What Technical Advantages Does Corona Bring?

Surveys

1. We weight our responses. Corona performs demographic weightings of survey responses before tabulating the results, which minimizes bias in the survey sample. This is particularly important on surveys where responses may vary considerably by gender or age, such as public opinion surveys.

2. We know sample sizes. We can provide you with a survey of an appropriate size-not too big to waste your money, but not too small to prevent you from getting the information you need. We provide custom sizing services rather than merely recommending an "off the shelf" number.

3. We provide the services you need. Corona provides all major types of surveys, including telephone, mail, intercept, Internet, door to door, e-mail, and IVR. We can diagnose your survey needs and provide the best means of gathering that data. Unlike some of our competitors, we don't try to merely sell you one particular survey technique because it's the only one we know.

4. We work with you to maximize your research dollars. Corona is well-versed in the real-world practicalities of surveying, as well as the theoretical best practices, so we won't always steer you toward the most rigorous (and expensive) option. We will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different sampling methods, and help you make the best decision about your market research investment.

Focus Groups

1. We provide superior recruiting. Most focus group facilities will sign up anybody for their focus groups, regardless of how they arrive at the firm. (Go ahead-call one of those other firms and sign your dog up for their focus groups.) Therefore, many of their focus group participants are "professional focus group participants," who are often retirees, students, and homemakers who are looking for extra money.

Corona Research rejects these people. We do not corrupt our recruiting database with "opt-in" people for our focus groups. Instead, we use a random recruiting technique that provides the best populations for your study, and/or we use custom recruiting techniques specifically targeted to your project.

2. We "go to the people." Corona does not merely conduct groups at our own facility. We go into the community with our portable equipment, and conduct focus groups in places that are convenient and comfortable for our target populations. We have conducted groups nationwide in churches, schools, libraries, community colleges, hotels, and other venues. This allows you to hear the opinions of groups that do not normally participate in focus groups, such as rural populations, undocumented residents, and others who may not be comfortable coming to a formal facility.

3. We provide the whole package. Corona is a research firm that conducts focus groups. While we do rent our focus group facility, we are not merely a focus group facility. We provide moderators, research design, and analysis as well as logistical efforts such as recruiting and recording. We provide a turnkey product so you can think about other things.

4. We offer skilled moderators and analysts. Our staff have moderated hundreds of focus groups, and we have experience dealing with nearly every situation that can arise. We can provide demographically appropriate moderators based on age, gender, or race, and we can also provide Spanish-speaking moderators for Spanish-language focus groups.

5. We're culturally competent. Speaking of language, Corona is a leading firm in the area of Spanish-language focus groups. We have strong experience at both recruiting Spanish-speaking populations and conducting and analyzing Spanish-language focus groups. We also have significant experience recruiting within the African American community.

Strategic Planning

Corona offers a four-tier standard pricing model for strategic planning, ranging from a short retreat for organizations that just need a tune up of an existing plan (Tier 1), to a full analysis of program-based budgets, competitive positioning, market definition, and full strategy (Tier 4). We can help you select the tier that best fits your needs.

Demographic Research

Corona Research has a strong expertise in locating, analyzing, and interpreting demographic data. We are a leader in identifying sources of strong, objective data, and in both interpreting those data and using those data to develop future projections.

Observational, Ethnographic, and Field Research

What's even more valuable than asking people about their opinions? Tracking their actual behavior.

The challenge of observing actual behavior is that it is difficult to design the research plan. Corona has conducted numerous studies of this sort on both a local and a nationwide level, and we bring the expertise to design a strong plan to gather data "in the real world," whether it is observing consumers' paths through a store, measuring seat belt use in a community, or defining competitive price and market information. Very few firms possess both the expertise and the research capacity to execute these types of research properly, and yet these are the types of research that often yield the best information for our clients.