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

Posted by Vaughn Mordecai on Wed, Feb 03, 2010 @ 03:25 PM
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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 Big Bangreason, 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.

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Comments

This is a great post. It seems like there are more and more folks/companies who have decided that they can make a little money by starting a market research directory. If we listed in all of them, we'd be stretching our marketing budget mighty thin. So I've been telling folks no in a lot of instances. But each time I do, I wonder if it was the right decision. I have it in my head that research clients turn to the Blue Book, Green Book and Quirks. When I ask folks how they found us, those are the directories that are mentioned. Of course, that doesn't help me know how effective the directories I turn down might be. I look forward to reading the comments you get.
Posted @ Wednesday, February 03, 2010 3:57 PM by Melissa Pepper
Thanks - I'd love it if a ton of people respond. I have a sneaking suspicion that we all list in the same places...and I'd love to see if there are more or additional ways to approach the process of getting your name out there...
Posted @ Wednesday, February 03, 2010 4:05 PM by Vaughn Mordecai
To me it's simple: make them prove they work. Anyone can talk about all their site traffic and take your money. But GreenBook (I believe) is the only one who will tell you who looked at their add.
Posted @ Thursday, February 04, 2010 10:27 AM by Vic Kopper
Hi Vaughn, I read your post with big interest. Disclosure: I manage the GreenBook directory - so no big surprise here :-) You are raising important questions about how MR companies should market themselves. I do believe that there is and will be a critical role for directories to play but they must keep moving with the times (social media…) and start providing measurements of their effectiveness. [warning - the “sales pitch” starts here] At the GreenBook we are working to make it possible to integrate your company profile with your social marketing efforts (blog, Twitter, etc.) and even today a buyer can view her LinkedIn connections working at your company right in your profile. We make help MR companies to position themselves as thought leaders and contributors to the community by publishing your articles, case studies, and white papers (your Patient Vision Whitepaper would be a great candidate) and then we tweet about them and make them easily accessible throughout GreenBook.org (thus creating additional SEO benefits). We formed a partnership with the Market Research Global Alliance (the biggest MR social network outside of LinkedIn) so thousands of MRGA members will be able to search GB without leaving the network. And yes, we are able to tell you about some of the organizations that viewed your information on the GB website. [end of the “sales pitch”] If you or anybody else reading this blog has an idea about how we can further improve our services to the MR companies, please don’t hesitate to call me at 212-849-2753. (P.S. To clarify the relationship between GB and M-Guide: GB is published by the New York AMA (entity independent of the AMA and acting as its NY chapter) and is not related to the M-Guide in any way.)
Posted @ Thursday, February 04, 2010 10:56 AM by Lukas Pospichal
Excellent insight Vic. It does seem that the Greenbook continues to try to add value to their listing as evidenced by Lukas' response and that they're open to suggestions. Thank you for the additional information Lukas. I'd be interested to know how the "others" feel like they differentiate themselves.
Posted @ Thursday, February 04, 2010 11:14 AM by Vaughn Mordecai
Full disclosure upfront -- I'm Dan Quirk from Quirk's. 
 
Our view on things is that we think it’s critical for providers of research products and services to reach the largest-possible audience of research buyers when they’re making their purchasing decisions. But getting your company seen at that crucial moment takes more than placing an entry in a directory. It takes listing in a directory that’s part of a comprehensive and independent resource, one that is relied upon by research buyers not just when they are purchasing research but at all points in the project cycle. 
 
Our ultimate goal is to be the most comprehensive free resource for all things marketing research and to deliver those resources in multiple platforms (print, CD, Flash drive, Web, e-newsletter etc.). We want buyers of research services to find all the resources they need to help with their projects in one organized and comprehensive place.  
 
We, therefore, put our emphasis and our development dollars first and foremost on attracting and empowering the buyers of research. There are lots of possible bells and whistles out there –but ultimately if it does not serve the buyers of research, it won’t attract research buyers over the long-haul….and all the reporting in the world won’t matter. It is all about attracting, engaging and retaining audience. 
 
