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What is public opinion monitoring?
Public opinion monitoring, also known as polling, is the process of tracking and analyzing the views of the general public on various issues. In marketing, this involves researching consumer opinions regarding brands and their products, as well as analyzing perceptions of competitors and the entire industry as a whole.
The most common tool for conducting such research is surveys. However, in modern marketing, methods for collecting and analyzing mentions of a brand or product on the internet are also actively used. These mentions can be found on social media, blogs, review sites, e-commerce platforms, and other places where users share their opinions.
Public opinion polling provides businesses with the ability to make more informed decisions in both product development and marketing. For example, if a company plans to launch a new smartphone, it can conduct research and find out that the previous model received positive reviews for its camera, but users expressed dissatisfaction with the battery life. This will prompt the development team to improve the battery in the new version and the marketers to emphasize this in the advertising campaign.
Why conduct public opinion monitoring?
Public opinion monitoring helps companies understand how their target audience perceives the brand, its products and services, as well as competitors and the industry itself. The data obtained from monitoring can help solve a variety of tasks.
- Reputation management: Monitoring allows you to determine how potential and current customers view the brand—positively, negatively, or neutrally. Analyzing positive and negative reviews helps create effective PR and marketing strategies that highlight the company's strengths and dispel myths about its weaknesses.
- Identifying problems: Polling allows for the identification of specific shortcomings that may diminish the product's value or damage the brand's reputation. For example, if a particular store has a significantly higher number of negative reviews, this signals the need to take action at that specific location.
- Product development: Monitoring allows tracking audience reactions to product changes over time. For instance, if users start leaving negative comments after an app update, this indicates a need to analyze what is causing dissatisfaction and adjust the product accordingly.
Methods of public opinion monitoring
Both qualitative and quantitative methods are used to gather information about public opinion. Each has its own characteristics and is applied depending on the research objectives.
Qualitative methods
- In-depth interviews: Informal conversations with representatives of the target audience that allow for a deeper understanding of customer needs and expectations.
- Focus groups: Group discussions where respondents share their opinions about a product or service in a structured discussion led by a moderator.
- Monitoring online content: Analyzing reviews, comments, and blog posts to track levels of public opinion.
Quantitative methods
- Surveys: Used for quick collection of customer opinions through closed questions.
- Data analysis: Gathering information on the number of mentions and ratings, allowing for quantitative conclusions.
How is public opinion monitored?
The process of monitoring public opinion includes several key stages, each of which is important for achieving successful results.
- Define objectives: At the initial stage, it is important to clearly articulate what information needs to be gathered and which questions need to be answered.
- Select method: Depending on the objectives set, a suitable method or combination of methods is chosen for the research.
- Data collection: Data can be collected manually or with the help of specialized automated services that analyze reviews and comments.
- Interpretation of results: The collected data is categorized and analyzed, allowing for practical conclusions and recommendations to be drawn.
It is important to remember that public opinion can change rapidly, so monitoring should be regular and systematic to obtain current information.