I’ve a friend who frequently participates in focus groups and quant studies. She LOVES earning money for her opinion. She calls it “her job” and enjoys encouraging other friends to get on her recruiters’ list so they too can reap a financial reward for sharing her usage, behavior and point of view. It makes my skin crawl a bit, but aside from making mental notes about the facilities she visits and making sure she isn’t a respondent in any of MY groups, I’ve stopped voicing my disapproval.

Truth is, she isn’t a “cheater” … she doesn’t lie, she participates honestly and enthusiastically. But traditionally, both “cheaters” and “repeaters” were qualitative market research taboos. But lately, I’ve started to consider that “repeaters” — once frowned upon and avoided like the plague — are really no different from engaged participants in an MROC.

Now of course, there are going to be situations where I’ll ask my recruiters to fight to find virgin respondents. But maybe, just maybe, past participation worries can go by the wayside.

I’m all for the debate friends … thoughts?

In this profession … the qualitative market research profession that is … MAN do we need to switch hats and tap different skill sets ALL THE TIME.

When moderating, we need to utilize our facilitation and active listening and quick-thinking skills.

After, when analyzing, we need to put on our analytical, logical and critical thinking caps.

Finally, when writing, we need to put on our creative hats. We use language skills to compose, wordsmith and edit then artistic skills to graphically layout.

Of course, we use our organization skills all around, don’t we? Organizing input for discussion guides, stimuli for groups and notes/verbatims for analysis.

Qualitative researchers wear many, many hats.

Today, my hair is a mess. Hat head.

I’m one of those moderators that often exclaims in the middle of a focus group the words, “I LOVE MY JOB!!” I’m an extrovert with an insane curiosity, and I so thoroughly enjoy facilitating group discussions that I often make my family crazy with questions.

But I also love switching into analyst mode and writing reports. Maybe it’s a welcome reprieve from the feeling that I have to be “on” all the time or maybe it’s exercising the side of my brain that sits on the sidelines when I’m moderating. Or maybe it’s just that I’m really a nerd that enjoys outlines and organized notes and school supplies like colored pens and post-it notes that serve as tools to get the job done.

That’s one of the best things about being a freelance qualitative market researcher. Sometimes I’m hired to facilitate. Sometimes I’m hired to write.

Right brain, left brain, right brain, left brain. How well do you make the switch? Any tips you want to share that make the transition a little less bumpy?

Someone writes on the Jergens US Skincare Facebook page, “Great lotion!” On Twitter, someone tweets “#Pepsi wins over #CocaCola any day.” Each day thousands of brands are mentioned via social media … and thousands of opportunities to dig deeper are missed.

So how does a brand understand what makes them great, what makes them “win” over the competition, why someone LIKES them? By getting up close and personal.

Just as our personal relationships can’t exist online only … in order to fully realize the potential of a friendship or a courtship … you have to meet. Face to face. And talk.

Qualitative market research helps brands get up close and personal with their consumers. It’s that simple.

I decided to share this with you today because I recently used this technique on myself during a time of personal reflection. It worked equally well to bring me to a self-realization. Here’s why I used it:

At least once during the course of any given day of focus groups, I find myself saying aloud, “I love my job.” Now I’ve heard other qualitative researchers say the same thing. So I started to ponder the truth for me behind the statement.

At first I would have attributed the passion I feel for moderating to the fact that I get paid to listen to people talk about their lives. That’s fantastic enough, isn’t it? But I knew there was more to it than that.

The aforementioned projective exercise helped me realized that I love my job for two deeper, more personal, more meaningful reasons. I love my job because:

(1) I’m good at it. There, I said it, I’m a good moderator. I’ve thought it time and time again when I get respondents to open up and share things about themselves and/or their product usage that that might be difficult for them to admit. After this exercise, I was able to attribute my skill to some very tangible realities (as you can see if the thought bubble on the Think Say Diagram on the right).

