This often leads to focusing on quantitative methodologies and opting to embed a few open-ended questions in the survey. This approach attempts to answer the gamut of research objectives while illuminating more of the ‘why’ that drives the answer selection.

However, from experience, open-ended questions are often tacked on at the end of already long surveys. This leads to fatigue, low engagement, and limited motivation from respondents to share more than what is minimally required.

This challenge poses a few questions:

• Is there a way to capture qualitative depth at the scale, speed and spend of quantitative research?
• How do we combine the exploratory nature of qual with the agility of quant?
• How can we innovate at the intersection of the two methods?

With this in mind, we started to experiment with how we can use qualitative techniques, such as projective questioning, to get better responses in a light touch way without triggering fatigue or disengagement. This resulted in a new hybrid approach: QualBites.

Qual Bites, cost-effective approach to getting qualitative-inspired feedback at quantitative scale and pace

A Qual Bite is a survey that consists of only three key open-ended questions that unlocks consumer context, thought processes and associations by asking respondents to share stories or respond to situations in their own words (using text or voice).

To ensure you reach the optimal target group and capture a wide range of responses, these questions are shared with a large panel of pre-screened respondents at the size and scale our clients determine.

What you can expect from Qual Bites

• Quick & Agile: Easy to set up, you get a wide range of responses in 1-2 days to complement quant studies  
• More in-depth and illuminating responses: Relative to a typical open-end, you get responses with 148% more words used and 2.7 more themes per participant  
• A way to scratch the surface more into the why with illuminating verbatims and stories 
• A way to capture more consumer language around a topic area 
• Can send out to a larger sample/get a larger scale of responses

You can use Qual Bites methodology as a starting point for claims generation/testing and innovation. By identifying the language and themes consumers are spontaneously tapping into, you can ideate claims innovations or help understand why a certain claim performs so well or poorly.

You can also use it for usage & attitude studies, to quickly identify a range of triggers, drivers and barriers to a product, service, or category.

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We have found that consumers often divulge their thoughts more spontaneously compared to the survey method, either regarding their favorite brands, or about topics like new campaigns. While the method is thus a more current, dependable and honest view of consumer sentiment and behavior, it is still a growing methodology, with limitations including directional demographic availability, a large variance in data depending on brand popularity, and a growing need for complex text analytics based on brand names or multiple languages.

Social media research can be used to ameliorate a classical study, or to assess the buzz for the market with respect to changes in a brand’s strategy (new advertising, product launches, reaction to regulatory changes, etc.). The method can also help monitor perceptions about a brand and its competitors over a given time period, allowing for an accurate sentiment analysis by making the context very current.

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Individual

This type of interview is ideal for detailed exploration of specific ideas, or evaluation of concepts and materials that require thorough focus and concentration. It can also often be the most appropriate setting for research covering more emotional topics, as the relationship between moderator and respondent is key to the outcomes and insight generated from each interview.

Dyads and triads

Dyads and triads are IDI’s with two or three respondents. This setting allows for maintenance of focus on details, and also incorporates an interactive element which can be very useful when there are polarizing or more controversial elements to explore.

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The strength of the SKIM | Creative Lab approach lies in the client workshops in between the target group encounters. The approach is flexibly designed (e.g. lasting from one to several days) to give enough room for discussion of new learnings and insights followed by improvement and re-finement of stimulus material on-the-go. The workshops allow a cross-functional team like global and local marketing representatives, R&D, sales, medical affairs, creative agency, designer, to collaborate and work together on maximizing the impact of the stimulus material on the target group. Joint workshops and viewings act as an inspiring team event and ensure buy-in of all parties.

Frederiek Ysebaert, Danone: “The insight driven findings from the Lab and its successful implementation in Germany were the foundation of an improved approach to globally communicate to our target groups and inspired the way of working in the central marketing team.”

The Lab is a strong method for selecting and optimizing all kinds of stimulus material:

• Creative material like packaging design or print advertisement
• Complete product or communication concepts
• Detail aids or product brochures
• Buckets or lists of singular messages or claims

Multiple skills and expertise are crucial to the success of a creative lab:

• Skilled moderators and workshop facilitators
• Thorough understanding of what makes a good concept, claim or detail aid

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Why use qualitative online bulletin board

A bulletin board is a creative and interactive way to conduct qualitative market research, gleaning the best insights for exploratory research questions. Key benefits of this methodology include:

• Flexibility for researchers and clients – steer the research based on goals, probe for deeper insights, offer greater input as the research occurs
• Convenience for participants by contributing to the bulletin board when and where they wish, maximizing attrition, participation and time for reflection
• Interaction between the researcher and respondents and among respondents, a dynamic similar to a focus group
• Simplicity of alternating between images, private questions, interactive discussions and hooks and probes on interesting interim insights

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You probably already know that the output of a conjoint study begins with a set of utilities. Utilities are quantifications of respondents’ preferences for each level of each attribute tested in your conjoint study. But what can you actually do with utility data?

To many market researchers, working with the utility data may be too abstract. So, how can you make your conjoint results more tangible and easy to use from a commercial perspective?

Simulate how the market will react

In the webcast below, you can learn about our most common deliverable to our clients: the choice-modeling market simulator.

Based in Excel, a market simulator is a powerful analysis tool and the most important deliverable resulting from a conjoint analysis project. Through the webcast tutorial, you can learn how to use a market simulator tool to find the answers to your business questions and navigate through different respondent segments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=309&v=uA9u_q-ktbI&feature=emb_title

How SKIMulator market simulation can help you

Simulators transform the utility data from your conjoint study into a tangible tool that you and your end-clients can use.

