Introduction: Harnessing the Power of WhatsApp for Market Research

In the digital age, connecting with your target audience and capturing valuable insights is essential for business success. With the widespread usage of WhatsApp in Africa and its cost-effectiveness, leveraging this popular messaging app and platform for market research can revolutionize your data collection efforts. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore how to launch surveys through WhatsApp, enabling you to reach your audience, engage with them effectively, and capture qualitative and quantitative insights for your market research.

Understanding the Power of WhatsApp in Market Research

Embracing the Reach of WhatsApp

WhatsApp has emerged as a ubiquitous communication tool, connecting individuals across borders and cultures. In Africa, WhatsApp's popularity is unparalleled, with a wide user base spanning various demographic segments. By harnessing the power of WhatsApp for market research, you can tap into this vast network and reach respondents who are otherwise difficult to engage.

Overcoming Connectivity and Cost Barriers

One of the key advantages of using WhatsApp for surveys is its low data consumption and affordable usage. In Africa, where data costs can be a barrier to digital engagement, WhatsApp's efficiency and accessibility make it an ideal platform for capturing insights. By launching surveys through WhatsApp, you ensure that respondents from all income brackets and areas can easily participate and share their valuable feedback.

How can I use WhatsApp for market research?

In this section, we will provide a step by step guide for each method to help you get started.

There are mainly three ways in which you can use WhatsApp for market research:

• Focus Groups
• Build your own Survey WhatsApp Chatbot
• Pair up with a company that already has a WhatsApp survey bot

You can also create polls and use the WhatsApp poll feature in both individual and group chats, making it easy to collect quick feedback and opinions directly within your chats.

When using focus groups, you can set up group chats and utilize WhatsApp polls to gather opinions from multiple participants at once, streamlining the process of collecting group feedback.

If you choose to build your own Survey WhatsApp Chatbot, you can also create polls and use the poll feature for quick feedback, making it a versatile tool for both detailed surveys and simple polls.

Using WhatsApp for research is convenient, as you can conduct polls directly within chats and group chats using the WhatsApp polls feature, allowing for real-time responses and efficient data collection.

But before you use the different avenues, you still have to first get access to a WhatsApp API:

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Focus Groups

Utilising a WhatsApp group as a focus group can be an innovative and efficient way to conduct qualitative market research. Focus groups offer a unique opportunity to delve deeper into consumers’ thoughts, opinions, and experiences. When conducted on WhatsApp, focus groups benefit from the convenience and ease of online communication.

Pros of using focus groups

• Real-time interactions: WhatsApp allows for instant communication, making it ideal for collecting quick responses to open questions, surveys or polls
• The ability to facilitate dynamic discussions, uncover nuanced insights, and observe group dynamics in real-time. Participants can freely interact, respond to prompts, and bounce ideas off one another, fostering rich conversations.
• For certain questions, you can allow participants to provide multiple answers, which can enrich the discussion and the data collected.
• High engagement: The familiarity and convenience of WhatsApp make it easy for participants to engage actively, resulting in a higher response rate compared to other methods.
• Additionally, WhatsApp groups allow for anonymity, which can encourage participants to express honest opinions without fear of judgement.

However, there are cons to consider.

• Focus groups have a small sample size, limiting generalisability.
• The group dynamic may lead to conformity biases, where participants influence one another’s responses.
• It’s also essential to manage time effectively and ensure all participants have an equal chance to contribute.

Overall, using WhatsApp groups as focus groups can yield valuable qualitative data, but it’s important to carefully plan and moderate the discussions to minimise bias and maximise insights.

An Example.

Let’s say I am conducting a diary study on 60 people. And we want to know which products they use in the kitchen on a daily basis. This diary study will be split into 3 Days.

If I was doing a diary study through Whatsapp, I would

1. Add them to a group
2. I would have them answer questions for Day 1 that I have prepared for them within the group. Wait for them to answer then ask the next question and so forth. The Next Day at a certain time, I would start doing Day 2 of the Diary study with them.
3. If someone has not indicated that they are ready for the task, I would quickly ring them to remind them about the task.

Creating Effective Surveys for WhatsApp

Creating effective WhatsApp surveys is something I've gotten pretty good at after working with the platform for a while, and let me tell you—understanding the unique vibe of WhatsApp is absolutely crucial. Since folks are almost always going to be tapping away on their phones (not sitting at a desktop like with traditional surveys), you've got to design something that's snappy, engaging, and super easy to navigate. I've found that keeping surveys short—ideally under 10 questions, though honestly sometimes even fewer is better—really maximizes response rates, and making sure each question is crystal clear and straightforward just makes sense. What I like to do is throw in a mix of question types: multiple choice for those quick tap-and-go responses, rating scales for getting people's opinions, and some open-ended questions when you really want folks to share their thoughts in detail. Multiple choice questions are honestly a game-changer for quick responses (people love them), while those open-ended questions let respondents dive deeper and give you the good stuff—detailed feedback that's actually useful. By focusing on clarity and keeping things brief, you'll see way more people actually finish your WhatsApp surveys, and that means you're getting higher quality data and insights you can actually act on.

