You need it. You know you do. Audience research is a vital part of any project, but it’s often the first thing to be cut. “We know our audiences well enough,” they say. “We know what they want.” But is that true? No! Of course not! If we knew what audiences wanted, we’d have an excess of donations, volunteers, newsletter subscribers, and report readers, and we wouldn’t be having conversations about how to get audiences to act or increase awareness. During this session, you’ll learn about: - My favorite lean audience research methods and why they’re awesome - How to convince your boss that audience research is necessary - How to conduct audience research when you have zero resources By the end, you’ll have what you need to do some quick and dirty audience research and convince others that it’s necessary! Presented at the Nonprofit of Influence Conference (hosted by the Colorado Nonprofit Association).

1. Audience Research on a Dime
Nonprofit of Influence • October 31, 2017

2. Pied Piper Usability Test
from Silicon Valley (HBO)

3. “You never put it in the
hands of [insert audience]”

4. Case Studies
Methods
Research Steps
2
4
8

5. Courtney Clark
Managing Director of User Experience
cclark@forumone.com
@circlish

8. Design with purpose
Consider the entire ecosystem
Put the audience first

9. Sound familiar?
I’m a
team of
one.
I don’t
have
budget.
I don’t
have
buy-in.

10. No Silver Bullets
I don’t
have
time.
I don’t
need
research.

12. Guerilla Tactics
small, fast, lean

13. Audience Research
Methods

14. Observation
What
Observe online behavior, common
questions, conversations, keywords.
How
● Reddit, Twitter, Instagram
● Online Communities or Forums
Resource
Social Media Research

15. Survey
What
Measure product performance
How
● SurveyMonkey
● Typeform
● Google Forms
Resource
28 Tips for Creating Great Qualitative
Surveys

16. “A lot of times, people don’t
know what they want until
you show it to them.”
Steve Jobs

17. Interview
What
Ask about process, beliefs, needs
How
● In Person
● Phone or Video Call
Resource
Interviewing Users
#WOCinTech

18. Good questions elicit a story
“When you’re at
a dinner party,
how do you
explain your
job?”
“Tell me about
the worst
experience you
had with …”
“If you could
change one
thing, what
would it be?”

19. THIS
What’s your
favorite part of
this experience?
NOT THAT
What features
should we build?

20. Project
Improve intranet (UWO)
Audience
12,000 United Way staff
Hypothesis
People are unable to find resources

21. Research Method
24 interviews
stakeholders and content contributors
Investment
30-40 hours
Outcome
Learned extent and scope of problem
Learned dynamics of organization.
There’s good content there!

22. Usability Testing
What
Inform and optimize designs in order
to reduce risk and improve usability
How
● In Person / Screenshare / Phone
● UserTesting.com / Validately
Resource
Don’t Make Me Think
#WOCinTech

23. “Elaborate usability tests are a
waste of resources. The best results
come from testing no more than 5
users and running as many small
tests as you can afford.”
Nielsen Norman Group

24. Recruit & Remind
Test 5
people.
Book 7-8
people.
Send a
reminder
email a day
before.

25. Project
App to compare health care
costs and quality
Audience
Healthcare consumers and
shoppers
Hypothesis
They don’t understand it
Washington All Payer
Claims Database

26. Research Method
Usability Testing (comparator)
Investment
20 hours + 6 pack of beer
Outcome
Identified key gaps in usability.
We need to spend more time on language.
Washington All Payer
Claims Database

27. What People Do
What People Say
Why & How
to Fix
How Many,
How Much
Email Surveys
Interviews
Usability
Testing
Source: Nielsen Norman Group

28. Getting Buy-In
#WOCinTech

29. 1. When was the last time you
did audience research?
2. Are you working from
assumptions or facts?
3. If you conduct research, what
will that do for your org?

30. Guerilla Tactics
small, fast, lean

31. 1. Go rogue.
2. Start with 5-10 people.
3. Don’t ask leading questions.
4. Record it!

32. Some audience research
is better than no
audience research.

33. Research Process

34. Set
Research
Goals
Form
Hypothesis
Pick a
Method
Write a
Script
Find
People
Conduct
Research
Summarize
Findings
Present
Findings

35. Goals Hypothesis Method Script People Research Summarize Present
1 Set Research Goals
What does success look like?
What’s driving this action?
Our goal is to better understand if our app is usable for our key audiences.
Example

36. Goals Hypothesis Method Script People Research Summarize Present
2 Form Hypothesis
What hunches do you have?
We believe that people don’t even see the Donate button, therefore
never select it.
Example

37. Goals Hypothesis Method Script People Research Summarize Present
3 Pick a Method
Do you need qualitative or quantitative
info? Want to explore or optimize?
Observation, Survey, Interview, Usability Testing, etc
Example

38. Goals Hypothesis Method Script People Research Summarize Present
4 Write a Script (not for observation)
Always be prepared & keep it short.
Introduction & Welcome
Purpose of research
How results will be used
Questions
Conclusion & Thank you
Example

39. Goals Hypothesis Method Script People Research Summarize Present
4.5
You can practice with anyone!
1. Work out kinks
2. Test equipment
Purpose
Practice (not for observation)

40. Goals Hypothesis Method Script People Research Summarize Present
5 Find People
It’s called audience research ;)
Where do you find them?
Email
Lists
Social
Media
Like LinkedIn
Meetups Conferences
Friends &
Relatives
Coffee
Shops

41. Goals Hypothesis Method Script People Research Summarize Present
6 Conduct Research

42. Goals Hypothesis Method Script People Research Summarize Present
7
Make themes and summaries
more consumable.
Affinity Diagram
Example
Summarize Findings

44. Goals Hypothesis Method Script People Research Summarize Present
8
Document results so you
can refer to them later.
Goals & Hypothesis
Method & Approach
Participants
Example
Present Findings
Themes
Findings & Quotes
Next Steps

45. Use Audience Quotes!

46. Perfect is the
enemy of good.

47. Record it!
Seriously. No really.

48. Small but mighty!
unsplash.com

49. Resources

53. Fifine
USB Microphone,Fifine Plug
&Play Home Studio USB
Condenser Microphone

54. Courtney Clark
Managing Director of User Experience
cclark@forumone.com
@circlish