SURVEY Magazine

SURVEY

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An Interview with

page 15

KEN ROE March, 2013

essentials.

SURVEY

From The Editor

Last Month

In this month’s issue, we’re very happy to FEATURE an interview with Ken Roe, Vice President of SSI Labs. Ken gives an insightful interview on how SSI is working with mobile technology and what are the IT plans for SSI going forward.

We’re also very happy to help sponsor the VOC FUSION event to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 14-17. SURVEY readers can get a $445 discount on admission to the event simply by clicking on the VOC FUSION advertisement on page 09 and entering the promotion code: “SURVEY” on your registration.

We hope you enjoy this month’s issue of SURVEY Magazine as much as we enjoyed preparing it for you.

R. Jon Leiman Editor

SURVEY Magazine SURVEY Magazine gives business readers the insider information they need to stay connected to the research industry with cutting edge methodologies, insightful executive interviews and people that shape our business community. This is the business magazine Where Leaders Speak.

002 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

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SURVEYMagazine

CONTENTS. March, 2013

D E PA R T M E N T S About The Cover

Omnibus Research

An Interview with Ken Roe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5

What To Consider When Choosing An Online Omnibus Firm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 6 It’s virtually an economic certainty that businesses move toward systems that enable them to get what they need faster and cheaper, provided there isn’t an off-setting investment in time, energy and quality.

Mobile Research

Mobile research is here: get ready to embrace the evolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0

004 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

F E AT U R E S Experts M a r k e t R e s e a r c h D i r e c t o r y. o r g

Find your research expert today! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 6 Perception Research Services, Rabin Research Company, IDG Research Services, SSI, Interview Services of America, Hagen/Sinclair Research Recruiting Inc., QualTopics, e-Rewards, Complete Research Connection, B2B International, Questback, PeopleMetrics, Decipher, Gongos Research

In The News ThinkNow Research Releases Findings from Hispanic Mobile Banking Trends Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6 Confirmit Announces Customizable Mobile App . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 7 Management Changes and New Hires for Toluna UK and North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 8 EU awards TNS its Qualitative Eurobarometer Studies contract. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 0 uSamp Announces Partnership with US Airways that Allows Loyalty Members to Join Exclusive Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 4 Experian Marketing Services and Research Now alliance to deliver unique on-demand survey capability tied to online behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 4 Civicom Text Analytics Webinar Shows Qualitative Researchers How to Manage Mountains of Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5

Downtime Skiing in Lake Tahoe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 0

006 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

About the

Cover Ken Roe Vice President, SSI Labs

Ken Roe joined SSI in 2002. Currently, As the VP, SSI Labs, he is a key member of the IT Engineering Department. Ken has been with SSI since soon after their entry in the online sample space, and has worked in multiple roles from Project Manager to Software Engineer to his current position. Ken holds a B.S. in Management Information Systems from the University of Connecticut, a M.S. in Computer Science from the University of New Haven, and a M.A. in Survey Research from the University of Connecticut.

An Interview with

page 15

KEN ROE

SURVEYMagazine

CONTENTS. March, 2013

COLUMNS Survey Says with Michael Allenson

The low hanging fruit that many companies are ignoring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 0

Ve r a S p e c t i v e s

What To Consider When Choosing An Online Omnibus Firm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 6 Go-Innovate Ta l k i n g i n n o v a t i o n w i t h G r e g H e i s t

From Data Collector to Agent Provocateur

3 Keys to Capitalizing on the Big Data Opportunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 0

VeraSpectives

with Peter Gold

QRCA

Qualitative Research Consultants Association

Less is More Impact Report Writing in 2013. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4

Following Annie Where Research Meets Social Media

Sent by my iPhone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4

008 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

SEE  THE  FUTURE Be where it matters most this year The world’s largest voice of customer event: VoCFusion Ëž Ă&#x;Ă?ÞÙ×Ă?Ăœ âÚĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĂžĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă?Ăž ĂœĂ‹Ă?ÞÓĂ?Ă?Ă? Ëž ÙÓĂ?Ă? Ă? Ă&#x;Ă?ÞÙ×Ă?Ăœ Ă?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁ Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă˜ĂŽĂ? Ëž ÙÚ ĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ëœ Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ?

