What We’re Reading: Sample Size, Mobility, Emerging Practices

September 12, 2011 By 1 Comment
Good Monday to you all. We thought we’d start out the week with a list of some of the articles and posts that have most recently caught our eye. Let’s dive right in!
  • How to Determine Sample Size for Segments – As always, Michaela Mora delivers some terrific educational content over at Relevant Insights. In this recent post, she discusses how to go about determining the most effective sample size for individual segments of an audience in order to get the most reliable results. Michaela walks us through the right questions to ask, as well as two possible approaches to take when adopting a sampling strategy.
  • Mobile Survey Response Rates ROCK – Ivana Taylor over at the QuestionPro Blog calls our attention to a recent study in which a mobile response option was added to more traditional data collection methodologies. The results were impressive: 25,000 text message responses were received from 23,500 unique mobile numbers in reply to a single open question.
  • GRIT Sneak Peek: The Top Emerging Market Research Techniques: Our friend Leonard Murphy over at the GreenBook Blog has a preview of the annual GreenBook Research Industry Trends (GRIT) study. The full report will be available in the next week or so, but in the meantime, Lenny takes a look at some of the preliminary data, with a focus on emerging market research techniques in 2011.
What are you reading this week? Be sure to share your favorite articles/blog posts/chat discussions/etc with us, here in the comments or via Twitter (@researchaccess).
Filed Under: Market Research Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

What We’re Reading – Respondent Engagement

July 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Happy Monday to all!

We’re digging into our blog roll this morning, and finding an endless supply of interesting content worthy of your attention. Here are a few pieces in particular that should be on your radar:

  • A New Model for Respondent Engagement - Our good friends over at the GreenBook Blog have nailed it out of the park once again. In this post, they tackle the perennial problem faced by market researchers – that of declining response rates among greater competition for attention, and as a result, declining sample quality as well. Fortunately, as GreenBook editor Leonard Murphy points out, there are new models emerging to re-engage those who’ve become desensitized or indifferent, and the results are encouraging!
  • Does Satisfaction Always Lead to Loyalty? Not Necessarily. - Many companies, my own included, seek out higher customer satisfaction as a way to promote long-term customer loyalty. Rajan Sambandam argues, though, that loyalty does not always increase in correlation to customer satisfaction, particularly for companies who deal in products considered “necessities.” The money those companies spend chasing customer loyalty may be better spent elsewhere.
  • The Limiting Adjective of “Marketing” Research - Be sure to read through this thought-provoking essay by Kevin Lonnie of KL Communications, who argues that the very name attached to our industry – “Marketing Research” – is outdated and limiting, and it needs to go. What do you think?
  • Not All Data’s Created Equal - A terrific article on the danger of quoting “statistics.” Here’s a taste:

I’d far rather we got on with the business of surprising and delighting our clients, rather than ’8 of 10 cats believed’. Show human reactions to things. Proper ones, not some manufactured focus groups. How do people REALLY behave in the juice aisle?

What are you reading this week? Be sure to share your favorite articles/blog posts/chat discussions/etc with us, here in the comments or via Twitter (@researchaccess).

Filed Under: Market Research, News Tagged With: , , ,

Investing in a Quality Sample

April 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I came across an older post from @Carey_Azzara of AtHeath LLC, which Carey reposted this morning on Twitter, and I wanted to draw it back to your attention. The post, entitled “Demystifying the Temptation to Cut Corners on Sampling Costs,” makes the argument that, when developing a new survey instrument, a quality sample is worth the investment. And perhaps more importantly, that this is an area where cutting costs can come back to bite you.

Developing a quality sample is a foundational component of solid, reliable market research. A poorly developed sample will poison your results, creating bias that at best skews your results, and at worst, leads you down the wrong path altogether.
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Market Research Tagged With: , , ,