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Unleashing the Power of MROCs to Achieve Better Business Insights

DWG Admin on June 6, 2023

Unleashing the Power of MROCs to Achieve Better Business Insights

The concept of research has evolved significantly, moving towards a hybrid approach that combines qualitative and quantitative methods. This shift has been influenced by various factors, with COVID-19 being a significant game-changer. The pandemic forced in-person research to come to a halt, leading to the rise of online and digital methodologies. The integration of platforms like Zoom allowed for asynchronous studies, where participants engage in activities over a period of time and then follow up with in-depth interviews or focus groups. This hybrid approach has become the norm, with simultaneous or sequential qualitative and quantitative studies being conducted.

Best practices in this new landscape involve leveraging the strengths of both asynchronous and live engagement. Asynchronous methods offer a less intrusive and more convenient way for participants to share their experiences, while live interactions build on the insights gained from the initial asynchronous phase. The hybrid approach also allows for larger teams to be involved in research without overwhelming participants, as the digital aspect provides a more private and comfortable environment. The cost benefits of digital research and the ability to immerse larger audiences in the process are additional advantages of this approach. Overall, the hybrid method enhances the research experience, allowing for deeper insights and more focused discussions.

It’s important to recognize the role of technology, particularly in hybrid activity communities. Video-based interactions and projective techniques, such as storytelling and collage tools, are effective methods for obtaining in-depth insights and emotional context from participants.

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools can assist researchers in analyzing and aggregating data, providing summaries, and generating insights. However, there is a consensus that AI cannot replace the human touch and expertise in research. While AI has its benefits in processing large amounts of data, the interpretation and synthesis of information still require the strategic thinking and understanding of a skilled researcher. AI can enhance efficiency in research but cannot replace the critical thinking and storytelling abilities of human researchers. The human element, empathy, and understanding of human behavior remain essential in delivering valuable insights to clients. Overall, there are both benefits and challenges when using AI in market research, but transparency, communication, and a human-centric approach in leveraging these technologies is key.

When using research technology platforms to collect data, it’s crucial to have a strong support system in place. Brand researchers, recruitment providers, and research panelists will all engage with the platform. Humans naturally have a varied level of comfort when engaging with technology, so it’s important to have a strong support team of humans that can guide each audience. While an instructional video would suffice in many cases, if users are challenged by technology, lost insights may be the unnecessary cost.

Having the right partners to support recruitment is equally important. An experienced partner can make methodological recommendations to successfully execute research. They are experts at managing the logistical needs, maintaining transparency and communication, and setting expectations with panelists throughout the process. Good partners will advise researchers on best practices applicable to a variety of approaches, including: the necessity of a kickoff call, minimizing extraneous touchpoints, avoiding changes to research expectations, and prompt communication with recruits. Calibrating incentives to match the tasks involved will promote engagement and discourage participant drop-off. Granting access to project managers in technology platforms is suggested to monitor participation and handle logistical demands, allowing researchers to focus on the research.

The importance of balancing cost, speed, and quality in research projects is critical, yet often difficult to achieve. Quantitative research can be faster and cheaper but qualitative research does not have to be sacrificed. The application of mixed methods, utilizing both synchronous (such as video interviews) and asynchronous (such as activity-based research) approaches, increases the potential of successfully balancing all variables to meet research objectives.

Hybrid research approaches are a great solution when both quantitative and qualitative research are necessary. Hybrid approaches can offer the trifecta of cost, quality, and speed. For example, participants are screened and qualified for a panel with a simple quantitative survey as the first activity. Screeners should always be concise and only include qualifying questions, but using the quant survey to both collect data and expand screening can allow researchers to narrow the participant pool in a very deliberate manner prior to the qualitative phases, selecting only the candidates that are most appropriate based on the activities expected. Costs are low due to a single recruiting fee and minimal recontacting. Quality is high as responses to previous phases can be leveraged to select the strongest candidates for a variety of activity types. Speed is increased since panelists can be quickly selected from an engaged pool, rather than the need to secure new candidates for each phase.

We hope you found this summary to be helpful! If you didn’t register for this webinar you can watch this webinar in its entirety by clicking here.

Be on the lookout for our next webinar, which will be in August 2023. If you can’t wait until then, you can always view our on-demand webinars. Don’t forget to join our mailing list so you can keep up with what is happening at L&E!

Recipe for the perfect qual panel

DWG Admin on April 28, 2023

Recipe for the perfect qual panel

Step One: Planning and consultation

Great results are as important as the starting point. To recruit the perfect qual panel there aren’t any shortcuts, and the planning phase is where we build solid foundations for a successful project.

Think three steps ahead

Finding an expert team to support you in this initial phase will save you serious headaches further down the line. Consultants with a background in recruiting, panel development and management, can anticipate any potential research challenges and provide solutions to mitigate recruiting obstacles before they arise.

