Who better to share insider tips of how to find quality participants for a market research project than a qualitative and quantitative recruitment firm? Watch as I explain common recruitment practices by Drive Research. This includes:
- Using a screener survey
- Creating a sense of urgency
- Offering a reward
- Partnering with a recruitment firm
More of a reader than a listener? Scroll down past the video to find a full blog post explaining each of the recruitment tactics mentioned above in greater detail.
1. Use a Screener Survey
Our market research firm, who specializes in qualitative and quantitative recruitment, uses screener surveys as an initial criteria check when finding research participants. Often times, we are presented with clients who have certain criteria or demographics of people who must match their target audience and customer personas.
What is a screener survey?
A screener survey is a series of qualifying questions to determine if the respondent matches a specific criteria to further participate in a qualitative or quantitative research study.
Popular forms of criteria in which Drive Research screens for is in relation to age, gender, zip code, income, and other key demographics. However, potential participants for a research study can also be targeted by more specific criteria such as cell phone provider, preference of music, number of children, and so on.
By using a screener survey when recruiting for your qualitative or quantitative research study, recruiters are able to make sure the respondent is qualified for the study and also confirms their interest in fully participating in the study – such as a focus group, phone survey, or an in-home usage test.
2. Create a Sense of Urgency
Regardless if you are recruiting for a market research study that is a month for now, or one week away it is best to create a sense of urgency with your quantitative or qualitative recruitment tactics.
Use phrases such as, “Act Now!” or “Last Chance!” or “Don’t Miss Out!” within your social media or email promotion. Doing so, respondents are less likely to get distracted from clicking the link to complete the survey or fill out the form. There is no, “Oh, I’ll do this later” mentality because respondents assume there is no “later.”
Cancellations and no-shows can be so frustrating. If you have recruited 10-people for a focus group and only 5 people show up, this impacts the results and level of feedback dramatically. A way to combat this is by creating a mini relationship with potential research participants.
Our recruitment firm follows a thorough process for finding qualified participants. This involves emails, phone calls, calendar invitations, and text message reminders. Each time a recruited research participant interacts with Drive Research, they are becoming more and more familiar with our brand.
Participants feel as though our team is counting on them and don’t want to let us down by bailing on the research study last minute.
3. Offer a Reward or Incentive for Research Participants
Offering a reward or incentive for participating in a market research study is vital in obtaining a close to perfect show rate for qualitative research and a higher response rate for quantitative research.
Why should you offer a reward or incentive?
Very rarely do people offer their time and quality feedback for free. Research participants need something to drive interest and intrigue in order to sign up to participate in a study.
Common rewards or incentives for research participants can be as simple as cash, gift cards, or a grand prize raffle. The amount for the reward can vary based on each project.
What impacts the amount to offer for an incentive?
- How long the study or survey will take
- How many phases of the study (an online survey + video diary submission + an interview)
- Travel time to a research facility for in-person studies
- Time of the study (during work hours, after work hours, on weekends)
It is also important to consider who it is you are targeting to participate in a research study. For example, a $50 reward will seem like a high stipend to a high school student, but maybe not to the parent of the high school student. It all depends on who it is you want to participate in your research study. Of course in general, the higher the reward, the more easy it is to recruit participants.
You Should Offer a Reward for Your Market Research – Here’s Why.
4. Partner with a Recruitment Firm
A recruitment firm such as Drive Research, has a team of skilled qualitative and quantitative recruiters who know exactly what it takes to find even the toughest of target audiences.
A market research recruitment company has worked with clients of many different industries to understand how each is different and what is necessary to recruit all types of demographics. For example, recruiting participants for a bank and credit union member satisfaction survey is much different than finding participants for a restaurant focus group.
Even though a market research firm may specialize in executing various types of studies such as focus groups, surveys, and executive interviews does not mean you need to hire the research firm for all aspects of the study.
Typically, a market research firm will offer individualized recruitment services to find research participants to then pass along to your team to administer the study. It is one less step in the market research process that falls on your team who likely already have a full plate.
Drive Research has many tricks and tips, like these ones, up our sleeves to make sure all research projects are successful!
Contact Drive Research
Drive Research is a market research company located in Syracuse, NY. Our team specializes in quantitative and qualitative recruitment services to find even your toughest audience, cost effectively.
Interested in learning more about our market research services? Reach out through any of the four ways below.
Message us on our website
Email us at [email protected]
Call us at 888-725-DATA
Text us at 315-303-2040