How We Recruited for a Niche Study Rejected by Every Supplier

Have you ever planned a research study and identified your highly specific target audience only to find that market research recruitment firms won’t even bid on the project? Unfortunately, it’s a common issue—and research firms often have to approach several third-party vendors to find study participants.

This isn’t the first time we’ve had to recruit for a study that seemed impossible—and over the years, we’ve developed standards and practices to ensure we recruit the right participants.

Read on to learn how we helped a global market research and digital marketing solutions provider learn the opinions of Recreational Off-Highway Vehicles (ROV) owners in Texas and Tennessee.

 

The Client

The client is a rapidly-growing global market research and digital marketing solutions provider. They leverage the collective power of their specialist companies to provide innovative data and insights that drive clients’ smarter decisions. Their industry-leading digital research solutions deliver rapid and cost-effective solutions to the challenges businesses face today. With over 40 offices across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, the client serves more than 4,000 brands and agencies in more than 90 countries with over 2,000 experts worldwide.

 

The Challenge

We were hired to help the client company recruit owners of 2018-modeled ROVs who live in Texas and Tennessee. Their goal was to better understand what owners in select states liked and disliked about their newer model ROVs. A major challenge with this study was that the target audience was very low incidence, making it difficult for the client to recruit an appropriate sample. In fact, all US suppliers turned down this project due to the extremely low incidence target audience.

 

The Solution

Using our database for leads and referrals, in addition to extensive desk research, we reached out to a number of special interest groups, including:

• ROV organizations
• Conferences and trade shows
• Recreational vehicle groups
• Hunting and fishing organizers and facilitators
• ROV online member groups and organizations

With the help of our proprietary database and desk research teams, we were able to recruit 56 ROV owners in Texas and Tennessee for the client’s study. Participants were invited to a focus group facility in each area where we collected qualitative data about their opinions, likes, and dislikes of their 2018 model ROVs.

Some of the questions participants were asked included:

• What was your original purchase intent?
• What was the reason for your purchase?
• How satisfied have you been with the vehicle?
• What are the vehicle’s advantages and limitations in your opinion?
• What are your impressions of the competitors?
• What is your future purchase intent?

Decision Point Research took care of recruiting participants, handling the incentives, facility management, and focus group moderation.

 

The Result

We were successful in recruiting a very low incidence target group that all US suppliers turned down. The client was able to use the information gained with our help to better understand their customers. They developed a communication strategy based on the findings, and increased specific ROV brand sales in the United States.

With extensive experience in the market research industry, Decision Point Research is adept at recruiting participants for highly-niche studies—even ones that were turned down by other suppliers.

Decision Point Research provides comprehensive market research services, encompassing the full range of quantitative and qualitative capabilities in data collection. Our robust recruitment panels enable you to reach niche and difficult-to-recruit audiences throughout North America.