Customers in your market are visiting stores and other locations that are relevant to your products and services all the time. Perhaps your organization wants to learn more about people who regularly eat at a certain restaurant: what keeps them coming back? Maybe you want to know why someone visited a smart phone store: was it for repairs, or are they buying a new phone? What about people who commute on a specific highway: did they notice your billboard or hear your ad on the radio?
Have you ever wished you could reach them in the exact moment when they are onsite at those locations so they could share feedback about their experiences? Geo-targeted research is an approach that allows us to contact people when they visit a specific location to ask them for in-the-moment feedback.
What is Geo-targeted research?
Geo-targeting is a way for researchers to conduct studies around a specific geographic location, focusing the exercise on a very local and specific audience. Participants, who have agreed to be contacted through an app on their smartphone, receive a notification when they arrive at certain locations. It could be a retail store, a park, the doctor’s office—anywhere really—and when they are in the area they are “pinged” with an invitation to complete research activities about something relevant to their location. The use of smartphones allows research activities to potentially take many forms: a few questions or a short survey, photo or video submissions, screenshots, etc.
How can this type of research help me?
Geo-targeted research is a great way to gain insights at a personal level in the moment that someone is doing what you want to better understand. It allows us to learn about the processes people go through without influencing them by watching over their shoulder. Among many things, you can get feedback on a new product someone is testing in their home or get a better understanding of how someone shops for a product as they navigate the purchase process.
How do we do it?
Let us know the specific location that you’re interested in geo-targeting. Advantage Research will find people to participate in your study who have visited that specific location recently. Participants will answer questions and provide insights on the research topic. Once the data is collected, Advantage will distill the findings into a report that summarizes what was learned and what actions should be taken as a result.
How will I benefit from using geo-targeted research?
The benefits to using this type of research are:
Insights can be collected directly from people who have visited the desired location.
The information is accurate because participants are completing the research in real-time, recording their thoughts, opinions, and behaviors as they happen rather than trying to remember them later on.
It's not just for your products and services! You can gain a better understanding of how the competition is performing in real-time.
It can be an affordable way to collect insightful data.
If you think geo-targeting research could help advance your company’s goals and objectives, Advantage Research can help you. Contact us today to start the conversation!