Last updated: 05/01/21

Our live tracker shows you where you can conduct face-to-face research, as well as the considerations you need to bear in mind.

For those markets where face-to-face research is not possible just yet, online research is an effective alternative. This is an area where we have extensive experience. To help clients embrace these methods, we’ve produced a guide with our top tips for approaching online research in APAC.

UK

Face-to-face research is not currently possible

As the UK is currently under national lockdown, face-to-face research is not possible at this time.

Face-to-face live tracker

Online research is an effective alternative

We have extensive experience of recruiting respondents and conducting research digitally. For many years, we’ve been harnessing online methodologies to support clients with everything from customer understanding right through to product development research in the UK and beyond.

Get in touch with our UK office to find out more

USA

Face-to-face is possible in some states

Restrictions in the US vary by state. Face-to-face research is now possible in some areas as long as the relevant state and federal guidelines on social distancing and interstate travel are observed, and in Boston, our East Coast base, focus groups are now booking. We are actively monitoring the regulations in each state through the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and state and territorial health department websites to advise our clients on what’s possible across the US.

Online research is an effective alternative 

We can recruit respondents and conduct research digitally. This is an area where we’re experts. We’ve been harnessing online methodologies to support clients in the US with everything from customer understanding right through to product development research for many years.

Get in touch with our US offices for more detailed information and to discuss the best approach for your research needs.

China

Face-to-face research and online research are both possible

In line with the situation easing in China, we can provide all methodologies in this market, including focus groups and face-to-face interviews. We have developed a comprehensive safety protocol to safeguard our respondents, our team and our partners including a screening process to ensure respondents haven’t returned from another country in the last 14 days, temperature checks and the provision of masks and alcohol gel.

Singapore

Face-to-face research is now possible

We are now able to offer face-to-face research in Singapore including 8 person focus groups in line with easing restrictions. We have a number of protocols in place to ensure the safety of our team and our respondents.

Face to face live tracker

CATI and online research are effective alternatives

We are experts at conducting online research, and have particular expertise within Asia, recently producing a guide to help clients approach this with confidence. Our CATI capabilities are also an effective way of conducting research at this time.

Get in touch with our Singapore office to find the best approach for your project.

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India

Face-to-face is possible in most areas

We’re able to offer face-to-face research in all major cities that have been designated COVID-free zones by the government. We observe stringent protocols to ensure the safety of our respondents and our team.

Face to face live tracker

We also offer CATI and online research in India

Our state-of-the-art telephonic interviewing (CATI) center and a huge repository of customer databases can address your quantitative research needs, whilst online focus groups, digital depth interviews and digital ethnography can help gain qualitative insights into the rapidly changing consumer landscape.

Get in touch with our India office to discuss how to best approach your research needs.

Indonesia

Face-to-face research is considered on a case by case basis

Restrictions in Indonesia mean that options for face-to-face research are currently limited. As a result, it is considered on a case-by- case. To discuss further, please get in touch with our team.

Philippines

Face-to-face research is not currently possible

F2F research is now feasible in the Philippines. We have already conducted intercepts and D2D interviews with no issues. However, we do not recommend face-to-face for focus groups and IDIs because we are still required to wear face masks and face shields even indoors. Focus groups and IDIs can be carried out online instead at this time.

Thailand

Face-to-face research and online research is possible across Thailand
Face to face live tracker

We are now able to carry out face-to-face interviews and focus groups in Thailand. We have stringent safety protocols in place to protect our respondents, our team and our partners including COVID-19 screening questions, temperature checks and the provision of alcohol gel and masks.

In Thailand, we’re also able to provide a broad range of online methodologies to reach consumers and B2B respondents.

To talk about conducting research in Thailand, get in touch with our team.

Vietnam

Face-to-face research and online research is possible across Vietnam
Face to face live tracker

Face-to-face research in the country can be conducted as normal – there are no restrictions in terms of service provision.

We also have rich experience in conducting online research in the country. We have the biggest direct panel in Vietnam – with 500,000 consumers – and conduct over 100 studies each year.

