On the other hand, maybe QR codes are already dead

March 31, 2011 By 2 Comments

Earlier this week, I wrote about the impact QR codes might have on market research. The post was in response to a recent study that showed that not only is awareness of QR codes, but so is the likelihood that consumers will use QR codes (particularly with a coupon or discount incentive). The study was just another in a long line of research and editorial content that points to QR codes having a major impact on brand/consumer interaction.

On the other hand, maybe the time for QR codes has already come and gone.
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Filed Under: Innovation, Market Research, News, Social Media Tagged With: , , ,

Is Social Media Killing the Survey?

March 30, 2011 By 1 Comment

A recent article in AdvertisingAge entitled, “Will Social Media Replace Surveys as a Research Tool?” caught my attention. With that title, how could it not? Of course, this isn’t a new topic. We’ve been debating the impact of social media on market research for some time now. But, through the lens of consumer products companies, this article discusses an argument - one increasing in volume almost daily – that market research needs to become more “methodology agnostic.”

The article is based on a recent presentation at the Advertising Research Foundation’s Re:Think 2011 conference in New York. The presentation was made by Joan Lewis - global consumer and market knowledge officer of Procter & Gamble Co. (a company with $350 million in annual market-research spend). Here’s what she had to say:
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Filed Under: Market Research, Social Media Tagged With: , , , ,

How Will QR Codes Impact Market Research?

March 28, 2011 By 2 Comments

By now, the vast majority of us are familiar with QR codes. At least, that’s what the latest research says. A new study published by MGH shows that awareness of QR (or Quick Response) codes is rising dramatically. More about the study via 2d Code:

MGH has conducted an online survey to gauge awareness and usage of QR codes among smartphone users. The online survey of 415 smartphone users was conducted on the Vision Critical Springboard America panel. 32% of respondents said they have used a QR code, and 70% percent said they plan to use a QR code again or for the first time. For both those that have used one and those that plan to use one the top motivator…in scanning a code is to secure a coupon (53%) or discount (87%). (It is interesting to compare these results with the NetAsia Research study mentioned in The QR Code Hype Cycle). The MGH survey also found that 72% of smartphone users would be likely to recall an ad with a QR code. Full survey results here (PDF).

So the question is this: Are QR codes the key?
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Filed Under: Innovation, Market Research, Social Media Tagged With: , ,

ResearchBase: A New Platform for Sharing Research

March 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

From its inception, the mission of Research Access has been to break down the walls of the market research industry; to help practitioners and consumers alike better understand market research practices, and to create transparency in how data is collected and analyzed, as well as what it reveals.

Today, we take the next step in that effort, with the launch of ResearchBase. With ResearchBase, we’re introducing a new platform for the sharing of market research data, including reports, analysis, and raw data. Research Access will leverage ResearchBase to share our own market research studies, but our platform is open to all. Reports, analysis and data can be made available for free, and individual components can also be sold via ResearchBase for flat-rate fees.
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Filed Under: News, Research Base Tagged With: ,

Recruit Your Own Survey Panel

March 23, 2011 By 1 Comment

Sometimes a survey panel is exactly what you need — and for that, you can use any number of panel providers such as Peanut Labs or EMI.

But sometimes, a panel can be overkill and just too expensive for your project, in which case, it’s a good idea to have recruited a panel of your very own.

Here are a few ideas as to how to have an ongoing panel recruiting effort and panel survey:
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Filed Under: How-To, Market Research Tagged With: ,

A New Voice in Mobile Market Research

March 22, 2011 By 1 Comment

We’ve talked a lot over the past few months about the growing “mobile market research” space. With the continued proliferation of “smart” mobile devices, increased mobile data access, and a striking increase in people’s reliance on mobile devices for the communication (compared with traditional landlines), the need to be able to reach people via their mobile devices continues to grow by leaps and bounds.

Given the growing importance of this topic, we’re pleased to see that one of the leaders in this space, SurveySwipe, has a blog of their own up and running. In one of their first posts, Chandika Bhandari ponders the timeline ahead for mobile market research.
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Filed Under: Mobile, News Tagged With:

Want to Be A Research Rockstar?