Using Rating Scales and Question Types

When you're putting together WhatsApp surveys, folks, mixing up your question types is absolutely key to pulling in solid insights and spotting trends among the people you're surveying. Rating scales—those are perfect for figuring out customer satisfaction or what products people actually dig. You might throw out something like, "On a scale of 1 to 5, how satisfied are you with our service?"—and honestly, it's a breeze for customers to tap out a quick response on their phones (which is kind of the whole point with WhatsApp surveys). Multiple choice questions are great for keeping things moving smoothly and saving everyone time—both you and the folks filling out your survey—while open-ended questions give people room to really dive into the nuanced stuff. For instance, after hitting them with a rating scale question, you could follow up with something like, "What could we do to improve your experience?" This combo of question types not only keeps your WhatsApp surveys from being a total slog but also ensures you're gathering both the numbers data and the story-behind-the-numbers data, which helps you spot trends and make business decisions that actually make sense.

WhatsApp Survey Features: Real-Time Interactions and Engagement

One thing that really makes WhatsApp surveys stand out is how you can actually vibe with your respondents in real time—it's pretty cool. Since WhatsApp is basically an instant messaging platform, you can collect feedback and jump in to answer folks' questions as they come up, which creates this really dynamic and interactive survey experience that feels way more natural. This real-time back-and-forth is especially clutch for market research, since you can clarify confusing questions on the spot, address people's concerns, and keep them engaged when they might otherwise drop off. I've found that leveraging WhatsApp's chat-based format helps you create this conversational atmosphere where respondents actually feel heard and valued, and that leads to way richer data and more meaningful insights than you'd get otherwise. Whether you're running quick polls or diving deep with longer surveys, being able to interact in real time helps you collect feedback efficiently and pivot your approach based on what people are telling you right then and there.

Build a survey or data collection WhatsApp chatbot

Whatsapp allows you to build bots on top of it, so this can be a way for you to create a Google form type bot that is purely based on Whatsapp for your research needs. To get started, make sure to configure your account settings to activate the WhatsApp survey feature on your chosen platform.

Unfortunately, I can’t get into the nitty-gritty of creating a bot, but here’s a link to an article that takes it into detail. Click here . But here is a small outline:

1. Set up your WhatsApp bot and configure account settings.
2. Design a WhatsApp questionnaire that is mobile-friendly and customizable for different respondents.
3. Generate and share a survey link with your audience to invite survey participants.
4. Recruit and manage survey participants to ensure effective data collection.
5. Monitor and analyze survey responses collected through the bot in real time.
6. Integrate WhatsApp messages with survey tools or automation platforms to enhance communication and engagement with respondents after they submit their responses.

2. Pricing considerations when choosing a bot platform:

• Subscription Plans: Different bot platform providers offer various pricing models, such as monthly subscriptions based on the number of active users or messages sent. Consider your anticipated usage and growth projections to choose a plan that aligns with your budget.
• Scalability: Consider the pricing structure's scalability as your user base grows. Some platforms may offer cost advantages or volume discounts for larger user counts, allowing you to align pricing with your expanding research needs.

3. Choosing a Bot Platform: Technical vs. Non-Technical Ease of Use and Customizability:

• Technical Platforms: Platforms that require coding and technical expertise offer greater customizability and flexibility. You can create highly tailored solutions, connect to your own database, and implement complex logic. However, they may require developer involvement, making them more suitable for teams with technical skills or dedicated developers.
• Non-Technical Platforms: No-code or low-code bot platforms provide an easier, non-technical interface for building bots. They offer pre-built templates and drag-and-drop functionality, allowing users without coding experience to create bots quickly. While they may have limitations on customization and integration options, they offer a more accessible solution for research teams with limited technical resources.
• Consider Your Needs: Assess the complexity of your research requirements, desired level of customization, and available technical resources. If you have specific data integration needs or require advanced logic, a more technical platform may be worth the investment. Conversely, if ease of use and quick deployment are key considerations, a non-technical platform may be more suitable.

Platforms you can choose from:

• Landbot
• Chatfuel
• Manychat
• Engati
• Wati

Pros:

1. Customisation: Building your own research bot allows you to tailor it precisely to your research needs. You have full control over the design, conversation flows, and features, ensuring they align with your specific objectives and target audience.
2. Flexibility: With a self-built bot, you can adapt and iterate based on feedback and evolving research requirements. You have the freedom to make changes and optimisations as needed without relying on external support or limitations.
3. Data Ownership: By building your own bot, you maintain complete ownership and control over the data collected. This allows you to handle data privacy and security according to your standards and compliance requirements.

