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Loading ...Market Research and Mystery Shopping
Posted:Abigail Andrews – Tuesday, June 26th, 2007
Market Research Focus Groups
Focus groups are one of the investigation techniques for conducting market research. Companies and organizations want to know what certain individuals think or feel about a product or service that they are offering, and are particularly interested in their reaction towards a new commodity. These individuals form a focus group. The group participants must meet a pre-defined criteria. The criteria is based on a number of factors relevant to the product or service being marketed and the group the company wants to target.
Meetings are held at a set location. Groups are usually small in number and informal, and are led by a moderator. You will be briefed on the subject matter before you accept the assignment. The sessions are usually one to two hours long, during which you will chat about the item/service and be asked for views, opinions and general feedback.
Focus groups can be fun and entertaining. You will be paid a fee for your time that is in the region of £30 to £60 and sometimes up to £100, of which you are usually paid in cash at the end of the session. Focus groups offer higher rewards for your time than most online surveys, however, invites will probably be far and few between, more so now that many companies are abandoning them to use online survey systems which are much cheaper for them to operate.
You do not need any special qualifications to participate in focus group discussions but you must be a UK resident and over 18 years of age. There are quite a few sites out there that you can sign up to if you are interested in earning some money in this way. Here are some suggestions:
Useful Sites
Saros
thats-what-i-think
Focus Group
Focus World
Indefield
Opinion Now
Resonance Research
Mystery Shopping
Most companies are interested in knowing what their customers think of their services or products in order to help them to improve customer service and productivity. To obtain this crucial data from a non biased viewpoint they hire Mystery Shopping agencies, who are trained market researchers, to gather the information on their behalf. This is where you come in. As a Mystery Shopper you will pose as a regular customer but will actually be collecting essential data set by the client via a questionnaire. Mystery Shopping companies are always on the lookout for trustworthy and reliable people to carry out assignments for them. Assignments vary from restaurants to shops, banks to fitness centers, the list is endless.
Sounds like fun? It is but your reports are vital material, so you've got to be committed and be able to complete each job as specified on your worksheet by your agency.
Useful Sites
Douglas Stafford
Mystery Shoppers
Performance in People
Popularity: 11% [?]