Learn More at vocfusion.com May 14-17, 2013 I The Cosmopolitan Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ? åÒËÞ˪Ă? Ă“Ă—ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ‹Ă˜Ăž

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make a huge impact and grow your personal brand

learn cutting-edge technology and best practices

VoCFusion is for leaders who want to get closer to customers and employees, improve customer retention, act more quickly on trends, data and feedback, and improve operational efficiency. Ëž Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă? Ëž ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?

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Nate

Barbara

Cole

Bruce

Matt

Terry

Adam

Founder, fivethirty eight.com

Exec. Dir. Advisory Services and Customer Experience, Ernst & Young

Manager, People Analytics Team, Google

Customer Experience Expert and Strategist

President, Ipsos Loyalty

VP, Global Customer Engagement, Avnet

Founder, Allegiance, an Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Private Company

Silver

Best-Selling Author, The Signal and the Noise

Porter

Nussbaumer

Temkin

McNerney

Learn More at vocfusion.com

Cain

Edmunds

Mobile research is he

get ready to embra the

evolutio

Social media, coupled with ever-advancing mobile device has unlocked a whole new universe of real-time consume marketers, and it seems the future is set to pose exciting market research. Through advances in survey technology traditional research and consumer-generated insight will global access to market information that both brands and can use.

010 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

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e technology, er insight for g prospects for y in particular, merge to create d consumers

get ready to embrace th In the near future, companies and individuals alike will be able to gain invaluable global, real-time insight into current trends, which will both steer future marketing campaigns for the brand, and inform purchasing decisions for the consumer.

Mobile research

is here

By Carol Haney, Vice President, Group Product Marketing,

012 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

Imagine you are out shopping for a winter coat – you pick out several that you quite like, but you can’t decide between them and there is no one present to advise you. You stand in the changing rooms; eyes glancing between the coats, wondering which one is a better colour, or which one is higher in quality. You don’t want to spend a lot of money on something you aren’t 100% sure you like, so you decide not to make a purchase after all. If only you had someone to ask.

Technologies developed by survey and panel providers have already advanced to provide the ability to almost instantly survey large numbers of people on the go, by developing interactive platforms capable of capturing consumer-generated requests in an acute level of detail and sending them out to hundreds of thousands of people.

In the future, we see this platform being developed further, to provide the ability to access previously collated information from multiple consumers about the same product – and providing that information to consumers and brands.

Imagine the same shopping scenario using this new technology; instead of confusion and disappointment, you tap into a world of realtime information and opinions from your friends or from the general public, at the touch of a button. Simply by using your smartphone or tablet, you can ask a community of other consumers, who reply instantly with their opinions on each of the coats. Having access to a wealth of research, comparisons and reviews will ensure you make an informed decision, confident in the knowledge that a specific coat is both stylish and durable.

he

evolution At Toluna, this is how users interact with our market research today and we see it rapidly evolving. Given the rate at which survey technology is continuing to

ensure that people are talking about their products, and expressing their opinions about their brand. And they need to ensure they are able to reach their target

advance, we don’t believe it will be long before both consumers and brands are able to tap into this evergrowing market information about specific retail goods; such global platforms will instantly offer the insight consumers require to inform their lifestyle choices as well as provide the same insight to brands. It wouldn’t just be the consumer who benefits; the marketer (the clothing brand in this instance) would also be able to record behavioral data, with the consent of (and/or upon rewarding) the purchaser, and so the process of collating information goes full-circle – it’s a win-win situation for everyone involved. The hidden consumer, hard-to-reach and inaccessible to many brands and market researchers, is the non-converter – the consumer who doesn’t buy the coat that was previously tried on. This advancement will help brands get to the reasons behind non-conversion.

audiences, day or night, through whichever medium their fans deem most convenient at the time; be it a smartphone, tablet, PC or other connected device.

Traditionally, market researchers were in control of the results they yielded; they designed the questions and relied on their own ideas of the type of insight they needed to elicit from consumers. Now it seems that market research is on the cusp of a sea change that will see the industry evolve like never before.

