Zanthus' electronic group testing methodology combines the exploratory freedom and immediacy of qualitative research and the precision of survey methodologies. In this approach, respondents are given hand-held dials that relay their responses via radio frequency to a laptop computer. Respondents view questions that appear on a television monitor, which are also read by the moderator. Each question has a numerical answer associated with it and respondents dial-in the number that corresponds to their choice. The system can accommodate a variety of questions, including: categorical, scale, trade-off and moment-by-moment. The moderator and the clients in the back room are able to view a real-time aggregation of the data for each question.
One of the major advantages of this approach is the immediate and efficient collection, tabulation, and presentation of uncontaminated data gathered from a live audience's responses to a wide range of stimuli. This approach minimizes group bias, helps avoid the experience of everyone walking away from the groups with different conclusions and allows for the development and presentation of new product/service concepts, positioning statements or marketing messages on-the-fly. Combined with skilled group discussion, this approach provides uniquely powerful results.