On the first day of my 9th grade journalism class, my teacher spent about 20 minutes lecturing the freshmen on asking the right questions. Later that day, he sent us out into the real world (AKA the school hallways) to practice asking open-ended questions. Imagine his frustration when, two weeks later, I came back to class from my first real interview with no better answers than “yeah” and “nope.” How was I going to write a story with these lame answers? I wasn’t.
The same applies to advertising. If you go into a research interview with questions that can have one-word answers, you’re likely to get a bunch of useless one-word answers.
To practice asking the right questions, my Account Planning professor has asked that we demonstrate the power of a question by improving these examples:
1. Have you ever sent a text message while driving?
Better questions: What do you do when you need information quickly and you’re behind the wheel? Where do you keep your phone while you’re driving?
2. Would you say you travel abroad frequently?
Better questions: How many times have you left the country in the past 5 years? When you take trips, why do you take them? (ie business, vacation, to see family)
3. Do you post a lot of pictures on Instagram?
Better questions: What social media apps do you use the most? Do you use Instagram to put up your own pictures or to look at other people’s pictures? How often do you open the Instagram app?
4. Do you prefer to shop at big boxes or locally owned stores?
Better questions: In what ways do you support locally owned businesses? What are your thoughts on big corporations?
5. Do you have an iPhone or an Android phone?
Better questions: What made you choose the phone you currently have? When did you switch from your previous phone company/brand to your current one? And why?
6. How often do you eat sweets?
Better questions: What do you eat on a typical weekday? How important to you is the nutritional value of the food you eat?
7. Do you tend to buy things that are on sale?
Better questions: How carefully do you monitor the prices of items you’re buying? What motivates you to purchase one item over a similar item?
See what I mean? You can find out the same information (and MORE!) by giving your interviewee the chance to elaborate and say more than just yes or no.
The importance of asking the right question is simply to get the right answer. Sometimes it can be helpful to just ask an easy yes or no question, but “less is more” doesn’t really apply in a research setting. When someone elaborates on an answer or tells a story, you (the researcher) can uncover the underlying motives or undisclosed behaviors of that person. Chances are, he or she isn’t the only person who feels that way. Your client deserves to know WHY consumers do what they do, not just that they do it.
The same applies to advertising. If you go into a research interview with questions that can have one-word answers, you’re likely to get a bunch of useless one-word answers.
To practice asking the right questions, my Account Planning professor has asked that we demonstrate the power of a question by improving these examples:
1. Have you ever sent a text message while driving?
Better questions: What do you do when you need information quickly and you’re behind the wheel? Where do you keep your phone while you’re driving?
2. Would you say you travel abroad frequently?
Better questions: How many times have you left the country in the past 5 years? When you take trips, why do you take them? (ie business, vacation, to see family)
3. Do you post a lot of pictures on Instagram?
Better questions: What social media apps do you use the most? Do you use Instagram to put up your own pictures or to look at other people’s pictures? How often do you open the Instagram app?
4. Do you prefer to shop at big boxes or locally owned stores?
Better questions: In what ways do you support locally owned businesses? What are your thoughts on big corporations?
5. Do you have an iPhone or an Android phone?
Better questions: What made you choose the phone you currently have? When did you switch from your previous phone company/brand to your current one? And why?
6. How often do you eat sweets?
Better questions: What do you eat on a typical weekday? How important to you is the nutritional value of the food you eat?
7. Do you tend to buy things that are on sale?
Better questions: How carefully do you monitor the prices of items you’re buying? What motivates you to purchase one item over a similar item?
See what I mean? You can find out the same information (and MORE!) by giving your interviewee the chance to elaborate and say more than just yes or no.
The importance of asking the right question is simply to get the right answer. Sometimes it can be helpful to just ask an easy yes or no question, but “less is more” doesn’t really apply in a research setting. When someone elaborates on an answer or tells a story, you (the researcher) can uncover the underlying motives or undisclosed behaviors of that person. Chances are, he or she isn’t the only person who feels that way. Your client deserves to know WHY consumers do what they do, not just that they do it.