Social media has never been more popular. People are spending more time than ever before on various platforms, with the average person spending two hours a day across different sites. You might think that doesn’t sound too bad, but to put it another way - that’s five years of your life spent on social media. And younger generations spend even more, with recent research suggesting they spend a staggering nine hours a day on social media platforms (yes, you read that right - they spend more time than the average working day on social platforms!).

So considering the statistics above, it makes sense that more and more researchers are using social media as part of their market research recruitment toolkit. After all, it’s a really powerful way to interact with your target audience, and thanks to promoted posts and Facebook ads, it’s also a great way to reach out to a large amount of people in a fast and cost-effective way. Not only that, but if you’re worried about seeing the same faces time and time again in your qualitative market research, it can also be a fantastic way to find fresh respondents as well. Read on to discover how…

As conducting qualitative market research with children and young people becomes more and more popular, it’s important that market researchers know how to engage with and empower children to generate the best possible results. Young people and children are still developing - and that means that the way they think, act and communicate is still developing too, which will bring about a completely different level of insights to market research with adults.

Most importantly, when recruiting children for qualitative market research, researchers need to make sure they follow the MRS Code of Conduct and ensure that the children’s health and wellbeing are put above everything else at all times. But that’s not all there is to think about. If you want to generate the best possible results when conducting qualitative market research with children, you need to engage with them and empower them so they feel comfortable and confident enough to open up. Here’s how… 

When kicking off a market research study, one of the first steps is always determining what kind of participants you want to recruit. Are you looking for a particular age group? Do they need to have specific interests or behaviours? For example, should they have purchased a certain product recently or shop at a specific store? And what about age group? By answering these types of questions you can decide on your recruitment criteria, which will ultimately have an impact on which recruitment technique you decide to use. And often when it comes to reaching niche audiences, social media is a great solution.

Ethnographic research essentially turns research inside out: instead of bringing the subject to the researcher, it involves researchers embedding themselves in the respondent's environment so they can observe their experiences first hand. It’s a great research methodology because it allows you to get right to the heart of customer behaviour and sometimes learn things about your consumers that they haven’t even consciously recognised about themselves.

Market research is changing. In today’s digital world, simple questions such as “do my customers like my product?” are no longer enough when it comes to qualitative market research. Clients today want more detailed insights than ever before - which means that market research needs to deliver informative insights so that they can make more educated decisions and stay ahead of the competition. In this digital world, it’s no longer just about perceptions, but also thought processes and stories that resonate with target audiences and drive change. But what exactly does all this mean for qualitative market research? 

Carrying out a feasibility assessment is an essential part of any successful market research study. In fact, when starting your qualitative market research project one of the first things you need to ask yourself is whether or not your sample size is achievable so you can make sure your study is reliable and representative of your audience. 

The Millennials’ time in the spotlight is starting to wane. Generation Z - also known as Millennials on steroids - are coming of age, and it’s officially their time to shine.

Market research online communities are continuing to grow in popularity, with 82% of market researchers either currently using them or thinking about doing so in the near future. It’s pretty easy to see why they are so popular: they’re cost effective, efficient and deliver in-depth insights in a safe and secure online setting. However, the secret to a truly successful online community lies in the tasks. Your chosen tasks will set the tone of your community in terms of participant engagement and creativity - so you need to make sure you offer up a good range of activities to keep your respondents engaged and encourage them to open up. Stuck for ideas? Read on for our top five task tips…

User experience testing (also known as UX testing or usability testing) is when a product or service is evaluated by testing it with representative users in order to improve its usability. It’s become increasingly important in recent years as more and more brands understand the importance of improving their digital user experience - especially as most people’s everyday lives now depend on technology. Today’s customers know exactly what they want - and that’s exactly why UX testing is so valuable: it allows you to understand your customer's’ journey and access deep shopper insights so you can be completely confident you are nailing your offering and not losing out to competitors.

In-home interviews are a qualitative market research methodology whereby one-to-one interviews are carried out with participants in the comfort of their own home. They’re a really great way of gathering high quality data: you can ask specific questions, build a rapport and all the while keep an eye out for actions and nonverbal clues too, making it a fully-rounded research method that can offer great insights. However, there is quite a bit to organise to make sure they are a success, and as a result scheduling can sometimes be a bit of a nightmare. Don’t worry though - the secret to success is all in the preparation, which is why we’ve put together our top tips to ensure your in-home interviews aren’t a logistical nightmare. Read on to find out more…