The Landmark Blog

Robots and the Uses for IVR in Market Research Surveys

Did you ever used to watch the TV show "Mystery Science Theater 3000"?  The show was extremely funny and very creative.  The basic premise was to take a bunch of old, corny, black and white science fiction and horror movies, play them in the background on a large screen while a couple of "robots" and a human make fun of them.  Sounds like a strange premise, but it works.  If you've never seen it, make the jump (after you read this blog) to their website and check it out.  Very funny stuff.  

The thing that every person knows about robots is that, like Mystery Science Theater 3000, all good robots should have the ability to speak.  Market Research has speaking robots of their own.  If you're involved in doing telephone market research, you've heard of "robo-dialing" or "auto-dialing" and "interactive voice response - IVR".  Take a look at this picture...now you know who's making these automated research calls.

It's been a while since I really geeked out and posted an article that was extremely focused on methods of collecting market research data.  This one has been rolling around in my brain for some time.  For awhile now, I've wondered why more people don't use IVR with more regularity as a method for data collection.  I've come to the conclusion that researchers may be less familiar with the process, probably don't completely understand how it operates, and don't really make the connection to its benefits.

IVR or Interactive Voice Response has been around for quite some time.  About once a week, I receive a phone call from one of my children's schools telling me that they were absent from a class (most times we knew about it).  Candidates in the political arena often use the technology for "Get out the Vote" campaigns. Though it can't be used for research purposes, basic IVR phone technology is built into the structure of most company's telephone systems (ex. when the "phone tree" asks for the extension, your voicemail, etc.)  

The 2009 version of Rockhopper's "Research Industry Trends" report shows us that only 11% of companies actually use this market research data collection method.  I really wonder why the technology is used so infrequently, especially given that it has many of the same advantages as online research, and overcomes some of the barriers.  Here are some advantages to using IVR as a method of collection: 

• IVR deals very effectively with the self selected sampling methods comparable to what you see online (inbound calls from "current customers").  This is the IVR use that most people are familiar with. 
• Most IVR systems have the ability to make outbound calls.  IVR is a capable method for Random Digit Dialed (RDD) or client listed outbound studies.
• Because IVR is automated, the labor associated with the job is minimized.  The net result is a cost per interview that is much less expensive than "typical" phone studies and similar to online costs.
• Similar to online research, the turnaround time on IVR studies can be much faster for outbound dialed projects, with many of the same benefits of phone dialing and fewer of the "risks" associated with online research.
• IVR is particularly capable of generating qualified responses on low incidence studies.  Most systems can be set up to dial through the records and giving the respondent the choice between being transferred to a telephone interviewer (called a Warm Transfer) or completing the interview with the automated system.
• Many IVR systems store data in databases which are easily plugged in to data or research dashboards.

What are your thoughts.  Why don't more people use IVR in their arsenal of market research methods of collecting market research data?  Are there uses for IVR that I've missed?  What about barriers I've overlooked?  I look forward to your responses.

Mountains, Trail Markers, and Feedback

A few years back my brothers and I climbed the Grand Teton, a mountain peak in the Grand Teton National Park.  The Grand Teton is one of the highest points in Wyoming and reaches a daunting 13,770 feet in elevation.  The approach to the peak and back is about a 14 mile roundtrip hike that spans two days.  The first day is spent hiking to the base of the Teton and resting for the second day's activities.  The second day is spent scaling the Grand, and hiking all the way back to your car.  Scaling the peak itself requires climbing gear and a 2,700 foot elevation gain.  

At one point along the climb, the trail requires you scale a cliff where you are suspended by climbing gear, butt facing out on about 12,000 feet of air.  For me, this entire trip was a grueling, but once in a lifetime experience with many adventures, excitement, and tense moments.

Among the many interesting experiences we had on this trip, there's one that I'll never forget.  As we reached the summit of the Grand, it began to rain...and lightening.  I'm not sure if you've ever stood on a peak that high in the air but you quickly realize how miniscule you are.  When lightening begins to drop, it becomes extremely scary and beautiful all at once.  You can feel the electricity in the air, the hair on your arms stand on end, but you are taken aback by the setting.  As the rain and lightening began to drop around us, it became quickly apparent that we were at significant risk of being hit.  As much as we wanted to stay and enjoy the scenery, it was imperative that get off the mountain very quickly.  

Cairns, as they relate to back-country hiking, are trail markers made from piled-together rocks that mark the trail when the trail itself isn't obvious, for instance through rock beds, rivers, etc.  They help hikers avoid getting lost, are extremely important for navigation, and are sometimes very difficult to find.  An Epic, in the climbing world, is a very dangerous experience...one that should happen infrequently...but that you live to tell about.  

Our start on the second day was a little later than we would have liked and we moved more slowly than we'd have expected.  As we sped down the Grand Teton, with rain and lightening falling all around us and the sky darkening, we realized that this Epic was nowhere close to being over.  When the series of long repels were completed and we were able to get to a safer area, we had a seven mile hike in the rain ahead of us...in the dark.  The Cairns that seemed so obvious in the daylight, were much more difficult to find with only a headlamp to guide the way.  The trail was eerily difficult to follow and we were exhausted by the days epic events.

I learned something about human nature...and myself...on that trip.  We, as humans, are capable of doing difficult things.  We're capable of overcoming obstacles that we'd never imagine in our way.  I believe these traits apply to not only our personal lives, but our businesses, employment, and work lives.

