The Landmark Blog

A Day (or two) in the Life at the MRA Chapters 2010 Vegas Conference

I recently attended the MRA combined chapters (Southwest, NorthWest, and Southern California)  24th annual Vegas conference...yes the conference has been running for 24 years...since 1986.  This is one of those "best kept secret" conferences that too many people are unaware of, but continues to plug along year after year with good attendance, strong content, and an excellent location.  In fact, the past couple of years have included about 100 attendees.  Prior to the current economy, the attendance had built up to about 175 attendees with regularity.  Historically speaking, the attendee demographic of the conference has consisted mostly of market research business owners and executives, market research managers, end-users, and a mix of market research service suppliers from all over the US.

I've been attending this conference for about five or six years and find it refreshing.  The conference is held at a Vegas strip hotel in March (this year it was at the MGM Grand).  It's a perfect time to get out of Salt Lake City to warmer temperatures, and connect with long-time friends, new and "mature" business associates, and take in some excellent educational content.  The conference also runs a raffle for charity...best odds on the strip.  This year, $1,300 will be donated to the American Cancer Society.

Every time you exit the plane in Vegas you are bombarded by images of the stars, the shows, and the alternative forms of entertainment available to you in Vegas.  Little did I realize when I arrived that we'd see newly emerging superstars.  The first is Elisa Galloway, President of Galloway Research Service and the upcoming president of the MRA National board.  WHO KNEW SHE WAS SUPERGIRL ON THE SIDE?  

The opening remarks of the conference were given by Steve Larson, the President of the Southwest Chapter and VP of Sales for Information Alliance.  In his remarks, he pointed out the striking resemblance between one of our members - Scott Feldman - from Opinion Access Corp, his wife Jody, and the couple on the Toyota Sienna video. WHO KNEW THAT BOTH SCOTT AND JODY WERE ACTORS...talk about a doppelganger...no really look at the video? 

The conference keynote speaker was Peter Summersgill from Playstation.  He provided a surprisingly analytical driven session on the wealth of information available to Playstation and how the company measures themselves in the gaming industry.  He provided categorical breakdowns of game types and trending over time.  In the course of the presentation, he mentioned that software piracy is a huge issue for the industry and that Playstation is really attempting to close the loop...lock up the "back door" that allows piracy in.  He mentioned that development leaks from market research practices are a significant risk.  Respondents sign non-disclosure documents, however focus groups cause disclosure risks as information revealed in the focus group can find its way to the gaming blogs.  Interesting dilemma. 

Chris Robson and Scott Laing from Parametric Marketing presented some very interesting information on using Excel to chart market research data.  The session provided some excellent tips on providing clients easy access to their data in the "language that they speak."  Parametric seems to have found a very interesting approach to using outside software, that is often very inexpensive, free, or unknown by much of the research community, to get to the bottom of data.  The session provided some very unexpected take-aways.

The Vegas conference has started conducting an "open-forum" lunch session that should be considered by other conferences.  A short presentation is provided by a subject moderator, a discussion outline is provided to each table, and the diners encouraged to interact with each other about the presented industry related subject.  The lunch session focused on the benefits and disadvantages of market research industry associations, what should or could be done to increase their effectiveness, what the associations are bringing to the table and what could be improved.  A number of MRA leaders were in attendance, it will be interesting to see how this information is used for future reference...will they listen?

One of the best "one-liners" of the conference was provided during the presentation by Meredith Lind and Aaron Lee of Definitive Insights.  They stated that, "Humans are better at judging items as they relate to each other than they are at discriminating items on a scale."  It's an interesting concept that could impact the methodological approach you take to your research. 

One of the highlights of the conference was a presentation by Frank Stagliano of Nielsen Entertainment Television Group.  Nielsen operates a location out of the MGM Grand called "TV City."  He discussed what is accomplished in the facility, talked about how Nielsen goes about conducting their screen testing, focus groups, and brain and eye scan research that goes on at the facility.  Nielsen operates the location on behalf of CBS.  As an incentive for participation, respondents are given a discount at the CBS store that is located at the exit of the research facility.  Stagliano also provided a tour of the facility and the cool 3D technology that's coming soon.  Ever thought about research as entertainment?  Nielsen has...and it sells product.

If you ever get a chance to speak with Sean Campbell or Scott Swigart from Cascade Insights, take the opportunity.  These guys seem to have the inside track on using free (or mostly free) online tools to gain competitive intelligence and insight into whatever company or subject you can imagine that operates in the IT industry.  The tools and practices they taught in this session were useful and are applicable to any business or subject (IT or not)...they taught, discussed, and showed how you can use things like Linked In, Google tools, Slideshare, Wordle, Twitter, etc. to gain competitive insight.  Fascinating session.

As a close to the conference, research end-users from Disney/ABC, NBC-Universal, and a former research manager at Microsoft (names withheld to protect the innocent - actually to avoid the 700 Mil. sales calls that would result from posting this information on a website) presented information on how the research industry seemed to be evolving FOR THEM.  It was interesting to hear about how they filter through the "new and innovative" vs. the "typical" sales call and how they, like many research vendors, continue to look for ways to do their research better, faster, more innovatively.

All in all, this was a great conference.  I've even heard that it may be one of the best Vegas conferences the combined chapters have EVER held...that's saying a lot given that there have been 24 of them.

