Several times, when the subject is market research, the importance of a good and well done research management is not only cited, but reinforced. This is not wrong, focussed project managers make all the difference while carrying out any research job, big or small. But maybe, concentrating on the importance of the ones who lead the project takes away the attention from the position of respondents for quality market research.  

Good project managers have a vibrant role in a project’s success, but respondents are the ones who truly make it happen. It’s from them that all the statistics needed comes from, so without them there is no research. This fact alone is enough to prove that the connection with respondents should be one of the main concerns in any market research. Well knowledgeable and pleased respondents lead to a successful and exact market research. 

But how to promise this respondent-related quality? We can list 3 ways on how we do this here at Apelo Consulting.

Make sure they all appropriate for the required profile

Some projects need a more general profile, but depending on the subject and goals of the research this profile can be a lot more precise. Either way, make sure to recruit respondents who entirely fit the profile necessities. Not only for the apparent reason that the client knows why are they inviting that profile, but also to guarantee accuracy. Hiring a paediatrician for a job that needs haematologists, for instance, will compromise the research because a paediatrician will not be able to provide the information only a haematologist can.

Be available

It is very common for respondents to have queries during the process, and you need to do your best to reply them all. The more questions and uncertainties the respondent has, the more muddled they become, and their muddledness can compromise their contribution on the research. So, it is crucial that you are available to them through the whole process, when needed.  

Communication is key

Connect clearly and professionally what is projected from the beginning. Respondents are providing their valuable time and information to your research, they deserve to know all they need to do, when, and how. They also deserve to know about any unpredicted modifications that might require alterations about them and their role in the research process. This will make an environment of trust and transparency, helping all involved. 

These are some of the methods we ensure our research quality, giving the right importance and role to our respondents, their ideas and experiences. By doing so, correct statistics will be collected and the projects research will be a success for everyone.

Obtaining crude information from prospective customers is one of the most challenging aspects of market research. A focus group is a community brought together to discuss anything that is of importance and related to a particular business. They can help bring out lots of information that otherwise might be a challenge to yield as target customers might hesitate to bring them up, as well as give valuable feedback. Such type of findings is hard to obtain online or through surveys.

Focus Group conversations bring major values to a company, whether we are analyzing consumer needs or getting feedback on a particular product or service. Focus groups always enhance subjective knowledge.

Here are other situations where a focus group can prove to be beneficial:

• Needs analysis

Occasionally, a “needs analysis” is referred to as a “situational analysis,” a “problem evaluation” or an “organizational diagnosis” which intends to collect as much knowledge as possible to create a thorough understanding of an organization’s needs and challenges. We can identify where the holes are and can establish strategic plans to fill those holes with the aid of the focus group.

• Input regarding new products and services

Focus groups can also be used to get early feedback on new products and services. In these cases, it’s best to bring the focus groups a prototype or review of new products to test. This can help to spot problems and opportunities before new products are released publicly. If the company is at an earlier stage where the target audience is not very well known, a focus group can give a good starting point for what their needs are, so the business model for the product or service could be made accordingly.

• Competitive analysis

A competitive analysis is the method by which the competitors are identified and their tactics analyzed to identify their strengths and weaknesses compared to your own company, product and service. The purpose of the competitive analysis is to gather the necessary information to identify a line of attack and to improve the go-to-market strategy. A focus group can help to do so. We may ask them to compare offerings, to find marketing materials where your opponent has the advantage.

• Feedback on branding or marketing strategies

An ambitious brand strategy gives you a significant advantage in progressively competitive markets. It tells your consumers about what they can expect from your products and services, and it differentiates your offering from that of your competitors. Your identity comes from who you are, who you want to be and who you consider to be. A focus group may provide input on the marketing materials to which customers are most likely to respond.

• Finding gaps in knowing your target market

Even if you feel that you really know your target market well, there may be decisions or habits that you won’t understand. Your customers might say they want a particular type of product for example, but once you offer it, they don’t actually buy. A focus group will help you understand complex issues and such circumstances better.

Benefits of having focus group

1. Verbal Communication

This is where the advantage of focus groups really lies. In way of comparison to online discussions or surveys which rely too much on written input, focus groups will allow you to peruse verbal communication. We are often unaware of the verbal expressions and attitudes that we exhibit, so it is no wonder that survey respondents are unable to include these in their written responses.

Through focus groups, you will be able to notice things such as objects or components that capture the attention of the participants, the category of subjects that appear reluctant to explore, and even topics that excite them the most.

2. Open Discussions

Survey formats tend to be rather restrictive. Essay-type questions are usually difficult to assess, so most questions are multiple choice. On the other hand, focus group discussions tend to be opener. This helps you to uncover more insightful knowledge on what your clients need.

We can also ask as general or as specific questions as you wish. For example, if we set up a wedding planning company, we can start with a broad question like, “What is the most challenging part of your wedding planning?” Then, once the participants provide an answer, we may ask them to compare it with other challenges they have faced or to respond to the responses of others in the community.

Often, the discussion format makes it easy to collect follow-up information such as asking participants to explain an answer or elaborate a topic. Due to the open nature of focus group discussions, they eventually reveal information that is unlikely to be found in surveys and other market research approaches.

