Good UX is slowly becoming an integral part of brands that are looking to improve customer experience. In fact, it is estimated that every $1 invested in developing/improving UX could result in an increase of ROI up to $100. Given this, it is understandable that more companies than ever are investing in user research studies.

Traditionally, research agencies have been conducting research for brands that wanted insights into their products or services. Once you define the scope of your study and what you want to ask the users, these agencies find the right respondents, conduct interviews, and present their findings.

DIY (or Do-It-Yourself) research platforms allow brands to do all this on their own online. DIY platforms offer an agile approach to research, where research can be conducted in-house with a reduced time and budget.

While there are pure market research agencies or pure DIY platforms, some companies – such as ours – also provide a hybrid model. What does that mean? It means that while the process of conducting the research is fully automated through AI, we can help go over the reports to make sure the results align with your research goals.

Why is DIY Research Better than Managed User Research?

#1 DIY Research is Faster, Easier and Cost-Effective

Faster: Traditional research methods take time and manpower to be conducted. Of course, since we are dealing with multiple interlinked factors here, there could be delays or errors, which could extend the timeline of the project even when you know what you want out of the research and the survey questions you want to ask. Even when the process itself is fast, you might still spend a lot of time analyzing the results, grouping them the way you want to.

Easier: With DIY research, all you have to do is understand how to navigate the DIY research platform. Once you set your parameters and upload your survey questions, it will be sent to your chosen participants. After collecting their responses, you will be able to see all their responses in a structured manner on the dashboard.

Cost Effective: As seen above, DIY research tools are fast and easy to use, which means that they can be used at every stage of product development. This can help you test the product at various stages to reduce the risk of developing a poor product which could potentially cost you much more money down the line.

#2 It Encourages In-House Involvement

Gives you an edge: When you use a DIY platform, you can have greater involvement with your project. After all, you know your business best – the products you offer, insights that come from past research, and future business goals. Using these insights ensures that you can create a more impactful research study than an agency-run study, as they might not have the unique perspective you do.

Faster feedback loop: Using a DIY research platform can also help your peers and management stay up-to-date on your research progress. This can encourage transparency within the organization, enable a faster feedback loop, and help in the diffusion of information between peers.

Encourages more agility: Conducting research in-house also means that the research process can be more agile. For example, in case you feel like a particular method or set of questions isn’t working out for you, you can always course-correct immediately. When you outsource to a research agency, you might not be able to make these timely adjustments as you will only be able to look at the results once the study is concluded and the results are presented.

#3 Reduces Bias and Error in Research

Reduces bias: Research is often subject to bias. It is almost unavoidable – in both qualitative and quantitative user research. If you work with an agency that only provides the final results of the study, you cannot be completely sure that the study or insights are completely unbiased – either when the questions were asked or when the results were compiled. Since human minds are hardwired to understand raw data by piecing them together with narratives, it is entirely possible that you might get biased results.

While it might not be possible to eliminate bias in user research completely, you can cut down one step in the cycle through DIY user research, especially if you have access to AI-backed insights.

Minimize human error: Since research often involves large amounts of data, it is also subject to human error, especially in the case of traditional user research. However, some DIY platforms offer both raw and polished data (in the form of easily downloadable reports). Since these are automated, there is no fear of error in the final results.

How Can You Choose the Right DIY Research Platform?

If you’ve decided that the right path for you and your business is to get insights directly from a DIY platform – that’s great. However, with so many of them out there, how do you choose the right tool for you? What features should it have?

Here are some things to consider before you choose the right tool for your business:

Affect UX, our DIY UX research tool, can help answer all these questions for you.

Why Should You Choose Affect UX?

#1 Accurate, Unbiased Insights Through AI

Unconscious bias can be one of the biggest reasons you’re not getting the full potential of your study, even when executed properly. Through facial coding, eye tracking, and heatmaps, we can help you understand users’ true perception and feedback about your product, even when they might not be aware or willing to vocalize it.

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#2 Expedited Results

In traditional research, respondents fill out forms and surveys, which are then analyzed and condensed into reports – which takes time. With Affect UX, you can see the results of the study as soon as it is concluded. For example, let’s say you’re viewing a user go through a task. You will be able to see not only their verbal responses but you will also be able to see non-verbal visual clues. Immediately after concluding the interviews, you will be able to see a dashboard collating all the responses.

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#3 Choose From 60 Million+ Respondents

Choosing the right respondents is one of the most important factors for a successful study. The right respondents can help you accurately determine if the product you are testing will resonate with your target demographic. With our panel of over 60 million respondents across 120 countries, you can filter using multiple criteria to find the right respondents to make your study more insightful and effective.

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Key Takeaway

Using a DIY research platform could be the key to unlocking insights faster, while scaling your organization’s growth. With Affect UX, you can tap into the subconscious part of your users’ minds to get accurate, unbiased results. Get in touch with us today to get a demo!

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