Category Archives: Uncategorized

Thursday October 6th, 2011

9:00AM PST

It’s no secret that smart phones, iPads, and other mobile tablets are changing the way people keep in touch, reach books and news, and collect data. In market research, the prediction is that field teams will be replacing the pen and pad for one of these devices soon enough.

“The benefits of collecting and sharing data via the iPad call for a revolution of the field research design methodology-“ Andrew Jeavons, Chief Operating Offer, SurveyAnalytics.

If you’ve heard the hype and want to join in on the action, but are a bit overwhelmed on how to get started, then join us on Thursday October 6^th, 2011 at 9:00AM PST for a free webinar hosted by Esther LaVielle and John Johnson from SurveyAnalytics. With over 12 years of combined experience in project management, market research, and software application training, we are here to train you and offer free guidelines how to:

- Create and manage your own field project

- Train and manage your field research team

- How to synchronize/organize all data into an online report

- How to quickly share your field research results with your clients faster than ever before with dashboards and alerts

- Follow a case study we are currently fielding about pro sports fans!

A Q& Session will conclude our 45-minute webinar. A recorded video and slides will be available to all who signs up for the webinar and subscribed to blog.surveyanalytics.com and blog.surveypocket.com.

Sign up here today: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/360043990

We would like to notify you that SurveyAnalytics has recently upgraded our Excel download to the .xlsx format. Earlier the files were .xls.

What this means: The numerous limitations on the .xls files are now a thing of the past. Files in the format of .xlsx can generate and accommodate a lot more data and there are almost no limitations (Columns / Rows / Contents).

Please Note: The File Format has not changed. Just the file type has changed to .xlsx.

If you are a client who may have some process already set up for reading just .xls files make sure to your system can also read .xlsx files as well.

Excel file has changed for: Export Data, Excel export for Grouping / Data Segmentation, and FTP Reports.

Banner Reports still are in .xls format.

If you have further questions or comments please contact your dedicated account manager for assistance.

Thank you!

The GRIT Report (Greenbook Industry Trends Report) is almost out but Leonard Murphy has already shared some really interesting trends that will interest you — the top emerging industry research techniques.  One very interesting outcome is that the results are consistent with last year and that means that the participants in the study are following through with the trends they were most interested in.  Here are the top trends discussed in the study:

• Online communities
• Data mining
• Social media analytics
• Text
• Mobile Surveys

With so many new ways of gathering survey information, it can be confusing and risky trying something new.  But when you see the the response rates that Ipsos MORI got on a recent survey for the NHS Review of Children’s Congenital Heart Services in England, you’ll want to seriously consider trying mobile research surveys.

Over 75,000 responses were gathered over a four month period using a variety of response mechanisms. Using the OnePoint Global solution, a mobile response option was included for the first time in order to encourage a wider range of responses, especially from the younger population.

The results were outstanding. 25,000 text message responses were received from 23,500 unique mobile numbers in reply to a single open question on the proposals.

One important note about this survey is that they offered a MOBILE OPTION on their survey.  The logic was simple; with so many people carrying mobile phones, why not offer the options.  And the response rates proved out how right they were.

Survey Analytics has a mobile survey option over at SurveySwipe.   Try the introductory offer called “Instant Connect”  You can deliver your own surveys directly to your own customer list via smart phone or to targeted panel respondents.

Either way, if you’ve been putting of doing mobile research, start testing a survey or two on your own and see if you get similar results to the ones that Ipsos got.

Related articles

• SurveySwipe Launches Mobile Research Communities Pilot Program (surveypocket.com)
• Five Ways to Quickly Increase Email Response Rates (stayonsearch.com)
• Using Customer Research Panels and Mobile Research to Keep Conversations Alive (surveyanalytics.com)

We’ve been talking about crowd sourcing here for quite a while — and if you’re not using IdeaScale, Survey Analytics crowd sourcing tool, then seeing this infographic may just inspire you.

This conversation has been going on for a while – here are just a few articles that we’ve written in the past:

Crowdsourcing isn’t just for market research, it’s good PR

Related articles

• What Is Crowdsourcing? (smallbusinessmavericks.com)
• Can crowdsourcing work to save SMEs cash? (premierlinedirect.co.uk)

In a recent article, one of my favorite marketing minds, Drew McLellan talks about having a Love Relationship with your customer.  This philosophy goes along with Tim Sanders‘ classic Love is the Killer App and a myriad other articles extolling the virtues of loving your customer.