3. Getting Suggestions

Our focus group can provide you concrete suggestions. They’re in the best position to know which improvements to your product or service will boost the user experience. Not only are suggestions yielded from focus groups highly valuable and true it’s nature, but are also more convenient to be retrieved. For moderators sitting among a group of individuals with their common denominator being the usage of the particular product, it becomes way easier to give a desired direction to the conversation and casually have the individuals discuss rigorously on the pros and cons of the product or other factors associated with the product and gradually conclude each pro and con with an idea s to how the good can be upgraded to best and how the bad could be converted to a good for the 360 degree benefit i.e. both from the consumer and seller/manufacturer perspective.

Focus groups provide researchers with a useful tool to generate customer feedback throughout the product or service life cycle. Traditionally, market research have turned to focus groups for a large proportion of their research projects and have led to the method being widely used throughout the research community. It is easy to see how it has become so popular because it offers a versatile method of gathering customer feedback at almost any stage of a project or service and allows the clients team to observe each session closely.

The following guides will direct you— whether it’s needs analysis, competitive analysis, new product suggestions, marketing reviews, or getting to know your target market better. From this, you will begin to prepare how to execute a suitable focus group.

1. Choose Your Participants

One of the things you need to figure out after setting your focus group goals is how many participants you need, and how to identify and choose participants. Usually, focus groups are formed of 8 to 12 participants. This size allows the conversation manageable, while also providing sufficient variety.

You will find people to be part of your focus groups by following the following ways:

Your client list: It is best to start from there if you already have a list of customers or leads. This can save you a lot of time in searching for participants, since you are beginning with a list of people who have already transacted somehow with your company. Also, for a small fee, people who have already shown interest in your business will be more likely to help you out. But if you’re doing conversations with your focus group to tap into a new market, it’s best to try other approaches instead.

Referrals: For your focus group, you should ask friends, relatives and clients to refer the participants. Be up front with them about the target market you are looking for, and what the focus group’s aim is.

Events: You need to take benefit from the events that your target audience would possibly attend. For instance, look for conferences, seminars and other events for your business community. You can either take part as a participant in the gathering, sponsor it or collaborate with the hosts. Events have the additional benefit of simultaneously having members of your target audience in the same place.

Post Ads: You can also post ads asking people to apply for your focus group. This will give you a wider pool of candidates from which to choose. The goal would be to make sure that your chosen participants actually fall within your target market.

While a focus group should be as diverse as possible, ensure that every participant is part of your target market is important. You have to choose participants from different parts of the city, belong to different age ranges and have different backgrounds. It means you will get a variety of perspectives in the conversation.

Nevertheless, keep in mind that individuals do not reflect their age range, ethnicity, or community in different groups. Don’t presume that each participant in your focus group represents a whole community.

2. Plan the Discussion

Besides getting participants, you also need to plan for the discussion that will be taking place. Here’s what a fruitful focus group conversation looks like:

Start with a good overview: it will take a few minutes for your participants to get warm up. Use this opportunity to invite them for discussion, provide an outline of the intent of the discussion, and create some ground rules.

Has a consistent progression: A successful focus group has a solid thought train that is not disrupted regardless of the participants’ feedback. Although some participants can provide overly exhaustive feedback, the conversation is always refocused to accomplish the objective of the focus group. The usual approach is to start with a generic query and from there become more precise.

Contains open questions: While it is easier to understand multiple-choice questions, these are best left for surveys and other forms of consumer research that go further down the road. Focus groups tend to work best in an exploratory way, so your questions should also be explorative. Let’s presume you’re trying out a new dating program. Ask them, “Have you tried online dating in the past?” and follow up with “How did these approaches work for you?” instead of saying, “Would you be interested in using this dating app?” Through posing such open questions, you will find additional possibilities and perspectives that you would not have come up with had you made predictions about the choices of your participants.

Requires specific responses: Participants should also be given the opportunity to provide more complex responses such as examples, scale scores, memories and reflections. This will help you understand the more in-depth perspectives that contribute to their conclusions and opinions. For example, instead of just asking the participants what they think about your new logo designs, ask them, “What do you remember?” or ask them to rate your designs according to their preferences.

If your focus group conversation has the criteria set out above, you will have a wealth of data to help you make better business decisions.

3. Opt for Experienced Moderation

Focus groups should not be like traditional discussions between informal groups. Based on your target, you have to make sure the conversation leads you to the result you need. It is here that a moderator steps in. The moderator should make the participants comfortable enough to participate, initiate conversations and ask follow-up questions that will lead the participants to serve the discussion intent.

If you have never attended or watched a presentation of a focus group, it may be better to hire a professional to do that aspect for you. Based on research published in the Association for Information Systems Communications, here’s what makes moderation successful:

Get participant information: Getting out the genuine opinions of an individual requires skill, and a good moderator has that. We will understand the focus group’s intent and translate it to questioning lines that can elicit useful responses.

Facilitates engagement and debate: Effective moderators can encourage group discussion even from people who are typically reserved and can make them feel comfortable enough to express their opinions even without the group’s consensus. At the same time, the moderator is able to refocus the group in instances where some participants may dominate the conversation, or in some way the discussion is derailed.

No show of prejudice or bias: Another key feature of a successful moderator is that they don’t deliberately or accidentally distort the focus group’s outcomes. They remain reserved for their own ideas, and refrain from giving their views on the responses of the participants.