(2) I have an emotional need to connect with others and moderating helps me meet that need. It’s true. I love the warmth I feel when people open up to me during an interview. That level of sharing brings me deep personal satisfaction. Once in simple brand insight groups, a bride-to-be opened up about her previously abusive relationship. In new product development groups, an adolescent girl shared with me the details of her eating disorder. In advertising testing groups, a mother revealed how her scare with cancer changed her perceptions and behaviors for life. I’m touched deeply by the humanity of people’s shared experiences.

So … the next time you hear me utter, “I love my job,” you’ll really know why. And the next time you have a project that requires taking the conversation to a deeper level, getting at thoughts and feelings behind some statements that are made … try a Think Say Diagram.

As usual, I welcome your comments below. And if you’d like to discuss the above technique and how you can use it in an upcoming project, please feel free to contact me anytime.

It’s been one week since the annual QRCA conference wrapped up, which means it’s time to open up the folders again and see the goodies that I took away from those delicious presentations!

I thought I’d share some nuggets with you. There are many … so I’ll stick with one per session:

• Starting with the Master Class Keynote: each qualitative specialist has their own style and strengths … use yours, own yours, capitalize on yours. For me, that remains my ability to get deep with those I speak with rather quickly … getting to higher level learning.
• From Susannah Childers and Lynette McCormack’s presentation on Visual Thinking: Use metaphors to help clients understand the many processes that go into a good qualitative project. For example … let’s see … creating a good discussion guide is like following a recipe. There are certain ingredients, certain steps, that must be included and followed or the meal with be a flop. But a professional chef knows what can be substituted, what would make the dish enhanced, and how to present it in a way that wows the customer. I’m proud to be a chef!
• From Connie Chesner’s “Supercharging Qualitative Insights into Marketing Messages”: A GREAT quote about how all too often research is used “like a drunk uses a lamppost … for support, not illumination.” (I like to think my research is more like a sleuth with a flashlight, with a light shining right on the findings for clients to act upon. I need to keep that visual in mind.)
• From Monica Zinchiak’s presentation on Moving Traditional Projectives Online: Oh my gosh, I can’t wait to take on an online project after this one! With picture sorts, collages, storytelling … the same exercises that I love to utilize in groups CAN be brought online and the tools/platforms have improved so greatly to make this possible. YES!
• From Justin Masterson and Jamie Johnson’s presentation “Unleashing the Power of Real People”: So much insight can be drawn from engaging the client team in activities not just the respondent. I might give homework to the clients attending my next focus groups, for instance, and ask them to share during the initial stages of the debrief!
• From Deb Potts “Art as Qualitative Research”: I have to remember the power of using playdough and legos in creative sessions because there is such freedom in ‘starting over’ when a piece of paper hasn’t captured your initial idea.
• From Martha Guidry’s “Concept Crisis 101″: Clients often confuse the role of concepts vs. copy. Copy is the execution of an identified concept. For each concept we tackle, we need to look for the basic elements THEN the agency runs with the creative. Good reminder.
• Then there was MY presentation on Repositioning Yourself … I’ve received such great feedback, I’m humbled by the response people had to me and what I shared. This ties back into the first point about honoring your own personal style and sharing that with the world … I’m deep, I’m personal, I share and offer empathy … it’s who I am and subsequently, it oozes out in my work. And that’s the way it should be!

There were so many more tasty treats gained from each of these … but I’m full now … so I’m putting the box back in the pantry.

Share anything you’d like in the comments below … if you were there, I’d love to know what was in your take-home container!

Via Flickr:
cupcake peeking.

The 2011 annual QRCA conference in Vegas began yesterday with a damn good “master class” given by three industry greats: Bob Harris, Judy Langer and Pat Sabena. My primary takeaway is that each moderator has their own personal style and as long as the focus of the groups remains on the objectives you can use your style to set the tone, pace, mood and depth of your groups. Cool.

Today, I’m going to borrow that finding as I present to 40-60 people on Repositioning Yourself. My objective is to help attendees “find themselves” after relaying a personal, relatable story of my own self-discovery … with a mini-lesson on personal branding sprinkled in.

I have to say … I’m both nervous and excited. Presenting in front of peers is an honor and a responsibility. I’m glad it’s time to speak. I’m ready to share. I’m ready to coach. I know I’ll learn something new. And I’ll grow as a result.

