News from ADM Marketing & Research Consulting

Historically, technology has driven research methods since George Gallop developed a scientific method for sampling. One classic example is the telephone! Mr. Gallop started out with door-to-door interviewing in the 1930s because telephone ownership was still pretty low and people were not adverse to letting strangers into their homes to conduct interviews. In 1948, the use of telephone surveys in the Presidential election produced one of the most stunning mistakes in all of marketing research--the prediction that Thomas Dewey won the election over Harry Truman.

For several years, online surveys have come to prominence, especially with advancements in the online survey programs themselves, the growth of Internet access penetration, and easy-to-use online products. But what about qualitative research? Is it obsolete? Can technology make these techniques more accessible?

Qualitative research is generally employed when clients want to know "why" customers behave in a certain way, rather than "how many" do something. it remains an very important tool in the arsenal of product managers, marketers, and communications professionals. It can prevent the development of "ivory tower" thinking by allowing these marketers and managers to listen to real consumers and B-to-B users. But it can be expensive, especially if managers and agency account people have to fly all over the country (or the world, for that matter) to view groups or one-on-ones. There are some companies that conduct online groups or groups by conference call. These techniques are certainly convenient, but they do not allow the research (much less the clients) to observe consumers/customers talking about or handling their product or service. They also preclude the kind of personal interaction that can enhance ideation or other kinds of discussions.

What I think is better than online groups is video conferencing, where clients can sit in their offices and view the groups through (essentially) closed-circuit television, in real time. Even better, these sessions are generally recorded on DVD and online, and can be viewed by clients at any time. There are other services which allow the analyst to extract clips from these DVDs and embed them in a presentation; or create an abbreviated recording that shows highlights of the groups. These uses of technology greatly enhance the ability of managers and marketers to observe their "publics," which can bring them out of their towers--ivory or otherwise. This is really important to the creation of products, services, and communications that resonate with people.