Mobile Market Research Applications as a New Voice of Customer Method

Abstract

Overview: This paper describes mobile market research applications (MMRAs), new Voice of the Customer (VoC) tools that take advantage of the ubiquity of smartphones. MMRAs provide an efficient and effective method of collecting intimate, in situ data from customers, allowing traditional VoC approaches to be augmented with digitally captured data. MMRAs can thus reduce ambiguity in the fuzzy front end of the innovation process by providing access to data from likely customers from the earliest stages of exploration. To benefit from MMRAs, however, organizations must move beyond a traditional mindset: the adoption of an MMRA requires teams to be restructured and projects reorganized to accommodate the new methods enabled by the tools.

Keywords:

• Voice of the Customer
• Design research
• Digital tools

Additional information

Funding

Research in this article was supported in part by the European Regional Development Fund.

Notes on contributors

William Green

William Green is an associate professor at the University of Leicester School of Business. He researches design and innovation management, human factors, and the role of new technology in the interface between people, technology, and their environment. This research has led to recent studies of innovation and technology in the healthcare and consumer research sectors, investigating the impact of new technology on practice. [email protected]

Robert Cluley

Robert Cluley is an associate professor at the University of Nottingham Business School. His research, exploring the use of technology and data in marketing practice, has been published in leading journals, including Marketing Theory, Organization Studies, and Industrial Marketing Management. He is the author of Essentials of Advertising (Kogan Page, 2017). [email protected]

Marta Gasparin

Marta Gasparin is an associate professor at the University of Leicester School of Business. Her research explores the emergence of design and innovation, value creation, and the role of human and nonhuman actors in innovation processes. She is leading an ESRC-funded project, Slow Design-Driven Innovation, in the UK and Vietnam. [email protected]