Editor’s note: Melanie Courtright is senior vice president of client services – Americas at Research Now.
Most years between 2008 and 2013 have been touted by experts as the “year of mobile.” As we move into 2014, mobile’s significance is still set to increase in the market research industry.
When research made the transition from telephone to online, most took their surveys and simply changed the wording from interviewer to self-completion, leaving the heart of the surveys the same. As we shift from online to mobile, we must not repeat this approach – mobile is not online (and the difference is not just screen size). In order to make the most of the mobile platform, the following points should be kept in mind.
Always consider the participant. This sounds basic, but you must always consider that the respondent you are trying to reach is going to be in the middle of an important part of his/her day and you’re going to interrupt it. I have at times even experienced clients who fail to consider this. For example, asking a diner to capture their whole dining experience from their entrance, to when they’re seated, to when their food arrives, and then when they’re paying. This approach may be too intrusive and even difficult to get through, as we are interrupting their dining experience and inherently changing their perceptions of both the restaurant and the survey process. The method could easily be modified by asking the participant about all of these factors at one time when they’ve had time to enjoy and complete their meal.
People see their phones as a personal extension of themselves. This personal nature of mobile means that the way we get in touch with participants to invite them to take part in research needs to be thought out very carefully.
Don’t let multimedia carry you away. The wonderful flexibility of mobile and the opportunity to interact with participants can sometimes go to a researcher’s head. It is, of course, important to consider the opportunities that mobile presents to the researcher due to the various types of information that can be gathered from a mobile respondent. But at the same time, I would urge researchers to think about the detail of what they are going to ask and to think about the result they are likely to get. Drill down and recognize what information is need-to-know as opposed to simply nice-to-know.
And, realize that if you ask 3,000 people to send you a picture of their favorite aisle in the grocery store, the chances of you going through all 3,000 images are quite slim.
Keep it short and sweet. People interact constantly with their mobile devices but in smaller increments of time than on a computer. In order to minimize drop-outs, the survey should be short and sweet, taking no longer than 15 minutes (but preferably 10). In order to achieve this, you should stick to the point.
Make sure the survey is as easy to complete and navigate as possible – the harder the survey is to get through, the more likely the respondent is to drop out. This can be achieved through minimizing the amount of scrolling involved, limiting the amount of text boxes (which are very difficult to fill out via mobile) and trying to be creative and engaging in your approach. Respondents will be expecting an experience that flows seamlessly rather than one that feels like the 1980s have gone digital.
You should also make sure you go through your survey on every single mobile device; there are online simulators that can help you do this.
In conclusion, make sure you wear the respondents’ shoes. Try to ensure that the survey you design is a seamless mobile experience and that it feels like an extension of their experience rather than an inconvenience. And remember that not every aspect of research is fit for mobile.