Cons:

1. Time and Resources: Building a research bot from scratch requires time, technical expertise, and resources. You need to invest in development, testing, and ongoing maintenance, which may not be feasible for everyone, especially smaller research teams with limited budgets or technical skills.
2. Learning Curve: If you or your team are not familiar with bot development, there may be a learning curve involved. Acquiring the necessary skills and knowledge can take time, potentially delaying your research initiatives.
3. Limited Audience Reach: Building your own bot means you need to invest in growing and engaging your own audience. This may take time and effort to build a substantial participant base, impacting the diversity and representativeness of your data.

A WhatsApp chatbot is also a good route because you can immediately download the data you collected into a Google Sheet to be analysed and used to fuel your growth.

Pair up a company that already has a WhatsApp survey bot

This is also an option if you are not the type to want to deal with the technical side of things. Don't have to worry about developers and admin fees but just want to be able to use the chatbot. Pair up with a company that already has a WhatsApp chatbot and leverage its software to launch your research project on WhatsApp. It's best to pair up with a company that has experience doing market research through WhatsApp with their chatbot. *hint hint askyazi.com.

A chatbot is usually ideal since the participants can respond to your questions whenever they can at their own pace. They are also ideal for mass qualitative research.

Within a chatbot, you can ask them different types of questions as well. You can ask your participants to answer your questions in the following formats

Pros:

1. Established Audience: Using a pre-built research bot from a company with an existing audience provides access to a large and diverse pool of participants. This can save time and effort in recruiting participants, ensuring a broader reach and potentially more representative data.
2. Expertise and Support: Research bot providers that specialise in surveying and research have extensive experience and expertise. They often provide support, best practices, and technical assistance, helping you optimise your research process.
3. Time and Cost Savings: Utilising a pre-built research bot can save you development time and costs associated with building your own bot from scratch. It allows you to focus on research design and analysis rather than technical implementation.

Cons:

1. Limited Customisation: Pre-built research bots may have limitations in customisation. While they offer predefined templates and configurations, they may not fully align with your specific research needs or allow extensive modifications to suit your objectives.
2. Data Access and Ownership: When using a pre-built research bot, you may have limited control over the data collected. The provider may have access to the data or impose restrictions on data ownership and usage, which could impact your research process and data privacy compliance.
3. Dependence on External Factors: Relying on an external provider means you are dependent on their platform's stability, uptime, and availability. Any issues or changes on their end could impact your research process and data collection.

Once you are done creating the survey chatbot ,you'll have to recruit people to do your your study

Tips for Successful WhatsApp Surveys

To make sure your WhatsApp surveys actually work (and don't just annoy folks), I've found there are a few key things you need to nail down. First off, keep those surveys short and focused—I can't stress this enough because long or overly complex questions will have people bailing out faster than you can say "completion rate." Use simple, direct language and skip the jargon or super technical stuff (your users will thank you for it). Here's where WhatsApp really shines: take advantage of those built-in features by throwing in some emojis, images, or short videos to make your surveys way more engaging and interactive than boring old text. Before you launch anything, test it thoroughly—and I mean really put it through its paces to make sure all questions display correctly and the survey flow feels smooth for users (trust me, there's nothing worse than finding out your survey is broken after you've already sent it to hundreds of people). By focusing on clarity, keeping things brief, and prioritizing user experience, you'll end up with WhatsApp surveys that folks actually want to complete and that deliver solid, high-quality data for whatever research you're working on.

Survey Performance and Response Rates

Tracking how your WhatsApp surveys are performing is something I think every marketer should get comfortable with—it's honestly the best way to figure out what's actually working and where you're missing the mark. From what I've seen, response rates can be all over the place depending on things like how long your survey is, whether folks find your questions too complex, and just how engaging the whole experience feels for people taking it. I've found that using skip logic to customize the survey flow based on what people answered earlier really helps boost participation, and throwing in multiple choice questions makes it way easier for folks to jump in and respond. Offering some kind of incentive—maybe a discount or small reward—can be a game changer for getting more people to actually finish your survey. The key thing I've learned is that you've got to regularly review how your surveys are doing so you can spot what's working well and tweak the stuff that isn't quite hitting the mark for better participation and data quality.