Market Research Speed Dating

I just spent the last two days standing in our company booth at a local business expo.  This was not a market research related event, but an expo that brings together a potpourri of businesses from all over the area (for me Salt Lake City, Utah USA).  Though successful for us, the expo felt like a meat market.  It seemed like I was back in the dating pool, trying to find a spouse, using speed dating techniques.  "What do you look for in a boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse/business relationship/market research company?"  "What do you do in your free time?...participate in any online surveys?"  "What do you do...for work?"  "What do you know about market research?"

Every booth had a "gimmick"... something to pull you in to the booth...a drawing for an Ipod Nano here, a Grand Piano there, a flat screen LED TV here, an Amazon Kindle there, nachos at this booth, candy at that one, pizza at this booth, burritos (yes that's right - burritos) at another.  It was all a little surreal.  We chose to give away candy and an Amazon Kindle (it's amazing how few people have heard of a Kindle...Reading?...That interferes with my TV watching). Our drawing had a catch.  We decided to force (encourage?) people to get a better understanding of what we do.  Have you ever tried to explain a market research business to the guy that owns the Heating & AC shop down the street?  Taking nothing away from the guy...but...Market Research HUH? 

We set up an online survey and required the attendees to fill it out in order to enter into the drawing for the Kindle.  It was amazing how novel the approach was...and how open to participation the attendees were.  More than anything, I wanted some idea of who...analytically...was attending the event and whether we should even consider going back.  The results surprised me.

This is the third year that we've attended this business expo, and the first year we've had internet access to run a survey.  Reflecting on this year vs. previous years, a couple of things stood out that may be interesting to market research companies overall.  Here are some suggestions for market research speed dating:

• Have a product to sell vs. attempting to sell your services or your company in general.  Maybe this seems like a no-brainer, but there's a difference between your products and your services.  Products are typically much easier to explain in "speed dating" settings.  Include demos.
  

• Don't make your product (too) gimmicky.  Unless you actually sell the Sham Wow...don't approach your market research product like it is the Sham Wow.  Market research products and services require a pretty intellectual approach.  It's probably not worth dumbing your product down.  Rather, find a product that meets the need of your audience and have a real conversation about how it meets your potential customer's need.  Use examples.

• I'm sure that the qualitative researchers and ethnographers among us will agree that we need to be open to "other" non-intended uses for our products...even if they are market research products.  Immediately on explaining your product, people will begin expanding the scope of it beyond what you had anticipated.  Your customers are probably using your products for something other than, or more than, what you originally envisioned.  It's a great opportunity to expand the scope.  The only market research joke I've ever heard comes to mind...
  

A man doing market research knocked on a door and was greeted by a young woman with three small children running around at her feet.

The man says, "I'm doing some research for Vaseline.  Have you ever used the product?"

The young woman says, "Yes. My husband and I use it all the time."

The man says, "And if you don't mind me asking, what do you use it for?"

The young woman says, "We use it for sex."

The researcher is a little taken back. "Usually people lie to me and say that they use it on a child's bicycle chain or to help with a gate hinge. But, in fact, we know that most people do use it for sex. I admire you for your honesty. Since you've been frank so far, can you tell me exactly how you use it for sex?"

The woman says, "I don't mind telling you at all. My husband and I put it on the door knob and it keeps the kids out."

• Finally, it's a heck of a lot easier to differentiate yourself when there is no one else around like you. Develop a unique, non-gimmicky, product that you can explain and that addresses a specific need in concise ways.
  

Call me quick on the uptake (or not), but in following this process, I quickly realized that people understood what we were doing, what we were selling, how they could apply it to their business, and why they needed it.  If I could only have avoided the folks that wanted a lot of research...full scale research programs...for a cost that was less than the labor involved to put it together.

• Have you heard any market research jokes?  What are they?
  
• Ever felt like you were market research speed dating? Example?
• Other suggestions for dealing with these settings?
  

Enough is Enough...Market Research Fans, Groups, Wires & Websites?

This will likely be the last of my string of posts that take pot-shots at the numerous sub-structures within the market research industry.  If you're a manager of one of these sub-structures, you can give a sigh of relief here (ENTER SIGH OF RELIEF). Two weeks ago, my article focused on the usefulness of market research directories.  Last week's article addressed the helpfulness of market research associations.  Finally, I think we need to turn to the numerous miscellaneous market research related news wires, websites, blogs, fan pages, communities, groups, etc.  Maybe you didn't realize all of these things existed...if not...ignorance may be bliss in this case.  There's a lot of stress involved with avidly keeping up on it all.

There's been quite a bit tweeted recently about the abundance (abundance may be an understatement...sheer volume) of market research related sites, groups, blogs, communities, etc. available to the market researcher.  For some of us, it's extremely difficult to keep a watchful eye towards everything that's going on and all that is posted with any kind of regularity.  It all becomes a little bit overwhelming (STOP THE MADNESS...KIDDING...KIND OF).  My RSS Feed alone contains fifteen market research related news wires and blog posts, not to mention all of the groups on LinkedIn and Facebook, the lists on Twitter, and the other "non-association" market research websites available that AREN'T in my news feeds.  Has enough become enough?