To discuss a market research project in Vietnam, please get in touch with our team.

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Who do you listen to when it comes to responding to a global pandemic? Doctors? Virologists? Economists? Eccentric Billionaires who operate a ‘space taxi’? Politicians? Surely not politicians!?!

The term expert has been losing its social credibility for years – as it has become politicized – and ‘alternative facts’ have risen in social media. It used to be that an expert had been there, done that, and could advise on what type of t-shirt you really should be buying. That has changed, so that anyone with time to spare to go down the rabbit hole of YouTube can suddenly become an ‘expert’ in vaccines or the shape of the Earth. There is a school of thought widely circulated that if you spend 10,000 hours practicing something – you will have mastered it. Even if you did spend 10,000 hours on You Tube (which is probably doable in a lockdown!) then are you an expert in world affairs? Perhaps playing the guitar…or martial arts. But is 5 years’ experience really enough to become an expert in your industry or on what do to as we emerge from this global pandemic?

The short answer, is no. Not at all. The world (and your industry) is changing so fast that your expertise may not be relevant. Playing the guitar is fundamentally the same now as it was 100 years ago. Automotive, telco and food and beverage industries are not! 5 years ago – Uber in the US or Gojek in Indonesia were tiny entities. WeChat in China has become the dominant force for all news, social interaction and even payments. 5 years in the future, will we need mechanics to fix our cars or just a software engineer to adjust the GPS sensor in our self-driving Tesla?

And now for COVID-19. A global pandemic requires multiple people, with multiple points of view to come together. A serious virus outbreak can never just be a classed a ‘health issue’ – because economics, logistics, government policy and commerce all get impacted. A global pandemic means this is even more the case with global supply chains. From a consumer perspective, all the past norms, assumptions and consumer behavior have been upended! Where they purchase products, their purchase journey are obvious changes. However, the mindset shifts and the self reflection on what is important and what brands play a role in their lives are also changing in ways that we have not seen before. The point of this post is that expertise is needed but there can be no experts that KNOW what brand strategy post COVID looks like!

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People can always learn more. There can always be something new that they discover. These are the sort of people who are modest in their claims of expertise. They talk of experience. They have anecdotes and examples. But they never proclaim to know it all. They read blogs, they start conversations, they debate accepted norms – and they look to push boundaries. More importantly, they look to other people and industries. Even the biggest consultants are pooling their knowledge of expertise to provide ideas and thoughts on the future (check out McKinsey’s collection of virus points of view.) Relying on a single source, or single individual has always been dangerous – but today – with so much uncertainty – no one person can be a guru ‘for change’ anymore. Instead, we should be looking at a range of EXPERTISE.

At Kadence, this is how we operate. We are experts in market research of course, but only because we apply our EXPERTISE and keep an eye on the latest trends. We embrace new technology and methods and refresh the way that we ask questions to remain as up to date as possible. When a client brief comes along, we bring together a number of ‘experts’ to make sure we have covered off as many angles as possible. Industry experts or specialists are brought into a wider team. We read around the subject, we look outside of the target market and industry for new ideas and constantly look to push ourselves to deliver new thinking and a new perspective to our clients.

So now, more than ever, do not seek out an expert. Seek out a range of EXPERTISE and a range of sources to make sure you have looked at a problem from every angle. Now, more than ever, market research can become the industry to collect and organize a range of opinions and ideas and help brands navigate this ‘next normal’.

I’ve been a market researcher for more than 15 years, during which I’ve done countless projects conducted through online and offline methodologies, both in Singapore, and across Asia. It’s a common research cliché to say that ‘one size fits all’ does not apply in Asia, and that the only unifying factor across all Asian markets is their very uniqueness. As such, I’m happy share my view on why Singapore is a market where brands stand to benefit from online research alongside offline research. 

Singapore is one of the most technologically-advanced countries in the world, with internet penetration not that drastically different from the US and indeed higher than many European nations such as Spain, Portugal and Austria. The government’s ‘smart nation’ ambitions are laid out in a masterplan that constantly gets revisited and progress against it tracked. Digital device ownership is high, and digital literacy is something that’s improving, even amongst elderly Singaporeans. It is becoming a common sight in the suburbs to see older Singaporeans making their way to the local community centre for regular lessons on smartphone usage or getting online, while savvier ones conduct video calls with distant loved ones across time zones, with a smile plastered on their faces. 

