Minesights™ - Qualitative Meta-Analysis

What valuable ideas lie waiting to be uncovered in reports  you’ve filed away?  Open up those buried files and let Doyle shine new light on your old research.

Get more value from the work you’ve done

If your research isn’t living up to its potential, maybe what you need is not more research but a new perspective.

MineSights is qualitative meta-analysis—a process of examining your research reports, internal memos, even customer e-mails with fresh but experienced eyes, bringing to light undiscovered information and great ideas.

Mining for new insights

Our mining experts will dig, sift, analyze, and distill your documents to bring you:

What valuable ideas lie waiting to be uncovered in reports  you’ve filed away?  Open up those buried files and let Doyle shine new light on your old research.

Mining for new insights

Our mining experts will dig, sift, analyze, and distill your documents to bring you:

• Deeper knowledge.  We’ll read between the lines, identify gaps, and draw connections between studies that people closest to a project might miss.
• New knowledge.  We can exploring existing research with a different topic in mind, interpret it from a new perspective, and give you an entirely new set of insights, observations, and ideas.
• More accessible knowledge.  We’ll give you a concise but comprehensive overview of your existing research, our key findings, and what they mean for your business decisions.

Qualitative Research with Kids: It's Not Child's Play

The world of kids marketing has grown up.

As has become evident over the past few years, manufacturers of products ranging from candy bars to computers and cars, and businesses from quick service restaurants to four-star resorts have recognized the dollar power of the youth market...kids, tweens and teens.  Whether it's kids spending their own money on chips and soda or swaying parents' decisions on where to vacation, their impact on the corporate bottom line continues to grow.

Today's generation of kids has been "marketed to" since they've been able to crawl, and are recognized by marketers as smart, savvy, and influential consumers.  Coinciding with the growth in the youth market has been the boom in market research conducted among this segment.  Due to the costs associated with new product launches and other marketing initiatives (as well as corporate belt-tightening), companies realize the need to properly research and develop their offerings to kids, and understand the handsome dividends such efforts can pay.

So, how has kids market research grown?

Just as kids marketing has moved beyond the days of simply running ads on Saturday morning TV, qualitative research among kids and tweens has moved beyond just conducting a few mini-groups or best-friend interviews.  While these are obviously still valuable research tools, a variety of other options have proven their worth in offering marketers deeper, richer learning about the youth market.  For your next kids' research project, consider the full array of options available, including:

• Online Focus Groups: Kids, tweens and teens in particular live in a world of e-mail, text messaging, and IM.  Real time, online focus groups are an ideal option for this target.
• On-site/Observational Research: Immerse yourself in the kids world by going to the places where they spend their time.  Visit their homes and have them invite their friends over for a "peer party."  Go shopping with them.  There's life beyond the mall...watch, spend time with and talk to them at skating parks, the beach, sporting events, and in school.
• Homework: Enhance your learning by putting kids to work prior to or as the focus of your research.  Collages, video or photo journals, shopping assignments, communicating via e-mail or websites.  They can be your eyes and ears into their world.
• Idea generation: Let kids' imaginations take you places adults forgot about...Doyle Research pioneered idea generation with kids.  Read about our kideation(R) process on our website, www.doyleresearch.com.

Regardless of the method you choose for researching kids and tweens, it takes skilled practitioners to execute it and extract the key learning. Doyle Research has been playing in the kids' research sandbox for 19 years!  For additional information, please contact:

Kathy Doyle at (312) 863-7602 or kdoyle@doyleresearch.com

Questions to Ask Before Investing in Market Research with Hispanics

Does my product need to be marketed differently to Hispanics? What do Iknow or suspect about why?

• Different sources of influence and category information?
• Different places shopped?
• Different product and category priorities?
• Different media consumption mix?
• Different social communications and word-of-mouth technologies, organizations,and overall mix?

Is my category one in which culture plays a strong role?

• E.g.,image categories such as clothing, hair, cars, home décor, music, food
• E.g.,“backstage” categories such as household products or personal care products in which geographic or cultural traditions or physical considerations play a part

Do Hispanic consumers make up a significant portion of the clientele of any of my significant distribution markets and channels? Am I leaving money on the table by not optimizing marketing efforts to them?