Don't get me wrong.  I'm glad that there are relevant sources of information for our industry.  What I'm saying is that I may have (HAVE) reached a threshold where it's becoming extremely difficult to keep track of it all without some additional technology to sift through it...UNLESS I ignore a bunch of what's available and focus only on my favorites.  Here they are:

If you haven't done this already, I have a recommendation for those who are trying to filter through all their "feeds."  Get an application to consolidate your Twitter, Facebook, and Linked In accounts.  Here are a couple of sites to check out.  I'm sure there are A LOT more of these...maybe some that are even better, however a quick analysis of the people I follow showed these two as most prevalent.  I'm not sure of the advantages or disadvantages each has over the other.

• HootSuite - I've signed up for this service to test it but don't have a lot of experience with it yet.  It's largely an online application, however it does look like it has desktop browser plug ins and can be loaded on a Mac.  It has an IPhone application.
• Tweetdeck - I use this software on both my desktop and on my mobile phone.  It's been very helpful in allowing me to quickly eye what's being posted without a lot of searching around...and it's desktop and IPhone applications are free. 
  

Blogs, Hashtags & Twitter Lists (Ok - I know they aren't really the same thing).  But, in my information overloaded mind they make a logical category...probably because many tweets are based on blogs and often the blog posts are stimulated by information being tweeted (like this one).

• Blogs - In an attempt to avoid repeating what has already been done.  I won't say much about blogs.  Research Rockstar put together two excellent articles on market research blog sources.  Their titles are Great Market Research Blogs: Part 1 and Great Market Research Blogs: Part 2.  This blog was lucky enough to get a quick mention.  Overall, the blogs that I found interesting from these two lists make up most of my RSS Feeds. 
• Aside from the folks you "follow" on Twitter.  It's probably worthwhile to consider following these Twitter hashtags (#MR, #MarketResearch, #LatinMR, #MROC).  Hashtags have been created for just about any topic.  I haven't really seen a comprehensive list of hashtags but hashtags.org is an interesting next best thing.  If you have a twitter application like Tweetdeck you can follow hashtags to your heart's content without having to figure out how to "dig" through them using the standard Twitter interface.
• Twitter lists are also being created for just about everything.  If you really want to dig deep, search some of them out related to Market Research.  I've kind of drawn a line in the sand for myself personally at this point.  Too much info (TMI).  On the other hand, take a look at this list on wefollow that id's the "most influential" market research tweeters.

Website market research news wires are easy to keep up on because you can set them up as an RSS feed in Outlook or other e-mail package, in your browser, or using a stand-alone application.  I mentioned that many of my RSS feeds are blog related.  Here are a few of my "non-association" favorite wires:

• Market Research World
• MR Web
  
• Research

The number of market research communities and market research groups seems to be exploding.  Increasingly, these are becoming much more difficult to track.  A quick search on "market research" under the groups section of Linked In generated 377 search results.  I'm able to get some value out of the following Linked In groups:

• Market Research
• Market Research Bulletin
• Market Research Global Alliance (MRGA)
• Next Gen Market Research (NGMR)
  

Incidentally, these also have their own associated websites that may also bring value on some level.

In addition to Linked In, market research related Facebook fan pages are popping up all over.  Companies have their own Facebook pages, but more non-company specific pages are also emerging.  Personally, I'm a "fan" of "Market Research Rocks! (hell yeah it does)" but I haven't jumped in to any others.

Phew...I feel like I've just thrown up...purged all of this information from my system into an article.  Sorry it was so long but I had to get it out and move on.  If someone is aware of a MASTER AGGREGATOR that will feed all of these sources, maybe provide information on "retweet" content (a frequency of "retweeted" articles would be nice), organize it into an easy "desktop" interface, all for "free"...please clue me in.  Until that time, I'll continue to overwhelm myself with the daunting task of "keeping up" in a very fast evolving industry with great content (actually I put limitations on the time I spend with these outlets...which is the first step in the information addiction).

• I'm sure I've missed someone, snubbed one of my "followers" or ignored something impactful.  Feel free to comment and add additional insight as you see fit.  The more the merrier...Right?

Love 'em or Lump 'em...Market Research Associations?

I recently wrote an article about the usefulness (or for some...the uselessness) of Market Research Directories.  In the course of the conversation, a similar question was implied regarding the benefit gained from the numerous market research associations.

Before we continue, it's worth noting that I have a bias that I should put OUT THERE.  I have been volunteering with the MRA (Marketing Research Association) for several years and find market research industry associations helpful.  Melissa Pepper, an awesome industry friend, and I, are two "first-time" board nominees for the upcoming MRA election and have created the "Committee to Elect Melissa Pepper & Vaughn Mordecai to the MRA Board".  The committee is aimed to have some fun and see how (if) social media can impact the MRA election...MROC the vote so to speak (ha - that seemed like a shameless plug that wasn't really intended as a shameless plug)  Please keep reading now...

In a recent discussion on the Tom H. C. Anderson moderated LinkedIn group, "Next Gen Market Research," the question was asked "Which trade organization membership would you miss least?"  It's a very interesting question.  I started to think about it and concluded that the question should probably be flipped on its nose.  Maybe the question should be "Which trade organization do you value the most?" And why?