March 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Our Friends at Research Rockstar have made a very exciting offer for readers of Research Access.

As you may know, Research Rockstar provides online training on market research topics. Their classes are Flash-based, interactive and most are under an hour. The classes typically sell for $129 per class or $600 for a one-year “full access” VIP membership.
But today Research Rockstar is giving away three (3) FREE VIP memberships to readers of this blog. Winners will have 24×7 access to classes on:

• Market segmentation
• Questionnaire planning
• Product concept testing
• Delivering research
• And more

To enter the drawing, visit http://www.researchrockstar.com/vip-membership-drawing/.

Three winners will be picked at random on March 31, 2011. The winners will be announced on our blog and the Research Rockstar blog in April, 2011.

WINNER’S LIST:
For an official announcement of the winners, visit Research Rockstar’s web site at ResearchRockstar.com on or after April 5, 2011.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: ,

The DIY Debate: Why Self-Service is the Future, and Market Research Can’t Hide

March 17, 2011 By 6 Comments

There is a lot of debate over the future of market research as it pertains to agencies. I spoke about it with Sanja Licina of CareerBuilder  in the AMA conferences last year and have been in a couple of panels – AMA Atlanta MR SIG along with Phillip Garland from SurveyMonkey.

Let me lay out my thoughts on the subject by beginning with an example: I travel a lot for business and I recently found out about paperless self-service check in. Yes. Paperless. Using your smartphone – Blackberry, iPhone, Droid etc. It’s a unified system that the TSA has put together. Both United and Delta are a part of that program. When you check in online, you get a link to a mobile boarding pass. At the TSA security checkpoint, you simply open up the link in a browser window on your smartphone and scan. No more printing boarding passes.

At the gate, again you scan in your boarding pass by showing the phone screen and hop onto the plane.

Look at the travel industry and how self-service has it become. It started off with airline booking — when Expedia, Orbitz etc. came online and directly disrupted the full-service travel agency business, then web check-in significantly lowered the cost for airlines and now end to end electronic and self service flying. No wonder Virgin America has flights from Seattle to San Francisco for $49! It costs me more money to take a cab from my house to the SEATAC airport than to fly from Seattle to San Francisco! Virgin has scale — my cabbie does not!

The same can be said for many other industries: Banking – When is the last time we went to a teller? Investements: eTrade, Ameritrade. Even real-estate with Redfin and Zillow.

Market research is also heading that way. We see it everyday with our clients – obviously from a tool standpoint, we get called in when companies bring their research in-house. It’s not even a question of cost – it’s a question of power and effeciency. Most folks we talk with need to get data and make decisions FAST. This means having the tools and resources to execute quickly and effeciently. For the most part, that is the reason why many of our clients turn to us.
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Filed Under: Featured, Innovation, Market Research Tagged With: , , ,

The Continued Debate Over DIY Market Research

March 16, 2011 By 1 Comment

Earlier this week I wrote about one of the most significant debates currently taking place in the market research community: the debate over DIY research. We’ve gotten some great feedback and interesting opinions on both sides of the argument, including some really helpful resources, provided in a comment on the original post by Kathryn Korostoff of Research Rockstar. (Go check those out.)

But the debate rages on.
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Filed Under: Innovation, Market Research Tagged With: , , ,

Power to the People

March 14, 2011 By 5 Comments

I draw your attention this morning to an article recently written for MRWeb by our own senior contributor, Andrew Jeavons. The article, entitled “Power to the People” was written in response to Jerome Sopocko’s recent article in the same publication, “Man Up! The Trojans are at the Gate.”

The debate – a long-standing one, but taken up this past week by Andrew and Jerome – centers around the role of Do It Yourself (DIY) tools in market research. Jerome argues that DIY survey tools pose a threat to the market research industry by “dumbing down” research instruments and leading those using DIY survey tools to believe that the data they gather is equal to the results of professionally conducted market research. Andrew counters that DIY exists because there’s a demand for it, and we, as market researchers, can either reposition ourselves to offer value or be left behind.

So who is right?
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Filed Under: Featured, Innovation, Market Research Tagged With: , ,
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