MarketLink offers a wide range of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies - each project custom-designed to meet our client's learning objectives. Hallmarks of every MarketLink assignment are tenacious attention to detail and careful stewardship of our client's money. We believe in treating respondents with respect and adhere to a win-win philosophy in our interactions with partnering research facilities.
A majority of MarketLink projects involve traditional focus group research, and for most of our clients, we provide turnkey service - including selection and payment of facilities, creation of an appropriate screening questionnaire, development of the discussion guide, and payment of respondent incentives. The MarketLink founder, Mike Bixler, personally moderates all groups, performs the analysis, and writes the report of findings. He has been conducting consumer and business-to-business focus groups for more than 15 years across a broad range of consumer, industrial, financial, and medical categories.
MarketLink has developed strong alliances with a number of research firms over the years - firms specializing in one or more quantitative methodologies. Through partnerships with these alliances, MarketLink offers clients a variety of quantitative research services that utilize established networks of mall-intercept interviewing capabilities, trained and supervised WATS telephone interviewing, national household consumer mail panels, and on-line omnibus surveying. Through these alliances, we have successfully conducted scores of concept tests, packaging studies, taste tests, and Attitude, Awareness & Usage studies for our clients. As with most MarketLink qualitative research, all of our quantitative projects are offered as turnkey services, and clients are assured of highest possible security, close supervision of all aspects of the research, and complete confidentiality.
When traditional focus groups are not appropriate, MarketLink offers clients other qualitative methodologies such as 1-on-1 in-depth interviews, dyads or triads. The exploration of packaging graphics and print advertising creative concepts, for example, are issues that involve more personal and intimate interaction between the stimulus and respondent and therefore benefit from more focused one-on-one exploration. When the learning objective calls for greater immersion into the behavior and culture of respondents, MarketLink recommends its ethnographic or observational research services. And, when the nature of a project represents a good fit with the Internet's capabilities, we offer our clients on-line "bulletin-board" panels.