I personally believe that these associations are necessary for the future survival of the market research industry.  This is especially true for small to mid-size companies that may not have the resources of their much larger competitors.  Industry associations bring benefits to market research companies that are very difficult or very costly to acquire elsewhere.  They even benefit "non-members" of the association without the "non-member" ever realizing it.  For instance:

• Market research industry associations provide us with legal interpretation and representation as an industry.  Where would we be if our industry associations were not lobbying for us when legislation is considered that could eliminate or severely inhibit the ability to provide our products and services.  Just because YOU PERSONALLY may not pay specific attention to these developments, doesn't mean they are NOT a benefit to you.
• Related to this are best practice guidelines that not only outline legal requirements in bulleted form, but also provide standardized quality practices.  Following these association requirements for membership significantly diminishes the probability that an organization will violate some legal guideline or get itself into "trouble" having a negative impact on the entire industry.
  
• My personal opinion is that the training and educational elements of our industry associations are significantly under-utilized.  This is a valuable part of what these associations offer and shouldn't be overlooked.
• For many, networking opportunity is the most visible element of association membership.  Unfortunately, the value placed on any membership is oft-times ONLY associated with the robustness of the networking available.

I believe that the reasons these benefits are often overlooked are:

• You get out what you put in.  Many of us spend a significant amount of time maintaining and managing our social media, staying connected to trends, and watching for insight that can help us evolve our businesses.  What kind of time are we spending invested and involved in our industry memberships?  Would you see a real-world, revenue-based, ROI benefit from your industry associations if even one-fourth (or less) of the time we spend on social media was actually spent on volunteering with the association(s) you belong to?  The connections you build when you volunteer are tighter, the relationships stronger, and the benefit just as robust.  Not to mention the good karma you get by giving back to those that contribute to your success (ok...so I did mention the good karma).
• If you don't know...you don't know what you don't know.  Many members subscribe to association membership simply to say that they are a member and so they can put the association logo on their website.  The complaint is then raised that the association brings nothing to them.  If you are not engaged in the association and understand what it brings to the table, how do you expect to reap its benefits.

• You're only as irrelevant as you allow yourself to be.  I've heard some say that the associations may not bring the benefit that they once did.  For whatever reason the benefit has decreased due to social media, TMI - too much info available, information is moving too quickly for associations to keep up, etc.  If you want your membership to be valuable, PARTICIPATE IN THE ELECTION PROCESS...I don't care which association it's for, or who you vote for...but place representatives in the associations that are forward thinking and capable of transforming the association with the new technology and methods available.

Whether you love 'em or would like to lump 'em, market research associations seem to be here to stay.  Could the associations provide more value and be more effective?  The answer is yes?  Could members get more value from their memberships?  The answer is also yes.  The million dollar question is "How do you encourage these two paths to converge?"

So I ask you...

• What market research industry associations do you value the most? Why?
• How can market research industry associations be more valuable to their membership base?
• How can members of market research associations get more value from their memberships? 

Out of Sight...Out of Mind...Market Research Directories?

Disclaimer: This blog post is not intended to sell you on a market research industry listing.  And, I'm not trying to sell you on a product that will "get you noticed".  I'm not attempting to get you to list your market research company with some random market research directory that I've created, and I'm not trying to sell you on the idea that you should eliminate your industry listings.  I'm not trying to provide a value proposition, or make any kind of editorial comment (...ok maybe I am making an editorial comment).  So if you are looking for that type of thing...STOP READING NOW!

Around this time each year, I renew our market research industry listings in the market research services directories.  I'm sure you do too.  It's always the same group of directories.  It's like clockwork and, with some regularity, the cost of the listing increases.  Here are the directories that my organization lists in each year...along with their "perceived" advantages:

• Bluebook - This is published by the MRA (Marketing Research Association) and has an online listing on their website.  It's kind of an "out of sight...out of mind" thing for me.  If you aren't listed here, than people may forget you exist (at least in my piece of the industry). 
  
• M-Guide - This is published by the AMA (American Marketing Association) and has an online listing on their website as well.  Hopefully, this gets your business in front of a different group than the Bluebook...but I'm unsure.
  
• Greenbook - I'm a little confused about the relationship between the Greenbook and the AMA and how it relates to the M-Guide.  Greenbook also appears to be published by the AMA.  It has a cool feature that allows you to see who's clicked on your listing.  The other directories should get a clue from the Greenbook as it appears to have the best feature set available among all directories I've seen.
• Quirks - Has a pretty robust set of listings, the published version is free, and is tied to their free market research magazine "Quirks Marketing Research Review."  I like free...although when I list here, it typically costs because I upgrade the listing.

Other companies may also list in these two additional sources with regularity:

• QRCA's Directory - For the qualitative researcher in you...They also have an online listing...and a way to evaluate experience with your facilities (either you'll love it or hate it).
• ESOMAR's Market Research Directory - If you're into the international market research world.
  

As I've gone through my renewal process each year, I've started to wonder if there are really any differences between these listings and if there's some better option or approach out there.  I'll admit that I get a handful of requests for information from these sources each year, but I get far more requests for information by maintaining a website that is easy to find.  I wonder:

• What really differentiates these listings?  I understand ESOMAR & QRCA, but is there really any difference between Bluebook, Greenbook, M-Guide & Quirks?
• Am I missing a directory that I SHOULD be paying attention to, but I'm not?
  
• Who uses these? How often are they actually used to find market research companies (especially by end-users of market research services), or are the users of these market research directories mostly other market researchers like me?
• Are companies and individuals that are looking for market research services more likely to go to these directories, or run an internet search and scan their social media networks (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogs) to find the appropriate company? 

