In the past, traditional focus group market research was a fairly high-cost endeavor with limited market and global reach. Gathering a focus group entailed significant expenditures for participant travel, facility rental, catering, and panel recruitment. Today, in game environments like Second Life, researchers use virtual reality tools to simulate real world research conditions. Very little is lost in the translation while much is gained.
The approaches to market research being conducted today are uncharted territory. For instance, focus group market research may employ only offline strategies, occur only in a virtual reality environment, or may blend real and virtual worlds across digital borders. Second Life is a popular virtual world environment for market research that provides in-world space to redefine the attributes of focus groups.
According to John Lester, Operations Director at Linden Lab, the creators of Second Life,
[Researchers]…don't need our permission to conduct research as long as they do so in a way that is respectful of our community standards. Second Life provides an open platform for creativity and experimentation.LinuxInsider, E-Commerce News 12/30/2008.
In the language of gamers, the geo-restrictions on focus group research are eliminated when market research goes virtual. Participants in online market research can log-in and teleport into the virtual environment from wherever they are located across the globe. The costs associated with market research in virtual reality environments do not even begin to approach the travel and facility costs of conventionally arranged focus groups. For some existing gaming environments, researchers may not be charged any fees to use the virtual world site. If a custom virtual research facility needs to be constructed, the cost may be only a few hours of a coder's time.
Key advantages to virtual reality research are the level of flexibility in setting up a market research effort, and the capability to make fluid changes in tandem with participant responses. Virtual world scenarios that mimic real life can be reconfigured instantaneously, giving researchers insight into real-world consumer behavior. Participants can have complete anonymity. Conducting research on sensitive issues can be more effective when respondents' profiles are hidden. Also, in a mediated interactive research environment, it is possible to prevent or delay the ability of participants to view other responses. This level of control by a mediator can prevent a pattern of copycat responses or undue cross-respondent influence from occurring.
Market researchers are learning that if you can code it, you can research it. Virtual reality environments that foster impressive market research efforts can be used to provide digital data that has real-world application.
