The looking glass

Folding chairs around a card table and a video camera in the corner just won’t cut it. Liz Sykes looks at the options for today’s viewing facilities.

Viewing Facilities have become much more important to clients than many researchers realise. Years ago, who would have guessed they would become the face of qualitative research’ But a glance through through press articles and television clips about qual will inevitably turn up scenes of focus groups in viewing facilities. In fact, in a recent feature in Campaign about the funniest research anecdotes, six out of 10 were from viewing facilities. But when viewing facilities first appeared in the UK, there were little outside central London. To provide sophistication and validation, these ‘viewing laboratories’ had an air of science about them. These original facilities, however, did not provide the relaxed experience they do today. Observing group discussions whilst trying to eat a finger buffet in the dark and attempting to understand the dynamics of qualitative research was more than most clients could cope with. Despite this, they managed to realise the value of witnessing ‘live’ research, and the resulting surge in demand has led to more and more facilities opening all over the country.

And the makeup or organisations running viewing facilities has also changed. Originally, only companies whose main business was research opened their own facilities. This has changed in recent years as advertising agencies, brand consultancies, as well as university research departments and some innovative hotels have jumped on the bandwagon. Nowadays, perhaps not surprisingly, even major client companies are in the process of setting up their own viewing facilities. It will be interesting to see if they use for in-house research or if they will decide to rent them out to other users.

In North America shopping malls and some larger stores, built-in studios are now par for the course. It remains to be seen whether that happens in Europe. Perhaps some of the major supermarkets or retailers will take the lead. There’s no doubt that viewing facility offerings are now a well established market - but it’s also an uncertain one. It’s now time to take stock, nurture the businesses and work together to maintain standards.

THE BIGGEST PROBLEM facing viewing facilities at the moment is price-cutting. Recent increases in competition and decreases in demand and budgets have shifted the power into the client’s favour, causing many facilities to undercut each other to win work. This may seem like an attractive proposition for clients, but it’s a short-term solution. If the market continues in this way it will drive many companies out of business, creating a monopoly that will hike up prices when the market changes.

Viewing facility companies need to safeguard their businesses now, not by cutting costs and corners but by adding value. Giving good service and value for money will keep everyone happy. In business no-one wants to see standards suffer as costs get stripped to the bone. Some people are already offering incentives - cases of wine, vouchers, a glass of champagne - these are much better options and easier to re-evaluate once the marketplace changes.

GOOD SERVICE is the key to survival for any good facility. Businesses that stand out are those who add value to the concept of ‘renting a space’. This type of value is more intuitive and physical than financial. The intuition stems from having a good understanding of the research process and being able to deal quickly and efficiently with the inevitable hitches that can occur whenever dealing with the general public. Companies must be sensitive towards moderators who may be feeling nervous and anxious, or clients worrying about what their bosses will think of the outcome of their research. These are things it’s difficult to accommodate without experience, so it’s worth investing in good training. Physical benefits can include such things as providing a private space for clients to work or rest and offering a good range of services for the busy executive. One of the key attributes of any good facility is providing great food. Thankfully the quality of food has improved tremendously in the past few years. Several companies now have in-house chefs, and lots use caterers or provide good take-away menus for different ethnic foods. Tastes have become much more refined, and, of course, there are more people with varied dietary requirements. In this day and age there’s no excuse for viewing facilities to serve up limp sandwiches and soggy sausage rolls.

THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY is gradually increasing in viewing facilities. At the moment, VHS and audio taping are still the most requested mediums, but facilities will soon have to move to digital recording in order to respond to clients’ increasing need to add research findings to debriefs and presentations. Although there has been a decrease in the amount of web research requiring technology suites for online groups due to the downturn in this sector, it’s expected this area will expand once more. Facilities will have to look towards the increased use of video-conferencing, and viewing via web cams or internet relay chat will be particularly relevant for the North American market. The biggest headache at the moment is the introduction of digital television as there are a number of available suppliers, each offering different packages and service, and there seems to be little consistency with client requests. Facilities will need to work hard to stay on the ball in this area.

AS THE NUMBER of facilities has increased, a number of new styles have emerged. Facilities are now housed in all kinds of building, often with the style reflecting their personality. This can work wonders. For example, listed buildings with period features are now very popular with North Americans as they like some history with their research. A young, trendy image works well with early adopters and less traditional business people. Some facilities have a choice of different room styles - so you can do groups in a kitchen or a dining room instead of around a corporate meeting table. Others are being upgraded to capitalise on the increasing numbers of businesses and professional groups that require servicing. Another rapidly growing area is children’s research, which has encouraged facilities owners to look at ways of making children feel more comfortable.

Many clients now have their favourite facilities and have negotiated special rates. Clients usually choose venues because there are very close geographically, or in an area within a competitor’s heartland. Sometimes it is simply because they love the food and the people. Clients have been known to be so sure of where they want to be that they book facility before they commission the research.

Liz Sykes is chairperson of the Viewing Facilities Association and managing director of The Front Room.

Special Report - Research, March 2002, Issue 430