And, feel free to contact me directly if you have suggestions, comments, concerns. I’ll be happy to assist. 
Posted @ Thursday, February 04, 2010 1:13 PM by Dan Quirk
Oh,... I almost forgot...don't just take our word for it. Here are two links to completely independent studies (neither of which used our subscriber database as a source):  
 
SEE PAGE 27: http://rockhopperresearch.com/reports/ResearchIndustryTrends2009FinalReport.pdf 
 
 
SEE SLIDE 23 (and also 22) here: http://www.andersonanalytics.com/reports/NGMRsurveyReport2010.pdf  
 
Posted @ Thursday, February 04, 2010 1:21 PM by Dan Quirk
Thanks for the comments & links Dan. Having the audience is vitally important, or why use the directory to begin with. A balance between resource spent on reach and reporting is a fine line...both do not come without a cost.  
 
Those that are interested..."Rockhopper Research Industry Trends 2009" reports these figures for online sources used to locate providers: 
 
Used Online Sources: 44% 
Quirks.com: 31% 
GreenBook.org: 23% 
Bluebook.org: 18% 
M-Guide Online: 14% 
Other Online Sources: 8% 
Not Used Online sources: 56% 
 
It's interesting that the Greenbook (by the NY AMA) outperforms the national AMA's M-Guide. I'm still interested in thoughts on what differentiates the Bluebook & M-Guide. The conversation also makes me wonder if there is a demographic/company or employee type difference between who is using each of these directories?
Posted @ Thursday, February 04, 2010 4:25 PM by Vaughn Mordecai
Hi Vaughan, 
We are an Australian marketing research company and list in Quirks (hard copy and online - with a small enhanced listing),and have had 3 USA inquiries in the last year as a result. We understand each had chosen to contact us because they saw us in Quirks. 
We also have listing in two Australian specific-industry directories and had 2 inquiries from them in the last year - not great strike rates. 
We also list on the Australian Marketing & Social Research Society's online and printed directories. We have about a call a month from the online listing (it also links to our web site). We've never had an inquiry from the print directory. As a result, have stopped advertising in that this year. 
We also advertise in the White and Yellow Pages telephone directories, with a link to our web site, but that is more to enable current or intending potential clients to get in touch with us. 
Most of our new business (or new business prospect inquiries) has been in response to our own direct marketing to those prospects, or by referrals from existing or recent clients. 
We also are listed in various other online free directories but they have had no response. 
Most people who contact us also comment that they have looked at our website first (essentially to check us out) and that seems a significant driver, when they are contemplating contacting us. 
Overall, our feeling is that the the AMSRS professional society and the Quirks directories have been helpful but our own active initiatives are more effective. 
Posted @ Thursday, February 04, 2010 6:10 PM by Philip Derham
Great additional perspective to the conversation Philip...Thanks. This gives some color to the question of the demographics of those searching and those listing. Is it possible that Quirks has more international representation and produces a different demographic than the other US-based directories?
Posted @ Friday, February 05, 2010 11:42 AM by Vaughn Mordecai
My company has always listed in the directories mentioned above but I can't say that I have ever seen much return. My theory has always been out of sight out of mind, but we have started cutting back and focusing our dollars elsewhere. I do think we use some directories to find facilities but the consultative type of work we do just doesnt shine in a directory. The greenbook and quirks are still on my list, but at some point they will need to do 
more. A good paralell is with conferences where we bave shifted dollars towards organizations that really support their sponsors (IIR) and away from those that provide no benefits (AMA, MRA).
Posted @ Friday, February 05, 2010 9:31 PM by Josh Mendelsohn
Interesting addition Josh, especially related to shifting dollars towards organizations that support their sponsors (IIR). It seems like there is a fair amount of disparity between what the leaders of the organizations believe about what their association brings to the table vs. what the members of the organizations believe to be the value of the association. The IIR sure has made a splash in the last few years...seeming to "take the place" of the conference to be at...probably at the expense of ARF.
Posted @ Monday, February 08, 2010 12:10 PM by Vaughn Mordecai
I guess this all begs the question, which audience are you creating your product for...the sponsors or the attendees, members, readers, users, etc.?  
 
