Giving up control for deeper, richer research insights

1. Dianne Gardiner Director, Latitude Research Losing Control in Qualitative Research (and why it’s really not so bad)

2. Today we’re going to talk about giving up control, for the reward of deeper, richer research insights.

4. Everyone’s talking about getting to know the consumer better. If we’re serious about it, we need to recognise how they’re communicating, what they’re saying and give them more of our attention.

5. The new way in research is a reflection of broader societal changes, especially in the way we communicate.

6. Our proposition: Giving over control to the consumer makes us better listeners.

7. “ Ironically it’s by surrendering the illusion of control over others that one really gains power in life”. Geoff Livingston

8. Social media has transformed our lives & this is just the tip of the iceberg.

9. 625,000,000 62.8% Malaysia 67.4% Singapore 80.6% Australia INTERNET PENETRATION internet users worldwide Source: Internetworldstats.com

10. The greatest growth comes from the sharing & communication activities. Source: Universal McCann Social Media Tracker, March 2009

11. USER GENERATED CONTENT opinion blogs review photos video editorial ideas comment audio chat opinion blogs review photos video editorial ideas comment audio chat opinion blogs review photos video editorial ideas comment audio chat opinion blogs review photos video editorial ideas comment audio chat opinion blogs review photos video editorial ideas comment

12. Everybody is talking online about everything

13. But not everybody is a ‘Creator’. So, you don’t have to have a lot to say, to still have a say. Source: Forrestor Research, Groundswell content 2008 data Profile of Australian Internet Users 26% 35% 16% 63% 23% 45% Creators Critics Collectors Joiners Spectators Inactives

14. USER GENERATED CONTENT What does all this mean for research? The big question:

15. The evolution of research

16. 2.0 Is fundamentally about change. From content delivery to content creation and generation. Web

17. 2.0 Is fundamentally about change in market research. From researcher in control, to actively collaborating and co-creating with participants. Research

19. Current research practice is more structured We know where we’re going and how we are going to get there.

20. Current research practice is more structured We know where we’re going and how we are going to get there. Web 2.0 is a more fluid approach We have to wait to see what bubbles to the surface.

23. Understanding what we gain when we give up control A comparison of methodologies

24. First, are you thinking… - Won’t I miss out on valuable non-verbal cues? - Will participants stick to the topic? - What happens if I end up with a lot of irrelevant information? - How can I meet my client’s objectives if I’m not in control? - What, if any, extra value do we get out of it? - Is it worth the effort?

25. In focus Bulletin Boards Online Research Communities

27. Bulletin Board Platform - Q & A approach - Limited between participant interaction - Participants respond but do not initiate discussion - Mostly text based - Other people’s responses can be hidden until the individual responses - Can stagger questions Overall moderator is in control

29. Online Community Features Branded/Customised for the client Look and feel suits the target audience. Creates greater engagement with the brand.

30. Online Community Features Members Pages: Customised to represent their personality and mood

31. Online Community Features Forum Discussions: Members and moderators create discussions and reply. Discussions are threaded so members and moderators can comment on each others’ replies

32. Online Community Features Blogs: Provide members with the opportunity to reveal more about themselves. They can choose to reveal as much or as little as they want – which provides us with more insight into their lives.

33. We can still recognise you …if you want us to Branded/Customised for the client Look and feel suits the target audience. Creates greater engagement with the brand. How does the anonymity of the internet impact on levels of: - disclosure - group behaviour - engagement The differences between Bulletin Boards and Online Research Communities are significant.

34. The comparison Research 1.0 Research 2.0 Tool Bulletin Board site Social networking site Foundation Topic based Community based Process Moderator posts questions, waits for responses, probes where necessary Community generated to discuss topic, moderator seeds discussion topics /activities, listens, observes and probes where necessary Topics posted by Moderator Moderator or participants Information controlled by Moderator All Information is Mostly text based Combination of text, photos, images, video, blogs, activities Access Private, password protected, allow only invited participants Private, password protected, allow only invited participants All topics answered Yes No Level of moderator control High Medium - Low

35. The comparison Research 1.0 Moderator in control Vs Research 2.0 Participant in control

36. It takes time … so sit back and let it evolve

37. Complexity Giving participants more control means a greater level of complexity and messiness that we need to embrace.