Make sure you put your consultants’ expertise to use and ask them to review the project materials and recruitment screeners. If screening questions are “leading” or don’t seem to be collecting the necessary information, consultants need to be able to provide you with guidance on how to best collect them or develop the right screener based on your requirements.

Another question your experts need to be able to answer is: is it doable? Feasibility assessment is no easy task, and a lot of factors need to be considered: incidence rate, sample size, whether social media is viable, staff capacity, and room availability. While determining feasibility can be subjective, good recruitment teams will always offer full transparency based on experience, or should the case warrant it, inexperience.

Being able to know what challenges may arise further down the line, as well as how long it might take to complete your project, or if your screener isn’t good enough, will save you time and money and will deliver better results.

You need the right people to find the right people

Having the right experience means being relevant to a specific project – and not all projects are the same. B2B projects, for example, need to be handled by dedicated B2B consultants who have years of recruitment experience in this specialized area. Our B2B team searches beyond our nationwide panel to find the right professional match. LinkedIn, ZoomInfo, and searching business websites for job title or description matches, are some of the ways through which you can find the right B2B respondents.

In other cases, you might need industry-specific expertise. For healthcare projects, for example, you want specialists with a clinical background, including direct patient care, as well as research, so that they’re able to give you the right feasibility assessment.

Without the right consultants, you risk starting on the wrong foot. Identify your target and find the right partner to help you reach it.

The right way to retain your panel

Participants are the most important part of our industry. So, it’s key to keep them happy. To retain a strong panel of willing consumers, incentives shouldn’t only compensate them for their time, but also make the experience enjoyable and worth it.

There is no “one size fits all” solution when it comes to determining appropriate incentive amounts; a customer discussing a CPG product will expect a much different incentive than a healthcare professional sharing their thoughts about a new pharmaceutical product, for which they are specially trained. Make sure you offer the right reward to make it alluring to participants, while keeping your budget in mind.

The “show rate” is as valuable as retaining your panel; at L&E we pride ourselves on an average show rate goal of 93%. Our Client Solutions team makes an appropriate over-recruiting recommendation to assure you reach your Net recruiting volume.

Building useful client lists

The success of recruitment when using client-provided sample is dictated by the response rate and quality of the list, which – although wildly unpredictable – is sometimes necessary to target the right audience. If a brand wants to engage its app users, or subscribers to their service, having a list of leads is immensely helpful, especially when the incidence rate is low.

However, not all lists are useful. To make sure you’re providing helpful information your list needs to be up-to-date and targeted. The recruitment audience is also a factor; for example, a target list of senior respondents would be more effective if phone numbers are provided, and a list of zoomers would be better targeted by using text.

Bear in mind that revealing the brand sponsor of the provided list can also be highly effective, since the customers will know the company’s name, but not the recruitment supplier’s name.

Starting a recruitment project can be overwhelming, there are a lot of factors to consider but it’s important that you take your time to do so. Find the right team of experts that will keep your project on track from the get-go, and plan ahead to avoid regrettable mistakes.

Stay tuned to find out what’s the next step in recruiting the perfect qual panel.

Are You Sabotaging Your Research?

DWG Admin on July 21, 2022

Fraudulent panelists have always plagued market research recruiters and panel providers, but the industry experienced an exponential uptick in fraud due to the Covid-19 pandemic: when the world navigated ways to live remotely, scammers followed suit and found a way to scam more effectively online. Researchers had to modify their data collection methodologies to reflect remote and online options during stay-at-home orders, and our industry adapted tremendously. However, increasing online research meant there were more opportunities for fraud.

In response to the growing incidence of data fraud, industry leaders and decision makers from leading brands gathered to create CASE (Collaborate, Advocate, Spearhead, Educate), with the goal of shining light on an issue that has been ignored in our industry for far too long. By providing brands with education, they’ll be better equipped to understand the concessions of time, cost, and quality when making decisions for their business, and deciding what research is appropriate and how to best design it, considering those variables. CASE conducted the first of its kind, ground-breaking research study on panel fraud, and results were shared during a webinar hosted by The Insights Association in spring of 2022 (available on-demand: Online Sample Fraud: Causes, Costs & Cures, February 11, 2022).

The key to successful research and data collection is having the right recruiting firm on your side. The recruiting firm must be able to share what they are doing to exclude fraudulent panelists from participating in research. Generally, you don’t need to know “how the sausage gets made”, however when it comes to panel validation practices that your recruiter has in place, you should ask questions and peek behind the curtain. Esomar published a paper in 2021 that has a list of 37 questions you can ask your recruiter to find out what they’re doing to validate their panel. While not all questions will apply to all firms or projects, it’s a solid start and should provide some foundational education on what to ask or how to ask questions specific to the research that you will be conducting. The goal isn’t to find a recruiter who can “check all the boxes”, but if they can speak coherently about their practices, and they are engaged and excited about the discussion, then you know they are implementing the processes necessary to mitigate data fraud. Your research partner should be taking a multi-faceted approach to their panel validation practices, using a combination of technological advancements and good old-fashioned human interaction.