Quite frankly, it’s easy to talk about loving your customer — I’ve done it myself on numerous occasions.  What isn’t quite as easy is setting up a system to make them feel loved and to build that loyal profitable relationship.  Loving people in your personal life is one thing and creating a systemic way to generate a loving relationship with hundreds or even thousands of customers requires a little something more.

As anyone who has ever been in a love relationship that has lasted more than thirty days can tell you — it takes some dedication and work to make love happen.  Long lasting and fulfilling love (whether it’s with your soul mate or thousands of customers) doesn’t just drop in your lap, it takes —

Being a good listener.  Listening to the person you care about means that you are 100% focused on what they are talking about, what it means and then actually having a conversation around that topic.  Listening implies a two-way conversation where both parties feel heard and acknowledged.

If crowd sourcing isn’t a part of your market research mix, you need to make it a significant part.  Crowd sourcing tools like IdeaScale are an ideal step in engaging your customers inside your product or service conversation.  Start with a single community — it’s FREE.  Then drive your customers there.  It will take concerted time and effort to teach them that this is a place where they can engage with you and your team to discuss new ideas.

Doing those nice little things.  Nothing says you care so much as when you surprise your loved one with something that says “I heard you” .  If you’ve had a significant conversation and your customer has told you something – when you implement it and provide feedback to them that says that they’ve been heard and listened to, their loyalty to you will increase.  The IdeaScale app gives you the power to TELL your community what you are doing with their ideas and how you will implement them.  If you won’t be implementing the idea as is, but are using some component of the idea, then share that as well.  While this isn’t a gift per se — it’s the gift of being heard that counts.

Having conversations.  Conversations with people we love don’t take place face-to-face as frequently as they used to.  In fact, many of us probably keep in touch with our friends and family be exchanging texts and pictures via mobile device or Facebook.

Conversations with your customers are much the same way.  With half the planet on Facebook, you can choose to have conversations with your customers via Facebook fan page.  If your customers aren’t on Facebook because your product is more industrial or technical, then consider creating a customer community via MicroPoll, Survey Analytics panel management application.

When you create a customer community or panel, you’ll find that the quality of your conversations will improve exponentially.  You’ll be able to ask questions via mobile device using the SurveySwipe App and tour customer will give you answers.  These answers won’t just be anecdotal, they will come to you as data – yeah charts, graphs, etc.  Your customers’ voices will be heard in a clearer more quantitative way.  This gives you the freedom to improve your conversation and get more specific or dig deeper inside issues that your customers care about when it comes to choosing your product or service.

Being someone who loves taking advantage of technology and also caring about the environment, I was pleased when Apple released the iPad Environmental Report. I always wonder what the environmental impact of my gadgets have. Are they better or worse on the environment? Can we recycle more parts of electronics or is it better to use pen, pencils, paper, …? To summarize what iPad’s carbon emissions is in comparison to paper books, the equation breaks down to:

• 1 iPad = 17.4 physical paper books
• 1 iPad = infinite paper, pens, pencils, …

In market research, by using an iPad to administer surveys, there is an obvious reduction of resources. An important purpose the majority of companies share, is to show the necessity of environmental protection. We’re seeing many companies making use of mobile device applications and saving the resources that were once used by these companies.

The iPad is free of BFRs, BFR, arsenic, and mercury, which basically means brominated flame retardants -> *“have known toxic properties, are highly resistant to degradation in the environment and are able to bioaccumulate (build up in animals and humans).” In addition, the iPad is *“highly recyclable,” and has a PVC-free system, and this just means it’s free of polyvinyl chloride, a chlorinated plastic that *“presents environmental problems and human health concerns throughout its lifecycle,”.

Hopefully, this will help you appreciate that Apple has done its part  to make the iPad environmentally friendly.

*Greenpeace

There have been a number of exciting developments around the web that I thought I’d share with you this week:

Market Research University Recordings are Available

Over at Research Access, they held an all day program called  Market Research University – an all-day, online market research training session run by Kathryn Korostoff of Research Rockstar. The event took place entirely on Twitter; you may have followed along with the hashtag #MRXU.

In case you weren’t able to attend, though, Kathryn and the participating “professors” were gracious enough to have posted some additional resources from the training session:

• Diane Hagglund, of Dimensional Research, has shared fantastic B2B project management insights here: LINK.
• Michaela Mora, of Relevant Insights, has shared a generous post on her market research project management tips: LINK
• Greg Timpany has provided a script of his tweets, here: LINK.