Accurately documenting the insights from market research is critical for ensuring that these efforts make the greatest possible impact. That’s where market research transcription comes into play. Accurately transcribing information from market research initiatives can help business leaders track, record and implement the insights and recommendations of their target audience.
What is Transcription?
Transcription refers to the process of converting audio or video recordings to text. Transcripts serve as a written account of recorded content that can be filed away and used as a future reference tool.
There are two primary types of transcription: verbatim transcription and non-verbatim transcription. Verbatim transcripts account for every audio element exactly as they occur in a piece of recorded content. These transcripts will reflect grammatical errors, non-speech audio elements, pauses, repeated words and more.
Non-verbatim transcripts, on the other hand, undergo an editing process to streamline and convey the message of a recording. These transcripts can be beneficial for educational purposes as they essentially distill a recording down to its main ideas. However, they are not necessarily accurate or comprehensive accounts of how speakers communicated those ideas.
Market researchers generally prefer the verbatim transcription style for market research purposes. These transcripts can help to fully convey the experiences of participants in studies, focus groups and interviews. In contrast, transcripts that don’t include as much detail may not represent the viewpoints of these participants. As a result, these often fall short of communicating the major takeaways of the research efforts.
What are Market Research Transcriptions?
There are a number of different use cases for qualitative research transcription that can help preserve and convey a brand’s market research findings. Let’s take a look at some of the ways transcription solutions can be incorporated into market research initiatives.
Focus Group Transcription
Focus groups are one of the most popular methods for conducting market research. This format lets business leaders receive multiple perspectives simultaneously from individuals within their target audience. Historically, researchers conducted focus groups in person, but in recent years they’ve shifted many of these gatherings to online platforms.
Due to the amount and scope of information that participants share during focus group sessions, it’s important for marketers to ensure they’re fully and accurately documenting participant opinions. One way of preserving focus group research is by recording audio or video of the session. However, these full-length recordings can be difficult to use effectively as a reference tool. By transcribing recordings into a readable format, marketing departments are able to create a comprehensive record of a focus group meeting that they can easily file and reference in future discussions.
Transcripts created by professional market research transcription companies like Verbit, for example, also include search functionality. This feature makes it easy for marketers to navigate to specific points of discussion within a transcript. As a result, these transcripts can cut the time that researchers spend scrolling through audio or video recordings. Verbit’s transcripts also contain speaker markings that can help clarify who is speaking. This information is often critical because focus groups rely upon the interaction and communication of multiple participants simultaneously.
Interview Transcription
One-on-one interviews can also be a valuable tool for market research purposes. Accurately transcribing these interviews can help maximize their utility and make it easier for business leaders and marketers to record the opinions that interview subjects share.
When it comes to interviews, verbatim transcription will likely be the preferred transcription style because of the level of nuance it can convey. Individual interviews cover many different data points and transcribing these conversations word for word makes the information easier to digest.
Business leaders can also pull positive quotes from the transcripts of these interviews. Stand-alone quotes are useful for other marketing initiatives including social media posts and advertising graphics. Since businesses are already investing time and capital into interviewing research subjects, it’s wise to share the findings of their sessions on as many platforms as possible.
Business leaders who choose to share customer testimonials with the public can also rely on the transcripts of their interviews to safeguard against potential legal challenges or accusations of misquotation. Keeping accurate records of all communications on hand is an easy way for businesses and market research firms to cover all their legal bases and maintain the integrity of their research endeavors.
How to Transcribe Market Research
Marketers can transcribe their research studies in a few different ways. Some companies choose to use in-house employees to manually transcribe recordings of their focus groups, interviews and more. However, untrained employees are prone to making a substantial number of transcription errors. When it comes to technical transcription, even minor errors can make a major difference and be a source of confusion during subsequent discussions.
To avoid these errors, other firms may outsource market research transcription to professional human transcribers. While these professionals are capable of achieving a high level of accuracy, they are often expensive to hire and tend to encounter bandwidth issues. Large-scale research projects would likely require a substantial amount of both time and capital to complete. As a result, it can be difficult for marketers and business leaders to adequately scale their marketing efforts.
Those marketers looking for an efficient, cost-effective solution may choose to partner instead with a professional transcription provider like Verbit. Verbit offers transcription services for market research firms with industry-leading turn-around times and targeted accuracy rates of up to 99%. Verbit uses proprietary artificial intelligence software in conjunction with a network of professional human transcribers to offer a broad spectrum of transcription solutions that support marketers’ research initiatives from end to end. Verbit’s platform also integrates seamlessly with popular video conferencing apps like Zoom and WebEx. With these integrations, marketers can obtain accurate transcripts of their research sessions regardless of whether they happen in person or online.
Verbit offers a full suite of technology solutions like captioning, transcription, translation and audio description to help leaders from all industries boost their efficiency and accessibility. Whether your company is looking to level up your market research initiatives or planning and executing a high-impact promotional event, Verbit has solutions to meet all your needs. Reach out today to get a quote or learn more about how Verbit is helping companies optimize their workflows while offering more inclusive brand experiences every step of the way.