When recruiting for market research studies, recruiters often are given demographic profiles of who to recruit. While demographic information is an important starting point, it doesn’t fully capture the nuance of who should ultimately participate in a market research study.
Demographic profiles help categorize a general population into gender, age, income bracket, ethnicity, marital status, and location. Again, a great starting point, but demographic information alone does not equal who should be included to participate in a study.
Before tasking a team of recruiters to find study participants, think about other details about your customer that would be important to include. Psychographic examples include activities your customers may engage in; personality traits; beliefs or attitudes; and, interests. Thinking about some of the psychographic details when creating a screening guide will give recruiters more opportunity to find the best qualified candidates to fill a study.
Demographic Information
Demographic information is the first step in understanding who your target customer is, but it doesn’t inform why they’re your customers.
Demographic information is easiest to come by, and it’s often the only information recruiters have when searching for study participants.
Psychographic Information
Don’t be alarmed if you don’t have a complete understanding of who your customer is. This is the essence of what qualitative research can help you discover! Focus groups and in-depth interviews are great ways for researchers to learn about the behaviors, interests, habits, opinions, values, and attitudes that influence purchasing decisions.
Our team of recruiters has years of experience finding study participants and even if they’re armed only with demographic profiles, they will find the most qualified candidates for your study.
