As smart phones and tablets continue to make traditional cell phones and landlines defunct, market researchers are seizing opportunities to interact with consumers who use these devices daily to communicate and stay connected.
Social Media has crossed seamlessly onto the screens of our iPhones and Androids, and in so doing, these platforms have become a meaningful way of collecting qualitative data by offering opinion opportunities consumers can access from anywhere – even at points of purchase as people interact directly with products. This means that while customers shop – either as they evaluate goods, enter the store, or make their final selections – they can document their attitudes and experiences.
But point of purchase and product evaluation aren’t the only ways in which market researchers are targeting consumers to collect their thoughts conveniently with the assistance of mobile devices. Here are just a few additional methodologies that are taking full advantage of digital technologies:
- Product barcode scanning using scanner apps or cameras during shopping
- Pulling data from larger sample groups while using smaller data sets for each individual
- Data mining to gather small bits of information at several different points in the decision making process, ultimately drawing them together via data warehousing
- Integrating qualitative approaches by use of the built-in cameras for pictures, videos, and sound clips to enhance an otherwise quantitative project
- To encourage behavior; for instance, by supplying respondents who have addictive habits with a stream of motivational messages and distraction techniques
Market researchers who make use of online polling and consumer interaction techniques have come to embrace mobile technology as an additional means of collecting data from respondents – with the benefit of being able to do so in real time. This enriches data sets by adding location information, media capture, and immediate feedback to the research at hand. In so doing, the accuracy of the research conducted increases, no longer relying on a consumer’s recollection of experiences, but rather, capturing their feelings in the moment.
To learn more, please contact Barbara Gassaway and the market research specialists at Observation Baltimore today by calling 410-332-0400 or click here! And if you are interested in participating in a future focus group, sign up at https://observationbaltimore.com/get-paid-baltimore-maryland-get-paid-cash-opinion-baltimore-md/.
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