Picture this:
A cold weekend morning. A busy shopping street. Someone shouts out something that sounds like ‘Shmarget Reachearcher’ and the crowds start to move, morph, come together in concentric circles with a single individual at their centre, holding a clipboard.
‘Pick me! Pick me!’ the clamouring masses shout. ‘I want to take part!’
That would be lovely, wouldn’t it? Sure, that street magician can do it, but her value proposition is clear: experience the magic. And sure, that children’s charity choir gets people to act, but its value proposition is clear: contribute to a worthy cause. And, behold, free wine and cheese samples? It’s a no-brainer!
If you are reading this, you are likely very conscious of the benefits of having a general public who value (and actively take part in) Market Research. The question is, still, how we make that happen.
The solution is one we have been trying to tap into for years: Give Something Back.
Essentially, there must be a clear return on investment for participants, where often there are limited opportunities to make the right impression. If you know that, in mainland China, participants are keen to
please an interviewer, or that in Germany, people want to know that their contribution ‘
makes a difference’, are you then taking the time to adapt your approach for immediate increased value perception?
For Myanmar and the US, identified as two of the most charitable countries in the world, is your research providing participants with
a ‘feel good’ factor in return for their contribution? With South Korea’s super-modern technology scene, are your employees and colleagues providing participants with
engaging, relevant Market Research experiences, every time?
Even if this is already the case, cue Michael Jackson’s ‘Man in the Mirror’. Valuing Market Research has to come from within, before it can take hold on a global scale from without. Look at the 2016 GRBN Trust Survey research, for instance, which turned back several instances of ‘#ihatemarketresearch’ on Twitter… all from people working in the industry itself.
So, to reach the Holy Grail of Market Research Participation, let the industry start to value the incredible power that it holds to
give voice. Let’s engage our employees, our colleagues, our friends and family.
At the very heart of Research lies the consumer, the respondent, the person whose voice is begging to be heard. You are empowered to Give Something Back, by providing that voice with a platform from which it can shout its opinion, rally the troops and really start to make a difference to the things that matter to it.
Ruth Partington, CEO of RP Translate
Ruth has nearly 25 years of experience bridging the gap between the Insight Industry and global research participants, through excellent quality language services and consultancy. As a passionate businessperson, communicator and motorbike enthusiast, she’ll never shy away from a discussion on ‘changing the game’.