There's a lot to be said about NOT being "Out of sight and out of mind".  For that reason, I'll continue listing every year.  BUT, and it's a BIG BUT (notice the double entendre)...is there or can there be a better way to connect your organization with someone who is looking for your products or services.  It's very difficult to differentiate yourself in a directory...there's only so much that searchees will pay attention to.  It leaves me wanting more...(without a bunch of calls or e-mails from people with *.gmail accounts claiming to have the Big Bang solution to search engine optimization (SEO)...which I'm already doing.)  Do you agree?

I'm looking forward to your thoughts and replies to the questions I've posed.

The More Things Change...Mullets and Market Research

Everyone has heard the saying, "The more things change...the more they stay the same".  Do you believe that? 

I had a very surreal experience recently.  As I've mentioned in previous articles, I grew up in a relatively small city in Idaho.  I was a teenager in the '80's (just dated myself).  The town I lived in was about as country as they come.  At the time (maybe still) the city I lived in was infested with mullets.  Yes...infested is the correct word choice.  A mullet is not a small furry animal, though on some people it looks like one.  It is not a rodent, an insect, or a bird.  A mullet, for those of you who don't know, is a hairstyle...operationally defined by some as "business in the front and party in the back"...also known as a...short-long, a mud flap, a yes-no, a 10/90, a Camaro Cut, etc.  The Beastie Boys actually wrote a song about mullets called Mullet Head.

In my town, almost everyone had a mullet.  You can imagine a whole town filled with mullet wearers.  The cowboys wore mullets, the athletes wore mullets, the nerds, the bandsters, the stoners, the teachers, the parents...even the girls wore mullets (called a gullet - a "girl mullet").  I'm proud to say I've never had a mullet.

But, my teenage son has had a mullet (this is not a picture of him smoking a cigarette).  My teenage son recently cut his shag haircut into a mullet.  I couldn't believe it...talk about a flashback.  Don't get me wrong...it's a new...evolved...2010...hip...kind of mullet...but it's still a mullet.  I just don't know what to think about it.  I didn't like mullets the first time around...don't like them the second time either. 

This recent experience has started me thinking.  Do market research methods and approaches come in and out of "fashion" like other trends?  I believe that they do.  Here are a couple of examples:

• Online market research related access panels have had a hey-day for the past several years.  New online companies were being created.  Online companies were being bought and sold based on their capabilities (aka panel size)...even their projected capabilities.  However, recently the growth that online research has experienced has slowed down significantly.  Quality concerns have been identified relating to access panel representation, sampling methods, respondent accuracy, overlap between panels, etc.  This area of our industry is saturated with providers operating in the mullet-wearing gladiator pit-of-doom to fight it out.  Are access panels past their prime or will they see growth in the future?  The jury's still out.

• Much of the growth seen in the online survey arena came at the expense of telephone research.  Telephone survey research has started to see some stabilization in the decline it was experiencing (prior to our current economic shake-up).  It will be interesting to see how the industry and market researchers approach this methodology as the economy rebounds.  Will it return to fashion in some altered form or is it like your old pair of jeans, you'll keep them around forever?

• Qualitative research in general has "made way" for online focus groups, MROC's (market research online communities), online product testing & taste tests.  Will these methods loop back around to "traditional" focus groups, test kitchens, and ethnographic research?  I recently saw an article giving advice on when focus group methods should be used vs. using a series of in-depth interviews (IDI's).  Within research types there are "in-vogue" fashions.

• In-person interviewing may be the most relevant example of "fashion changes" in research.  A number of years ago...a mall DIDN'T EXIST that didn't have a face-to-face research company located in it.  Over the past ten years, in-person, especially mall research underwent a significant reduction in the number of facilities available.  The number has stabilized and the method seems to be seeing a resurgence in popularity.  It has also begun to evolve.  I'm familiar with Quicktest, a research organization that represents a significant number of the mall research facilities in the US.  They have created a very unique concept, Quickview, which is a kiosk based mall research facility.  The concept places them in high traffic areas in malls, and takes up much less space but still provides all of the benefits of face-to-face research.  

I don't believe that methods come back in "un-evolved" states, however I do believe that they often come back in fashion.  Similar to my son's "non-'80's"...hip...modern...2010 retro punk...mullet, market research methods look different in their modernized form.  Here are a few suggestions for modernizing your market research product or market research service:

• Address the methodological concerns, expand your horizons and think "out-of-the-box".  A couple of years ago, Discovery Research got involved with conducting IVR surveys (Interactive Voice Response).  Online access panels were digging in to the research typically conducted over the phone.  One of the reasons (aside from cost) was that respondents could self-select time and day to complete interviews.  IVR research provides a cheap, self-select, quick method for conducting market research in an arena that Discovery Research understands better than most...telephone market research.

• Mold and evolve your market research products.  Quicktest evolved the mall market research process so that it was more relevant and accessible to respondents.  They've evolved their primary product into the "new mullet" of market research (would that be the nullet).

• Find your niche and be the best at it.  The nullet doesn't look much like the mullet from the '80's.  It looks retro...in a way...but looks very modern.  You've heard it say that you don't want your company to be a "manufacturer of buggy whips."  Maybe it's ok to be a buggy whip manufacturer, if you're the only person selling buggy whips, you're the best at it, and they address the needs of the current buggy whip market.

I'm interested in your thoughts:

• Have you ever had a mullet?  What year was it?

• Do you know of other names for mullets?

