The chatbot

Research is a profession that should be carried out by experts. The biggest threat to quick and cost-efficient research is that the quality is almost always suffering. DVJ wants research to remain good. Even when it is quick and against low cost. For this reason, we regularly share examples of mistakes and best practises in the market. We share our thoughts and possible solutions to improve research. By following these tips, we can make research better. This time the honour belonged to Research Expert Fons van Workum.

I’m a market researcher. I like research. I fill out lots of questionnaires to keep up with things. And despite my enthusiasm I still catch myself drifting into this dull autopilot mode whilst filling them out. This happens more often than I would like to admit. If a questionnaire can’t keep the attention of an overly involved survey nerd, the odds of it entertaining regular respondents are never in its favour.

However, the example I’m sharing today is a positive one – just to provide some welcome relief from the daily tsunami of bad news that we’re so used to. Just the other day I stumbled upon a questionnaire that did things a little differently. It took me by the hand and helped me along. And as with many things in life, these little things matter.

The standard, clinical lay-out was out of the window. Its replacement: a chat-like environment accompanied by an energising tone-of-voice. This combination gives the impression of real-time interaction:

Figure 1

Bonus points would have been scored if the avatar actually showed a human face, just to add to the experience, but still.

There was no focus on the extrinsically motivated incentive. Instead, the chatbot provided me with a challenge: ‘you’re going to help us by executing the next assignment!’.

Brief encouragements along the way made me forget that a previously programmed piece of code is trying to make me feel better, and before I knew it I found myself immersed in this adventure with the goal to complete the challenge – this was no longer about finishing just a questionnaire.

After the screener questions: ‘Okay, you’re ready.’

Figure 2

After completing a set of evaluation statements: ‘It’s going great!’

Figure 3

The combination of appealing visualisation and positive tone-of-voice can easily be integrated in a plethora of research types. I recommend incorporating it in your next research project, since the encouraging, energising environment was truly a welcome relief!