Given their role, your focus group’s success may be determined by moderators. That is why it is important to find someone who has expertise in conducting focus groups, particularly for companies

The success or failure of your project depends on different factors, this guide will help you to understand critical aspects while creating online surveys.

Focusing on the major elements of this guide can help you to collect high-quality data, which will be useful before taking any business decision.

1. Understanding of online pattern

Telephonic surveys or personal interviews majorly depends on the interviewer’s action, and that makes respondents acknowledge it easily. But when you want to conduct an online survey, everything will rely on question’s wording and the representation.

 You can’t take advantage of human presence while conducting online interviews that means your survey layout, word choice, phrasing and color choice are only prospects which can help. These little points are considered in how easily respondents adapt your questions. So remember this point, because if you won’t then it will affect your final data.

2. Ease of survey

You surely don’t want your respondents to take your survey as a burden, tangled questions can impact the answering ability of your respondents. It doesn’t mean that you need to skip important aspects of questions while creating survey but make sure that they won’t be too confusing.

If you won’t work on this point, then it can lead your survey to a higher non-response rate. So, keep that in mind if you want a good response rate from your respondents.

3. Choice of words in the survey

You surely don’t want your respondents to take your survey as a burden, tangled questions can impact the answering ability of your respondents. It doesn’t mean that you need to skip important aspects of questions while creating survey but make sure that they won’t be too confusing.

If you use abstruse language, erroneous terminology, or highly technical words, your respondents may not be willing (or able) to provide answers.

Also, make sure you don’t merge two different questions, and if you need to do so, then provide clear instruction without confusing them toward one answer or another.

By following this instruction, you can get high-quality information from your respondents.

4. Question flow

Logical flow should be there in your survey pattern. It may confuse your respondents if you jump around from topic to topic, it might generate the probability of skipping question or abandoning the whole survey.

Test your survey pattern by yourself after designing it, focus on the responder’s point of view and if you find any inconsistency then try to resolve it. Your main goal should be making the responder’s experience good, so their willingness to provide you with the right information could also increase.

5. Different Survey Formats

One major thing is to understand the need of your end data is quantitative or qualitative? Your question format should rely on that factor. Both of these types serve different roles, the quantitative study allows you to get numeric data which is logical and statistical, on the other hand, the qualitative study allows your respondents to elaborate the reason behind their choices.

For the right amount of qualitative and quantitative questions, you need to understand the level of detail your project required to achieve the aim.

6. Accuracy of the response

Accuracy of your received data will depend on the target audience you are choosing in your survey designing, not everyone will be helpful in your study, your pattern should clarify your expected respondent in starting of your survey. This will allow to focus on your niche, rather than hovering around for irrelevant respondents.

7. Bias in Self-Reported answers

The memory of a person tends to be less accurate when it comes to sublunary behaviour because we generally don’t categorize events by periods. To understand this phenomenon let’s see an example: If you will ask a person that “how much time they spent on mobile today?” they will tell you the figure, but when you will ask “how much time they spend on mobile in a year?” then the figure won’t be reliable.

So if you want your study to be reliable then you must focus on this point, because it’s all about measuring behaviour which is relevant to your respondents to help you capturing their potential state of mind.

8. Visual Impact

Visual aspects of your survey design are very crucial to implement. Font size, colour combination and emphasizing on words creates an impact on the respondent’s thinking behaviour. If it’s not properly used then you will get the measurement errors which can reflect on your study’s result.

9. Analysing of Data

If you are planning to get better results with your online survey and then try to analyse the output on regular basis, be prepared to replicate your survey pattern, because if at any point you find some confusing data from your respondents then there must be some issues with your questions, maybe by changing them slightly can help you to get the expected outcome.

If you are considering to create online survey then these aspects will surely help you, please share your inputs on this.

Knowledge is power, but data is useless unless correct filters and analytics are implemented. KOL mapping provides the ability to identify leadership worldwide, not only by category but also by share of voice and population influence as well as adoption behaviour.

KOL mapping acts as a driving tool that cuts through the information layers to get to what is really relevant for effective product marketing. These days, there are more ways to engage across multiple channels and locations, and more dimensions to gather information. The more data generated, the better the decision-making process should be.

What is KOL Mapping?

The technology allows to dig deeper into the multiple KOL mapping levels and to classify more than just the top decile docs. Today’s KOL mapping is no longer about just recognizing the obvious national leaders, but also discovering those at the local level that are shaping their own societies. KOL mapping is a very particular tool that can provide a database of KOLs that are most visible and heard by the community. The performance is very granular and gives an appreciation of how important each specific voice is, compared to other specialists’ knowledge and respect.

The data allow companies to identify the best KOLs to talk at conferences, hold workshops or attend dinner meetings, other advantages include being able to monitor the activities and professions of KOLs that are essential to the company and constantly updating the details. Having the right KOL on board creates a buzz about innovative products or services and helps to improve the condition.

How does it benefit?

There are certain advantages to keeping a track of KOL activities and KOL careers by using a mapping process, it often provides an opportunity to familiarize yourself with a specific KOL before approaching him or her for a first meeting or commitment. This kind of planning results in a more fruitful experience with the KOL as the representative of the company is already aware of the key strengths and what kind of relationship can be established, KOL mapping often enables the size and distribution of key regional workers, and allows a company to use its resources more efficiently.