What can marketers do then, to ensure they are prepared for the emergence of consumer-driven, consumer-initiated technologies? Companies should certainly be thinking about the measures they take to

Companies also need to consider how to best engage the respondent, as well as the incentives they should be offering, ultimately to encourage them to take part in a further research activity or other similar interaction.

If companies are finding it difficult to assess the best methods of communication with their audience, they should seek the help of a professional, forward-thinking research company, as well as a research technology provider, who can offer the best survey technology based on their individual campaign goals and requirements.

These inevitable advances in technology, bringing together the needs of consumers and brands, mean that research will become mutually beneficial to both parties. The near future will bring worldwide, multiplechannel interaction between businesses and individuals – marketers just need to ensure they take advantage of this new wave of customer data and embrace the evolution of research.

An I

Q1 Ken Roe Vice President, SSI Labs

014 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

K

Wha

Our prod primary g support c custome on mobile projects h sharing o ences

We have munity ap forms for confident nity that i

Interview with

KEN ROE

at is SSI working on with mobile today?

duct development efforts have two goals: be where respondents are, and current and future products of our ers. SSI has been actively working e solutions for years: R&D and pilot have been the focus, and we’ve been our work via papers and at confer-

e been actively developing panel compps on both iOS and Android platr years, but held launch until we were t we could create a thriving commuis useful to our research customers.

We didn’t want to launch a mobile panel community just to “tick the mobile box.” Today, our mobile platform is completely integrated with our SSI DynamixTM sampling system, resulting in unparalleled survey availability and optimal respondent experience.

One excellent example of our mobile work is SSI’s QuickThoughts™ iPad app which we launched in January. Response has been overwhelming: respondents find the experience highly engaging and applaud the prolific availability of surveys. Quality is high, and the respondents engaged through this

platform are highly desirable to researchers, both demographically and psychographically, strengthening SSI’s Blend and reach.

Rapid growth and positive reviews from both respondents and customers tell us that our commitment to launch only when we have a fully integrated and truly useful solution was the right move. Over the coming months you will see us follow the QuickThoughts iPad app with other offerings, each launched with true purpose and momentum behind them.

+

Q2

What technolog are most import SSI? What role technology play SSI?

The SSI Dynamix platform sits at the core of our offering der to reach respondents everywhere: we go where res choose to spend time. SSI Dynamix allows us to seam blend respondents from any source, ensuring quality an ability. We rely on Dynamix to seamlessly aggregate res from mobile, web, social media, and other sources. I co our “crown jewel� technology.

While there is a significant service component to our bu SSI is in many ways a technology company. The produ offer are directly enabled by the capabilities of our techn forms. Our CEO, Chris Fanning, is a technologist at hea he joined SSI, we as a company have kicked our techno overdrive.

Q3

What does hav mobile survey mean for curre customers? W should they ca

In order to maximize reach and avoid coverage bias as dents shift from other platforms to mobile and tablet, it tant for researchers to adapt their survey instruments fo patibility. There are technical constraints such as lack o compatibility as well as practical constraints; a 45 minu survey that collects hundreds of data points will take be 120 minute survey on a 4 inch screen. We recommend Flash, pre-populating known data such as basic demog and minimizing survey length. We are happy to share g for creating a mobile and tablet friendly experience.

016 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

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An Interview with

KEN ROE

Q4 Q5 018 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

How do you ensure that IT plans, projects and objectives are aligned with business goals and objectives?

Alignment can be a challenge in organizations with our size and rate of growth. We have a formal process for proposing, prioritizing, and reviewing results of IT projects. The process is executed by a cross functional group that includes senior leadership.

Why did SSI set up a special department, SSI Labs? What is your goal/mandate?

SSI Labs focuses on R&D. Our mandate is to explore new technology and find ways to apply it to improve efficiency, reach, and quality. We study technology developments and techniques used in other industries for inspiration. Products like the SSI Dynamix platform and the QuickThoughts app are good examples of advanced technologies that began in SSI Labs, and were then commercialized to serve our global customers. We have many new products and ideas under development at SSI Labs to support our goal of giving our research customers high quality opinions from a group of people who represent their target populations.

