22 Nov Video responses are a valuable research complement

Adding video responses to your research project can build on your insights story

One of the qualitative tools our clients have recently requested more of lately has been the adoption of online video research (video surveys) to tap into consumer behaviours.

Video surveys are a powerful tool to evoke customer feedback in a way that is simply unmatched by more traditional approaches than say… having research participants fill out reams of paper questionnaires. Which sounds like a load of fun! *ahem*

Qualitative research shouldn’t be a boring experience for the respondent.

To get the best responses, researchers have to design a better research experience.

Contemporary qualitative tools (like online market research communities) have features like questions that allow for participants to speak for themselves through video open-end response options – giving even greater insight to your reporting.

Why? 

There is a lot to be said about the value of having participants provide responses in their own words – and this is from not just a user experience context, but also as a research perspective aspect, as well.

Traditionally, open-ended text boxes in questionnaires have been one of the only avenues for these kinds of qualitative responses, and while open-text boxes are a valuable way to collect data, there is something about video that helps widen the lens and bring their opinions to life.

I mean, that is what we want from our participants, isn’t it? A real-life answer? 

Video responses – the REAL sentiment of the customer

What makes video responses so powerful is they tap into the human experience. 

When looking to get to the sentiment behind how a customer feels, text responses don’t always give the depth of context needed to really dig into what is being said.

We all know how hard it can be to try to decipher the intent or emotion behind a text message or a tweet.

And in research, assumptions can’t be made – you have to know for sure.

Getting the opportunity to learn exactly what is on the mind of research participants, and seeing and hearing the sentiment behind their responses, provides a level of understanding brands can use to understand consumer insights. 

For example, say you are a utility company who relies on customer-centric decisions for business strategy. How important would it be to bring your customers to life so you could make the decisions that fit with their needs. 

By allowing participants to speak in their own time and in an unbounded format (like video), brands can give their customers the opportunity to dig into the issue in ways that may never have occurred to researchers or clients to begin with.

The difference could be between learning that your customer had a positive experience – and what triggered the positive experience. 

Video responses enhance the participant’s research experience – and that is important! 

As an insights agency, we truly believe it’s important that we consistently give participants the best research experience possible. We researchers can sometimes forget this fact (while we’re having the time of our lives digging into questions and getting to answers that will help our clients) – but what is it like on the other end of that research?

As a research participant, having the chance to do something different, like provide a video response to explain a situation in regard to why they may feel a certain way, can be a breath of fresh air in what can be fairly structured process. 

Participants appreciate the opportunity to speak for themselves, as well. 

By engaging participants on the topics they care about, and empowering them to tell their own stories in their own ways, participant responses are improved in both quantity and quality.*

…and it also makes research a lot more fun – because whether your research is incentivized or not, people will not engage fully unless they find it rewarding.

Communicate better with clients and stakeholders

Getting information directly from those involved can be very persuasive. There’s something to be said about the power of hearing it straight from the proverbial horse’s mouth.

In research reporting, this is no different. Hearing directly from the source is much more memorable and influential than hearing information second-hand – making testimonial responses super valuable in communicating research results.  

When you do research that involves a video component, those video responses become assets you can use to communicate with your clients and stakeholders in the research.

Look at each video response as a powerful customer or user testimonial. You can use each video response (with participants’ permission, of course) to enhance presentations, reports and even marketing initiatives.

This provides your audience with the opportunity to connect with participants themselves (beyond simply reading written testimonials), making for much more memorable and compelling reporting.

Let your clients and stakeholders see what people are saying, rather than just reading the data or hearing about it from you. 

Sharing Powerful Customer Stories Through Video

The addition of video makes for a more engaging research experience, leading to more and better responses from respondents. And when you facilitate the option for video responses, those videos can then be used as testimonial assets that can be used in reports, presentations or in marketing initiatives later on.

If you’d like to learn more about how Insightrix uses the option for video responses in its research, contact us.

*Kuegler, S. and Dowling, Z. “Unravelling the Mystery of the Video Respondent.” Lightspeed & Added Value presented at CASRO Digital (2016).