By simulating the choices of respondents in different scenarios, you can play what-if games and answer the questions from your conjoint study. By capturing preferences which occur at the individual or group level, one can predict the market preference for different product offerings or product enhancements. Because it is in Excel, you can easily share it with colleagues and end-clients to maximize use.

There are many benefits to using conjoint simulations based on the individual instead of aggregate utility data:

• Observing cross-effects among different brands or product features
• Reflecting interaction effects between attributes
• Determining how well your product(s) will compete in the market
• Understanding the price sensitivity for different brands or attributes
• Identifying which product formulations will appeal to which groups of respondents

The post SKIMulator: Choice modeling market simulation appeared first on SKIM.

Behind the walled-gardens

Many online and brick & mortar shoppers start their shopper journey on popular online retail websites (e.g. Amazon or Alibaba)  or review prices on comparison sites.  Unfortunately, uncovering behavioral data of online and mobile shoppers on these influential website and applications has been a blind spot for many marketers – until now.

SKIM DigiShop optimizes online conversion by predicting digital shopper behavior via realistic, replicated online environments. The solution can mimic eCommerce platforms, online retailers, price comparison sites, and mobile apps to help brands better influence online shopping behavior.

“Under the old paradigm we focused on media spend while under the new paradigm, we focus on the thumbnail [product] images to actually increase the outcomes of the ad campaigns.

With the same amount of ad spending, we could easily see 2 – 3 times more conversion”

Read how SKIM DigiShop’s eCommerce predictions were validated in-market

Where can you use DigiShop?

DigiShop helps drive eCommerce agility by testing content and strategies quickly and realistically. You can use DigiShop to help optimize your digital marketing strategies in the following areas: 

Product Communications

• Images & videos
• Titles, copy and descriptions
• Product detail pages

Ads & Promotion Impact

• Banner ads
• Sponsored content 
• Coupons & promotions 
• Opportunities for impulse triggers

Assortment & Pricing

• Package size & configuration 
• Product bundles 
• Subscription pricing 

Accelerate agility with DigiShop

SKIM’s DigiShop will provide specific and actionable optimization recommendations, guidelines and tools to influence online shopper behavior. 

Increase online conversion

More accurate predictions

Simulator: Allows you to calculate the impact of different content, assortment and promotion scenarios on an ongoing basis

How does DigiShop work?

With this new method we can estimate or predict consumer decision-making even better because it looks like the real world more than a conditional setting.

Consumer and Market Insights Manager, VodafoneZiggo.

Why DigiShop?

• Uncover closely-guarded online behavioral data: Simulates “walled garden” sites, shopping behavior otherwise unavailable
• Realistic, confidential online environment: Mimics real-world environments without going live online
• Robust analytics, powered by conjoint: Solution rooted in proprietary conjoint & advanced methodologies
• Device agnostic: Mobile & desktop friendly
• Available in all countries and for all online platforms, e.g., Amazon, Walmart, Taobao

Empowering retail partners

Armed with true shopper reactions, you can now share valuable online behavioral insights with your retail customers. By taking a more data-driven approach to online content decisions, they can improve their omnichannel performance. Together, this strategy can help boost category growth and market share for you both.

Resources

Download DigiShop Solution Sheet

Download DigiShop brochure

Read DigiShop case study

The post SKIM DigiShop appeared first on SKIM.

At SKIM, we are continuously developing in this field of mobile research. Watch our on-demand webinar to find out how we are making sure that the results of a mobile research study are valid and compatible with the results from a traditional platform.

SKIM’s mobile research innovation: Unspoken®

In today’s digital world, mobile devices are at the center of our daily routines. From sunrise to sundown, we search, share, watch, like, and swipe. To keep up, marketing professionals have to adjust to this new reality and change the way they interact with consumers when doing research by utilizing implicit research.

To truly connect, the way things are measured also needs to change. Measuring purely rational processes is no longer good enough. Instead, bridging rational and emotional drivers is key to accurately predicting how consumers behave and decide.

Inspired by these developments, we created Unspoken®, a new technology that blends implicit research techniques with an engaging mobile interface.

Are you on desktop and do you want to test it on your mobile? Scan this QR code to test our Unspoken demo!

How Unspoken works

People are shown a series of stimuli and swipe right if they like it or left if they don’t. In another exercise people compare and consider different options and tap on the one they prefer. It’s intuitive, quick and fun. Reaction time, swipe velocity, and the actual choices are used in the analysis phase to model which ads, messages, or products have the most potential to break through the clutter and eventually convert shoppers at the moment of truth.

What you can expect from Unspoken

With Unspoken you will receive specific and actionable tools, benchmarks and insights to make confident innovation, communications and pricing decisions. A 1 – 100 output score will detail how each item stacks up against each other. Unspoken allows you to deconstruct and optimize written or visual stimuli against each other and versus the competition. Read how Kellogg’s built a global insights platform for claims tests using Unspoken.

Where you can apply Unspoken

Unspoken is great for testing visual or written stimuli throughout the entire product lifecycle:

Unspoken® in under 90 seconds

The post Unspoken® appeared first on SKIM.

At SKIM, we recruit and train people from a mix of backgrounds that will enable us to address our clients’ needs across a variety of industries. With backgrounds in marketing, MBA, healthcare, social sciences, psychology, and with our senior researchers specialized by years of industry-specific experience, we have the strength in-depth to be able to tailor project teams specifically to meet the requirements of each individual project.

The post Industry/market understanding appeared first on SKIM.

This research approach is still in it’s relatively early stages, there are still some issues around how representative a sample it is able to provide. We currently only suggest this approach where we feel it is able to meet the research needs. We anticipate that it’s use will grow quickly with young respondents and of course in more developed countries.

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