At a recent seminar for postgraduate students, introducing them to the world of market research, I said “of course, the most important group in market research is formed by our research participants”. We often take our participants and their intention to take part in research for granted and I think at that point, I finally gave all of my research participants the acknowledgement they deserved.
But how can we re-centre our work around them so that, ultimately, we deliver better, more powerful stories to our clients? What is the importance of giving our research participants a sense of purpose and engaging them in activities that provide focus and mental flow? Redesigning the research experience into a meaningful one for those we so heavily rely on can be a first step towards showing them our gratitude.
A sense of purpose
A recent study conducted by Dynata revealed that a key driver for engagement comes from the research activity having value in itself. In other words, the belief that the views people express will make a difference. Interestingly, at a global level around three in ten said that they simply didn’t know whether their contribution would make a change. It is this group that Pete Cape, Global Knowledge Director at Dynata, draws our attention to, and I fully agree, it is their views that we have to shift if we want to have higher levels of engagement.
To start with, providing research participants with a sense of purpose will be key in shifting their views towards the value of research. There are numerous psychological studies that prove how living with purpose is crucial for psychological health. According to Steve Taylor from Psychology Today, it makes us less vulnerable to psychological discord, it makes us feel part of something bigger (thus less focused on our worries and anxieties), it enhances our self-esteem and, ultimately, it gives us hope. So how do we create a sense of purpose for our research participants?
One way of doing this, as Pete Cape also highlights, is giving them more information. How will the client use the research results? How will their opinion make a difference? How will they help change their environment for the better? We often say that we are limited by the commercially sensitive nature of our work or that we don’t want to bias their views, but is that really the case all the time? We have a responsibility towards our research participants to provide them with as many relevant details as we can on how their work will have impact in the grand scheme of things, and to convince them that their views truly matter!
We have a responsibility towards our research participants to provide them with as many relevant details as we can on how their work will have impact in the grand scheme of things, and to convince them that their views truly matter!
Taking part in research can be a journey of discovery – of brands, of environments, but also of the Self. Focusing on what participants themselves will gain too has great potential to increase the value of research for the individual. What is the benefit for them, beyond the monetary incentive they get for taking part? What will they learn? How will this experience transform their lives and their views of themselves and the world?
It can be as easy as giving them a platform to share their story or telling them more about how transformative this process will be, both outwards and inwards. In her book How to tell your story so the world listens [1], Bobette Buster writes that ‘each person wants to be heard. We all have a story we want to tell…through stories our true character is revealed, or transformed in the process, like the refining away of the dross in order to make gold’.
I’ve recently conducted two research projects with online communities, and the comments that I received from our participants reminded me of how transformative research can be:
“Just wanted to let you know that I’m really enjoying the ‘smoking’ online community. It’s great being able to see everyone’s opinions and it’s great to be able to put across my own. Everyone is so supportive! Thanks so much for putting me forward for it!”
“I found this experience very enriching…I really loved to share my experience when it comes to music, it happens so rarely and it felt so good.”
Creating this sense of purpose can have multiple advantages – it’s not only a powerful hook, but also an effective filter, allowing on board those who are engaged and interested, beyond the monetary value. This can be the first step towards better engagement, but what should we do once they start the research process, eager and excited to be making a difference?
Creating this sense of purpose can have multiple advantages – it’s not only a powerful hook, but also an effective filter, allowing on board those who are engaged and interested, beyond the monetary value.
A state of focus
In a recent article, Bill MacElroy from Socratic Technologies talks about engagement as “a psychological phenomenon that occurs when the mind is highly focused on a specific task or activity.” According to MacElroy, if our mind finds a task interesting, important, fun or challenging, it is more likely to move into a state of ‘focus’ or ‘presence’ in which our attention is captivated.
A recent study conducted by Quirks into what other activities people do when completing surveys found that, overall, around 4 in 10 don’t engage in any other activity. However, they also found that 41% usually watch TV, 7% visit other websites, 5% are working, 4% are on the go, 3% are cooking or eating, and 2% are talking with friends, family or roommates. So, all in all, 62% of research participants are not just participating in your research, they’re doing other stuff at the same time too. According to Betty Adamou, founder of Research through Gaming and author of Games and Gamification for Market Research, “if people are not really engaged, they’re not really thinking about what they are saying in surveys.”
These findings suggest that we might need to review the way we conduct research. But how should we do that? Should we change our research design to make it fit with a multi-tasking lifestyle, or should we keep innovating our research techniques in order to get participants in a state of focus? As MacElroy mentioned, engagement comes from the latter, and I fully agree.
Adamou also talks about intrinsic engagement and giving participants a sense of play, because “when we play and are engaged, a continuation desire is boosted, we want to complete the things that we start, we’re in flow, we’re in the zone…our creativity is increased and we’re much more focused.”
Knowing this, I believe we owe it to our participants to continue to innovate and make our surveys fun, exciting and interesting so that they stay with us until the end, give well thought responses and keep coming back for more. Equally, when strategic decisions rely on the responses given by research participants, we owe it to our clients too!
In summary, I strongly believe that creating a sense of purpose and a research experience that enables focus and creativity has enormous potential to turn participants into active and engaged agents of change, who want to tell their stories because they truly matter! In a world driven by the quest for the most meaningful experience, it can also be an authentic way to tell them ‘thank you’.
[1] Bobette Buster, ‘Do / Story / How to tell your story so the world listens’ (2018, The Do Book Company)
1 comment
Market researchers have been asking to share research results with clients for literally decades. When will we stop talking about it and start DOING it? Brand managers, marketing managers, we need you to help us ensure participants know that their opinions are valued. Let us share your successes with them.