In order to achieve the best results, KOL mapping should integrate all the right data sources with influence and network analytics, as the trusted group has more leverage in driving adoption than data sets would suggest. Just because someone is nationally or internationally known as an opinion leader for their studies or published articles, they will not necessarily translate into a position of peer leadership that generates a pattern of acceptance in local communities.

All activities related to product or service acceptance derive from multiple types of linkages and data viewpoints that need to be analyzed. Mapping can recognize those prominent opinion leaders who, through peer debate, can generate a buzz even before a product reaches market.

A brand team looking to set up their advisory boards, account planning, and brand positioning testing can look at a KOL mapping study to identify such specialists early in their planning for marketing. It’s not just about finding speakers, but rather using KOL techniques to provide innovative thinking appropriate for unmet needs. For example, mapping can be used to find opinion leaders who can come up with the issues that have not yet been raised or addressed and who can resolve any challenges and concerns.

Possible Roadblocks to Effective Mapping

Every approach for identifying KOL must be able to demonstrate the effect of a KOL by using evidence rather than biased personal opinions. A solution that offers accurate and functional KOL information should be selected instead of leaving the end user with data mountains and overloaded possibilities.

Many companies believe they already know how to identify and map KOL, but we would warn them to make sure they really understand community networks, think about market leadership, make sure those networks are the right ones to meet their needs. Organizations need to integrate multiple viewpoints of data and use steps that fit with their target. Some firms still incorporate KOL referrals from sales reps, and there is no validation that those people are KOLs. Just because someone is hired as a KOL, and labeled as one, does not make one of them. Mapping is a strong component of many KOL development strategies. Key opinion leaders have been identified through their affiliation, their speaking engagements and the publication of their findings. Today, with more avenues to gather information and more places to collect it, mapping has become more science than art.

The way mapping fits into this context is that businesses now have new techniques in their strategic structures to define and position these KOL goals in. KOL mapping today brings much more knowledge to the table and businesses can thus determine the extent to which each KOL is affected to a very sophisticated extent. Today’s more advanced KOL mapping provides the advantage that several variables are incorporated into the identity process at the same time, offering the ability to target KOLs that are specialists in a given field and have multiple links within a given community.

One of the challenges is making sure the surveys are adequate and asking the right questions for the goal. For example the data will be compromised by questions that are contextually wrong.  A KOL that doesn’t have the right experience, or if it’s too closely aligned with the firm, could be a downside. It is important to keep the audience and the purpose in mind while designing the primary survey questions.

Being a technique that is now widely acclaimed to be a crucial step to analysis of industries, KOL Mapping is gradually advancing from it’s traditional approaches. Technological advancements are bringing a whole new face to KOL mapping making it way more effective and efficient. Conventional or modern methods, irrespective of which is adopted for KOL Mapping, it unarguably stands to be the ultimate tool to study and analyse the industry to it’s roots from expert individuals who are committed to the advancement and improvement of products and present an unbiased outlook which opens windows to not just findings that an analyst expects to collate but also find insights brought to the table that reveal patterns that have been the least anticipated and play an important role in the grand picture.

As the coronavirus calendar crosses the seven-month mark, ideas on what constitutes a viable supply chain in a post-pandemic environment have changed for the better. The early days of destructive market desperation, panic purchasing groceries, and looking for daily items from a store to store are gone. We may now ask ourselves what we want from the big reset.

So, what did the Coronavirus do to the supply chains?

There are two separate responses to that question: the concrete one revolves around the spectacular e-commerce spike and the more conceptual response accepts the ecosystem-led resilience’s regenerative capacity.

Either way, the sustainable supply chain of the future, by design, and by choice, should be different. With quick-fix solutions, business owners should not be in a rush to get back to pre-COVID results. This is a rare moment in our history where there is an opportunity to rebuild on a clean path of growth. We need long-term sustainability goals.

Making a sustainable supply chain as a strategic priority

It’s a difficult challenge to move quickly but think long-term. Therefore, sustainability is a strategic action to be accompanied by investment and creativity. COVID-19 has driven supply chain executives to concentrate on the execution of agile solutions to global change with short-term goals in 2020. But now is not the time to delay sustainability efforts; once disruption eases, longer-term, structural challenges will still be there, along with market demand to address them.

Given a boom in e-commerce, the delivery of a sustainable supply chain has taken on a very literal sense for many organizations. With the digital change required to maximize deliveries and reduce the carbon footprint, it is important to use sophisticated algorithms, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning which can save gallons of fuel a year.

Independent third-party certification also helps underpin brand reputation for traceability and accountability, from provenance to chain of custody, minimizing danger. The principles of sustainability and certification concentrate companies on the required actions and observable criteria. Updated through frequent verification, these primary risk and performance data are important for companies to continuously change their strategies to create more robust and reliable supply chains.

Digitization of supply chain management

During the national lockdown, food protection and food waste association became a central priority for supply chain success, with fierce media coverage and public concern. Feeding a country under siege efficiently requires huge numbers.

