All market research starts with the raw material of our segment: data and information. Even today when we have sources such as Big Data, it is necessary to contact people on a small scale to gather their impressions about their consumer experiences. This situation is very evident in brands that need to regularly evaluate their offer and there is ample competition in the sector.
One way to gather raw impressions from consumers is to interview them at the point of sale. However, this mechanism has several implications that are well worth considering. This makes more sense when the sites where products and services are offered take great care to ensure that their visitors have the best experience and this includes not bothering them if it is not strictly necessary. Therefore, today we list four aspects that you should keep in mind when conducting interviews at the point of sale.
Discard other options. Due to the considerations involved in collecting data on shopping sites, this should be emphasized. At the design stage of the studies, other options must be considered that allow the same objectives to be achieved with a smaller amount of resources. Today we have means such as online panels, questionnaires via email and invitations to answer surveys from purchase receipts.
Obtaining permits. There are different types of points of sale. There are the classic ones that are a single establishment at street level; here we can include solitary supermarkets. Others share premises with shopping malls of different sizes. In many cases there are restrictions on third parties being able to locate themselves within or near these sites to approach customers in order to conduct interviews. It is suggested that those who commission the studies support obtaining permits so that the analysts can carry out their work.
Brief guides. It is natural that we want to maximize the budgets invested by trying to obtain the largest amount of data possible in the same exercise. It is worth remembering that if we are in a sales establishment, people have many other priorities than answering a questionnaire. If it is very long, then the response rates can plummet, making it difficult to meet quotas. Apply questionnaires as short as possible to ensure that the answers are truthful and valuable.
Clothing. Field staff usually choose to dress casually and comfortably to be able to face long work days in places that can be dominated by the sun and other elements. However, in sales sites, analysts fulfill a double function. On the one hand, they are the visible face of research agencies and, in many others, also that of a particular brand. Respecting a dress code helps to instill confidence in people and thus facilitates obtaining numbers at the end of the day.
Although there are other elements that we can address, we believe that with those listed above we can start a series that we will continue in future entries of this blog. Gathering interviews in supermarkets and shopping centers has many advantages such as collecting first-hand shopping experiences that would otherwise be modified by the passage of time. We can also count on visual stimuli that are only available at points of sale and that can be used to rate attributes in their real ecosystem.
At Acertiva we have experience in this and other types of field research. Thanks to our team of analysts and strategic allies, we offer you Market Research services in LATAM. Our more than two decades of experience allow us to help you achieve your goals of knowledge of consumers and markets. Write to us today so we can tell you how together we can make your next success story a reality.
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