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What this all means is an increasing willingness amongst clients to explore digital means of qualitatively engaging Singaporean respondents. Though still not the mainstream methodology of choice, we at Kadence International have interacted with consumers in Singapore via online communities on the topic of financial management, understood their preferences when it comes to beer via mobile diaries, and even explored their attitudes and expressions online on the topic of camera usage via social listening.

Online quantitative surveys have always been the norm in Singapore, so it’s good to see an increasing willingness on the part of clients to adopt a similar way to engage and understand local consumers qualitatively. 

From these experiences, we have honed best practices that guide every piece of online work that comes our way. For example, because Singaporeans are generally quite experienced and savvy with tech platforms, we are able to make our task introductions concise, thereby focusing on what we want them to complete or achieve. Also, culturally we may not be as open to casual acquaintances, but the right tonality on the mobile platform will definitely encourage very effusive inputs when it comes to tasks, sometimes even through the form of videos and images! On top of that, working with the right recruiters / fieldwork managers is even more crucial for online fieldwork compared to offline, as they are the crucial link to ensure sustained participation, especially for longitudinal studies (i.e. more than 10 days).

Despite Singapore’s position as a digital leader, over the past 5 years, there have been sporadic episodes of data breaches, even at government agencies, which have affected the daily lives of average Singaporeans. This is on top of the occasional ‘phishing’ instances and increasingly common episodes of white-collar crimes conducted on the digital / mobile platform. 

Though not catastrophic in nature, these instances do reduce overall consumer confidence in digital platforms to a certain degree, while highlighting increasing consciousness amongst consumers about their rights to personal data and digital privacy. This needs to be considered when implementing any form of online research. 

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The impact of this is that we need to think carefully about how we set up a study and what we say to reassure respondents participating in online research. Clarity around what kinds of information will be collected, how it will be used, and giving people the option to opt in and out of some of these, will definitely work towards reducing reluctance to participate, as well as increasing willingness to be even more open towards sharing their thoughts and the data points that we ask of them. It can’t just be a ‘blanket’ set of generic text filled with jargon, because that will not sufficiently explain the importance of them sharing their information, and of us respecting what they have shared. 

As mentioned, offline research is still a popular option in the Singapore and there are a number of reasons for this in spite of the efficiencies that online alternatives can offer. The small size of this ‘red dot’ island nation means that it can be easier and quicker to track hard-to-reach individuals in person rather than online. Offline is often favored by government-related agencies, because more Singaporeans are choosing to forgo having a landline in their homes, instead relying on a mobile phone number. That means while it used to be possible to achieve representativeness on a neighbor level via the home telephone, going face-to-face is now a more effective method. 

In Singapore we see a matrix of reasons why considering both online and offline research is important. From demographic shifts and technological adoption, to legislation and daily behaviour, we see that the market houses consumers that can be optimally reached through a mix of methodologies. This is the key takeout from my years of experience running both kinds of research across Asia, and underlies my belief that any brand that wants to truly understand Singapore as a market will stand to maximize that understanding if it starts by recognizing the value that combined methodologies can bring.

How to conduct online market research in Asia: The Go-To Guide
Interested in understanding how to approach online research across other Asian countries? Download the guide here

According the Bellwether report, market research has taken the biggest hit of all marketing disciplines, as companies look to cut budgets in the face of COVID-19. But arguably market research is precisely the area in which companies need to be investing right now, as they grapple with a radically different business landscape and changing consumer needs and expectations. But against a backdrop of shrinking budgets, how should you approach market research to deliver maximum value in this period?

It comes down to the impact COVID-19 has had on your business. We tend to see that companies are experiencing one of two sales curves, and this will influence where to focus your market research spend.   

