Market research is so much more than quantitative surveys and multiple choice questions. It can be hands on workshops, 1:1 depth interviews or online focus groups and more. Senior Fieldwork manager, Rashelle Valentine, explains how participants have not only helped to influence policies and future business plans, they have also gained knowledge, made friends and in one case, even had a planet and galaxy lesson over lunch!
"The other day I spoke with a newly registered participant who was surprised to find out that our projects were not just quantitative surveys. She was slightly hesitant when I informed her we were looking for participants for a small focus group and was worried that she didn’t have enough knowledge about the subject and that she might not enjoy the topic.
“I reassured her that we’ve had some amazing feedback from previous FieldMouse participants that have taken part in projects on a whole range of topics. This got me thinking about whether our participants gain more than just a monetary incentive from projects. So I got in touch with some of them to find our what else they have gained from being part of qualitative research."
Dean is a 16 year old student who took part in a project about online misogyny. Considering that social media platforms are extremely influencing these days, it was an important project to gain views about how online misogyny was affecting young people. Dean left the session with a new, fresh perspective on what might be considered misogyny, how to help control his social media feeds and better understood views of how others were effected by this.
Anne, a business owner recently attended a water workshop financed by her local water authority. Anne emailed me to say how fascinating she had found the workshop and had been advised to apply for grants to help change the pipes of the old building she ran the business from. Anne not only gained knowledge that day, she also saved her business a substantial amount of money.
Jonathan was delighted to gain a place on an interesting project all about space and couldn’t believe his luck that he ate lunch with a Professor specialising in planet and galaxy formation! He felt honoured that his opinions were being used to influence future policy about space exploration.
Sarah is a financially vulnerable participant who has been struggling with the cost of living crisis. She took part in a private telephone interview for the local utilities authority to understand how they could further help customers that were struggling to pay their bills. She was informed about numerous support schemes that she had no knowledge about and is now feeling relieved that she has had some help to get back on top of her bills. Sarah expressed in her interview that more needed to be done to inform financially vulnerable customers of these schemes before they fall into arrears.
Helen took part in a space workshop at an incredible venue along with 20 other participants from her local area. She enjoyed the workshop, and the company that much, that a small group of them exchanged numbers and kept in touch afterwards!
Will took part in a household water project which he found incredibly interesting. He had no idea how or where the water came from that ran every day from the tap in his home. Will offered his opinion towards future plans of the company and was impressed to find that they were actively seeking better ways that could benefit the users and protect our water sources in the future. He was also delighted that an impressive lunch was included!
If you want to join our FieldMouse panel of participants, sign up here.
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