A Blueprint for Sourcing User Research Participants
This three-step process can help you set up and source the participants you need for a successful research project.
Anxious. Paralyzed. Lost. The time has come for you to connect with users to get feedback on your product feature and you are not sure where to start. Where are they? How do I reach them? How can I make it worth their time?
Recruiting participants for research is challenging and time-intensive. In this narrative, I’ll share some methods for sourcing and engaging participants for research. With this knowledge, you will soon be on a path to participant recruiting success.
Step One: Collecting Data
To start your panel and scale it over time you will need some sort of landing page to collect and manage data about your participants, such as their demographics, how they use your product, etc. More importantly, to be compliant with data privacy laws you will need to track participant opt-in and opt-out history. You do not want to contact people who do not want to hear from you. This is #1 for GDPR and other data privacy regulations. Before you proceed, consult counsel for specific language and protocol that maps to your company processes.
To keep it simple, start by using a survey tool like Qualtrics or SurveyMonkey to collect your participant data. The benefit is that you can easily customize the questions you’re asking panelists upon sign-up. Once you have a central place to direct participants and a single place to manage the information you know about them, recruitment becomes a lot easier to execute.
As you grow over time, a simple survey may not be robust enough to manage your recruitment workflows. At this point, consider investing in a participant database tool like UserInterviews, Vision Critical, or you can build a customized solution in a tool like Salesforce (insert shameless plug on how I did this at my current company).
Step Two: Crafting your Narrative
Your second activity will be to create communication that gets people excited to participate.
Take a moment to summarize your research goals. Think through the tactics. Are you looking for consistent participant involvement over several months? What is the time commitment for your participants? What are your study dates and what is your timezone?
Once specifics are set, you can then translate your goals to paper and ask your recipients to participate. Include details that set expectations and share up-front what they will receive. Will they directly impact the roadmap of your feature? Will they get a copy of the study findings afterward? Will they receive compensation? Sweetening the deal with rewards means your participants will be more likely to invest their time in your research. And hello, low no-show rates.
Here’s a completely made-up research invitation example:
Hello,
My name is Noel and I’m a Product Manager at Generic Jeans. I’m looking to better understand how our customers select and purchase denim using our website.
I’m seeking customers who have recently shopped for jeans online to complete a 45-minute interview over Zoom later this month. Your input will improve the design and functionality of our website and you’ll receive a $100 merchandise credit to Generic Jeans in exchange for your time.
If you are interested in participating, please sign up here <insert sign-up link>.
Have a denim day,
Noel
Step Three: Sourcing Participants
Now for the real reason you’re here. Here are a few ideas on where to engage participants.
Communities
Tap into existing communities such as LinkedIn groups or company forums. If your company has one, you can partner with your social media team to connect with followers on Twitter, Facebook, or any platform where your company has a presence.
Friends & Family
Your own personal network is a great place to recruit participants. You just might be surprised to learn how many qualified users or consumers went to your high school or live right next door.
Support Tickets
By the time users are engaging Support, they are already primed to provide feedback. Capitalize on it. Follow-up on support tickets and emails, or include a link to your landing page in customer support agent email signatures.
Marketing Communications
Your company likely has a Marketing department that already communicates with customers. Piggyback on the messages they are already sending.
In-app Modals
Everything has an online presence nowadays, which is panel-building gold. Place feedback and research opt-in mechanisms in-app, and engage with users when they’re actively engaging with your brand. Some third-party’s offer site intercept solutions that accomplish the same thing.
Training Documentation
If your company provides help & training documentation, include your research landing page and offer research as an outlet for user feedback.
External Vendors
Recruiting vendors are becoming more common and more accessible, and there are many benefits to outsourcing participant recruitment. If your research program is less about building relationships with customers and more transactional in nature, then partnering with a vendor might be your best approach.
I hope these tips help you establish your recruiting process and improve the quality of your research participants. For future ResearchOps tidbits, follow me on Medium. Thanks for reading.
