Obtaining quality data from the real human beings who make up the target customer base of a business is crucial to the success of any focus group. However, in order to obtain that data, you need to be sure that participants will show up and provide valuable input, which may be easier said than done.
While you can do your best to carefully select and vet your participants, inevitably, you’ll occasionally deal with no-shows or contributors who disappear halfway through the research process. Here are a few effective strategies for dealing with drop-outs and how you can encourage participants to continue doing the work.
How to Deal with Dropouts During the Research Process
Over Recruit
It’s always better to have more data than not enough. So one effective strategy for dealing with unreliable participants is to over-recruit. If you need 20 people to conduct your research, recruit 24. That way, if everything goes according to plan and everyone makes it to the end, you’ll have more than enough information to draw from. However, you’ll still be in a good position to complete your research if you lose a few people in the process.
Encourage Them to Continue
Don’t assume a participant is gone for good just because they missed one session. With a bit of encouragement, you may be able to convince them to return and complete the research. Reach out and let them know that they still have the opportunity to receive full compensation by making up for the days that they’ve missed. It’s possible that something came up that prevented them from returning on schedule but they’d be willing to come back at a different time. However, you’ll probably never hear from them again if you don’t reach out and let them know this is an option.
Extend the Deadline
Extending the deadline can go a long way toward encouraging participants to continue if you’re able to be flexible. Participants may feel that if they’ve missed too many days, completing the process on schedule will be too much stress. So if you’re able to give them some leeway, it may be enough to encourage them to return. How long you choose to extend the deadline depends on the time constraints of the project and how crucial it is to get all the data. But it may be beneficial to give them a few extra days if you feel like the insights you’ll get will be worth the wait.
How You Can Prevent Participants From Dropping Out
While some participant drop-offs are inevitable, there are ways that you can structure your programs to prevent conflicts and incentive completion. Here are a few useful strategies.
Be Upfront About Expectations
Make the expectations clear from the beginning and confirm subjects have the time and interest in participating for the entire study. Provide as many details as possible about the research process and encourage them to ask any questions. The more informed they are about the expectations, the less likely they are to agree, only to change their mind halfway through the process.
Make the Exercises Engaging
Participants are less likely to return if they feel bored by the program or overwhelmed by information. So try to make your exercises engaging by asking questions, using images, or playing games.
Offer Incentives
Offering incentives and reminding participants what they will receive when they complete the research process can go a long way. This could be in the form of compensation for their time. You could also get creative and offer a prize at the end to whoever provides the best responses. Their competitive nature may kick in and encourage participants to stick around and see if they win.
Dealing with disappearing participants may be unavoidable no matter how well you plan and structure your exercises. However, having a solid strategy for dealing with drop-outs can help ensure that you still get the data you need, even if you lose a few subjects along the way.
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