If Hispanic marketing efforts are already underway, how are they being received? What is my brand’s or product’s unit share of Hispanic spending vs.competitors?

Do I know which products or alternative solutions are my competitors in the eyes of my Hispanic target consumers?

Has my company properly understood and addressed its Hispanic consumer targets within a very diverse set of sub-markets (by affluence, education, acculturation, region of origin, urbanization, domicile, language use, etc.)?

• Brand perceptions
• Product perceptions
• Category perceptions,priorities and opportunities
• Distribution channel (shopping) attitudes,perception,and behavior
• Household dynamics w/r/t products and services purchased by and for family members
• Communications content optimization
• Communications touchpoints optimization
• Sources of category information and influence

For more information,contact Doyle Research’s Director of New Business Services and Hispanic MR Services: Lauren Romero, Doyle Research Associates, Inc., 400 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 800, Chicago, Illinois 60611

Office: 312-863-7609lromero@doyleresearch.com

Getting the Most Out of Your Backroom Experience

Expand your viewing team:  invite viewers from a variety of different functional areas — even those removed from direct responsibility for the project. This will vary the perspective from which the research is viewed, which can result in more insightful learning.

Request that team members attend as many sessions as possible (be they groups, interviews, dyads or triads) so they can see patterns, or the lack of them, for themselves.  This will help prevent jumping to conclusions based on one respondent’s comment.

Provide a research briefing sheet to all viewers: Before the sessions start, review the research objectives with your viewers (often different from strategic planning objectives).

Change your note-taking practices: Consider “brainwriting”, the capturing of key thoughts, ideas, or “aha’s” on Post-Its, and then organize the Post-Its onto labeled easel sheets in the viewing room. In addition to the obvious functional categories, consider others such as “Surprises,” “Areas of Opportunity,” “Priceless Quotes,” “Recurring Themes,” or “Pipeline Ideas.”

Hire a transcriber: Why not hire a note-taker so everyone can just concentrate on listening?

Actively listen for intriguing nuggets: Don’t forget to record those fascinating insights and ideas you may not yet know what to do with.  These little nuggets may ultimately help you advance your brand or be used to create your next major product launch.

Note respondents’ body language and vocal inflections when they make comments to assess their degree of passion or enthusiasm about your product, positioning or advertising.

Listen objectively — hear what respondents are saying and not what you are hoping to hear.

Listen for contradictions as well as consistencies. Finally, a few viewing room survival tips:

• Request energy boosting snacks such as yogurt, fruit, cheese, nuts and veggies.
• Take a break: Schedule sufficient breaks that allow for a walk outside, or time to chat with colleagues about the findings.
• Move around, change seats: That numbness from sitting in the same place can also numb your attention to important discussion details.
• Play with toys to counter fatigue and re-energize your mind.
• Bring a sweater: Temperature control is rarely ideal. Circulation suffers when you’re sitting in the dark for hours!

Improve Your Qualitative Performance with Homework

Would you like to add depth to your qualitative research projects?

Bring an ethnographic component to traditional research without the time or expense?

Doyle Research has found that assigning respondents homework prior to their participation in qualitative research benefits the project in a number of ways:

• It allows time for respondents to think through the issues independently, prior to the group, making their responses during the group more thoughtful and insightful.
• It increases respondent commitment to your project, moving them beyond the financial incentive for participation.
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It adds depth to the project, by capturing information about behaviors, attitudes and lifestyles that there wouldn’t be time to capture during a typical group session.

Ethnographic Market Research

Watch and Learn from Real Consumer Behavior!

What is it?

Ethnographic market research allows you to observe consumer behaviors in the environments where they occur.  This type of research can take place in homes, at stores, in cars, on the beach…anywhere!

What are the benefits?

Learn by seeing, listening, experiencing: See how consumers REALLY shop the aisle where your product is displayed, load cargo into their vehicles, or send a text message with a wireless phone. Uncover latent behaviors and attitudes: Sometimes people are unaware of what they are doing and why.  For instance, they may wash their face twice: once to remove makeup, and a second time to “really get their skin clean.” Bring to light differences between what people say and do (or report doing):  Moms may say they only feed their kids healthy snacks, but their pantry reveals otherwise. Verify (or negate) people’s memories: We all have a tendency to forget small but valuable pieces of information. Give your team a jolt of reality: This is how real people act in real life, not on paper or behind a one-way mirror.  They may never turn your box over to read the back panel.

