your recruiting services for qualitative research (see below).  In addition, the Bunker added two of our own.

1) Short and Precise Screening – It is important to keep a screener short and simple.  The article brings up a great point about respondent fatigue and its impact on correctly answering screening questions.  Here at RMS QualiSight, we design simplified screeners that are as short as possible to get what the client needs from a recruitment standpoint.  Any in-depth or exploratory questions on certain topics are of better use during the research phase, not the qualification phase.

2) Simple Qualification – Try not to make the qualification questions any more complicated than needed.  This also holds true for any type of market research, not just recruitment!  Aside from making the recruitment process easier, you can avoid improperly disqualifying participants because they don’t understand the question.  Sometimes it can be hard enough putting together a group of qualified participants – don’t make it more difficult with a poorly written screener.  Let’s put it this way, if the respondent isn’t sure of what the question is asking, the question is not simple enough.

3) Convenient Times – Whether it is focus groups or in-depth interviewing, try to work off of the participant’s schedule.  For B2B market research, in most cases the focus groups or the interviews need to be held after normal business hours.  B2C market research offers a bit more flexibility, but typically Monday nights, Friday nights and the weekends are no-nos.

4) Generous Incentives – Not only should the incentives be adequate, but they should also be appropriate.  Something that should be taken into consideration is the audience being researched.  Is it appropriate to offer a $25 dollar incentive for 2 hours of a high-paid executive’s time?  One thing RMS always considers for its B2B focus group recruitment is how much the participant would typically make in a 2-hour sitting and try to match or be within a reasonable range of it.  Something to consider for other audiences is offering a stipend that does not have a direct monetary value associated with it such as game/movie tickets, gift certificates, or other rewards.

5) Make the Objective(s) Clear – Respondents are sometimes skeptical of paid market research (perhaps due to scam artists? lab testing? I don’t know), so giving them exact details on the topic(s) that will be discussed, where the focus groups are held, and if practical – who is sponsoring the research.  Offering all of this information will only make the respondent feel more at ease, giving them the comfort level to answer all of your qualification questions correctly.

6) Once You Have Them, Keep them – All this time has been spent qualifying the participant and they have agreed to participate – but wait, your work is not done.  We make it the norm here at RMS to send out a confirmation letter and/or e-mail, with directions to our QualiSight focus group facility in Baldwinsville, NY.  On top of that, we place a confirmation call to the participant a day or two before the session.

Interested in booking our focus group facility in Upstate, NY or using our call center recruitment services?  Our QualiSight Supervisor Lauren Krell can be reached through email – LaurenK@RMSresults.com or by calling 315-635-9802.

If you’re interested in participating in our research (like the focus groups mentioned above)?  Click here to join the RMS panel and we will contact you in the future for studies you may qualify for!