• Do you believe that market research methods and approaches go in and out of fashion?
  

Voter Apathy and the MRA (Marketing Research Association) Election

I've been involved with the MRA (Marketing Research Association) and more specifically, the SWMRA (Southwest Chapter) for quite some time.  I always look for ways to volunteer, get involved, and to try to help the association as best I can.  I believe that when members volunteer, good Kharma comes back seven-fold.  In the course of this volunteerism, I've run across a concerning trend.  VERY FEW PEOPLE VOTE IN OUR ELECTIONS...Few people seem to vote for our chapter leaders, our bylaw changes, and the processes that alter the make up of the association.  Granted, most of my experience with this has taken place at the chapter level, I'd assume that the same "problem" exists nationally.  I don't claim to know what the actual figures are...but I find this SHOCKING.  At the chapter level, bylaw changes typically have to go through more than one voting cycle as a result of low participation in the approval process.  It makes me wonder why so few members vote for the leaders and guidelines that represent them and their companies in the market research industry.  I came to a few conclusions:

1.  Voter Apathy - members may not be interested or do not care.

2.  Members may not see a difference between any of the candidates...or don't know them to begin with.

3.  Members may not understand the value of the MRA for anything more than networking purposes...they may not know what the MRA brings to the table.

4.  The members are too darn busy to vote or the process is confusing and just isn't any fun.  

What do you think?  Am I correct in my conclusions?

I'm unaware of anyone who has EVER...ACTUALLY...staged a campaign for the MRA national election process.  To that end, Melissa Pepper, Tammadge Research's CSO & Vaughn Mordecai, Discovery Research Group's President, have formed "The Committee to Elect Melissa Pepper and Vaughn Mordecai to the MRA Board of Directors".  The name of the committee is intended to be long and "tongue-in-cheek", as is the slogan "Brought to you by 'The Committee to Elect Melissa Pepper & Vaughn Mordecai to the MRA Board of Directors' - you know you want them (on the board)."  Among other things...yet to be announced...Pepper & Mordecai are running on the assumption (aka...the platform) that it's important for the membership to vote, that we can have some fun with the election process, and that the process will result in good "representation" of the MRA membership at the National MRA level.  Simply, we are experimenting with social media to see if it can have any impact whatsoever on the MRA election process...the jury's still out. 

If you'd like to join our committee, we've set up a couple of social media avenues for folks to have some fun with...knock yourself out:

Our Facebook group is located here!

Our LinkedIn Group is located here!

Whether you love us...whether you hate us...whether you know us or not...vote...for someone...in the MRA election in the upcoming months.  Come on...it takes like five minutes!

I look forward to your comments.

Growing up Idaho - A Market Research Story

I grew up in the state of Idaho in a town of 50,000 people called Idaho Falls.  Idaho Falls is not known for much.  It has a lot of rural area, farms full of potatoes, and a Budweiser plant.  The primary employer in the area is the Idaho National Laboratory, who hires about 8,000 employees and stores spent nuclear fuel.  I wasn't very adept at storing spent nuclear fuels (heaven forbid I'm in charge of THAT...we'd have all been doomed) so I got involved with market research.

If you've ever traveled the I-15 freeway north, you may have driven through Idaho Falls on your way to Yellowstone National Park.  Growing up in a fairly small town had its ups and downs.  Generally, aside from the dollar movies, we were forced to find our own forms of entertainment.  We didn't occupy our time with the "luxuries" of today, i.e. video games (it only took so long to beat Pitfall), computers, the internet, mobile phones, texting, etc. that seem to suck every spare minute from today's teens.  We spent a lot of time exploring our surroundings, playing sports, and getting into trouble. 

It's funny how things change.  As a youth, I spent time at a swimming pool and waterslide called "Thunder Ridge" that was located in the foothills on the east side of the city.  My high school graduation party was located at this pool.  The graduation party had to have been one of Thunder Ridge's last major events because within a matter of a year after the party, the operation was closed down.

For many years after its closure, Thunder Ridge and it's waterslide continued to stand in an increasingly dilapidated condition.  In an attempt to find something to do, my buddies, brothers, etc. and I used to go to Thunder Ridge and ride down the slide on a skateboard and an ice-block.  Here's how it worked.  We'd go to the slide at night (police would kick you out if they found you there) and sneak, quietly, up to the slide (neighbors would call the police if they noticed you there).  We'd make sure that we had a couple of safety equipment items...Converse All-Stars, Levi's 501 Jeans, long sleeved flannel shirts, gloves and a flashlight.  The flashlight was placed at the bottom of the slide.  You'll recall from your own waterslide experiences that at the end of any waterslide is a drop into a pool.  It was extremely important to know when your ride was about to end so you weren't shot off the ledge into the empty, muddy, abandoned pool (happened more than once).  We'd hike to the entrance of the slide and lay on our stomachs on the skateboard.  We'd ride the skateboard down tail-end first, placing the ice-block under the tail so that we didn't get "death wobble".  The ice-block was slippery enough to allow for the curves and transitions in the waterslide.  We'd ride the skateboard/ice-block combination down headfirst so that we could hold the ice-block under the skateboard as we rode (using the gloves).  The long-sleeve shirt and Levi's jeans were important to avoid road rash if/when we fell off the screaming-fast contraption.  The Converse All-Stars were used as brakes.  The instant that you saw the flashlight at the bottom, or sped up too fast, you dragged your All-Stars on the edges of the slide.  You can imagine how scary-fun this experience was as we'd scream down the slide a million miles an hour, hoping that we could stop in time to avoid being shot out the end...falling four feet into a muddy, dirty, trash-filled, pool.