1.        Companies with a sales curve shaped like a ʌ

These are the companies that have experienced rapid growth as a result of COVID-19. As needs have rapidly changed, these companies have been the beneficiaries – think streaming providers, recipe box providers, digital platforms for health or education. For these companies, COVID-19 has brought about shifts in behavior which had been thought to take years, and as a result, sales have soared. Disney Plus, for instance, now has 50 million subscribers, in touching distance of its 2024 target, after just 5 months. But there’s a risk that as measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 are relaxed, sales and subscriptions  will decline.

Where to focus your research budget:

Your core focus will naturally be on maintaining the levels of sales you’ve seen in this period and avoiding a big drop off as we adapt to a new normal. To achieve this, invest your spend in customer satisfaction research to understand where your product or service is really resonating and what role your business can play in the ‘new normal’. This will help guide your marketing messaging to appeal to both new and current customers. Customer satisfaction research can also be a useful input for product development. By understanding where your product or service falls short, you’ll be able to make the changes needed retain customers when you go from being a necessity to a nice to have.

2.       A sales curve like a V

There are the companies that have had to cease operations as a result of lockdown measures and have seen a steep downturn in sales. As they’re able to begin operating again, they expect and hope to see business gradually return to pre-crisis levels. Restaurants, clothing brands, entertainment businesses all fall into this category. There’s a temptation to assume that for these companies, it’s simply a case of returning to normal but this vastly underestimates the radical shifts we’re seeing not just in consumer behavior but in expectations of brands.

Where to focus your research budget:

There are a number of types of research to consider when you’re planning your research spend. The first is customer and market understanding research. In the past two months, consumers have been forced move purchases online, to adopt new habits and hobbies and to try new brands. But which of these changes are here to stay? And what does this mean for the path to purchase? Understanding this will be critical as you look to develop an effective post-pandemic strategy.

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Brand and advertising research is also of crucial importance for companies experiencing this sales curve. As some brands step up their game, pivoting their product lines from alcohol to hand sanitizer, luxury fashion labels to scrubs, views of companies are changing. And expectations of marketing are too. We’ve seen magazine covers shot on smartphones, chat shows hosted from people’s living rooms and celebrities coming under fire, as they tell us that we’re all in this together from the comfort of their mansions. All of this will have a huge impact on the type of marketing that will resonate with consumers. We expect to see style taking a back seat to substance and authenticity coming to the fore. Those that plough on with pre-COVID campaigns risk appearing tone-deaf to this change so ad testing will be vital in helping brands to get it right.

Far from being an area to cut back on, market research is an essential investment, crucial for helping brands to navigate a new normal, and enabling them to establish a position of strength.

To find out how we can support you with any of the areas mentioned in this blog post, please get in touch with your local Kadence office.

A few weeks ago, something extraordinary happened.

We ran out of eggs.

There were, quite literally, no eggs to be found anywhere in our little corner of South West London.

I was devastated.

It wasn’t until I couldn’t get my hands on any that I really appreciated how fundamental eggs were to my daily diet. And it got me thinking about how (please forgive me) ‘eggs-traordinary’ this current time is, for a number of reasons.

I wouldn’t be able to tell you how many times I’ve asked a focus group, depth interviewee or online community what they’d do if a certain product or service that we are investigating suddenly disappeared. Deprivation questions are tried and tested qual tools. But they rely on respondents hypothesizing about how they might react in a scenario in which everyday products aren’t available.

The truth is, we’re now living in that scenario.

We’ve had many clients asking us whether they should be doing research now. But this is why, as strange as it may sound, now is the perfect time to conduct research.

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Consumers are now keenly aware of the products and brands they value in their lives – be that eggs, loo roll, or self-raising flour. They are more able than ever before to tell us why they are so important to them – because they have had to live through the realities of living without.

And there’s another, even more important dimension at play here too. Not only are we feeling the lack of products and brands more keenly – our expectations of the roles that brands play not just in our lives, but in society as a whole have dramatically shifted. As beer brands and fashion houses alike pivot towards producing hand sanitizer for health services, we’re seeing a shift towards an expectation that brands will pitch in to play their part in overcoming the pandemic.

