Whenever we receive a WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger notification, there is an urge to open it immediately. If it’s a link sent by family, a friend, or even in a group, chances are we would open it? Sounds familiar, right? If you are a business owner, be rest assured that your clients feel the same way too.
Today, there are close to 2.7 billion messaging app users around the world. That roughly translates to 40% of the global population. Today consumers prefer “conversations” with brands and businesses and are far more likely to respond to short, focused questions rather than read push messages.
The reach problem of market research
Irrespective of the size of the business, it is important to keep conversations alive in this hyperconnected world and the best way to do that is through short customized surveys disseminated through messaging apps. Messaging apps are the perfect tool for democratizing consumer research. Let’s explain why with an example.
At the peak of the outbreak of COVID-19 in India, when the entire nation was under lockdown, a start-up focused on senior citizen services needed to test its value proposition among senior citizens. Responses had to be gathered from respondents in five major cities in different parts of the country. The objective was to assess the likeability of a soon-to-be-launched value proposition and also arrive at optimum pricing.
The target audience (age group of 55 plus) typically shies away from the online, browser-based activity. Further access to a laptop or a PC is rare for seniors. In the midst of COVID-19 where senior citizens were the most vulnerable, physical surveys were next to impossible.
Conversational platforms, the perfect solution
Merren, a new-age company that uncomplicates market research by simply leveraging messenger apps like WhatsApp and FB Messenger found a unique solution to deliver a superior customer experience at a time like this.
It zeroed in on WhatsApp, a platform that seniors are not familiar with, but use extensively to keep in touch with family and friends. A customized WhatsApp survey with multimedia tools like an explanatory video along with short focussed questions immediately struck the right chord with the target audiences.
Reaching out to the last mile user
Impressed by the friendly and interactive format that valued their life experiences, the respondents engaged and gave quick responses. The survey was successfully completed in four days across four cities with only 20% dropout out of a sample size of 400.
Like in the example mentioned above, market researchers across the world are turning towards messaging apps because they are fast and convenient and more importantly are accessible to the last mile user. This makes surveys more inclusive and effective.
Similarly, nothing beats the effectiveness of messenger-based apps for market research aimed at consumer segments C and D under the New Consumer Classification System (NCCS) mostly based in semi-urban and rural areas with little or no education.
With customised surveys conducted through Merren, businesses and brands can easily communicate and include feedback and opinion of consumers in the C and D categories who cannot participate in online surveys but are happy to respond through messaging apps like WhatsApp. Recording multimedia responses too is fast, convenient and effective in keeping the communication going.
With the rise in the use of smartphones globally and nearly half the population of the world spending anything between 30 minutes to an hour on messaging apps daily, businesses now have access to a goldmine for market research.
Merren provides customized survey solutions for such platforms that are like a plug and play solutions for businesses. By using customized messenger-based surveys from Merren, companies can garner actionable insights at a nominal cost and deliver superior customer experiences thereafter.