Happy Easter from all of us at Saros!  enjoy the latest Saros news...

At last.. Spring is in the Air!

What does this mean for market research and respondent recruitment?  Times of change still abound with the election pending, and the recession and thrift-consciousness trend is leaving in its wake a wave of highly motivated and opinionated consumers. They're signing up with the Saros database at the rate of several thousand per month, and we hope you get to meet some of them in one of your projects soon!  Whilst we continue to recommend overrecruitment wherever feasible, great turnout rates are another knock-on effect of enthusiastic and more hard-up respondents, and this is one legacy of the downturn that we hope will run and run.

New from Saros - Online Conferencing

Need to do a depth 200 miles away, or with a respondent who is housebound, too time-poor, or let down by transport arrangements? 

Let us come to your rescue with our new webconferencing application - we can set up a dedicated private meeting room for your interview, and instruct and support respondents in set-up and use of equipment (all you, and they, need is a webcam and headset).  You can also bring small groups together in this way, so everyone can see and interact with everybody else (for full-sized groups we recommend webstreaming live from The Meadow). 

Of course it's not the same as 'being there'... but for those times when you simply can't be with the respondent in person, video adds depth to your interaction that a telephone interview simply cannot match - and with full conferencing capabilities, you can also present/share stimulus documents and images, even allowing respondents to annotate and text chat at the same time.  Saros can handle the technical side and document sharing, leaving you free to moderate and interact, getting more from your remote fieldwork than ever before.  And all without leaving your desk!

As well as interviews, our webconferencing service is also a great way to conduct briefing and update meetings with your Saros Project Manager, to look at recruitment documentation and screeners together, and ensure the clearest possible communication at all times.

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Topline Takeout...

You know how clients like to grab you for your immediate impressions of their research, as your head swims from moderating a lively and challenging group?  Well, we like to do the same with the respondents (next morning generally, so they get more time to think about it than you do).  What is the most important memory they take away from the group?  Forget the stunning presentation, skilled facilitation, and carefully-selected venue... the most powerful impression is created by the refreshments, almost every time! 

So, qualitative inference: nice sandwiches are your best investment in cheerful and responsive participants.  Don't forget the second group, in London and other urban centres they haven't had time to go home and eat so will be starving, and the biggest no-no of all, don't leave the second group to pick through the leftovers from the earlier lot!

Don't forget to ask your Saros Project Manager if you'd like to know what respondents thought about your latest moderating performance.

Unfortunately the refreshments table is no longer an option for the Saros team - we are committed to tackling the literally growing health problem we all recognise, known as 'Homeworkers Backside'.  With a commute measured in seconds, dealing with the challenges and deadlines of qualitative research recruitment means being glued to our laptops and phones all day and sometimes long into the night - our lifestyles are often NOT the most active ones around. We needed a push to get out and exercise, so we've signed up with Fitbug for a group pedometer challenge.  Who will be the winner of our 'Fantasy Footfall' league for April?  We know that a healthy happy team makes for better service for you our clients, as well as making Saros a great place to work - so as the evenings get longer and warmer, watch out for Saros Steppers enjoying quick power walks!

Have a great Easter, and eat all the chocolate on our behalf,

The Saros Team

http://www.saros-research-recruitment.com