The Landmark Blog

What Makes You Different?

My teenage years were in the 1980's.  The era of odd synthetic fashion and tight pants, extreme hair styles, hair bands, punk, new-wave, breakdancing and early hip-hop music, MTV, VCR and the cassette tape, neon and uninhibited materialism, Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the end to the Berlin Wall. 

I was actually in high school in the late 1980's when new wave and hair bands had a strangle hold on American culture.  I grew up in a rural city in the West.  My town was filled with tight pants, waffle-stompers (also called Keg Boots), tight t-shirts and feathered mullets (guys) or REALLY REALLY REALLY big feathery hair (girls).  Big trucks with even bigger lifts reigned and a European car was unheard of.  Local radio stations gave you the choice of hair bands, hair bands, more hair bands, or country western.  In my neck of the woods, big ballads ruled the airwaves and new wave was looked down upon with radical distaste and unstopped disdain.

My pack of friends (shout out to those of you who read this), from three different schools, were...well...different.  We were punks, skaters, preppies, mods, and wavers in a sea of butt-rockers and hair.  It was easy to point us out and easy to identify us.  We were the pre-generation of, and evolved into, the Grunge movement of the 1990's that was so well accepted with its long hair and flannel.  We listened to bands like U2, The Police, Depeche Mode, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Big Audio Dynamite, The Cure, The Ramones, Social Distortion, The Violent Femmes, Jane's Addiction, and saw Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam before they ever played stadiums but could only be found on the local music circuit.  We identified with bands that are very mainstream today, but were misunderstood in the 1980's.   

This identification that my friends and I had with something "different" often lead to consistent trouble for us.  I distinctly remember a moment in high school when my younger brother was surrounded by a group of butt rockers (about 15 of them), dog piled, and duct taped upside down to a pole in the middle of the school.  At the time, the group felt justified in this action, because he was different than them.  His career path has been in law enforcement.  I'm sure this experience was a turning point.  It's interesting how most of our life experiences and differences lead us down pretty specific paths.  We were chased, egged, tripped, spit on, threatened, and asked to leave public places.  In spite of this, we were a proud group, proud of ourselves and proud for standing out in a crowd.

Maybe I'm an optimist at heart, but I believe that things, and people, change for the better (most times).  History shows that things that are "different" are often frowned upon at first, but often produce long-term acceptance or a positive impact on culture.  It's an interesting evolutionary cycle as you watch "different" become mainstream, acceptable, and eventually embraced...much like the music transition from punk, new-wave, and the hair bands of the 1980's, to the 1990's grunge movement.

When is "different" ok?  When is "different" encouraged?  When is "different" necessary for your survival?

For your business to have value it must provide something that is better, cheaper, faster, more technical, simpler, easier, innovative...something...different.  What makes you or your organization different...really different?  I liked a recent blog post by ActusMR titled "Stand Out".  It focused on the reasons that you want to stand out for sales purposes, but there's more to it than just sales...right?  Businesses exist to make money...to sell...we all know that.  It's the underlying approach to our economy.  But they also do something more.  They become a part of the culture, the social landscape.  They become part of who we are.  They support families, support individuals, alter the view, change communities, change countries, and in some instances change the world.  Different...can change a lot of things.

Here are some simple tips to identify how your business is really different.

• Survey or simply ask your employees, your team, your department, what makes your group different.  Do you believe what they say?
• Survey or simply ask your customers, your clients, your patients what makes your company different.  This is risky business, maybe they won't know.  Hopefully they do.  In either case you'll learn something.
• Conduct a litmus test.  Do the differences your staff identify align with the differences your clients identify?  How do these two things align with the goals of your organization, your mission statement?  If they don't align, work at bringing these two views together.
• When you speak to potential clients, are the characteristics you talk about unique to you, or are they industry rhetoric?  If you talk about quality, what do you do differently than your competitors to ensure that quality exists?  Rhetoric isn't the actual difference; it is an outcome.  The different steps you take to achieve the outcome are the real difference.

It's important that you know how you are different.  Now that you know how you are different, be prepared to talk about your differences and, more importantly, be prepared to show why they are a benefit to your customers, your clients, your patients, or your employees.  Your organizations success and survival, either now or in the future, will depend on your ability to characterize why you or your products and services are different and why "different" matters.