Therefore, tackling the possibility of a full-blown food crisis has opened up possibilities for digital distribution in every way. Not unexpectedly, then, a sustainable supply chain is agile. More than just productivity and optimization initiatives, there is more to sustainability, such as streamlining journeys to slash air and road miles or just-in-time local development to save on energy-hungry warehousing.

The impact of digitization on the supply chain management industry started well before COVID-19, promising several gains in sustainability. However, initially, when the pandemic broke, worries arose that a reactive rise in e-commerce could relegate environmental issues to the list of priorities. However, when supply lines and market interest recover, so too will the appreciation of deeper green merits of the digital sphere.

Supply chain digitization means greater control of how deliveries are made, with managers of the supply chain able to make more informed decisions based on sustainable credentials. However, visibility is a major concern. A recent study found that almost four out of ten businesses listed low data quality as the main obstacle in their supply chain to addressing environmental concerns.

Just as digital solutions could promise a double dividend for supply chains, allowing sustainable development, while growing productivity and reducing waste, there is an inadequate improvement of data on its own.

Questions remain about the value of information, plus the expense of gathering and processing it. To optimize efficiencies, understand pros and cons, we live with a slogan for specific, up-to-date, and complex data, but we are blinded to how this impacts or trickles down to true sustainability.

Ultimately, the only true reset is circular, for sustainability to be regenerative, where the climate and local ecosystem are improved, not destroyed. The pursuit of productivity has been forcing durability out of supply chains over recent decades. 

In the form of unprecedented disruptions, COVID-19 has been a considerable boon bringing the industry forward to face challenges giving rise to the scope of innovations. The supply chains have exhibited great resilience to these demanding circumstances due to the pandemic. It is undetermined as to when will the world have the pandemic eradicated, however, it is quite certain that it’s aftermath is going to be drastic and bring yet more challenging situations for the supply chain market. However, looking at the current agility of the industry, it can be predicted that the industry will continue to thrive with its constant focus on innovations and effective solutions.

Telemedicine is a revolutionary health care feature that lets health care providers to take care of patients through phone and video chat appointments using digital technology. Telemedicine aims to minimize emergency room visits and the rate of hospitalization by enhancing medical services, increasing post-acute care monitoring to monitor various chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disorders and cancer. The increased prevalence of the aforesaid diseases, an increase in the geriatric population and the constant demand for patient self-governance are the high impact drivers of this industry and therefore Telemedicine solutions are expected to experience substantial development in the coming years.

Telemedicine Market size was valued at USD 45 billion in 2019 and it is expected to reach USD 155.1 billion by 2027, expanding at a CAGR of 15.1% over the forecast period. Increasing incidences of chronic conditions and rising demand for self-care medicines are the key factors driving the market.

Telemedicine industry in the light of Covid- 19

The unprecedented outbreak of COVID-19 across the globe has resulted in increased demand for telemedicine solutions as a preventive measure to counter the pandemic, due to lockdowns introduced by many countries. The CDC has encouraged health care providers to interact with patients remotely wherever possible in response to the coronavirus outbreak. To support this, many federal health departments have taken steps to assist in promoting the use of telemedicine.

The US government has expanded telemedicine consultations to nearly 62 million Medicare beneficiaries. The Office of Civil Rights (ORC) has temporarily lifted telemedicine restrictions, including removing the penalty for HIPAA violations for providers utilizing telemedicine during the pandemic. European Union countries also have amended or relaxed the stringent regulations for practicing telemedicine. Further, the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) has allowed providers to reduce or waive deductibles for telemedicine visits. This step was undertaken to increase the adoption of telemedicine and expand the reimbursement options. Moreover, this will also increase the access of healthcare services to patients located in low-resource and remote areas or are afraid to visit hospitals for fear of exposure.

Recent data shared from Amwell, a telemedicine technology provider who processed tens of thousands of telemedicine visits a day pre coronavirus, saw a 490% increase in urgent care visits the last week of March.

The largest virtual care provider in the US, Teledoc, is now reporting 100K+ appointments weekly while the Cleveland Clinic logged 60k+ telemedicine visits in March (of which ~75% pertained to patients worried they had COVID-19). To put the rapid increase into perspective, the Cleveland Clinic health system was averaging closer to 3,400 virtual visits a month pre-coronavirus.

Although recent efforts to eliminate barriers and promote easy access for telemedicine services are a response to Covid-19, these reforms are likely to have a lasting effect on the healthcare and telemedicine services market.

Recent data on remote treatments introduced to maintain social distancing suggests that some telemedicine services for certain specialties may continue to be prominent even after stay-at-home orders are lifted. Psychiatry and Neurology in particular have seen high adoption rates for remote treatments during the pandemic that could be maintained longer term.

Regardless of Covid-19, healthcare providers should prepare for this focus on telemedicine to continue and possibly increase in the months to come.

In business realms, storytelling has recently become a hot subject. One explanation for this is the sheer explosion of the amount of data that companies must process and connect to their different stakeholders.

So how can all this information be shared by business individuals?

The answer is Market Research

Before the era of the PC and projectors, business analysts used only two means of communication. One was to get up physically, shuffle papers and present the client with a lecture. The second was to get a written report presented. Market research companies were renowned for them and still blamed for creating stereotypically door stopper reports that end up in the bottom drawer of customer’s desk.

