Abstract:

This paper describes the methodology involved in what we have called the "Continuous Qualitative Panel". The tool is a result of the combination of different research techniques, such as individual interviews, group sessions, consumer panels, market surveys and the observation of purchase behavior. The research method has operating and financial advantages and is based on the management of and attention to information needs through the hiring of exclusive project executives who are assigned full time to one specific client. The contract with the client defines the payment of a fixed monthly fee for the research. The technique finds the opinions of the focus segments of the research in an environment in which the researcher is totally at ease, since he/she is selected because his/her experience profile is ideally suited to the industry in question. The technique may be apphed under very varied conditions and it may be focused on goods or services. It can be applied to situations ranging from housewives preparing food at home to the evaluation of the service offered by a salesperson at the sales point. In the first part of the paper, the general operating scheme of the "Continuous Qualitative Panel" is discussed, and in the second part, two real-life applications of the methodology are explained