Halloween is coming. I’m wearing my orange sweatshirt!
I was thinking, Halloween has a lot in common with market research.
People go door to door, just as early market researchers did. But kids carry bags, not clipboards.
Participants get rewarded. A bit of candy for their efforts to put on a costume. Just like respondents in a focus group put on their persona for the moderator and get rewarded. And not to mention the team behind the mirror feasting on M&Ms. And when we recruit patients and caregivers at patient events across the country, we always have some candy on the table to encourage people to stop by. Candy makes the market research world go ‘round!
What better way to research the candy market and see what is most popular than by giving kids a choice? But I don’t recommend that. We’ve just held the bucket of candy up for some kids, and they want to take it all. I had that happen at a patient walk once also – someone picked up our candy bowl and dumped the entire lot into his bag.
But let me finish by saying your market research with patients doesn’t have to be as scary as Halloween. Don’t know who the child is in the costume? Since we recruit at patient events and meet the patients personally, and get referrals from those we trust, we know who the patients are, and they are real! It is not a trick or treat. Save that for one night of the year!
One more thought – did you celebrate Mischief Night? The night before Halloween we as kids would go out and do some not too serious mischief – soap car windows, throw toilet paper over the telephone wires, and throw corn at windows. Reminds me of the mischief your clients can create the day before a research project, changing the screening criteria and asking for reschedules. Let’s also keep that to only one night a year!