If you use the parallel of a TV program, you don't create it for the sponsor...you create it for the viewers and if you do a good job at it, you capture a loyal following of highly targeted viewers that sponsors can reach...and then you treat the loyal sponsor well....but you can rarely successfully do it in reverse and start with the sponsor. 
 
IIR has made quite a splash in the last few years and I think their success is in large part because they are independent and can deliver high-quality content which in turn attracts good attendees. 
 
I also want to point out that starting in 2006 Quirk's became the media partner with IIR and that's when they started marketing their event in Quirk's -- which in my humble opinion is a big part of the successful "splash" :) 
Posted @ Tuesday, February 09, 2010 9:46 AM by Dan Quirk
Good points Dan. I think the key to IIR's success has been creating for both the sponsor and the attendee. In this field, most of us have pretty limited marketing dollars that we need to maximize. IIR pushes for client co-presentations with vendors (a win-win situation) but also makes attendee lists available ahead of time and tries to create traffic so its worth it to sponsors. Other organizations treat it more like a trade show - you buy a booth and best of luck to you. I can't justify that type of spending.
Posted @ Tuesday, February 09, 2010 10:07 AM by Josh Mendelsohn
This is shaping up to be a great discussion,with many interesting perspectives and insights. I'm all for a well-trafficked web site, and we have one. That said, nobody wants to invest advertising dollars year after year unless they feel that their particular business is getting real value. Back in the day when all we had were print directories, it was challenging to prove value, unless a company did the work of asking callers how they heard about them. Nowadays, with the Internet, the ability to provide 'proof of value' has improved quite a bit. The bottom line for a directory is really about: 
 
* can you offer some insight regarding the names of organizations that viewed your listing? 
* how many viewed your listing? 
* how many clicked to your website? 
* how many called or emailed you? 
 
At the end of the day, a company wants to know if it got visibility, leads, and/or business. This is a question that all clients should be asking. GreenBook provides its clients with quarterly data reports because what matters is how YOU are doing since it's your money that's being invested. 
 
As to the comment that Josh raised about stepping up and doing more, I really think this is key. We are soliciting input from buyers and sellers right now and would love to hear from you. In addition to the points Lukas made in his post, I have had many buyers of market research services tell me that what they really want is a targeted list of "qualified" vendors, and this is why we have created something quite different and innovative to address this request. We have focused on a single vertical, healthcare, and have created a new online directory called GreenBook Health. Atwww.GBHealth.org, a healthcare marketer can search for reputable, experienced providers of health care market research and other marketing services. Any lister in GreenBook is eligible for a free listing in GreenBook Health, including the opportunity to see if you can qualify to be designated as a "Reference Verified" vendor. Check out a listing with verified references:http://www.gbhealth.org/company.cfm/CBA. This is one of the innovations we think can enhance value for buyers and sellers, driving more visibility and referrals to our advertisers. And, yes, we intend to measure it.
Posted @ Thursday, February 11, 2010 2:25 AM by Diane Liebenson
My apologies for leaving out my affiliation in the comment, above. 
 
Full disclosure- I'm Diane Liebenson, Publisher of GreenBook and GreenBook Health, and a colleague of Lukas Pospichal, who posted earlier on this Blog.
Posted @ Thursday, February 11, 2010 2:27 AM by Diane Liebenson
Thanks for the additional response. The magic bullet seems to me to be traffic to your listing (as Dan mentioned earlier) combined with the innovation and support mentioned by Diane and Josh.  
 
One of the things that may really help the readers of this article is some suggestion(s) on producing listings that can really differentiate them in these directories. It's all about driving someone to your listing so that you're considered in the first place.
Posted @ Thursday, February 11, 2010 10:53 AM by Vaughn Mordecai
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