For brands to survive in the post-pandemic world, they don’t just need to tap into an understanding of how and why their products matter to consumers, they need to understand how expectations are changing, and how that might affect their brand strategy in the future.

Widespread remote working is creating obstacles in multiple forms for today’s teams, from productivity to technology to social connections.  The common thread running through this is maximising online communication.

Visual storytelling through video is one of the most effective forms of online communication. Our brain processes information 60,000 faster when it is shared in video rather than text, and two thirds will complete a task more effectively when instructions are shared this way.

Video may seem like an intimidating format to produce – but it doesn’t have to be with the right preparation in place.  At Kadence, we pride ourselves on effective communication, and in helping our clients communicate successfully within their stakeholder teams. Our in-house design gurus can seamlessly execute videos for maximum impact of our research.

Today we’re sharing 5 best practices in using video to communicate effectively with a remote audience, so that you can remain productive and connected.

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CONTENT

What is the narrative of your video?

What building blocks of information do you need to share in order to help build this narrative and bring it to life for your audience? Creating a storyboard is a great way to help you plan out your thinking, and ensure you have all the right content in place, and in the right order.

TIP: Using simple tools, like PowerPoint, can help you construct the narrative of the story before you begin creating the video.

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AUDIENCE

Who is your video intended for?

Is your audience homogenous, or do you expect them to be different in meaningful ways? Do they all have the same level of knowledge about the topic?

TIP: Remember you want the video to stand on its own, so make sure any information is simple and clear enough for all audiences you intend to speak to.

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IMPACT

What effect do you want this video to have for your audience?

We find that most business communication needs fall into 3 categories:

• Inform – Helping your audience learn something new

• Persuade – Changing your audiences mind, or how they feel about a topic

• Activate – Presenting evidence to spur action

TIP: Think about the final payoff of the video. Do you want them to visit a website; remember a key fact; or agree with a point of view? Make sure the call to action is clear at the end of your video.

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ENVIRONMENT

How will your audience be engaging with this video?

Think about their physical environment (What type of room will they be in? What device will they be using?) and their mental environment (How will it fit in the context of their day? How long will they have to engage with this topic?) This influences important content and format decisions.

TIP: A good rule of thumb is a video 2-3 minutes in length, and that uses subtitles rather than voice over. This makes a video much more versatile in terms of where and when your audience can watch it.

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TONE

What ambiance are you looking to set with this video?

Aesthetics such as colours, fonts, music and pacing all play a role in setting the tone, and therefore the impact, of your video. Also, different video techniques – such as using filmed ‘b-roll’ footage, on-screen text and subtitles, animated data infographics, and voiceover – play a role in defining the tone of your video.

TIP: Align among your stakeholders on the tone before you begin production, to minimise re-work later on. A good starting point is referencing your brand guidelines for colours, fonts and tone.

WE EMPLOYED THESE 5 BEST PRACTICES TO CREATE A SIMPLE VIDEO TO SUMMARISE A RECENT SURVEY ON THE IMPACT OF COVID-19.  WATCH THE VIDEO SUMMARY AND SEE THE STORYBOARD DECK HERE.

If you’d like to hear more about tips on using video to maximise your online communication or know more about our video capabilities, just get in touch.

Going beyond video

Video is awesome – but it is not the only visual medium you can use to tell your story! We use a range of different techniques depending on the end goal, and the level of information required to be communicated.  Some of the other design techniques at our fingertips are:

  • Interactive PDFs – A self-guided deep exploration of the narrative, interactive PDFs are great for when you desire your audience to be in control of what precising content they consume (such as if you have a variety of stakeholders, each with different objectives), and the pace in which they take it in.  They can also ‘live on’ within an organisation, allowing your audience to refer back to the PDF as and when they need different pieces of information
  • Infographics – A great medium to communicate a data-heavy narrative, where the audience may need longer than an animated video allows to deep dive into the data, and understand the full implications of the story
  • Posters and handouts – Ideal for keeping conclusions top of mind with your audience – posters shine when used to communicate simple message in a visual way, such as caricatured personas of a segment, or a reminder of ‘5 essential guidelines’ to executing your product.  Concerned about how to share physical posters during remote working?  Virtually ‘pin’ your content to a platform such as a team intranet or internal social media.
  • Whitepapers – A great medium for when you have more to say, longer form whitepapers supported with visuals such as photos and infographics are ideal for when you need to share detailed information in a more formal way.

