Suppose you are asked to assess the impact of a brand's messaging, an educational program sponsored by the government, or perhaps even a leadership development course for corporate America.
If you are new to the world of market research or consumer insights, chances are you’re not quite sure where to begin, let alone the most effective methods of gathering the applicable data.
While you can benefit from learning about the proper dimensions that have been identified by experts- be it impact assessment or leadership development- what is crucial is that you make them relevant to those you are trying to engage.
One of the best ways to do so is to create a research survey whose answers can help you ascertain the effectiveness of the messaging, program, or course you want to assess. However, it isn’t as simple as you may think. In order to generate effective audience insights that are highly relevant and actionable, we recommend a few best practices:
- Conduct Several Preliminary Interviews: In the beginning, make sure to conduct multiple interviews with the stakeholders involved. They can shed light on the meaningful dimensions you will need to evaluate in your project, ultimately providing you with the proper context.
- Host Focus Groups: When possible, conducting focus groups can be another beneficial activity. These groups open the door for dynamic conversations that elicit a diversity of themes and ideas that would otherwise be difficult to obtain in one-on-one interviews.
- Synthesize: Your interviews and focus groups will likely result in rich transcripts and material to synthesize. From here, it should be easy to identify the critical issues, dimensions, actors, timelines, or events that will be relevant to your research survey.
- Generate the Survey: The next step is building a market research survey based on the materials you have gathered and synthesized. With this information, you can be sure you are developing appropriate and useful questions that provide you with the most relevant data.
- Ask for Feedback: One of the easiest ways to ensure your survey is successful is to request feedback. Circle back with the relevant stakeholders for initial thoughts, reactions, and comments.
- Pilot: Before sending out your survey en masse, it’s generally a good best practice to pilot it with a small group first. While simple, this step allows you to uncover a host of potential issues you may have otherwise missed, like ambiguity of language or phrasing errors, to perfect and refine the survey experience.
Once you have completed these steps, you can send off your survey with confidence! Even if you’re no stranger to market research, these easy steps can help you maximize the impact of your study and develop strong best practices along the way.
If you’re ready to get your first (or next) project started, you can engage your target audience directly and efficiently with our online survey and market research tools. With the SightX platform, your consumer surveys can be as simple or complex as you need, with custom design options and complex logic built-in for dynamic delivery.
Ready to jump in? Request a demo and let us help you get started today!