Over time, slide decks of market research turned into giant productions that display continuous slides of pie charts and bar graphs, commoditize a great deal of market research. This may be denied by senior researchers, but many of their workers gauge the progress of a day by the number of slides they have made. Presentations are characterized and calculated by being a deck of 60 or a major 120 plus forms. The development and distribution of these slide decks are organized around Entire Market Research organizations.

Identifying the choke- points

It’s a disaster here. Technology has led us to concentrate more on providing higher quantities of statistical evidence in support rather than the quality of insight offered. The issue is only getting worse with the volume of data rising exponentially.

Volume is not the only problem. The market research industry witnessed a sudden elevation in the pattern of data presentation using different software and platforms. Surely, the traditional insights we provided in 2014 were deeper and more complicated than the insights provided 20 or 30 years ago. The charts were hand drawn and primitive. The reports were simple, without segmentation work, or any kind of driver analysis underlying them. Nothing except basic descriptive statistics existed.

Understanding the requirement

In order for clients to understand how we have reached our conclusions, statistical analysis can now be very advanced and need some clarification. Several data sources, including sales data, customer survey data, and verbatim input obtained from the client’s own call centre, can also be dealt with by researchers. These different rivers of data can be assembled into an especially rich analysis that goes beyond descriptive statistics and into the field of strategic thinking.

At this point, our reports can not only get weighed down in sheer volume, but also in complexity. The solution to this growing issue is definitely not “the same, but more of it.” In our reporting style, we need a step-change, and I’m not alone in arguing that we need to move from evidence-based reporting to a storytelling focus.

The Answer for a Market Researcher- Storytelling

Market researchers think long and hard about the level of participation of respondents to the surveys we perform. In questionnaire design, we are well conscious that we need to keep it clear, short, easy to understand and interact with. At the same time, several of us fail to think about our reporting under the same conditions. Why do we need to show pie charts page after page? What is the advantage of having 90 slides long with a deck? What methods do we introduce to boil down all our data into a storyline?

Here is where the storytelling technique in the skilled market researcher’s armoury becomes a valuable instrument. By providing younger researchers practise internally and then in front of customers in the process of presenting decks of PowerPoint presentations, many companies instil presentation skills, but this preparation process only covers half of the story. We are very good at presenting, but we are underdeveloped or boring and over complicated with the information we present.

But narratives are an elegant solution to the issue of too much data. Humans are wired to process and comprehend stories. Stories serve as a kind of cognitive coat hanger on which the hallmark of human dramas may drape feelings, characters, as well as the sense of actions and consequences.

The Art of Factual Story Telling

• Spin the data into a story, without losing the essence of the data:

It isn’t always easy to find the story in your results. But it may help to first build the lens  through which you want your findings to be evaluated if you are unsure of where to start. In other words, within the framework of your business needs, you must frame your results. Review the ‘why’ of your analysis in order to construct such a framework: the reason you performed the study in the first place. Returning to your research goals will help define what issue you are trying to address, what you already know about it, and how you intend to apply your findings to it: essentially, the story of your data. This will not only allow you to keep your presentation important and focused on the topic at hand, but also to find out when your story starts.

• Making it relatable

Stories are more effective if they draw on what is already understood, believed, and embraced by your audience. You should be able to identify just how much backstory your  audience already has when you focus your story on the intent of the analysis. If you are talking to other departments such as marketing and product development, or to a room full of managers and stakeholders, you can customize the beginning of your tale to draw on their previous experience while filling in any data they do not already have. This will guarantee that the audience will be invested, up to speed, and prepared to add to their insight. Instead of asking the audience to consider a new or shocking reality, when you reach the climax of your story, the finding that made your research worthwhile, you will simply build on their established knowledge.

• Let your expressions loose:

Many presenters are tempted to go through the motions simply: introduce themselves, then their approach, then what the participants said. This strategy is rarely successful in getting information to sink in, although it is efficient in getting information out. But if you offer a narrative structure to your study, your findings will flow from one aspect to the next more      eloquently. In The Hero’s Journey, mythologist Joseph Campbell provides a familiar template: a hero goes on a quest, faces challenges, and achieves victory, returning to his fellow man with something to give. (Not unlike a researcher’s work, no?) This is just one way to present your research’s quest, er, goal; the twists and turns you encountered; and how your new experience affects your research Metaphors, themes, and side stories are all welcome, as long as every highlight can be linked into a coherent story.

• Make the reader feel what you feel through your words:

We all know that it’s emotions that really drive people, not logic. So while the details of your story are important, even more so is the way they make your audience feel. In other words, not only because they exist, but because they sound real, the stakes of your research become real to individuals. The use of individual experiences is a perfect way to cater to the feelings of your audience. By using verbatim from qualitative analysis, inserting their voices right into the narrative and humanising your results, turn your respondents into characters in your tale. Or include as a researcher your own experience, and share what shocked, irritated, or excited you about the project. An audience is rarely convinced by statistics and data alone, but images and personal information help.

Storytelling is a strong and effective weapon to present conclusive data while drawing effective meaning from the data that is collected. It is way more expressive and easy understandable as compared to pie charts and bar graphs.  The more the listener can relate higher is the rate of absorption of the relevance of data to the receiver. Stories are self explanatory with high dose of relatability through emotions put to words, whereas pie charts and graphs require additional rather more technical information for effective applicability. Undoubtedly, data forecasting can be done remarkably well with a combination of pies and stories.

