The adoption and penetration of smartphones in recent years is staggering. According to recent figures published by eMarketer, more than half of US mobile users will have a smartphone by the end of next year. As a result, mobile technologies are creating a number of great opportunities for qualitative research, and Accelerant Research is excited to offer the ability to tap into these technologies via our BlogNog research platform. Through its mobile Shopper Insights function, BlogNog allows online research participants who own any smartphone or tablet device to provide feedback and respond to research assignments using these devices. In short, BlogNog can capture participants’ feedback at the exact moment that they are experiencing what it is the research is studying.
Rather than tethering participants to a focus groups facility or even their own personal computer, BlogNog allows qualitative researchers to broaden the realm of exercises that can be assigned to participants and the types of data that can be collected.
Additionally, BlogNog’s Mobile Shopper Insights feature makes a perfect complement to traditional offline qualitative research studies. Giving participants homework assignments prior to or as follow-up assignments after focus groups or in-depth interviews is a great way to get participants engaged with your subject matter and ready to share additional insights about their consumption behaviors. For ethnographic research, leveraging participants’ own mobile technologies allows you to immersively “follow” them 24/7 in a very cost effective manner.
Below are just a few examples of mobile applications that BlogNog offers:
TEXT, PHOTO, & VIDEO UPLOADS WITHOUT REQUIRING MOBILE APP DOWNLOADS
BARCODE SCANNER that automatically retrieves product information from an ever-growing database of millions of products. This a great tool for assigning participants to go on shopping exercises or to perform pantry audits. QR code scanning is also available.
VOICE-TO-TEXT FUNCTIONALITY allows participants to dictate responses rather than strictly using their thumbs.
TRAVEL JOURNALS & LOCATION-BASED CHECK-INS utilize GPS function of most smartphones to allow participants to “check-in” at various phases of your study.
FOOD/NUTRITION, PRESCRIPTION DRUG USAGE, & PRODUCT USAGE JOURNALS - these technnologies are great for in-home usage tests and longitudinal studies.
Again, these are just a few examples that we have used recently to collect some great insights. Really, the sky is the limit in terms of the different types of mobile information you can collect from participants using BlogNog. For more information about Mobile Shopper Insights in particular or BlogNog in general, please visit http://www.blognogresearch.com/, email us at info@accelerantresearch.com, or give us a call at (866) 683-7407.