As you manage and work at your business or for your employer (whether you're a market research group or any other type of company), as you conduct your market research, your healthcare research, or operate your MROC (Market Research Online Community), as you survey your customers or patients, etc. do you ever feel like you have been placed in a business situation like this?  Do you ever go through your business life feeling like you are being sucked down a path that is going too fast and that you can only hope turns out well in the end?  If so, I have a few suggestions:

• Slow Down - Many of us take on WAY too many things at once.  At some point or another, we've all done this.  Slow down and focus, prioritize and accomplish the items that will have the biggest impact on your business first, especially if they are the easiest to knock out.  When you're learning how to ride a skateboard down a waterslide, it's important that you slow down...at least the first time so you understand the process.

• Learn How to Steer - You can actually steer a skateboard and an ice-block. Have you learned to steer your business?  Market research will help steer you to informed decision making.  If your business sells a product or services a client (we all do), collect customer feedback, understand your patient satisfaction, do your product research.  If you are involved in a market research organization, work on your market research techniques so that you can effectively deliver the results of your market research data collection in concise ways that answer your customer's research needs.

• Use the "Right" Equipment - Just like it is extremely important to wear gloves, jeans, long-sleeve shirts, and sneakers on this kind of "ride", it's important that you use the right equipment when conducting your market research.  There are some really great market research products and services available in the industry...and there are some really crappy ones.  The crappy ones will steer you in directions you don't want to go, gather information that doesn't represent your target audience, and lead you to decisions that may not have the impact on your business that you'd hoped.  For those of us that are involved in market research, it's extremely important for us to have stable platforms, that produce accurate results, and deliver on what is expected.  We should evaluate our platforms for "fit" regularly.

• Check for Obstacles - I'm embarrassed to admit that on one occasion I did NOT check for obstacles in the slide.  Idaho Falls has a tremendous amount of wind.  As it aged, the slide dilapidated and the wind actually blew one of the slide's top pieces inside the slide.  I ran into this "slide-part" at a million miles an hour breaking four of my fingers.  The best equipment in the world couldn't offset my own stupidity.  The obstacles that you need to consider when conducting market research projects are your market research methods.  It is important that you understand the method that will best answer your market research question.  Whether your market research study should use quantitative market research vs. qualitative market research depends on what you're trying to accomplish.  Whether you should collect customer or patient surveys vs. conducting a focus group vs. using an MROC (Market Research Online Community) depends on what you're trying to accomplish.  Whether you should use online vs. face to face vs. telephone or IVR methods also depends on what you're trying to accomplish.  Don't automatically assume that a specific method "fits" your research question...simply because it's a "hot" collection method at the time.  Each method of collection has its obstacles and advantages. 

• Use the Buddy System - It's important that you surround yourself with people who know what they're doing and have your best interest in mind.  When I broke my four fingers my "buddy" had to drive me home.  Not all market research companies are the same.  Each has a specific group of methods, experiences, and foci.  Has your market research provider ever said "No - I don't think we're the best fit for that particular project?"  Surround yourself with a group of people that you trust and that can and will deliver and will be honest with you when they can't.  Market research companies need to be that buddy.

I look forward to your comments!

OUCH - YOU SHOT ME...Do your Planning & Market Research!

I have children in my household.  More specifically, I have tweens & teens, with sons in the mix.  A few weeks ago, one of my sons asked for an "Airsoft Gun" for his birthday.  If you've never heard of an airsoft gun, it's like the BB guns from your youth, only it's been "modernized" for the "safety" of the new generation who will never ride in a backward facing seat in a stationwagon without a seatbelt, play in an abondoned car in a junk laden abandoned field, or ever sleep overnight in the backyard on the trampoline without parental supervision.  The ammunition for an airsoft gun is a plastic BB, shot from a mostly plastic gun vs. a metal BB from a "normal" BB gun (aka. Red Ryder BB Gun from "A Christmas Story").  The BB's from airsoft guns are strong enough to break through cardboard, but probably not strong enough to "shoot your eye out".  For the most part, you should AVOID shooting someone with an airsoft gun.  Shooting your friend with an airsoft gun is NOT recommended...although it won't kill them...and probably won't injure them...much.  My son got an airsoft gun for his birthday.

One of the coolest features on this airsoft gun was a "laser scope"...basically a plastic laser pointer attached to the top of the airsoft gun.  About a week after my son received this gift, it was lying around the house for anyone to play with.  My father-in-law stopped by one afternoon for a visit.  He's a country boy who grew up around "real" guns and fully understands gun safety...what he didn't understand was that airsoft guns actually shoot plastic BB's with a fair amount of velocity...and that this "toy" gun wasn't simply a "laser pointer" in the shape of a handgun.  One of the funniest experiences of my youngest son's life to date (funniest for the rest of us)...was the day he was shot by his grandfather with an airsoft gun.  It was like a scene from ABC's "Modern Family":

Grandfather: "What's this?"...Points gun at grandson...

Grandson: "It's an airsoft gun?"...Insert "Duh" expression here...