Wish me luck!

""Samson," Terminal A Baggage Claim, SFO

Yeah! My most recent article, QRCA VIEWS Fall 2011 Travel Wise ( if you get the magazine, it is on page 72!)

The article is about the various art exhibitions at various international airports — exhibits that enrich the travel experience, reflect local culture and heritage, educate and impress those who pass through.

This writing assignment allowed me to capitalize on the reality of business travel and reach an audience of qualitative market research peers. While I’ve been published in many magazines over the years (SELF, Parents, Parenting, Woman’s Day and Wine Enthusiast, to name a few), it’s cool to be able to give back to an organization that has done so much for me. And it’s always rewarding to see that byline!

“Learn. Connect. Have Fun!”

That’s the slogan for the upcoming annual conference for qualitative researchers taking place this October in Las Vegas. And that’s what I felt working out the draft of my slides for the workshop I’m presenting at the conference on “Repositioning Yourself” for qualitative market researchers.

Here’s the description of my workshop lifted from the official conference brochure:

New methodologies, increased competitive pressures, changing customer needs … how do you, an independent researcher, maintain the success you’ve attained and/or make deliberate, strategic moves to be more successful in the qualitative market research field today?  Do you find it hard to describe how you stand out in the qualitative research crowd?  This workshop will provide the tools to reposition yourself in today’s world and enable you to take the actions needed for success.  It will include:

• A brief introduction about personal brands and positioning
• In small breakout groups, a discussion of the state of the qualitative marketplace today – and where you currently fit in it
• Proven “purposeful reflections” and independent brainstorming exercises to help you create your new, improved, solidified image (based on the core benefits you bring to the marketplace)
• An “action framework” for taking that image public and establishing your new positioning

As an attendee, you will leave the session having started the necessary work to determine where you are in your career, where you want to go, and how you can get there.  Now is the time to focus on yourself and do the work you can’t afford not to do!

Target Audience: For independent qualitative researchers, whether newly out-of-school, just hanging out a shingle, or experienced but looking to evaluate and  promote their point of difference in today’s marketplace.

Are you coming to the conference? I do hope you are and I hope I’ll see you there!

In the wake of Hurricane Irene and the subsequent 3 day loss of electricity, phones and internet I experienced here in Connecticut, I’m reminiscing about a project I worked on in 1999 … focus groups for a large and well-known IT firm on the topic of disaster recovery. While the findings remain proprietary, I’m comfortable sharing that successful large businesses have specific plans in place for both catastrophic long-term and inconvenient temporary disruptions. Because they recognize that any shutdown potentially impacts the business’s bottom line.

Big or small, a business takes a hit when its infrastructure is knocked out. For those of us on the Eastern Seaboard, this is a great time to reflect upon what worked, what didn’t … and what we need to do differently in the future in preparation for any disaster.

Here’s what worked:

*  My iPhone had a full charge before power was knocked out. I had a working car-charger so it could charge in an idling car with a full tank of gas when the battery inevitably died. Then it charged via extension cord tapped into a neighbor’s generator once he had one hooked up.

*  I conserved battery power by turning off wifi and working with the 3G and Edge networks. I stopped playing games like Words with Friends or Bejeweled Blitz during the storm (alright, not completely, but certainly to a large degree). And I limited the number of times I checked/responded to email.

*  My laptop had a full charge and I didn’t use it until I needed to type/send a document thereby conserving my battery.

*  Cloud computing saved me so many back-up woes … but I also have automatic wireless backup thanks to Drobo.

* We own a Coleman Coffeemaker and a Coleman Camp Stove so we were able to make coffee (thank you propane).

Here’s what needs to be included in a future plan:

1)  I need to get a car-charger that works when the car isn’t running … anyone have a link to share where I can get one for the iPhone?

2)  I need to have a portable list of my passwords/logins so that if I need to use someone else’s equipment I have no issues.

3) I need to activate my email’s auto-responder and change my voice-mail message to alert clients to my situation and ask them to patiently await my response … I wouldn’t want people to think I’m being non-responsive.

What steps did you take … or should you take … next time your business faces a disruption?