Kadence Boston, in partnership with 2020 Research, has been running an online community to understand the impact COVID-19 is having on US consumers. Before we launched this community one month ago, we thought long and hard about whether this was the right thing to do. We didn’t want this research to be perceived as taking advantage of the situation for our own marketing purposes. In the end, we decided to go for it, because we are market researchers and our job is to study, and help our clients understand, consumers. As expected, we are learning a lot, but what we didn’t anticipate was just how much our participants would also benefit from this community.

Participants in our COVID Community have been exceptional, in terms of the level of effort they put into their responses, as well as the time they have put into reading and responding in thoughtful, considerate ways to other participants’ posts. We expected participation in the community to be slightly more active than normal, given how many Americans are out of work and staying home due to COVID-19, but we’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of commitment and involvement we’ve seen.

After nearly everyone enthusiastically accepted our invite to extend the community into a third week, we decided to ask what they like about being part of this community. Their responses verify many of the benefits of communities and other online qualitative research methods, not only for researchers but also for research participants.

  • Expressing thoughts and feelings in writing requires greater introspection and thought, which fosters deeper levels of insight.

“By recording how I’m feeling or what I did today, I’m able to see patterns of behavior and thought in myself. I also like having questions that make me think of months ahead since that’s been tough to really visualize lately.” 

– Abby, NYC
  • Being remote and not knowing other participants provides enough anonymity where people feel they can be more open and honest than they might be with their usual circle of friends and family.

“Feel a bit freer to speak my mind on some subjects more honestly. With family or friends, it can be more difficult if they are having a hard time now or have very strong opinions that vary from mine.”

– Ralph, LA
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  • It can be difficult to navigate COVID-19 conversations with friends and family without venturing into polarizing issues, like politics. In highly emotional times like now, communities can provide a therapeutic outlet for consumers to express their thoughts and feelings without fear of damaging relationships. This would also be the case when researching a sensitive, personal topic.

“It’s therapeutic to share [my opinion] without having to hear an argument about why I may be wrong.”

– Patrick, LA
  • Like our obsession with reality TV, we enjoy sneaking a peek into the daily lives of others. Through the community, consumers can see how others are living and coping through COVID-19, which can be reassuring, inspiring, helpful, even entertaining.

“It’s also been so helpful reading everyone else’s responses, tips, tricks and stories. You can really get stuck in a pattern talking to the same types of people in your life.”

– Abby, NYC
  • Similarly, consumers are curious to hear first-hand accounts of others’ feelings and perspectives around the country. Exposure to other community members’ written and video responses each day can elicit feelings of connection and empathy. Realizing your similarities, and better understanding your differences, can bring about feelings of comradery and hope.

“It’s also good to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. Everyone has a different perspective. They look at things from different angles and looking through the responses, you see the different fears. Their different beliefs, the different struggles that people have in how they’re dealing with them.”

– Michael, Chicago

“I was surprised to see that I have more in common with other people in this group than I thought.” 

– Diego, Houston

Especially now, at a time when we are craving human connection more than ever, online communities and other online qualitative methods are ideal for understanding consumers’ thoughts, feelings, behaviors, needs, expectations and for exploring new ideas.

If you are interested in learning more about these methods, tune into our webinar on April 15th at midday EDT. It’s not too late to register, just click here.

At a time when there is concern that news outlets are feeding coronavirus panic and confusion, it may have been easy to miss some of the more positive news stories emerging in the last few weeks.

Chief among them is the impact that digital technology has had across Asia, as parts of China in particular have gone into lockdown, and the implications of this.

