Why you should consider a Market Research Recruitment Firm for your next Project
The old adage, “garbage in, garbage out” holds true for market research. Any competent market
researcher will tell you that focus groups can’t be populated with just warm bodies. They need to be
curated so that the product or concept being researched aligns with the demographic of the concept or
product.
The quality of market research comes down to the people you can recruit to participate in focus groups
or research. Product testing, branding pivots, or assessing market receptivity to a new product or idea
doesn’t happen by chance.
While some market research companies will recruit focus group participants in-house, many turn to
independent recruiters to manage this process. There are myriad reasons why hiring a company that
specializes in recruiting makes sense: it is easier to outsource management of finding the right
population, scheduling, and finding quick replacements for no-shows are a few of the benefits of hiring a
recruitment firm.
Focus-group recruitment is a bit like herding cats. The larger the study, the more challenging it can be.
Many market researchers are trained to develop a study, work closely with clients to generate questions
that will yield honest answers, and then distill all the information into a report that can then be used by
marketing or strategy departments. In candid moments many market researchers will tell you they are
not well-trained for recruitment, and feel their time is better spent on actual research, rather than
recruitment. This isn’t to say market researchers don’t have a hand in the recruitment process, in fact
their input is crucial. Designing qualitative and quantitative studies that get to the heart of how and why
people behave the way they do can’t happen without first recruiting the right people to participate in
such studies.
When considering market research recruitment firms, it is important to think of them as an integral part
of your team and not just a component of the research project to be outsourced. Not only do you want
a recruitment firm with a proven track record, you want a firm with experience recruiting diverse
populations, whether it is cultural, ethnic or geographic.
Partnering with an experienced market research recruiting firm can be the difference between a
mediocre research project or a stellar one.
Learn more about how Focus Insite can help you. Contact us here for a free proposal.
