Market Research on a travel budget: Your Responses

A few weeks ago, we asked a question of our The Market Research Event LinkedIn Group. What are people doing to get around not being able to travel to conduct market research? We had some great answers from those managing that very problem.

Ron Schechter at Internationalteam.net has worked around his limited travel in this way:

I am a MR consultant and specialize in healthcare market research in Latin America. I often try to place two projects from different clients back to back, in order to economize for both clients.

Rachel Geltman suggests using the Video Chat Network to communicate with her clients that aren't in the same geographical location:

Video Chat Network is perfect for these times where travel budgets are getting slashed. There is no travel necessary to access respondents on a global basis, speaking face-to-face from the comfort of their own computers. And it allows marketers to reach the early adopters who set the trends that move businesses. This highly efficient, cutting edge approach, is perfectly suited to the times! Check it out at videochatnetwork.net.

Susan Abbott, a consumer experience specialist, uses a variety of way to get around traveling to conduct her market research.

I would second JC Paradise's comment regarding bulletin board research. I have found these work very well with a wide variety of audiences, including, but not limited to B2B. In fact teens may be more forthcoming using this kind of method.

There are other online qualitative methods, and more in development all the time. Discussion forums (bulletin boards) can be supplemented by individual online diaries or blogs. Live time focus groups (text chat) can be held.

I have also used web meeting software combined with telephone for voice to present and get reactions to stimuli, in both individual interviews (IDI) and small groups.

The use of webcams with web meeting software is also now well established, and several platforms exist that can be rented just as a focus group room is rented.

Other variations that are used in qual include having respondents take pictures or video of themselves and send it in prior to using one of the methods above to ask questions and engage in deeper discussion.

Although these methods may be new to some, there are experienced practitioners in all of these areas, and multiple vendor platforms. when used in combination with traditional methods in the home market, you can get really great results across a large geography.