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4 Top Digital Qualitative Methods for 2022

Louise Principe
Jun 27, 2022

Moderator taking notes during a online focus group

To keep pace in an ever-changing market landscape, agile results are essential. The basis for a thriving business now comes down to how well it can sense, learn, and respond to current consumer behaviors. And while traditional market research does provide valuable consumer insight, it lacks the speed and innovation required by modern organizations for making informed, real-time decisions.

A robust digital mindset must be adapted for today’s businesses to exceed and deliver on market expectations. Digital qualitative research methods transform the way companies interact with their customers and stakeholders – providing in-depth data from a broader and more diverse consumer base in a systematic manner.

With the integration of software into market research, the biggest challenge for businesses of all kinds nowadays is how to make the most of these online qualitative tools. In this article, we’ll discuss helpful tips for conducting a productive digital qualitative study for better customer engagement.

1. Don’t Build All the Bones

No matter which digital qualitative research methods you choose for your study, it’s important to put together a semi-structured framework that opens the door for exploring unanticipated responses. This requires respondents willing to follow a study based on a skeletal framework and a moderator who is there to listen and let the questions come to them naturally.

Probing for clarification on answers that stray from guided discussion allows you to uncover information that could be useful when analyzing themes extracted from the conversation. This leads to comparable and reliable data that could be used to implement actionable recommendations.

2. Flexibility is Key 

UX and CX research benefits significantly from a flexible platform if you ever seek to collect data using a different method. For example, if focus group responses seem biased by the collective nature of the setting, researchers can easily switch to individual interviews with each participant to eliminate the skewing variable.

Choose a comprehensive suite of services — with multiple digital qualitative research methods — that could accommodate last-minute platform changes. A flexible platform enables your market research study to adapt to the quality of your findings.

3. Enhance the Participant Experience

The participant experience begins during recruitment but spans the whole course of the study. To gather breakthrough insights, respondents must be well-informed about your research objectives and expectations.

It’s important to strike a balance between giving too much or too little information. Striving for organic responses may sometimes lead to confusion because of the lack of clarity, which is a key refrain among research respondents.

4. Test Early and Test Often 

Customer experience heavily impacts a company’s success. That being the case, businesses need to meet the needs of their consumers thoroughly. This entails using digital qualitative methods to build a solid foundation based on in-context data.

Testing early and often gives you a clear picture of what your customers currently want and why – equipping businesses with intuitive decision-making automatically at scale. This translates into satisfied and engaged consumers that are loyal to the brand.

Elevate Your Online Qualitative Research with Civicom® Marketing Research Services 

Civicom® Marketing Research Services is the global leader in providing web-enabled solutions for your market research projects. Our comprehensive suite of services includes online interview and focus group facilitation, a mobile insights app, an online community platform, a qualitative multimedia curation tool, plus other solutions that will cater to your research needs.

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