38. Dinner party conversations

39. A question of detail … . depth versus breadth

40. See beyond

41. It’s the unexpected … that’s real insight

42. The challenge is significant

43. In the end…

44. Distinctive Strengths Rich in detail Broad in focus Bulletin Boards Research Communities

46. Case Study: National Comprehensive Cancer Network How do you decide where to get treated? Research Question Starting hypothesis: Choice of treatment centre is based on reputation. Therefore public recognition of a centre’s expertise is important. Community Insight Recommendation from primary care physician Search the internet for information Best hospital rankings don’t mean much when you have to wait hours Source: Communispace

48. Continuous access to the customer Ongoing, long term relationships between the company and its customers Rather than answers to specific project based questions

49. Online Research Communities Create, manage, converse

50. 90% of the hard work is out of sight. Creating a community is complex, requires careful consideration and a willingness to ‘let go’ once it gets going.

51. Key components Platform Creation Members Moderation Management Analysis

57. More on moderating Online qualitative requires a shift in thinking

58. It’s not a direct transfer of skills Qualitative researcher Community Manager Online Qualitative Research Community Moderator (try fitting that on your business card)

60. Deeper! Faster! More! What do our clients get out of it?

61. The research objectives The broader context Understand what’s important to consumers Answer research objectives & much much more Context Rich Insights

62. How much more? The ‘stats’ from one of our communities (FMCG). Over three months (or 12 weeks), 100 people engaged in: forum discussions: discussions generated by our researchers discussions generated by members blog posts (within the community) Plus, 90 photos & 17 videos. 145 56 89 198

63. "I love the forum and all the different points of view. The only disappointment I have is that I just don't have the time to read through all the wonderful information posted by all the members on all the different topics :D. But it just goes to show you what can be accomplished in the area of market research in this day an age. When you provide a safe and encouraging environment for people to have their say, without fear of reprisal or ridicule and not have their opinions forced or swayed by money, it can be clearly seen here that most of the information discussed on [the community] just couldn’t be bought with money. I applaud you for trialing this new style of market research, and hope that other research companies look at what you have done as a shining example of a new and innovative path of getting real information for your clients." Community Member, August 2009

64. An exercise The brief: Your client is a confectionary manufacturer who has a innovation as its primary business objective. We’ve set up a online research community for them. What activities / tasks are we going to engage our members in?

65. Multi-country studies What are the learnings so far

66. Multi-country communities Source: Poynter, Cierpicki, Cape, Lewis, Vieira: What does research 2.0 mean to consumers in Asia Pacific Design needs to permit local teams to provide different level of engagement

67. Source: Communispace, Breakthrough without Borders Different strokes for different folks

68. Source: Communispace, Breakthrough without Borders

69. A certain future Maintaining leadership as qualitative researchers

70. “ One-quarter of Fortune 100 companies will launch online customer communities to reach higher levels of engagement with customers and prospects. This trend could mean money spent on traditional qualitative research will be shifted to budgets for online research.” Forrester issues market research predictions for 2008 January 4, 2008

72. Conversation versus Observation Private Research Communities Brand Blogs (Company managed content) Brand Pages (Facebook, Myspace, etc) Web talk (x-platform, x-community, anytime, any topic, etc) Conversation Observation Smart companies use a range of methods for understanding the voice of the customer. Online research communities are about purposeful two-way conversations, rather than listening without engaging in conversation. Brand Communities (Public ‘communities’) Volume Depth

73. Open Research Panels

74. Brand Blogs & Forums

75. Fans & Friends

76. Information on your brand is not the same as insights. The role of the research is defined by the value of the insights we deliver from our conversations with customers.

78. And importantly member's perspective “ This is a brilliant way to instantly give feedback to the client…The alternative is to wait days/weeks/months and receive a pile of cold statistics gathered from a multitude of invisible respondents…It's better to 'know' the person supplying the answers and it is easier to gauge whether or not their responses are genuine.” “ Thank you for giving the consumer a voice & listening to our opinions.” “ Focus group discussions usually only last an hour or two and are always dominated by a select few members. The online aspect allows people to really think and reflect upon their answers, so quality information is being gathered.” “ Thank you for giving us the opportunity to contribute to the decision making. I think a forum such as this, is very progressive, and helps ensure positive feedback from consumers and loyalty.” “ It's the interest that you (client) and your company have shown towards us, the customers, and our opinions that makes all the difference. So many (companies) just don't seem to give a hoot about anyone and it's uplifting to read how much our views and opinions mean to you.” “ It's not often that the "Suits" become involved with the "Plebs". Thanks for taking the time to make us all feel welcome.”

79. Explorer Inventor Creator Thinker Qualitative Researcher The process of discovery about giving up some control in order to find out something new.

81. Thank you for listening Let’s talk….questions?