Infusing Creativity into the Qualitative Market Research Process

Welcome to the new research reality!

Budgets have been slashed, researchers are asked to do more in less time, and clients are pushed to make recommendations on the spot.  How can we navigate this new business reality while preserving the richness provided by thoughtful qualitative research?

The answer lies in infusing creativity throughout the research process.  Here’s how:

Recruit strategically: Look outside standard facility databases and newspaper ads to net better, faster recruiting.  Go where the target is.  Recruit outside Urban Outfitters for edgy, independent young women interested in trends and fashion.  Go to OB/GYN offices and maternity shops for nervous, first-time moms.

Boardtalk™: Bulletin Board Research

Puts the Power of the Internet to Work for You!

What is a Bulletin Board Session?

It is a discussion that takes place through the Internet.

15-20 participants are recruited just as they would be for an in-person research project, except that they are given a website address and login information so they can take part online.

Typically, a bulletin board discussion takes place over three days: participants log in three times per day – at times and locations that are convenient for them – to answer questions posted by the moderator and to interact with each other.

Online Market Research

Put the Power of the Internet to Work for You: When Should You Consider Online Market Research?

Online Market research should be considered when:

• Your target group is spread out across geographic locations, is a low incidence target or participants have busy work schedules
• Budgets are tight, time is of the essence or travel is restricted
• Conducting research with tweens and teens
• You want maximum control over group dynamics

Which Method is Right for Your Project—Real Time Chat or Bulletin Board?

Consider a Bulletin Board (15-20 participants moderated over a period of 2-3 days) when:

• there is a need to get depth reactions over an extended period of time
• exploring personal/sensitive topics in depthat an exploratory stage: When responses to the first day of questions
• leads you to “new thinking” and generates a second day of questions
• an online diary is desired to complement a product placement project

Consider Live Online Focus Groups (6-8 participants, for 1-2 hours, at a password protected virtual facility) when:

• You want reactions to ads, taglines, monikers and “initial quick reads” on concepts
• You want to test web-based products, services
• You want to talk to teens/tweens
• Breadth is desired, but not necessarily depth

As a Methodology, How Does Online Market Research Maximize the Qualitative Process?

Obtaining unbiased, honest responses can be easier than with in-person group research. Not only are participants invisible and anonymous, the software we use has a “privacy” feature that can require each participant to answer a question first before seeing others’ answers.

Tweens and teens actually prefer to talk online rather than in person, so online environments create a more natural setting in which to express themselves.

The client team saves time and money by not having to travel. You can view the bulletin board or real time chat discussion anywhere there’s a computer with Internet access.

A “backroom” client feature allows observers to post messages exclusively to the moderator and each other.

A virtual “whiteboard” can be used to show concept images, websites, or audio/video files. These images can be revised based on participant feedback and re-posted as often as needed throughout the course of the session.

Your results are immediate; you receive downloaded transcripts from the session at any time; no need to wait for a transcriber.

How Much Does Online Market Research Cost?

Real Time Chat:
$4,000-$5,500 per chat session*

Bulletin Board:
$15,000-$17,000 per board (equivalent to 3-4 focus groups worth of output)*

Prices are inclusive of recruiting, incentives, moderation and a summary report.

*Actual price is determined based on the length of the chat or board, the number of participants, and the difficulty of the recruit.

For further information about Online Market Research contact:  Kathy Doyle at (312) 863-7602 or kdoyle@doyleresearch.com.

Meet Vivian Hernandez

Doyle Research is pleased to announce that Vivian Hernandez has joined our network of partners and will be providing Hispanic qualitative research and consulting services to our clients.

Does your company keep an archive of existing research?

Is your archive easily searchable by project name, customer segment, brand, type of research and does it include a brief digest of key insights for each project?

Although the task is time consuming in the short run, the long-term benefits are significant:

Exploring Your Online Market Research Options

Live Chat, Bulletin Boards, Online Immersion, Video Diaries:
Which Option is Right for You?

When geography, low incidence, speed, or budget constraints are an issue, it pays to consider online research as an option. So which method is right for your project?

