For over 15 years RapSessions, Inc. has been providing marketing research services and strategic insights to a variety of clients, particularly within the consumer packaged goods and service industries. RapSessions conducts a significant portion of their research by organizing product trial studies; throughout the trial period, study participants are asked to provide feedback in the form of responses to paper questionnaires. At the conclusion of the trial period, study moderators discuss the products and the feedback with the participants.
The issue that had to be addressed is that study participants require reminders to ensure that they complete the questionnaires within the required time frame and more reminders to bring their responses to the post-trial discussion sessions. Making reminders is a task that is often very time-consuming when performed manually.
RapSessions, Inc. approached Intechnic with a request to develop raponlinesurvey.com, a web based system that will replace the traditional paper questionnaires, help keep participants on track and informed about their responsibilities, and automate the administration of the market studies. This system would have to be robust and intuitive so as to enable study moderators to generate new online survey forms quickly without sacrificing the flexibility of question structure and format.
Intechnic Corporation has developed the system with two distinct user roles: one for use by study participants, and another for the designated staff and clients of RapSessions, Inc. The participant interface was designed to appeal to the various market groups which commonly participate in the studies. The participant registration process is facilitated by this interface. The main screen of the interface provides the participant with all of the significant study information such as milestones and group session dates. The survey-taking process is very user-friendly with form controls and familiar question layouts.
The Administrative Console of the system includes a flexible permissions system that is used by study moderators to give clients access to their research data, keeping the data readily available and secure. The console’s Study and Group Management features are used by the moderators to input new study questions using intuitive controls. Inputs are then used by the system to automatically generate screens consistent with the participant interface. The console enables moderators to group questions into phases and configure the system to make those phases available to participants during designated time periods, automatically emailing participants reminder e-mail messages before the periods conclude. Numerous other features, such as survey printouts, email template editor, participant progress tracking, statistics and reporting, and modular system architecture for efficient implementation of future enhancements made raponlinesurvey.com an irreplaceable tool for this established market research firm.