Article Abstract: Moderator Gwyn Gibbs offers
advice on how qualitative research facilities can improve to be more
accommodating to moderators, clients and respondents.
As a qualitative moderator coming off of a 24-city tour - visiting 24
facilities in under three months - I saw the good, the bad and the ugly
in research facilities across the country. Based on my experiences, here are a
few things you can do to help your facility stand out - and some ideas on how
to make it happen.
Do: Have great recruiting, with respondents who
show up and who show up on time. Without respondents - and without respondents who arrive on time to get
signed in and hear all of the introductions - we do not have any research.
Idea: One facility held an early-bird raffle to encourage early arrival. Participants who arrived early had their names put in a jar and the respondent whose name was chosen received a small reward.
Idea: One facility held an early-bird raffle to encourage early arrival. Participants who arrived early had their names put in a jar and the respondent whose name was chosen received a small reward.
Idea: One facility over-recruits by one respondent and
does not charge the client for the extra efforts.
Hint: Do take the extra time to go over
directions, traffic patterns and parking with respondents when calling to
confirm.
Do: Know all the hotels in your area. Most moderators have no idea where they
are or how far you are from their hotel or the airport.
Idea: One facility offered to send a cab to the hotel
to pick me up.
Hint: Anyone answering the phone should be able to
give directions from all hotels and the airport.
Do: Have a designated qualitative assistant. Moderators usually make all of the room
adjustments, paperwork requests, copies needed and the all-important dinner questions
right away. The hallways at facilities are atypically long to provide quiet and
confidentiality to research rooms, however this makes for a lot of time and
foot travel when I'm trying to find someone to help me.
Hint: Introduce the qualitative assistant and plan
on them shadowing the moderator for the first 15 minutes after they settle in.
It's a great help to have that person ready to answer and pitch in, and then
the moderator can grab a breather or meet with a client.Do: Make it easy to get from the research room and back room to the restroom, front desk and respondent waiting area. Some facilities are one big maze, and although you may know exactly where you are, the moderator, the other clients and the respondents are in foreign territory.
Hint: Wall signs pointing to these popular
destinations can be very useful when things get busy.
Do: Supply focus room-friendly supplies. Because research minutes are very
expensive, once the group starts there's no leaving for the moderator.
Hint: Have a large-faced desk clock (our eyes are
old!), working flip-chart markers, non-sticky flip-chart paper (their sticky
cousins don't travel well), a pad and pen, water, tissues and hand sanitizer.
Do: Have cost- and health-minded back-room
amenities. With cost-conscious
clients it is best to keep the food to a minimum to assist clients in
maintaining strict budgets. With cold and flu season around, it is best to keep
prepackaged snacks on hand.
Idea: One facility has a water cooler, which is much
more eco-friendly than the 10 bottles of water I can drink in a research day,
not to mention other clients or respondents.
Idea: One facility baked a small batch of homemade
cookies. The cost was minimal and the experience? Priceless.
Hint: Wrapped granola bars, packaged nuts/dried
fruit are great for healthier-minded, protein-wanting clients, and they are
more sanitary than their open-bowl counterparts.
Do: Have something available to assist the moderator in transporting materials. Often the materials are hauled in manually by the weary moderator en route to the hotel or airport.
Hint: A recyclable bag with handles (and with your logo!) is great for carrying flip-chart notes, screener lists, research stimuli and bottled water. These are just a few of the items that may be in tow late in the evening.
Do: Have something available to assist the moderator in transporting materials. Often the materials are hauled in manually by the weary moderator en route to the hotel or airport.
Hint: A recyclable bag with handles (and with your logo!) is great for carrying flip-chart notes, screener lists, research stimuli and bottled water. These are just a few of the items that may be in tow late in the evening.
Do: Partner with a great transportation service. Research often ends in the dark hours of
the evening, and moderators (often traveling alone) are getting into unfamiliar
cabs in unknown cities.
Idea: One facility had partnered with a car service.
The Escalade arrived and was charged to the facility (to be billed
later). Another great feature was that the driver was very
customer-service oriented because they wanted the facility business. What a
great last impression!
Do: Get feedback from your moderator about the
service of your facility. However, handing out those customer service surveys as the moderator is
leaving is problematic. By then, I'm wiped out and the last thing I want to do
is to fill out a questionnaire about someone who is standing in front of me.
Idea: One facility put the questionnaire in a small,
lightweight goody bag with a self-addressed stamped envelope to return to the
facility.
As you can see, it's the little things that make the difference. Do your
best to make it as easy and pleasurable for moderators, clients and research
participants as possible, and you'll be surprised at how far these small
gestures can take you!
By Gwyn Gibbs
Gwyn Gibbs is senior
project director at Integrated Marketing Associates, a Bryn Mawr, Pa., research
firm. She can be reached at ggibbs@imalink.com
This article
appeared in the February 8,
2010 , edition of Quirk's e-newsletter.
Article ID: 20100225-1