Live Online Focus Groups is ideal when you need to obtain top of mind feedback to assist in narrowing and/or refining multiple stimuli (ads, packaging, concepts, positioning statements, taglines, etc.).  It takes place in real time, typically 60-75 minutes, with 8-10 respondents.  Teens and young adults, in particular, love it!

BoardTalk Bulletin Boards are ideal for deep dive exploration of a segment or category to understand attitudes and behaviors, or for concept reactions and brainstorming.  Boards take place over time, typically 3-7 days, with 15-20 respondents.  Busy professionals and consumers enjoy the ability to respond when and where it’s convenient for them.

Nine Tips for Reducing your Qualitative Research Costs

Has Your Research Budget Been Cut? Do You Need to Control Costs?

• Know your objectives. Clarity on the purpose and desired outcome of the research will lead to better, more efficient study design. This will help assure that you are not paying a premium for a method you may not really need.


• Consider online research. Conducting research online allows you to recruit a geographic mix of respondents for a single group, eliminating the need to conduct research in multiple markets. It also eliminates all travel expenses, and reduces out of office staff time.

Streettalk™ Using mobile devices to conduct “in-the-moment” research

When you want to conduct experiential research, and it’s not practical to be present, consider StreetTalk™.

Using their own mobile devices, respondents can text, email, photograph or call and leave an extended message.  They can describe the situation they are in, their thoughts, feelings, and points of pain, and reactions to the products and environment as they occur.

What is Qualitative Market Research?

Qualitative marketing research is conducted among a small number of respondents (e.g., 10 – 50 depending on the method, the scope of the project, the number of segments, etc.).  Qualitative market research is exploratory in nature, delving into how and why decisions are made and perceptions are formed.  A guide, which consists mainly of open-ended questions and varied projective techniques, is utilized in qualitative market research to obtain in-depth information, in contrast to the fixed and structured questionnaires used in quantitative market research.  While findings from qualitative market research are representative of the population, they are directional and not projectable or statistically reliable.

Why You Might (But Should Not) Be Hesitant About Online Qualitative Research

(Originally published in 20|20 Research)

In 2001, Kathy Doyle of Chicago-based Doyle Research did her first online qualitative research project. She had been looking at online research software for some time, but couldn’t find a platform she liked. “They all seemed like the latest shiny penny that looked cool, but would add no value to the research process,” she recalls. “It was clear the platforms were developed by IT people, not by researchers.” A longtime 20|20 Research focus group facility client, Kathy agreed to take a look at a demo of 20|20’s then brand-new online qualitative research tools. “When I saw the demo, it was pretty clear a researcher was behind it.” And these tools were coming at just the right time, thought Kathy, whose gut told her that the industry was heading in the online direction. 

Social Media as a Catalyst for Growing a Marketing Research Firm’s Business

By Kathy Doyle & Thomas Malkin

I met Tom Malkin, President of GeeYee, in the fall of 2008 at a conference I was speaking at. He was my first real introduction to the idea of social media as a business tool. Yes, I was on Facebook, but that’s not what Tom was talking about. He was talking about tapping into the vast quantities of data available for the taking, and using them to inform business decisions.

Cultural Differences Among Hispanics and Their Effect on Focus Groups

The growing importance of the U.S. Hispanic market represents an enormous opportunity for a segmented target marketing approach, and qualitative research in the form of focus groups is the ideal first step in acquiring in-depth knowledge about the Hispanic consumer.

The Mouths of Babes: Firms Tap Kids For Ideas On New Product

On one side of the observation mirror at a Chicago market-research firm, everyone has a bowl of Lucky Charms. The first person to fling a handful of cereal across the room, hitting people in the face, sparks a food fight. Some get doused with milk.

On the opposite side of the glass, meanwhile, another group is brainstorming about product ideas. They sketch concepts on sheets of paper and offer critiques of existing product lines.

Creativity is lurking inside your company: Do you know how to find it?

If your company is looking for the next breakthrough idea to help expand your marketing opportunities, the answer might be closer than you think! Consider conducting internal creativity sessions among your own staff members. With an internal ideation session, led by an experienced facilitator, you can take advantage of the creative talents and unique perspectives already at your fingertips to generate hundreds of fresh ideas — for barely a dent in the department pocketbook.