The head of ADS shared a new article with the Guild of Marketers https://www.marketologi.ru/news/consulting/4728/
Often, when receiving a commercial offer from the Customer, the question arises - "Why is the cost of recruiting, when conducting distance research, the same as when selecting respondents to participate in a regular (face-to-face) research?" Some customers think that recruiting for a distance research is easier: the respondent does not need to come to the office and this greatly simplifies the task of selecting research participants. In fact, this is not the case. And now I will tell you why it's that way.
When recruiting, you need to take into account the availability of a stable Internet and the availability of the technical ability to pass an interview, there must be a computer (unless otherwise specified), a video camera and a microphone. It may be that the respondent fully fits the socio-demographic criteria, but he does not have a camera and we will not be able to invite him for an interview. Thus, one of the conditions is lost, and this makes the recruiting process longer, and certainly does not help to save money. This problem is especially relevant outside of large cities.
The respondent must be tech-savvy. He must be able to give access to his screen and be able to solve (with our help) any technical problems that arise during connection. This also reduces the sample size attainable and lengthens the process.
When recruiting for remote interviews, the control of respondents becomes more difficult. It is necessary to check in advance the connection with them in the zoom (with the help of a special program we check the speed of the Internet, we check that the respondent is heard and he/she is visible and able to give access to his screen). This is a labor-intensive process.
During remote research in specialized client programs, for example - testing a new application, technical problems often occur (errors, crashes, inability to connect, etc.), which takes additional time to solve problems, and implies a closer connection with respondents on technical issues.
Remote testing always requires at least a triple margin to meet the deadline, as some respondents will have technical difficulties, some will not pass on time, etc.
Remote testing requires not only recruiting but also preparation of instructions for respondents from our side. We pass the test ourselves, record detailed video instructions for the respondents so they do not have questions and problems during testing, and they can easily complete the task.
When recruiting for remote interviews, difficulties arise with the fact that many respondents think that if the survey is remote and they can take it from any device, then they can do it anywhere. For example, someone is trying to get an interview in a minibus while driving home; someone is distracted by children; someone is sitting in a noisy cafe with loud music. We always ask the respondents to take the research seriously and to be in a quiet place without distractions during the interview.
On face-to-face studies, they usually give "standard" devices for testing. For remote testing, you need to take the test from your device (computer or phone). Many respondents are afraid of this. As well as giving (researchers) access to your computer. They are concerned about the security of passwords and other sensitive data.