How speaking to respondents will revolutionise your qual market research

It goes without saying that everybody wants the very best participants for their qualitative market research.

Sourcing the right participants who fit the qualifying criteria is obviously a must – but it’s not just about ticking off a checklist. Ideally, the chosen participants should also be completely engaged, as well as being willing to open up and share their innermost thoughts and feelings. But how do you actually achieve this? Well, it’s simpler than you might think – in fact, something as small as taking the time to speak to your participants can make all of the difference. Don’t believe us? Read on to find out how…

You can ensure they fit the criteria exactly

Online questionnaires are one of the most popular ways to screen participants for qualitative market research projects – after all, they’re quick, easy and cost effective. However, although online questionnaires allow you to mark participants against certain criteria, they don’t allow you to get a real feel for their personalities.

How can you know if your respondent is outgoing and chatty by just filling in an online form? You can’t. If you speak to your participants over the phone in addition to your initial screening method, you will be able to probe more deeply and ask them more questions in order to get more information out of them and get to know them better. Double screening enables you to ask questions that you might not have thought to include in the qualifying criteria in the first place – and these questions can help ensure you choose the right participants for your study.

You can improve participant engagement

We say it time and time again: if you want to get insightful results from your market research project, you have to engage with your participants – and taking the time to really talk to your participants up front means they are much more likely to be fully engaged. If your participants feel that you are interested in what they have to say and truly care about their opinions, they will be much more likely to be forthcoming and contribute more, which means that you can get a better insight into their thoughts. Your participants feel valued and you get the in-depth insights you need – which is definitely a win win situation for everyone!

You can build a rapport with your participants

The key to successful qualitative market research is a strong rapport with your participants. Building a rapport means that your participants will start to trust you – so you can fully explain the research methodology and what is expected of them, as well as reassuring them about any worries or concerns they may have. This means that they will be more likely to engage in the research, take part in any tasks or activities set and meet deadlines on time. Not only that, but you will have a lower risk of cancellations and dropouts because your respondents won’t want to let you down – and that sounds pretty good to us!

In conclusion, by taking the time to really talk to your participants you can ensure you have the best respondents who are willing to fully engage and not let you down. Although building a rapport in such a way does take some additional time and effort, we can assure you that in doing so you will be able to walk into the research phase with complete confidence that your participants will be engaged and willing to open up – and we don’t know about you, but we think that’s definitely worth a bit of extra effort!

Interested in recruiting the best participants for your qualitative market research study? Download our guide to getting the best participants now...