Services

Focus groups

Focus Groups remain as a tried and true tool in research services. —BRG’s uniqueness in this area continues to be its understanding of when to use them and what types of innovative techniques can be used in this setting.

Dyads, Triads, Mini Groups and Super Groups

Different size groups may be advisable depending on the number of issues to be explored, the depth of information required, the need for homogeneity or heterogeneity in groups as well as desired budget.

One-on-one depth interviews

Often used to avoid the influence of group dynamics or when there is a substantial need to probe deeply into the underlying logic or motivations behind individual attitudes or behaviors.

Online focus groups

Similar to traditional focus groups, online focus groups comprise participants from the target of interest who log on to conferencing software at a pre-arranged time. During online discussions, participants interact with each other as well as the moderator in real time to generate deeper insights about the topic. Key benefits of online focus groups are:

• Ability to engage participants from multiple geographic locations in one virtual place at one time
• Access to hard-to-reach or over-accessed research populations
• Reduction in travel expenses and logistics
• Greater perceived “anonymity” for discussing sensitive or controversial topics

Online Bulletin Boards also known as “asynchronous groups.”

They are conducted over a period of time rather than in real time.  While sharing many of the benefits of online focus groups they also allow for participants to join in the research when it is convenient for them. And they can take more time to formulate answers, generating a richness of information and insights not always accessible in real time methodologies. Online Bulletin Boards encourage in-depth exploration of topics, on-going product or service evaluation, and brainstorming of ideas.Our Bulletin Boards are typically held as multi-day (3-5 days) sessions during which participants answer questions posted by a moderator and respond to comments posted by other participants. All of the discussion is visible to the moderator, participants, as well as client observers who can watch from a virtual back room. It is possible to embed stimuli such as photos or video for feedback. Once complete, the entire transcript in available for download in various formats.

Ethnography & Observational Research

Ethnography & Observational Research allows researchers to understand the culture and environment in which products are purchased, used, and evaluated. It helps to overcome some of the inaccuracies and omissions in self reported data on attitudes and behaviors. Ethnography and Observational Research is aimed at uncovering commentary from people in their work environment, while using a portable device, or as they perform everyday tasks.  Observing and questioning people in their natural environment while they shop, work, communicate or play enables the research to be completed in the context of a real world setting and yields specific findings that might be missed by other research methodologies. When is ethnographic research the right solution?  If you can’t duplicate how a person uses an interface or product in a controlled environment, an ethnographic study is the best way to capture key findings.  Ethnographies are particularly helpful for understanding consumer behavior, usage patterns, purchase and decision-making processes.

Ideation

Ideation in these highly energized and focused sessions, we use a variety of techniques to encourage respondents to generate innovative ideas and solve problems creatively. This information can then be used for new product development, strategic directions for advertising or marketing communications and process improvements.

Usability Testing

Usability testing is ideal when you are looking to gather rich qualitative feedback from your customers and learn about the navigation, branding, functionality, value proposition and content of an interface. BRG has conducted usability research on Websites, software applications and sales and training program… While it’s ideal to test at multiple stages of a project’s development, even one day of 1 on 1 interviews on a live site can have a huge impact on your success. We’ve completed engagements at all stages of development – paper prototypes, wireframes, HTML prototypes, Beta sites a few days before launch and on live interfaces.