Answers
Synthetic data in market research
Synthetic data in market research means you interview simulated respondents instead of recruiting humans. Use it to screen questions, messages, and concepts in minutes. Do not file it as a probability sample. Lewsearch publishes 7.47% MAE on 404 public-poll items so a buyer can see the miss before they run a study.
Two meanings of "synthetic data"
In analytics, synthetic data often means a privacy-safe clone of a customer table. In research, it means a panel that never sat in a facility. Lewsearch is the second. 7.47% mean absolute error on 404 ex-electoral questions of a 460-question benchmark vs real polls (Pew, Gallup, UT/Texas Politics Project, PPIC). Coverage: coverage (27 live panels · U.S. national · 4 census regions (32 audiences)). Method: methodology.
Worked example: spend the human budget once
A live focus group in the $4,000 to $12,000 range usually tests one creative direction. A team can run the same instrument on a synthetic panel first, drop the confused option, and take one cleaned concept into the facility. That is the job. The Texas grocery brand block (4.14% MAE, top-three rank preserved) is the kind of screen that earns the human session. A 12-point miss on an electoral margin is the kind of result that should stay off a press release.
| Job | Synthetic panel | Human sample |
|---|---|---|
| Message / concept screen | Fit. Minutes, published MAE | Optional second pass |
| Instrument lint (leading, double-barreled) | Fit. Cheap to re-run | Wasteful as a first find |
| Legal or press poll | Not fit | Required |
| Rare clinical or highly specialized users | Directional only unless you have a scored analog | Recruit the actual population |
FAQ
- What is synthetic data in market research?
- Answers generated by a model that stands in for a human panel. In Lewsearch's case the respondents are census-grounded and the aggregate is scored against real polls. It is not imputed missing rows in a customer file.
- When should I use it?
- Message tests, concept screens, instrument linting, and multi-market directional reads before you spend on humans. Traditional focus groups often cost $4,000 to $12,000.
- When should I not use it?
- Legal, regulatory, or published journalism samples that require a probability design. Every Lewsearch report states the data are AI-generated.
- How do I know the synthetic data is any good?
- 7.47% mean absolute error on 404 ex-electoral questions of a 460-question benchmark vs real polls (Pew, Gallup, UT/Texas Politics Project, PPIC) See /methodology.
Check the work
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