The extra value in valuing opinions

Editor’s note: Bianca Di Salvo is president at Qualitative Research Insights, Scarsdale, N.Y.

Conducting marketing research has benefits beyond informing business decisions, reducing potential business risk and even beyond a quantifiable return on investment. It can also help you build your brand.

Recently we conducted qualitative research with American consumers ages 18-59 to explore attitudes about marketing research itself. We looked to understand what consumers get out of answering survey questions, participating in focus groups and signing up for online research communities. Further, we wanted to know how companies could expand the benefits they receive from sponsoring marketing research studies.

We found savvy consumers who expect companies to want to know what they think and to ask them about their experiences. They believe it makes good business sense to listen to them and they know that firms must find out what they think to stay competitive.

Staying competitive has its price. As an industry we’ve trained consumers to expect compensation for their opinions. Unsurprisingly, we confirmed that money motivates. Some consumers look at marketing research as a part-time job, a way to make additional income. Some are trained to the point that they know exactly how much they should be making for specific research efforts.

Besides money, we found five other motivators to research participation.

It’s fun. Some respondents find research fun. They find it engaging and entertaining.

It’s exciting. In some cases research participants get introduced to new products and product categories. This can be exciting and make consumers feel they are on the cutting edge of a new product or service or that they have inside information.

It makes me smarter. Some consumers find it interesting to participate in marketing research. It can provide an opportunity to think about new topics. It can force people to think about issues they might not have otherwise thought about. For example, asking consumers how their buying habits have changed in response to the economic situation forces them to think about something that may have been an unconscious action. Research on how consumers select which laundry soap to buy can provide value by having them think about something that has become a habitual behavior.

Further, marketing research, particularly group discussion, can expose research participants to the attitudes of others. This may provide new perspectives, allowing participants to think about an issue in new ways.

It makes me feel important. Being asked their opinions, these consumers feel a sense of pride. They feel like an essential part of the business. Further, it suggests the company values them as an individual, their thoughts, desires and needs.

It makes me feel in control. Some consumers feel that participating in marketing research helps them feel they have some level of influence over the products and services that touch their lives. Particularly for customers, there is value in being able to tell the company about their experiences and offer their perspective on things that affect them directly.

Relationship-building aspect

By themselves these motivators may speak to respondent engagement. While interesting, engagement is about getting people to participate in the research itself, which is important. But it is not a direct benefit to the company sponsoring the research. In addition to these five motivators, we found that marketing research participation can have a relationship-building aspect to it as well.

Some marketing research participants report a more positive attitude toward the company sponsoring the research. They may be more interested in doing business with these companies. They may be more likely to cut the company some slack when things go wrong. Being asked their opinions makes them feel the company cares about them. It says the company is interested in their perspective, which translates to a more positive impression of the company overall. To these consumers, marketing research conveys a desire on the part of the company to engage with them and listen to them. It suggests the company values them, their desires and needs. It implies that the consumer’s views may be taken into consideration to improve products, services and experiences.

While many companies understand the value of marketing research in making more informed business decisions, these findings suggest the process of marketing research may offer additional value to the company sponsoring the research beyond the consumer’s perspective.

How can a company use motivators to research participation to build relationships and improve its overall image? Here are four ways to do it by piggybacking on the research a company is already conducting.

1. Focus on making the research fun and exciting for the research participant. This not only reflects well on the company conducting the research (in instances when its identity can be revealed) but it also enhances respondent engagement, as an enjoyable research experience can lead to a greater likelihood for future participation.

Some companies conducting research online are looking to make things more fun and improve the consumer’s experience by developing new online interfaces and incorporating video, audio and other interactive components. In its simplest form respondent engagement is governed by keeping interviews short and questions easy. In its more sophisticated form, companies are asking research participants for feedback on the research experience itself. The goal is to better understand what makes for a fun, enjoyable and engaging research experience. This information can be used to refine the design of future studies.

2. Help research participants feel more important to your organization and like they havemore control over their customer experiences. Communicate the company’s desire to have a two-way dialogue with customers and potential customers. As possible, use language in recruiting and early in research that reinforces the idea that the sponsoring company believes there is a need to get information and help from consumers. Use language that communicates that the company sees this as a critical part of its decision-making process and overall success.

A company can also let customers know they are important after the research is finished. Use marketing communications and other channels to let consumers know when changes to the company’s products, services or processes are made based on their ideas and feedback.

3. Disclose sponsorship to let customers know they have control and to build relationships. For a variety of sound business reasons companies should not disclose their sponsorship of marketing research studies in certain situations. Obviously early-stage new-product development should not be paired with disclosing the name of the company paying for the research. Will disclosing sponsorship will really give away competitive advantage when the research is on an advertisement that is clearly branded already? If a research participant can guess at the sponsor, does keeping it a secret really matter? Consider disclosing sponsorship when possible at the end of the research process. It can help consumers attribute the experience to the appropriate company.

4. Build goodwill by thanking respondents for participating in research. Companies should routinely get into the habit of thanking their research participants in addition to giving monetary incentives when possible. This thank-you can be verbal or written. Certain types of research lend themselves easily to the thank-you. The interpersonal interaction of qualitative lends itself easily to a verbal thank-you. The thank-you should be communicated through the research company for ethical reasons. The company might consider offering a promotional item like a mug with the company logo as another token of appreciation as these are often appreciated especially if the company has a strong image or the item is particularly cool.

Leverage the experience

Considering the potential relationship-building opportunities in marketing research, it makes sense to leverage the research experience. By focusing on the different motivators of marketing research participation and trying to enhance these, a marketing research study has the potential to do more than just inform the company that sponsored the research project. It can enhance the perception of the business and make consumers feel more closely connected to your company.