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Civicom Marketing Research Services Case Studies
Worldwide Focus Groups — Next Stop Western Europe
How did a U.S. researcher, in a matter of days, get feedback on common issues experienced by their client’s customers, when the respondents were in five Western European countries and spoke only their local language?
The answer was Civicom CyberFacility® webcam focus groups with simultaneous translation, with transcripts delivered in English. Our global expertise enabled us to set up a web room for each country in the local language and translate the screener for each. Using our translators, we were able to qualify respondents based on their broadband strength and computer compatibility. Then we facilitated the interviews with full technician assistance and translator support.
We provided screener questions for the project in each country to assure that those recruited could meet the broadband and webcam requirements. We sent webcams to those who did not have one, then ran a tech check to assure they would be able to successfully participate.
We provided a daily tech check tracker for each local country. We pre-loaded stimuli into each web room, and ran a training session for each moderator. We trained the translators in how easy it would be to simultaneously translate the interviews while engaged with our audio system. Then we facilitated the focus groups.
This marketing research company gained credibility with its important international client. They were able to present a summary of the customer’s concerns very quickly, as the two focus groups in each country took place in a matter of days. The researcher team was then able to watch the streaming media files while also reading the summary findings from the individual country moderators. Civicom assisted by sorting the findings from each country into a spreadsheet by topic.
The clients were thrilled because they were able to get feedback on common issues experienced by their customers in five European countries, without leaving the comfort of their offices. They found it very insightful to watch the video files, as an adjunct to the researcher’s summary report. They were more easily able to reach their business objectives of solving their European customer service issues and to do so in a more timely fashion.
How was a research team going to identify and recruit almost 100 automotive technicians nationwide who had completed training in automotive electronics, and who needed to be segmented by franchise owner, independent operator, and individual employee, and then interview them in telephone focus groups?
We were faced with a recruit that was a “wrench” of a challenge! Unlike industries that have developed homogenous approaches to employee training, the automotive service industry is made up of multiple business models that operate autonomously, from large corporate service chains, to medium sized groups of three to ten service centers, to operators of single or multiple franchises, and thousands of individual shop owners.
Electronics and computers have changed the dynamics of automotive repair, which has become more akin to fixing a broken computer than what we think of as traditional car services like fixing an engine or transmission. As a result, several companies offer training services to automotive mechanics, but becoming familiar with how to reach their potential audience and understanding how to make the training worthwhile is a challenge.
It quickly became clear to us that automotive repair personnel have not made it a habit to join panels or offer their services to be part of market research studies. We completed this project the old fashioned way — through individual phone calls. Initially, almost every contact we made was not interested in the idea of participating in a focus group, citing their busy shop schedule. We were not going to get thought the screener without first selling the potential respondent on why they should be in a telephone focus group. They needed to first internalize that the information they had about automotive training needs was of great value to enhance training programs that could help their counterparts nationally.
In the end, the technicians, initially mostly reluctant, loved sharing experiences with their peers. When it was time for the groups to end most of the respondents didn’t want to go. Never before had they talked with peers around the country about automotive technology training.
Our client was happy. The groups gave them the insights on how to market their services, plus how to increase flexibility in order to attract more clientele.
A Wrench of a Recruiting Challenge
Ups and Downs — Measuring Meds
In-the-Moment
How did a researcher for a pharma company and its physician advisors get participants in a drug study to talk about their feelings while taking a supplemental medication for the treatment of depression?