The Endless Possibilities of Mobile Market Research

It's a camera. A microphone. An audio recorder. A video recorder. A phone. A web browser. A typewriter. A gaming system. A GPS system. A two-way audio device. An e-reader. And an instant messenger. What is it? Why a mobile device of course. And it is like a mini-focus group facility all in the palm of your hand.

For some odd reason, I really never thought of a mobile device in that capacity before. Until, I recently attended a research event that featured a Mobile Market Research Panel who brought this fact to light.

Since that moment, the capabilities and possibilities of Mobile Market Research have endlessly wandered in my mind. For instance, imagine a demographically and geographically prescreened customer approaches a retail store to do some shopping and ding...their mobile device presents an opportunity to participate in a real-time survey based on the store they are about to enter.

Remember, the mobile device is GPS enabled so when the customer accepts, their movement throughout the retail store will be tracked. As they proceed with their shopping experience, going down aisle per aisle, the customer can not only participate in a real time survey, but also record their experience in both audio and video format. And, take pictures of their experience along the way.

Therefore in theory, everything that would be part of the customer experience is fair game in Mobile Market Research. That would include product display, shelving, store format, parking lots, restrooms, employees, checkout and more. All collected in both quantitative and qualitative real time with no excuses.

This is only one mere example of what can be accomplished with Mobile Market Research. Some say Mobile Market Research is the next big thing. However, with up to 25% of respondents already using mobile devices to participate in market research, it appears Mobile Market Research is not the next big thing. It has in fact already arrived.

Chris Ruby is an award-winning Marketing Research & Consumer Insights Executive with Fortune 500 consulting experience. His niche is the ability to turn complex data into compelling stories that induce a call for action among key decision-makers. His work has been featured by MRA, MRIA, IIR, Norstat Times, Chadwick Martin Bailey & the Optimization Group. Keep up with Chris Ruby by following him on Twitter @ChrisRubyMRX or by reading the Chris Ruby Market Research Blog.