Pulse Taking and Market Research

Market
research has its place, but sometimes I like to use quick, pulse-taking
methods instead of investing the time and money into something formal.

Teleconference Customer Panel: For one of my clients I would run a monthly customer panel to get their insights
upcoming Marketing campaigns. The set-up is easy, we asked for volunteers
through our opt-in newsletters, and offer points towards free
merchandise depending on how many panels they attend. We then e-mail
them the creative or scripts and ask them for their observations.

The panels usually took about 45 minutes, and we tried to limit the
conversation to 6 participants. These panels are always
taken with a grain of salt, but in every single one of them I always
learned something interesting about my market. One of the main problems
with Marketing is that you get so involved with your own product that
you can’t imagine what it is like from an outside perspective. For
example, in one panel we realized that the users had no idea what we
were talking about for an entire brochure, until we gave them a simple
example. That example made it to the final print run.

Online Surveys: I find that surveys help a lot in quick and dirty analysis. My favourite inexpensive and simple tool is Survey Monkey
but I am sure there are other great ones available. Although it usually
lacks the statistical samplings you would get in a formal survey, it
can help with a basic litmus test. For example, a few years ago a
marketing team I was on was tasked with creating inspirational posters
for a large branch network. We sent out a survey with 42 words, asking
how much each represented the heart of the company’s corporate and
cultural values. In the end, the posters were celebrated as some of the
best marketing pieces the company ever made.