Why Online Qualitative Research Works Well With Over-50s

Here at Further, we not only do we provide our clients with an intuitive market research technology to conduct qualitative online research, we also act as research partner and give great advice to beginners and experts alike.

A client recently confronted me with questions about a study where they wanted to engage 50-70 year olds. The client was concerned that a study of this group would be difficult to run. They feared, that they would have trouble attracting this particular age group and they were unsure how best to engage with them, and so asked for our advice.

This got me thinking about the ‘challenges’ about conducting online market research with this group. It got me thinking about three things:

1. 50-70 year olds are more connected than we perceive.

   Research in the Journal of International Consumer Marketing* indicates In the UK 31% of the 38.8 million of us who have Internet access are aged 50+. So online market research shouldn’t be synonymous with just the young and connect generations. Moreover the over 50s are more likely to be part of panels or signed up for Market Research, far more than say millennial males.

2. Attention! Span.

   One thing to consider is that in our experience the over 50s general deliver fuller more long-handed responses. They are more likely to spend longer on communities than younger generations who have generally shorter attention spans. Recent work with Her Majesty's Passport Office bore this out, where we conducted user testing with older groups overseas.

3. Engagement.

   Just like with any other community, we recommend a range of different activities. A mixture of blogs, picture or video mark-ups, discussions, surveys and polls keep people engaged and interested. Further's online market research technology can help you set these activities.

If you are interested to find out how Further can help you with online community research with all types of age groups, then get in touch with our experts