Across China, as The Economist reported earlier this week, subscriptions to digital health services have increased exponentially – a shift in consumer behavior that previously had been expected to take five whole years. Similarly, we have seen reports that mobile, social media and streaming services are experiencing a strong uptick in usage whilst people are stuck indoors. Schooling has also moved online, with students taking classes through grade-specific TV channels, and the internet.

Above all, we’ve seen people using digital resources to overcome the loneliness of isolation. Gyms are offering sessions via WeChat, clubs are hosting club nights online, and gamers are congregating online to play together in increasing numbers, with Tencent’s Honor of Kings game reaching a peak in average daily users.

So will there be in any digital silver linings for the market research industry?

Non face-to-face methodologies are hardly new in our industry, but a shift towards online – particularly when it comes to qualitative research – now feels unavoidable. Where once a traditional focus group or face-to-face interviews may have sufficed, we’ll undoubtedly see digital techniques coming in to play more and more.

But herein lies a word of caution: because not all digital techniques are created equally, and not all solutions are suitable for certain projects: the most appropriate methodology will always depend on a study’s objectives.

There are plenty of digital options available to researchers: online focus groups, skype depth interviews, mobile diaries, and online communities to name but a few, but how do you work out which methodology is best suited to your study?

First of all, it’s important to start your thinking with your objectives, not your methodology. Just because you might have once used focus groups or face-to-face depth interviews in the past, doesn’t necessarily mean an online focus group or skype interview are the best ways to meet your objectives using digital tools. Start by asking:

  • Are you looking for breadth, or depth of insight?
  • Who are you looking to influence with your findings? What kinds of asset are most likely to have impact and support real change across your organization? How quickly do your stakeholders need access to your insights?
  • How important is it to observe discussion and interaction between respondents – are you looking to compare different points of view?

How you answer these questions will heavily impact the methodology that’s right for you.

For instance, say you are conducting a concept or product test. Typically, you’d use a focus group setting so your product and design team could observe respondent reactions, and make on-the-spot changes to your product.

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If you’re looking for breadth, speedy insights, and discussion between respondents to understand how views differ, you might automatically think that an online focus group session, with respondents and stakeholders logging in from separate locations is your answer. However, while online focus group technology mimics the experience of a focus group setting, in practice, it is much harder for respondents to communicate with one anyone other than the moderator – you’re unlikely to meet your ‘discussion between respondents’ objective.

Instead, an online community would allow you to hit the nail on the head of all three of your objectives and then some. The key difference versus an online focus group is your ability to nurture and observe conversations between respondents in the community in a much more natural environment.

You can even use the platform to segment different audiences together, or keep the community broad to observe discussions across the whole group. Stakeholders are able to log on at any time they choose, to observe conversations, and input suggestions for additional questions to the moderators. And say you have one or two topics you’d like to explore in more depth? You can always set up private questions, to conduct one-to-one research as part of the community. And when it comes to final assets, online communities are really unrivalled when it comes to video and photo content that can be used to help land insights with your stakeholders.

If, however, observing interaction between respondents really isn’t a key necessity, and you’re looking for depth of insight, you may want to consider depth Skype interviews instead of your traditional focus group. Digital depth interviews work beautifully for concept and product testing as part of a staged program of research, especially when you meld multiple touch-points together. You could consider following an initial Skype interview with a selfie-style filmed product review in-home for example, to really dig into consumer views.

Ultimately, while all of these methodologies have been around for some time, it’s likely that a reduction in face-to-face research will see us being far more creative with the digital options available to us. It will be fascinating to see whether or not these changes result in a long-term shift towards digital methodologies. Back in 2014 during London’s tube strikes, commuters were forced to find alternative routes to get travel around the city. Following the strikes, Transport for London reported that one in 20 commuters actually stuck with the new route they’d discovered. Will the research industry see a similar permanent shift? Time will tell.

Kadence has a wealth of experience in using digital research methodologies to help answer critical questions for brands and businesses. If you’re looking for support to help you find the best approach to meet your business objectives, please get in touch.  

Our kids media experts Bianca Abulafia and Sarah Serbun shared their top tips at Qual 360 of how to conduct qual research with kids and the cultural considerations to bar in mind in each market.

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