Case Study: In-Home Usage Test (IHUT) Recruitment

An in-home usage test (IHUT) is one of the best ways to ask a typical or potential customer to try and give feedback on a product or service. Often times, these studies begin with recruiting participants for the IHUT. Once a list of qualified and committed participates has been gathered, all are sent detailed instructions and the product or service that needs to be tested.

Here's more on how an IHUT project works.

The IHUT testing period can last anywhere from a few days to several weeks depending on the type of product or service and the needs of the study. Also, there may be surveys sent to participants throughout the testing period which ask for feedback.

One of the trickiest parts an IHUT is the recruitment. There are typically several qualifying criteria and quotas that need to be met in a recruitment. For example, a company may want to only recruit household decision makers, those within a specific geography, and those who have used the type of product being tested with the last 6 months.

However, there are also other quotas that need to be met. For example the company may ask for recruits to be 80% female and 20% male, 50% be married, and 60% have an income of $60,000 or more.

Learn more about how to recruit for market research.

Safe to say, more qualifying criteria and quotas means a tougher recruit. Our market research company recently completed in IHUT recruit with several qualifying criteria and quotas. Learn more about this project below.

Case Study: In-Home Usage Test (IHUT) Recruitment

Have a difficult IHUT recruit and need recruits fast? We've got your back.


Objectives

Drive Research was hired by a client to complete an IHUT product testing recruitment project. The client tested a household cleaning product across U.S. households. The respondent will be shipped a cleaning product and will be required to download an app, register an account, fill out an introduction form (URL), and use the product over the course of 4 to 6 weeks. Periodically, respondents will be prompted to participate in short 10 question surveys triggered by product usage and when they open the app on a weekly basis.


Approach

To address the objectives at-hand, Drive Research handled the recruitment for these in-home usage tests (IHUTs). The goal was to have 150 testers at the end of the 4 to 6 week project. This recruitment process was expected to take approximately 2 weeks from start-to-finish. The client requested a total of 180 recruits to account for any drop-offs or cancellations during the project in hopes it had at 150 testers at the end of the project.

Our IHUT company follows an exclusive in-house approach our team has built for market research and IHUT projects. Our method uses a step-by-step and task-oriented approach to project management from kickoff through completion used for companies such as Google, Yamaha, and Samsung.

Drive Research utilized an online screener to find qualified participants for the study. Our IHUT recruiting company handled all programming for the online screener. Once the screener was finalized, our team targeted those who fell within the targeted demographics for the project and sent randomized invites to complete the screener via email.

Those who qualified for the project received a re-screening and confirmation call. During this call, participants were asked to confirm answers to core qualification criteria and confirm all contact information was correct.

Qualifying and quotas included: (1) must live within the U.S, (2) approximate split of 80% female and 20% male, (3) specific race and ethnicity quotas, (4) primary shopper for household cleaning products, (5) use household cleaning products at least twice a month, (6) use specific brand of cleaning products, (7) own a smartphone (iPhone or Android) and must leave Bluetooth enabled throughout the testing period, (8) do not work in any related industry.


Outcomes

Drive Research qualified, re-screened, and confirmed 192 participants for this IHUT project. Our IHUT recruitment company completed this recruit roughly 1 week ahead of schedule. Drive Research sent a full Excel list of recruits to the client along with all screening data.

Even though this was the end of contact between Drive Research and the recruits, we highly recommended staying engaged with participants and continuing to send reminders and updates throughout the study. It was also recommended the client include clear, step-by-step instructions for the IHUT in the shipment as well as a contact for participants to reach out to if they have any questions.


Contact Drive Research, In-Home Usage Test (IHUT) Company

Drive Research is a market research company that specializes in in-home usage tests (IHUTs) as well as IHUT recruitment. Our team offers a range of custom market research services including intercept surveys, online surveys, focus groups, qualitative recruiting, and in-depth interviews (IDIs).

Want to in learning more about our services or looking for a quote? Contact us.

Message us on our website
Email us at [email protected]
Call us at 888-725-DATA
Text us at 315-303-2040

Market Research Case Studies