User research: Where to find the right product users?

Article Description: user research: Where to find the right product users?

When conducting user research (especially qualitative research), we often choose the methods of testing, interviewing and focus groups, and need to find the right users to observe, at which time, the user recruitment nature becomes an indispensable part of the work. Recruiting users is tedious, indeed, and it's about determining who to recruit, finding them, arranging time appointments and getting them there to help us accomplish our tasks. Recruiting users requires the ability to communicate with strangers and to coordinate externally, and you will be able to handle the challenges of recruiting and recruit representative user samples to participate in the research.
The recruiting process can be condensed into a few questions:

Where to find users?

In general, we recruit users have the following channels:

1. The company user database extracts the external real user

Collect user data by allowing users to fill out questionnaires online. In the recruitment, the first rough screening of eligible users, and then one by one screening, to find some more close to the needs of the target users.

Obviously, for companies that often need to recruit users, self-built user database is a relatively good choice, the first is that users from different channels, the number of more abundant, both representative, but also to reflect the authenticity and objectivity of samples.

2. Company internal users

Internal personnel refers to colleagues within the company, according to the requirements of the project, the following circumstances may be considered to recruit internal users:

• When the usability test is tested for testing, an internal person can be invited;
• Internal personnel and target users have the same characteristics, and not familiar with the product;
• In some cases, insiders have more stringent requirements for products than outsiders, and will not hesitate to point out more questions and to keep new products confidential.

3. External Questionnaire Link

Some products are more difficult to directly recruit the actual target users, generally we will produce online questionnaires, the link to the questionnaire published in some websites or forums, collecting questionnaires data. This approach is a relatively easy way to find the actual target users we need, and users are willing to participate in our follow-up activities.

4. Introduction through acquaintances

If the above channels are unable to find the right participants, and the time is more urgent circumstances, we will be familiar with people around to help introduce some eligible users, but these users can not understand the project moderator. This approach is basically not necessary, only the individual products in the recruitment difficulties, will consider this channel to assist us to complete the recruitment.

How to identify the right users?

The following procedures are for recruiting external users and internal users:

• The process of recruiting external real users

We are initially screened from the database users, often more than the actual number of people, and not necessarily every user is appropriate, so the next thing to do is to call the user one by one to identify the actual situation.

The first telephone screening, we generally use the following process:

In this process, you may experience the following problems:

The user wondered how you would know his phone number?

Users do not necessarily remember to leave their own contact, at this point we need to explain to the user clearly, it can be said: "You have recently completed a questionnaire on our website, asked for your wishes, if you are willing to accept our later telephone interviews, please leave the phone number for us to contact you". This is the actual situation, the user is voluntary leave contact telephone, naturally will dispel the doubt in mind.

Is this annoying investigation/phone interview again?

Some users have formed an inertia aversion to the word "survey". So do not have to mechanically, we can chat the way to start talking with users: "This time in order to optimize our XXX product design, I would like to know the usual use of the habit and use of the problems encountered, so as to facilitate our improvement of our products." Most users will be happy to take our questions and even say a lot of things that we didn't think of beforehand. The user who is good at communicating, will tell a story by the way to tell the situation that oneself encounters.

Are you xx company? How can I trust you?

Telephone screening because of the inability to visit the company site, the two sides have only sound communication, often to the user suspicious. In general, we will explain to the user from the following points, such as "How do we get the user's contact method?" "What is the purpose of our telephone screening?" "Our phone screening process does not require users to disclose important, private information, and later we have research activities need to invite you to participate, you can go to our company to witness the scene." When communicating with the user, the terminology must be polite, firm in attitude, moderate in speed and cordial in tone.

I'm not free, how much time do you have to delay me?

Call to the user may disturb the user's life and work, when the user said inconvenient, should be respected, stop the interview, ask the user convenient time, must be in the agreed time point again to the telephone interview. Questions should be as concise as possible, the problem should be focused, as long as we know we need to collect the information can be completed.

About demographics users are reluctant to disclose, what is the good?

Some users are particularly sensitive to personal information, do not want to disclose the exact information, then can be asked in a different way: "Can you disclose your income range/age range?" "To get the most accurate information, you can at least understand the general situation." If users do not want to disclose, we should respect the user, no longer cross-examine.

User attitude is not correct, the opportunity to chat?

When a user asks a staff member for personal information, the staff member can be clearly rejected on the basis of his or her personal job responsibilities.

After the first telephone screening, should check the existing user data to confirm that each has not participated in similar user research activities. For those who have participated in such activities, they may be simply exaggerated for the sake of remuneration and should pay more attention to it.

In order to avoid the "pest" and improve the quality of recruitment in the entire recruitment process, attention should be paid to the timely updating of the user database:

• Before the telephone screening, from the Userpool (user database) to extract user information, excluding previous participants in the research activities
• At the end of the project execution phase, be sure to mark the user information for this activity in the Userpool (user database)

At this point, we also need to select the more suitable candidates, as well as the screening process, that is, the second telephone screening; the second screening is relatively simple:

• Re-verify that they have the required conditions (again with the user verbally confirm the key information is correct).
• Verify whether they have time on the day of the activity.
• Inform the activity in advance of the duration of the event, the general content of the activity, as well as other considerations (such as video and audio recordings, etc.).
• Tell them what kind of compensation they can give.
• To determine whether they are good participants (whether they can do sound thinking, are they good at expressing?) ）。

After the second telephone screening is over, send the invitation message to inform the user of the time, place, activity content. The message should contain the following information:

• Route to test site (self-driving and bus route)
• Parking place
• Test the location of the room
• The telephone number of the staff who arrange the test in time when the emergency occurs
• Confidentiality agreements (if any) so that they can read before the test

By this time, the recruitment process is nearing completion, and the next call confirms that the user has received an email invitation and reiterates the notice (note to inform the user of the time and place of the event).

Finally, the user arrives at the scene, receives the user. Generally, users should be called to verify that they are able to participate in the event and answer any queries from users before they reach the site.

• Recruiting internal user processes

The recruitment of internal users compared to save time and effort, the process is relatively simple and easy, the user screening process and the recruitment of external real user process is roughly the same, determine the right person, agreed to facilitate the time to participate in activities.

How do you compensate users for the time they pay?

After the second screening, to determine the solicitation of users to come, should be in the invitation to send a message to inform the user that we will pay a certain amount as compensation. Invite outside users to participate in the event, the remuneration will be depending on the content of the activity and the length of time spent. At the end of the event, the corresponding compensation should be handed to the user and express heartfelt thanks to the user.