L&E Research is renowned for three things: Nationwide recruiting, advanced technology, and industry leading client service. These skills are key to securing validated recruits who will contribute quality data for your research. We have over 35 years of qualitative recruitment experience, with the majority of recruiting focused on in-person research, so validating identity is not new for Team L&E. When we expanded our reach to accommodate remote, nationwide recruitment to better serve our client’s needs, we applied our tested respondent validation practices to a broader audience, so that we could continue to provide the same level quality participants for which we’re known. Online screening is convenient to both the panelist and our recruiting team, but this could invite fraud if the human element is removed, so at L&E Research, all recruits are confirmed with a phone call, conducted by a real human being. When participating in research at an L&E facility or L&E’s Virtual Facility, a government identification is required. Our advanced technology solutions allow us to track which panelists have been ID and human validated, providing us with an accurate gauge on the health and quality of our 1+ million-member panel. As scammers are agile and adaptable, we too needed to modify our practices to cast a wider net on excluding scammers from not only participating in research, but from registering as a member of our respondent pool. Using a combination of geolocation routing and IP address tracking, we can exclude the majority of bots and click farms from gaining access to our member portal. Our technology provides us with the flexibility to only share project invitations with those who would potentially qualify, based on the 100+ data points we collect and track; this reduces the volume of “cheaters” who would falsify their responses just to get into a study. We pride ourselves on our client service, but the same high-quality level of service is extended to our members in all levels of communication. We know clear and concise communication makes the difference in the amount of effort, and therefore quality and depth of feedback, that a respondent will put into the task at hand. In those communications we include “anti-fraud” messaging, such as letting participants know that photo identification will be checked, and that rescreening calls will be conducted to confirm their responses haven’t changed. We know our process is effective; we also know that we must stay agile and stay diligent to adapt to a changing landscape.

Combatting fraud within our industry will take involvement from everyone: brands, agencies, consultants, and sample suppliers. Because instances of fraud can wildly vary, the solution must be a collaborative effort, with dedication from all involved parties and open lines of communication. It isn’t enough to attempt to combat fraud at the project level; if we want to continue to provide relevant insights, we must be willing to share best practices with our clients AND our competitors, so that data quality in the entire research ecosystem will improve. With some accountability and creativity, recruitment providers can put processes into place to reduce bad data.

This post is based on a webinar, Stop Sabotaging Your Research! Why respondent quality matters and how to ensure data integrity. It’s available as part of our on-demand webinars series.

Be on the lookout for our next webinar, which will be in October 2022. If you can’t wait until then, view our on-demand webinars. Don’t forget to join our mailing list so you can keep up with what is happening at L&E!

Stop Sabotaging Your Research! Why Respondent Quality Matters and How To Ensure Data Integrity

DWG Admin on June 28, 2022

Have you ever completed a research project only to find your data is plagued with fraudulent responses? Poor data can result in money wasted on pointless research, faulty research conclusions, and the worst case scenario: product or campaign failures!

Representatives from L&E Research, Procter & Gamble, and Zinklar will discuss challenges the research industry faces when sourcing recruitment and data collection from suppliers. Our panel of fraud-busting experts includes: Tia Maurer, who brings over 20 years of research experience with P&G; Efrain Riberio, with more than 25 years of industry experience and an emphasis on respondent fraud, including advising roles to multiple research providers and industry associations; and L&E Research’s Kelli Hammock, who has close to 20 years of experience in qualitative recruiting; discussion to be led by L&E Research’s CEO, Brett Watkins.

During this webinar, we will discuss:

Why the industry has experienced an uptick in fraudulent data over the past few years, and how this experience differs within both quantitative and qualitative respondent pools
Qualitative controls that your panel provider should implement to ensure data integrity
Why companies should be utilizing quant/qual hybrid methodologies to collect data
Steps the industry can take to mitigate the incidence of bots and fraudulent panelists

Insights R Us: How to Gain BIG Insights From LITTLE Influencers

DWG Admin on March 1, 2022

Traditionally, researchers have focused on gaining insights from parents; after all, they are the ones typically buying products for their children. However, children are ultimately influencing these decisions with the products and content they prefer to consume. Children are insightful, creative, candid, and honest – all qualities that can lead to unexpected outcomes. Conducting research with children can be an incredibly rewarding process, but the variables involved are vastly different from research conducted with adults.

