Marketing in Real Life

I received my new AMA Greenbook today and not to be too self-serving, but there is a great summary of the Rockhopper Industry Trends Report at the front (Invoke helped with the research.) SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS The future looks bright for the research industry. Increased demand and higher billings are expected in 2007 and beyond. Notably, clients and providers, both small and large, are expecting the demand for research to grow. While budget control and concern over cost management is widespread, the desire for actionable, quality research is fueling the forecast for increased revenue. Several factors are driving this optimism: Research is increasingly valued as a strategic necessity by clients. Providers and client research departments are delivering actionable results and guidance. Some, however, do still view research as a staff function and this view results in budget cuts during tough times. Those that demonstrate the positive role research can play are finding more projects and ...

Earlier this week, I watched an AMA webcast on data quality and the role of questionnaire design in ensuring it. It was much better than most of the seemingly hundreds I have watched on this topic and had three main take-aways. Researchers need to take the time to construct a well thought out questionnaire that incorporates both research needs AND the respondent experience It is essential to pre-test new methods, question sets, and complex designs prior to using them in a live study Using technology and interactivity is essential, but make sure you are applying the right approach for the task. I couldn't agree more! Incorporating logical thought into the research process is key to higher quality and engagement and using technology built with engagement in mind (like Invoke and Vision Critical) makes the end result far more useful. Watch the webcast here.

We do things a little differently here at Invoke and that is hard for some people to accept, but I had to share an objection that one of my sales reps recently received when trying to start a relationship. "I’ ve been in the MR business for 20 years, and based on that experience, I just don’t have faith in any methodology that tries to combine qualitative and quantitative data. " Really? I never used to believe that I could pause live television or have an electronic map in my car, but I am not giving up my TiVo and GPS system!!!!!!!! Its true that some people have cobbled together quali - quant solutions that don't really work, but we have developed our Engage platform specifically for this purpose and if it didn't work, companies like Microsoft, Washington Mutual, Harris Interactive, and Millward Brown wouldn't adopt it. Billy Joel might as well have been singing about the research industry when he said: "The good old days weren't all so good and to...

I just completed a survey about my shopping experience where only one question was open ended, and it was a throw away. “Do you have any other comments about your recent visit to XXXXXX? If so, please use the space below. Otherwise, click ‘continue.’” I do appreciate that they gave me the customer service number and hours to call with comments and complaints. A nice touch. One that was a bit undermined when they tried to get me on their email list. Back to the lack of open ends... don’t they want to know why I rated their check out staff and ease of finding products so poorly? I know I would if the survey was about my company!

Some tidbits from the Confirmit Research Software report in this month's Quirk's... MR professionals across the world consider falling response rates to be the No. 1 challenge facing the industry. So-called professional respondents and availability of sample to conduct research are problems two and three, respectively. All of the nominated top three sit squarely on the respondent-facing side of the research triangle, revealing an industry concerned about its raw material above all else. Time and cost - classic business issues - are rated highly in the overall mix (we asked respondents to select up to three challenges) but come well down the list of No. 1 worries. These are issues more within the control of the research companies themselves. Ten percent of respondents consider turnaround time (from fieldwork to delivery) the top issue, but 37 percent have it as one of their top three concerns, just one point behind professional respondents and availability of sample as overall...