• Are the other steps you take to identify what makes you different?
• How do you get the word out on your differences?
• What makes you different?

Questions, Bands, Musicians and Market Research

I love questions, especially the unique ones.  It's probably one of the reasons I enjoy market research so much.  When I was young and working myself through college and graduate school I worked a series of menial jobs that ranged from fast food worker, pizza delivery guy, big box store associate (that was quite the promotion from fast food worker), and wound up with a job chasing a developmentally disabled individual around a learning facility, primarily to "discourage" him from touching people.  My "college enlightened" brain was BORED.  To entertain myself, I'd ask questions that not only entertained me but made the folks I worked with think...and passed the time more quickly.  I loved to ask questions like: 

• If you HAD to live the life of a Brady Bunch character...who would it be?  Why?
• If you could only drive one TV car for the rest of your life, what car would it be?  Why?
• If you woke up in the morning morphed into a superhero, who would you want it to be?  Why?
• If you had to marry a cartoon character, who would it be (this was prior to "adult cartoons"...other than Heavy Metal or parts of The Wall.) And, Why?
• If you were going to work in a job, that wasn't "White Collar" and wasn't for the money, what would it be?  Why? 

I would entertain myself for hours thinking about and engaged in conversations surrounding topics like this...not exactly saving the world...but at least my brain wasn't turning to Lime Green Jello.

I was listening to some music this morning as I was going about my work.  I love placing my Ipod on shuffle and seeing what comes out.  Music has a fascinating way of putting you in a place, a time, an event, a frame of mind.  One song can flash you to different events in your life...and you're there...for better or for worse...only for a moment.  Music has meaning.  For instance, if you ever walk into my office and I'm listening to show tunes...bust your butt to get out of there as quickly as you can...Don't get me wrong, I like show tunes and it could be one of those really upbeat songs that may sound really happy...it's still not a good sign.

This morning, due to some music I was listening to, I started thinking about this time in my life.  The time when I had much less to do and much less responsibility...and I ran across one of THOSE questions...so I mandatarily asked my staff (no opt-in). 

• If (Insert Your Company Here) were a band, a musician, or a musical group, who would it be and why.  

If you've never asked a question like this of your staff, you should try it.  In fact, I'd encourage you to ask this specific question of your staff.  The answers are insightful.  Is your company like: 

• A Reggae Band - Doesn't get worked up over much, everything is always peaceful, and very little conflict exists?
• A Country Western Band - Down on your luck, always running into trouble...lost your wife, your horse, and your money.
• A Speed Metal Band - Loud, frantic, unorganized.
• A Lounge Singer - Solid for years, but struggling as the world outgrows you.
• A Classic Rock Band - The band that continues to evolve over time to meet the needs of the current listeners, but really has to work at it.
• An Alternative Band - New products, new ideas, new ways of delivering your message.
• A Pop Band - Smack in the center, not really trying to make any waves, but trying to continue as long as the song/group/market will hold out.
• A Hip-Hop Group - New and exciting, pushing the envelope, trying to make people think, maybe in it for the money...and the creativity...and the money.
• A Choir or Symphony - regimented but organized, inadequate as an individual, but brilliant when placed together. 

The list can go on and on...but every answer has an underlying meaning.  These types of organizational personality tests can say a lot without saying a lot.  In a non-confrontational way, you can better understand your staff, the macro view of your company, and the view of what you spend most of your time doing.  Take the following market research litmus test.  The results may surprise you. 

• Call your shot - If your company were a band, a musician, or a musical group, who would it be and why.  Give me your company, the musician or group, and why it describes you.  ENTER IT ON THIS BLOG...RECORD IT!
• Now ask - Ask this same question to those that report to you, your staff, your department, your company.  TELL THEM WHAT THEY SAID...THEY'LL ENJOY IT!
• Evaluate the results - Does it match?  Does the view of those in your organization align with what you've recorded here?  Is it better or worse?  Do you have work to do to improve your organization so that your view of the company matches the view of those that report to you (don't answer this question here).

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? 

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?