What are the Epics that you face in your business or your employment.  Is the recent recession one?  What about other events?  What are the Cairns that you use to help you guide the way to business success?  Here are some suggestions for guiding you through epic events...some business Cairns:

• Constantly collect feedback from your customers, your patients, your constituents, or your employees on what you are doing well and what you can improve on.  Feedback surveys are a good way of collecting information to ensure you have a trail to follow.
• Provide yourself with immediate access to this feedback information so that you are aware of issues quickly.  This access could be in a data or business intelligence dashboard format, or something as simple as dropping all feedback responses into your e-mail.  Your customers, patients, constituents, employees, etc. will appreciate you for gathering this information and they'll be more likely to stick with the trail as a result.  
• Make sure you act on the feedback information as quickly as you can.  There's no reason to gather feedback if you have no intention to do anything with it.  Waiting for months or years to address issues are as problematic as not knowing the issues to begin with.  If the trail doesn't have a clear path with constant improvements, it becomes much harder to follow.

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!

A Title: Wave of Meep

The other day I was driving in my car and was listening to the news.  An AMAZING story was reported that illustrated the power of social networks and the creation of word meaning.  I'm a sociologist at heart and I found this story absolutely fascinating.  The story was about Meep.  What is Meep do you ask?  How do you use Meep?  Can I personally Meep?  What about you...can you Meep?  Can we Meep each other?  Is Meep an animal, vegetable, or mineral?  The answer is Yes?  Maybe?  Kind of?  I don't know...?

Meep has gone viral.  Here's the amazing thing about Meep.  If you Google Meep - 826,000 search results pop up.  Binging Meep results in 669,000 hits (say Binging Meep outloud...it's kind of fun).  Get it yet?  I submit that you do not. 

Recently, a story about Meep was run on many of the major news channels and in major newspapers.  The origins of Meep are greatly debated.  Some would say that Meep originated from The Muppets "Beaker".  His rudimentary way of communicating could be written as "Meep" (as illustrated later in the Muppets Baby song "Meep Meep Meep".)  Others would argue that Meep comes from the linguistical stylings of the Looney Tunes' - Road Runner. We'll leave the final decision up to you.    

More recently, and the reason that Meep hit the news, resulted from a ban on Meep by the Principal of a Danvers, Massachusetts high school.  The principal recently banned "Meeping" and threatened suspension for any student that displayed, or said the word "Meep" at school.  Yes, that's right...a ban...and suspension...for Meep.  It must be bad.

As it stands, Urban Dictionary actually has 79 meanings for the word Meep, and Meep is also included in Wikipedia.  There's also a Facebook Fan page for the Meep within you that includes 1,166 members...now those folks know how to Meep. 

Urban Dictionary's number one definition for Meep is:

"The most versatile word in the English language, or in fact any language!

Can mean whatever you want it to mean, but the most popular uses are:

1.  An exclamation akin to 'ouch' or 'uh oh..'
2.  Filling in the blanks where other (rude) words would go.
3.  A greeting! I personally say meep instead of Hello...
4.  A random expression of happiness used to fill gaps in conversation.

Meep is the best word ever! Meep!

1.  "HEY GET BACK HERE!!!" "Meep!" 0.0
2.  "Ahh.. Meeping Hell!" >.<
3.  "Meep." ^.^
4.  "....meep...." ^__^"

Sounds like a suspendable offense to me...(ha).  Through the use of social media (AKA Facebook), the students of the school planned a "Mass Meep" in the halls.  The Meep was Meeped (by the principal)...and chaos surrounding Meep subsequently ensued...Meep went viral and took on a whole new social  meaning.  To the point that even the linguists have chimed in on the subject.

Words, social networks and social media have power.  If they didn't, marketing would not be successful and we wouldn't see the current trend toward online communities that surround themselves with "others" like them...all in the name of their favorite brand, product, etc.  Market research is the key to understanding words and the social meanings of your brand, your service, your product, or how satisfied your customers and consumers are with your product.  Inevitably, it is understanding, through the use of market research, that will lead to your businesses meeping success.

1.  Have you heard of Meep, what do you think of it?

2.  Have you "Meeped" lately?

3.  Will you Meep in the future?

KNE3ZXCJ6SEH 

CompassVision Press Release

ANNOUNCING COMPASSVISION

CompassVision is a new product by Discovery Research Group that provides a technology solution for the business challenge of gathering ongoing, transaction based, real-time feedback from clients and customers.

Research suggests: 

• In just 5 years, the typical company will lose 50% of their "satisfied" customers. 
• Only 4% of unhappy customers ever complain, 91% of non-complainers simply go somewhere else. 
• The estimated average value of a customer is 10 times their initial purchase.
• 80% of companies believe they deliver a superior customer experience.  Only 8% of their customers agree.

Customer loyalty is key to business growth and increasing sales.  Addressing customer concerns and ensuring customer satisfaction is key to customer loyalty.  But, how do you gather the important information needed to make educated decisions that improve your business and increase customer loyalty?

CompassVision provides the solution that you need for accurate decision making based on real-time customer feedback.  Through this market research automated tool, CompassVision will help you gather customer information, consolidate it into a usable format, and report the information in a way that is meaningful for your business, allowing you to make informed decisions that will have the greatest possible impact on your company.

CompassVision will...guide you to informed decisions.