This presentation seeks to inform it’s audience of considerations that should be made when your research target is a child, tween, or teen:

Recruitment to involve parental consent, screening of parents and/or their children, and how to effectively communicate research logistics
Methodology considerations should be made when targeting a younger audience; certain approaches are better suited for children’s research
Moderators must create a discussion guide that is not only geared to hold the interest of young participants, but it must be adaptable, as children can be unpredictable, and guide deviation should be welcomed when new ideas are shared

6 Steps To Perfect Qual – Step 6: Maintaining Client Relationships

DWG Admin on December 7, 2021

A good marketing strategy is paramount in building client relationships, from generating new business to encouraging former clients to use your services again. So, how can you use your resources to effectively nurture your leads? The final white paper of our series explains the importance of building trusting relationships between your company and clients. Download this white paper to discover:

The importance of maintaining client relationships and impact on business
How to build impactful marketing strategies using email and social media
How to create engaging thought-leadership content to demonstrate industry expertise

Click here to download the white paper (no form to fill out!) More about the six steps to perfect qual series It’s qualitative research that digs deep to uncover the truth in consumer behavior. If the goal of qual is to explore rather than confirm, then true qualitative insight comes from asking the right questions, with the right people, and successfully sharing the journey they take you on. We know researchers walk a tightrope. Margins for error are narrow; even the smallest mistakes in a qualitative project can have huge impact on the client relationship and the project’s success. Our series of six white papers is designed to support you every step along the way in your project – to provide a guide to the key elements that will drive success and how we at L&E can help you. White Paper Series Downloads: Step 1: Qualitative Research Design Step 2: Qualitative Research Recruiting Step 3: Fieldwork and Data Collection Step 4: Qualitative Analysis Step 5: Insight Communication

6 Steps To Perfect Qual – Step 3: Fieldwork & Data Collection

DWG Admin on December 7, 2021

STEP 3: FIELDWORK & DATA COLLECTION

When you back your fieldwork and data collection with the latest technology, you can’t go wrong. Download the latest L&E trust guide to access new (and go-to) qualitative research techniques, along with the in-the-moment tools, video analytics, and other technology they run on. In this paper we’ll also share practical tips in choosing the right facility and creating an optimal research environment for participants. This paper includes:

Emerging fieldwork techniques (and the technology they run on)
Practical tips on making your participants and clients comfortable on site
How to deliver an environment that will optimize data collection
Strategy for choosing the right facility

To continue reading, download our latest white paper here (no form to fill out!) More about the six steps to perfect qual series It’s qualitative research that digs deep to uncover the truth in consumer behavior. If the goal of qual is to explore rather than confirm, then true qualitative insight comes from asking the right questions, with the right people, and successfully sharing the journey they take you on. We know researchers walk a tightrope. Margins for error are narrow; even the smallest mistakes in a qualitative project can have huge impact on the client relationship and the project’s success. Our series of six white papers is designed to support you every step along the way in your project – to provide a guide to the key elements that will drive success and how we at L&E can help you. White Paper Series Downloads: Step 1: Qualitative Research Design Step 2: Qualitative Research Recruiting

Getting the Most Out of Qualitative Research: 35 Tips for Building a Great Partnership with your Moderator

DWG Admin on December 7, 2021

Download eBook

L&E Research is pleased to announce the release of our newest eBook, Getting the Most out of Qualitative Research: 35 Tips for Building a Great Partnership with your Moderator.

If you’re doing qualitative research, then you’re working with a moderator. As much as their skill and experience, the way you work with them – before, during and after your project – will determine your project’s success.

To bring the most useful insights to you, we talked with moderators across the country and gathered their input for this eBook. Their perspectives on how to most effectively work with them will ensure you get the most out of your research dollars.

To get your free copy of the eBook, click the button below.

Applying Qualitative Research to Marketing Challenges: Better Insight, More Success!

DWG Admin on December 7, 2021

We are pleased to announce the release of our latest eBook, Applying Qualitative Research to Marketing Challenges: Better Insight, More Success!

This eBook provides ideas and suggestions for ways you can expand your use of qualitative research by exploring the top business applications for qualitative methodologies, including:

Building Your Brand
Launching New Products
Improving Customer Satisfaction
Evaluating Product Usability
Developing Better Concepts
Leveraging Employee Insights

To get your free copy of the eBook, click the button below.

Download eBook

6 Steps To Perfect Qual – Step 4: Qualitative Analysis

DWG Admin on December 7, 2021

To get to the heart of qualitative analysis, you need to dig deep, as well as scope the bigger picture, to provide actionable insight for the client to address the problem. This next L&E trust guide sets the scene for the current scale of qualitative data, and offers research consultants a way to grasp the large amount of information by using the latest thinking and technology. This paper will guide research consultants through the process of qualitative analysis to capitalize on scale, reach, cost, depth and speed. In this paper you will find:

Practical tips in categorizing and structuring data
The technology used to speed up the analysis stage
Support from L&E and technology partners