Monitoring and Improving Response Rates

If you're looking to effectively monitor and boost response rates for your WhatsApp surveys (and trust me, this stuff really works), I'd recommend diving into analytics tools that track the key metrics—things like completion rates, response times, and those pesky drop-off points where folks just bail out. For example, I've noticed that when there's a high drop-off rate at a particular question, it's usually because the question is way too complex or just plain confusing—so I'll try simplifying the wording or breaking it down into bite-sized chunks (this approach has saved me countless times). Reviewing this data lets you make those informed changes that actually enhance the survey experience and keep more respondents engaged enough to finish the whole thing. By continuously optimizing your WhatsApp surveys based on real-time feedback and analytics (which is honestly where the magic happens), your business can gather way more valuable insights and drive better results from your market research efforts.

How can you recruit participants for WhatsApp research?

Now a question you might be asking yourself is, “ Okay I want to give WhatsApp a try for my research and experience the benefits firsthand, but how do I recruit people for my research?

Well, that is quite straightforward. You can do it in 3 different ways:

1. Recruit through Social media (Facebook ads, Instagram Ads, Twitter Ads)
2. Create a WhatsApp Link that you can make people scan through a QR code and/or put it in an email and run a cold campaign.
3. Build a referral Campaign

We use these strategies as well to build our own panel that you can use. Check out our audience page for more info.

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Create a WhatsApp link or QR code:

QR Code

‍ QR codeswork if you are going more in person. An example I can give you is if you were doing research in the townships of South Africa. Specifically, you are looking for people who buy at spazas and tuck shops and would like to know which brands they prefer to buy when they are there.

One way to use the QR code is to go into a partnership with a couple of local spazas or tuck-shops in that township and ask them to have your QR code sticker there to recruit people. Your QR sticker is accompanied by a small flyer or brochure explaining what people would have to do to get the incentive that is linked to them completing your survey or diary study!

People Scan and they get sent to your chatbot immediately and they are ready to get on board with your research

A WhatsApp Link gets sent out if your are running an Ad on a social media platform or want to send it via Email to get people to participate in your study.

Referral Program

The referral program is self-explanatory, the good old word of mouth but that is obviously driven by incentive. Usually works well with people that completed the survey and have been incentivised by you. This makes your recruiting easier because they are getting referred to you by someone they trust, a friend. Family member, colleague etc.

Keep it transparent with the person who is going to be referring you. A good incentive is usually half of what they earn from completing your survey, but it heavily depends on your budget. Clearly stipulate to them that they will only get their incentive if the person they have referred completes their survey as well.‍

Steps to start one:

1. Identify all those who have completed your survey/diary and have been paid
2. Approach them with the referral program and make an asset that they can send to their network. Here's an example:

1. Give them a message copy to send to their network: “Hi x, I just recently completed a survey with Yazi and got my payout of R20 in airtime. They asked if I have any friends who would be interested in doing this survey and I thought of you. All you have to do is click this link {Insert WA link} and start answering questions. It's only 15 minutes long, then you are done! Just let me know if you are down.”
2. After that, ask them to send you the numbers of those that did the survey and you will be able to find them on your Google sheets!

Analyse your answers‍
How to setup and analyse data for a WhatsApp bot

Once you have collected data from your WhatsApp survey bot, you can easily organise and store it in a Google Sheet or a database for further analysis. The data structure can be set up in a way where the user ID is placed in column A, and each answer is placed in a subsequent row starting from column D. This layout ensures that each respondent's responses are captured horizontally in a single row, similar to how data is received from Google Forms responses.

After importing the data into a Google Sheet or database, you can leverage various data visualisation tools for analysis.

One option is Google Looker Data Studio, a free and user-friendly tool that allows you to connect your data source and create insightful visualisations and dashboards. Looker Data Studio provides a range of visualisation options, such as charts, tables, and graphs, enabling you to explore and present your survey data in a clear and visually appealing manner.

Setting up Looker Data Studio is relatively simple, making it an accessible choice for analysing your WhatsApp survey data and deriving actionable insights.

It usually comes in this format when you download it straight from the chatbot:

Google Sheet of survey response data from Yazi's WhatsApp chatbot

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Conclusion: Unlock the Power of WhatsApp Surveys for Market Research Success

Launching surveys through WhatsApp opens up a world of possibilities for capturing valuable market research insights. With its wide reach, cost-effectiveness, and multimedia capabilities, WhatsApp offers a unique platform to engage with your target audience in Africa and beyond. By designing effective surveys, utilizing multimedia elements, and analyzing the collected data strategically, you can unlock powerful insights to drive your business forward. Embrace the educational and friendly nature of WhatsApp conversations to foster meaningful connections and gain the market intelligence you need for success.

Are you ready to harness the potential of WhatsApp surveys for your market research? Sign up to our market research platform today and gain access to 6M+ Africans! Connect with your target audience, engage them in meaningful conversations, and capture qualitative and quantitative insights like never before. Join us on this exciting journey and unlock the power of WhatsApp for your market research success.

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