Neuromarketing is a powerful tool specifically when it comes to establishing trust, connecting with customers, and even boosting sales. Successfully branding or packaging, a company could not only convert visitors into leads, it could also earn lifelong consumers loyal to the brand name. Although we have seen that certain technologies are not prevalent in the practice of companies and agencies committed to neuromarketing due to high costs, reliability or acceptance by participants, these technologies are important for providing important knowledge that would otherwise not be obtained. From this viewpoint, neuromarketing represents an significant advance in the research and understanding of consumer behavior through the systematic application of expertise and reveals itself as a new fundamental method to supplement market research in the present and future.

Due to consumer behavioral changes and global developments, market research trends in 2021 are constantly changing and adapting. In these times of uncertainty, the need for reliable, time-saving, and smarter technology is increasing. In 2020 when the global economy was taking a hit, research functions grew to order to get better insights.

Market research has advanced because everybody now sees the value of informative data. From transactional data to client data, position metrics to market analysis, and opinion research to academic research, differentiating between the correct data and noise has become increasingly significant. Hence, the need for the hour is now to perform smarter research. 

What are the Market Research Trends For 2021?

It is difficult to find consensus in a largely open-ended ecosystem. Still, most researchers, brands, and research facilitators agree to keep an eye out for Market research trends 2021. Data can be perceived differently by different people but a technical breakthrough in data processing and analysis is unchallengeable. Social media plays a critical role in the collection of thoughts; there is an advancement in the psychological, economic, and scientific understanding of data collection. The trends of market research 2021 will contribute to the transformation of market analysis, and 2021 will see a marked change in the processing of transactional data.

Mobile ethnography

This is a qualitative research methodology that studies respondents in their natural environment rather than in a laboratory. The main purpose of this market research strategy is to illustrate the various patterns of actions, attitudes, and values that are common to a group of people.

Bearing in mind that almost half of the world’s population owns a smartphone, it’s no wonder that this technique has evolved over the last few decades, making it easier to work.

Due to the current pandemic and social distance constraints, many businesses have turned to remote work. The transformation has opened up more possibilities for digital solutions like this. According to a survey, ethnography has shown a substantial increase in interest among information professionals compared to previous years.

Since the interaction is on a real-time basis, it is easy to adjust research goals and receive immediate insight. It’s an easy, money, and time-saving market research trend that will definitely stay for the next few years.

Automation through panels

Automation is another market research trend 2021 that can help you do more with a small budget in a shorter timeframe. Studies have shown that automation has made market research more efficient by enabling teams to do 25 percent more work with 25 percent fewer workers and infrastructure. Considering the amount of data market analysts have to work with, transitioning to automation is inevitable. Especially if they want to keep up with the quick changes in the market.

For market research, the opportunity to gather quantitative data and qualitative data with the advantage of having a strong base of respondents in one position is the way forward. Gone are the days when each element needed to go to various platforms. This would make it simpler for all stakeholders to manage market research. The way forward is DIY research, along with do-it-together (DIT) research in which the research tool provider chips with advanced research services to allow you to concentrate on gathering insights. 

The ongoing search for quicker, cheaper, and easier solutions has led to the growth of the Panel trend. It is now simpler than ever to pick samples, method of reporting, and review all findings from one source. It is becoming more popular, not only because of the automation but also because of the global recession, which has reduced many marketing budgets. A study found that 70% of market research professionals suggested that they are likely to turn to more panel tools in the following year.

Longitudinal tracking

Longitudinal analysis and monitoring will be one of the key market research trends in 2021. For far too long, studies have focused on broken-down sets of respondents that do not help to collect a macro-level view of data and perspective. With the aid of community management platforms, longitudinal research helps monitor behavioral shifts and create patterns in research and perspective between external and internal influences.

Not only that, but longitudinal monitoring also helps with quicker and faster turnaround analysis by participants that matter most to you and insights that you can trust and co-create with. Having a ready-to-use collection of research-ready respondents will help with ongoing tracking studies and accelerate the experience transformation initiatives.

AI (Artificial Intelligence)

Because AI is a growing subject in market research, some professionals have shifted their attention to doing new and faster research due to the new global situation. However, two AI divisions, Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Text Analytics continued to spark interest among industry experts.

Natural Language Processing is a technology that facilitates the comprehension and interpretation of human language by machines. With speech recognition (e.g. Siri), machine translation (e.g. Google Translate), spell checking (e.g. Grammar), and many more, NLP is already making our lives simpler.

Without a question, it is expected to see smarter virtual assistants in the following years who can render proper human conversations. If the comprehension of human language progresses, chatbots can also be quicker. Machine learning would be able to perform a data science role with the help of pattern recognition and advanced interpretation.

In the future, AI would mainly assist with data cleaning and statistical analysis, but also with seeking more insights from open-ended answers, much as the researcher will do.

Agility

In a way that no one might predict, the pandemic epidemic has affected the economy. Some businesses find the situation catastrophic, just as in any global crisis, while others turn it into an opportunity. To find themselves in the latter position, enterprises are more inclined towards an agile strategy.