Grandfather: Noticing laser pointer...pulls trigger...thinking laser will point at grandson...instead shoots high velocity plastic BB...hitting grandson in the ribs...(Did I mention grandson has no shirt on?)...BB leaves a nice red welt.

Grandson: "OUCHHHH...YOU SHOT ME..."Grandson falls to the ground and rolls around in shock that his Grandfather would actually shoot him with an airsoft gun, while Grandfather apologizes profusely.

Everyone Else in the Room: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...take deep breath...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH...wipe tears...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.     

What does this have to do with your business, your market research company, or conducting market research?

As each of us, regardless of our role or responsibility, prepares for the year...keep these suggestions in mind:

• Have a purpose - Do what you intend...and intend what you do (as opposed to the grandfather who pegged grandson...completely by accident).
• Have a plan, set realistic goals, and then execute on them.  It's important that you have a plan for the future and that you aren't leaving your success to a fluke accident (grandfather pegged son with plastic BB, but didn't mean to).  Sometimes we FALL into success in our businesses.  It's always great when that happens, but typically VERY unpredictable.  "Hope" isn't a strategy, so don't rely on a complete accident for your success?
• Include a product or service aimed at keeping your company relevant...Don't "take your shots"...on the spur of the moment...and then, after the fact...hope that you hit on something.  Conduct your market research and analysis to ensure that the product(s) or service(s) you are launching have a place and are relevant to your industry.  This is appropriate...even if...especially if...you are a market research company...market study...do your homework. 
  
• Return and report on your progress...to someone.  If you're the senior manager, report to your staff.  If you're an employee on a team, report to your team leader.  It's important that each of us are accountable for what we do every day, that we stay focused, that we are open to feedback as we proceed, and that we announce our successes from the rooftops (Probably don't need to scream your failures...OUCH - YOU SHOT ME).
• Establish timelines, checkpoints, and metrics for success.  If you're not careful, it's easy to operate huge chunks of your life...your business...your year...untethered...hoping for the best, but relying on a mishap (an unplanned "shot in the dark") for the success of your business.

Here's to an awesome new year...Give it your BEST SHOT!  I look forward to your comments.

My Holiday Wishes for Market Research Companies in 2010

Every one of us wants something more for our companies in some way.  Whether you are on a market research account team that is "in the trenches" creating, conducting, and analyzing the market research data, or in a telephone center somewhere in the world managing interviewers or collecting the data yourself, or whether you are the leader of a market research company or a market research group trying to control costs, provide vision and lead your organization, my hope is that you are constantly looking for a more efficient and effective way to conduct your daily business and complete your daily tasks.  Each of us, regardless of the role we provide, should be constantly looking for ways to grow, expand, adapt, and evolve the company we belong to.  Market Research, especially in the last couple of years, has been a fast changing, quickly evolving industry that has really required some significant attention to "stay relevant".  If you didn't realize this, take a look around and see what's changing in the market research methods, budgets, platforms, etc. being used and developed, and evaluate how it's impacting your business.  Here are five "holiday wishes" for those of us participating in the market research industry.  I hope...   

• That our market research products & services will be relevant and successful in 2010.  We all work very hard...and try to work very smart...to evolve and keep up with the ongoing change in our industry.  Many of us launch new products, or develop new services with some regularity.  Here's to relevance & success of these products in 2010!

• That we will maintain a constant attention to the quality of the research that we conduct and the services we provide.  Quality is king.  Without a quality product, our importance and "seat at the table" will be questioned.  Whether your primary research method is qualitative, quantitative, multi-modal, online, phone, IVR, MROC's, focus groups, ethnographies, IDI's, etc.  A constant attention needs to be placed on delivering results that are representative, accurate, clean, and address the research questions that need to be answered.  Our industry depends on a "seat at the table" and it is up to each of us to see that this happens. 
  

• That each of us will find a way to conduct the market research more quickly without sacrificing the quality...or the ability to make the company money in the process (working yourself right out of business).  It's sad but true, that we've seen many of our business associates and business organizations work themselves right out of employment.  Market research companies need to find ways to conduct quality research, quickly, but at the same time make money doing it.  It's a plain statement that "Businesses exist to make money."  Finding a balance between quality, faster, cheaper is possible, but takes attention to the methods used and processes developed.  As market research companies, we must serve these three masters, but we must also make money doing it...or we work ourselves right out of business.    

• That the three previous "wishes" will be completed without "running" our market research staff "into the ground" in the process.  Each of our organizations spends years developing experienced market research staff who are excellent at the work that they do, who bring insights and creativity to the table, and who can deliver on the market research needs and our customer's expectations.  We must understand the needs of our clients AND the needs of our staff.  It's important that our staff have personal lives outside of work...helping them find the balance between work and their personal lives is important.  We can't take them for granted...at the same time, we MUST exceed our clients needs.  It is a difficult line to walk.
  

• That we will see an end to "The Great Recession".  I heard a term while driving into work this morning.  A doctor was on the radio and he mentioned, what he titled, an epidemic of "Recession Depression".  The stress on most employees, organizations, departments, etc. has been uncharacteristically high this year.  Until we see an end to "The Great Recession" watch your staff for "Recession Depression," acknowledge their efforts in a tough year, identify employees who have worked hard and seen some success, and thank your employees for their hard work.  Many times, all they need is to simply be acknowledged in some way.  
  

Best wishes for 2010 and beyond.  Here's to an excellent year for us all!