Several years ago, our team explored potential technologies to enhance focus group research. While many of our Vistra team members had decades of experience with focus groups and valued the benefits of in-person interactions and body language, they also recognized the challenges. These included high costs, time consumption, geographic and demographic limitations, and occasional issues with achieving full group participation, despite the moderator’s skill.

With our clients’ success in mind, the Vistra Virtual Workshop (V-Lab®) was developed to address each of those challenges our team faced with traditional focus group facilitation.

V-Lab® is an online virtual workshop that enables geographically dispersed participants to engage in a series of online activities to share perspectives, categorize ideas, prioritize issues, collaborate, and co-create solutions. Relevant stakeholders provide perspective and answers. Vistra synthesizes the data in real-time and delivers a transcript within 24 hours.

The V-Lab is a proven platform that provides numerous benefits over in-person engagement.  Specifically:

• Controlled Workshop.  In-person engagements involving more than 10 participants can easily get off topic, waste time, and lose control of the agenda. The V-Lab’s lock-step approach ensures all activities are accomplished.
• No Dominant Voice.  In-person engagements can be dominated by one or two voices.  The V-Lab removes the dominant voice by requiring everyone to participate.
• Anonymity Produces Honesty.  In-person engagements tend to result in guarded or couched responses, and even non-responses due to fear of reprisal. V-Lab participants are engaging anonymously and therefore more honestly.
• Collaboration and Consensus Building.  In-person engagement collaboration activities take time to set-up.  V-Lab activities enable participants to brainstorm, rate, rank, and solution in real-time to facilitate collaboration and build consensus.
• More Information and Insights. In-person engagements only allow one person to speak at a time in smaller groups. Because each participant engages in each activity, the V-Lab produces far more insights from up to 50 participants per session.
• Time and Money. In-person engagements require a facility, travel time, and additional costs. Because the V-Lab is virtual, it saves time and money.
• Reporting.  In-person engagements require note taking or recording with non-attribution that then need to be reviewed edited for submission to the client.  V-Lab participants type their responses and actions directly into the platform. Verbatim transcripts are available in less than 24-hours.

We have used this tool to develop audience-informed solutions from branding and messaging to employee engagement.

So, how can we help your organization score a victory with V-Lab®?

1. Develop and Test Branding and Messaging
2. Improve Customer Experience and/or Employee Experience
3. Streamline Strategic Planning
4. Implement Organizational Transformation
5. Ideate Product or Service Solutions

My Favorite Use Case

My favorite example is probably the branded campaign we designed for the DOD Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO). We conducted three V-Labs® with target audience Service members ages 18-35 to understand perceptions of – and attitudes towards – male victims of sexual assault in the military as well as the motivations for, and barriers against, reporting sexual assault. The V-Lab® provided insights into messaging, branding, and animations, along with the rationale and emotional elements of several videos (messaging and music).

Give us a call or contact us  for a virtual or in-person consultation. We look forward to working with you to help you collaborate with your audiences. Offering services and products that matter is the Vistra Way.