Agile market research is not a new concept, but it remains one of the market analysts’ top topics. It is a methodology focused on the use of established data at the time of decision making. In comparison to traditional research, that makes it more flexible.

As the projects are regarded as continually improving jobs, the focus is not on the perfect performance from the first round. They are divided into smaller steps, where the next stage of the process is indicated by each decision. Therefore, before the result, goods and services are continually assessed. This helps to have quicker outcomes.

Just a few of the advantages the agile approach can bring to the table are a quicker time to market, error reduction, and cost reduction. However, at the expense of consistency, it is necessary not to concentrate too much on pace. The essence of this strategy should be its versatility, as emphasized by market research. There is no question, above all that this pattern will continue to innovate along the path to being more successful.

Each strategy as and when inculcated allows market research dynamos to reposition themselves to make their services enriched to a higher scale and increasingly relevant. Standing in the current times the future seems a road full of blockades and uncertainties, however, market research can sure keep culminating with constant renovations, learning, and revision from experiences- the root lies in how much the analysts are ready to adapt and grow with the ever-changing circumstances, probably find the thrill in the change.

In Today’s era, the markets are very competitive and it requires great skills and techniques to remain on the top. If you are a market researcher and looking for innovative qualitative research techniques then you are at the right place.

In this blog, we will share 7 innovative qualitative market research techniques with you to understand your users efficiently. 

Qualitative research is very important to get broader understandings of the buying reasons and motivations behind the customer’s decisions. 

But before we share the innovative qualitative market research techniques with you let’s briefly discuss the basics. 

Let’s start

What is Qualitative Market Research?

Qualitative market research is a type of research in which we use observation or unstructured questioning to gather information.

Qualitative vs Quantitative Research

The main goal of qualitative research is to get insights into the depth of motives behind consumers buying decisions. 

But in Quantitative research, the market researchers collect and analyze the numerical data, which can be used to find patterns or averages, make predictions, and understand the results. 

So now we will discuss the best innovative qualitative market research which you can use to understand the audience better.

1. Interviews

Interviews can easily be conducted through phones, skype, or in person. The idea behind interviews is to ask some series of questions or follow-ups to know what really motivates them to buy products and services like yours.

You should use the interviews to collect data or information on some questions prepared by you for the respondents. 

But you don’t have to stick with your script if the respondents say something interesting, you have to ask some follow-up questions to get some in-depth information.

2. Focus Group

Focus groups are conducted in-persons. These Groups give their own opinions and thoughts to the products and services. You can use focus groups to explore the general concept of the product.

The main advantage of using in-person focus groups is that you will be able to see customers’ verbal and non-verbal responses to the products and services. 

The extra advantage of focus groups is that the different members of the particular group can give their own thoughts and ideas which means you will get more in-depth insights. 

Use of focus groups: 

• You can use groups for product testing and usage.
• You will be able to explore the concept of your products and services.
• Can get new ideas for packaging.

3. Home Videos

This is one of the most exciting and great ways to observe how the audience interacts with your products and services in real life. 

The main benefit of this technique is that you will be able to observe the user’s behavior in a natural and great environment and you will also get to know how your product is being used by the audience.

Home videos are the best innovative qualitative research technique that should be used by almost every market researcher.

4. Online Forums

Online forums are now becoming very popular amongst qualitative market researchers. The audience is brought into a common platform to discuss a particular topic and the moderator of the forum ensures that the discussion is driven in the direction of the required outcome. 

You can also use the forums to collect some data or information for your own research. This can be a very helpful qualitative research technique if you use it.

5. Case study Research

Case Studies mainly focus on qualitative data by using methods like interviews and analysis of primary and secondary resources (eg. Newspapers, blogs, etc).

At first, this technique may be difficult to implement but it is one of the easiest methods to conduct qualitative research. 

You can thoroughly understand the available data and conclusions through case study research.

6. Telephone Survey

Telephone survey includes phone delegates that contact survey respondents by phone and ask them some questions to collect information.

The use of telephone surveys in qualitative market research has become very popular in recent years. But many market researchers ignored this technique which is not a good thing. 

By using this technique you can collect lots of important data from the respondents which you can use in your research later.

7. Ethnographic Research

This technique is used by those market researchers who want to do an in-depth analysis of the audience and respondents in their own environment. 

The duration of ethnographic research depends on the analysis and observations that you want to do but it can last from few days to weeks or even months. 

This type of research totally depends on the ability of market researchers to analyze and solve the data and information.

8. Email Surveys

Digital and online surveys are one of the cost-effective methods of surveys. Many Qualitative research analysts are using email surveys to collect essential information.   

But you have to make sure that the questions which you are asking are straight forward so email respondents can easily answer them. 

Advantage Of Qualitative Market Research

Get Detailed Information

You can collect detailed information rather than just focussing on the metric of data. It helps you to understand the in-depth knowledge of the particular information.

It Will Help You To Reduce Customer Churn

We all know that customer behavior changes overnight leaving a business or a company in wonder what went wrong. 

By conducting qualitative market research businesses can know what consumers really want and what are their needs.

Conclusion

If you are also looking for a market research company that can conduct the best qualitative research then Apelo consulting is the best for you in the market.

Apelo consulting has 6+ years of experience in the market research field. Our team of research analysts provides you the best service as per your requirements.