Technology is key to our ability to do that.

An Interview with

KEN ROE Ken Roe Vice President, SSI Labs

Ken Roe joined SSI in 2002. Currently, As the VP, SSI Labs, he is a key member of the IT Engineering Department. Ken has been with SSI since soon after their entry in the online sample space, and has worked in multiple roles from Project Manager to Software Engineer to his current position. Ken holds a B.S. in Management Information Systems from the University of Connecticut, a M.S. in Computer Science from the University of New Haven, and a M.A. in Survey Research from the University of Connecticut.

>

The low hanging fruit that many companies are ignoring

If

If your management is like mine, they are careful to invest resources in initiatives that have a good chance for a solid return on that investment. Have you ever proposed an initiative that would likely yield a 200-300% return on the investment or maybe even more?

Those opportunities don’t come along often, but there’s an opportunity of that magnitude many companies are ignoring today.

In the U.S. and other developed countries, the pie is not growing significantly in most markets and competitors are fighting it out for their share and to maximize comparable sales metrics. They’ve got to take from others to grow because chances are they’re not going to get it from finding new customers. By definition, comp sales are a combination of retention and net new customers/revenue. Most of the time, when a company loses a customer or a customer reduces spending, it is a reaction to a poor experience or complacency.

Michael Allenson

Strategic Consulting Director Maritz Research

020 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

How can retention be impacted by the customer experience program?

Across all of their experiences within the past 30 days, only about 15% of respondents say they had a significant issue at a retailer or restaurant. So, for any one retailer or restaurant these numbers are even smaller. Just over two-thirds of these customers say they reported their issue to the unit manager or to corporate. The rest suffered in silence.

When implementing customer experience programs, many companies ask customers if they experienced a problem and want to be contacted. When customers ask to be contacted, most reporting systems generate a hot alert, which notifies the unit manager of the issue and asks them to follow up with the customer.

The impact on customer behavior is dramatically different depending on the response to the customer’s complaint.

When a company responds to the customer’s complaint and tries to solve the problem, the effects are remarkably better regardless of whether the customer feels their problem was solved.

Believe it or not, some companies openly question the value of hot alerts or don’t feel they are organized to deal with the volume of requests.

Among those who felt their problem was solved, few customers say they are reducing visits to that store or restaurant, while many say they are actually increasing patronage.

On the other hand, among customers that had a problem and were not contacted or didn’t report the issue the majority are reducing their patronage, while a scant few say they are increasing. What’s even more interesting is the customer who was contacted but their problem wasn’t solved. While many of these customers are still reducing visits, almost as many are increasing, minimizing the negative impact.

Over the last several quarters, Maritz has added a few questions to our CEBenchmarks program to ask consumers if they have had customer experience problems in the past 30 days at either a restaurant or a retailer. We also asked whether they reported their issue to unit management or corporate, as well as how it was handled and the impact on their patronage of the business.

You get an A for Effort

How much is a recovered customer worth?

Other assumptions include:

The ROI on customer recovery obviously varies with the company, the value of its products and the lifetime value of their average customer.

Take fast food as an example, given that each transaction is relatively small. Many executives in this industry wonder if customer recovery is worth the effort given the low value of the purchase.

•

The chart above shows that when the organization takes time to contact the customer, the issue is resolved about two thirds of the time.

Let’s assume that the recovery follows the same pattern.

022 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

• • •

Customers visit on average once a week.

Average check size is $9 ($6 per person) x (1.5 people per party) Those increasing visits will add one visit every four weeks Those decreasing will drop one visit every four weeks

Based on these assumptions, the customer is worth $468 a year. If the impact is consistent with what we see from CEBEnchmarks, this fast food chain can expect to lose $53.82 over the next year from each customer they fail to contact. Those who had a problem and were contacted would have on average, a gain of $1.70, for a net difference of $55.52 per person contacted. If you assume a fast food manager makes $25/hour, speaking to just 3 people in an hour would result in more than a 500 percent return on investment. That doesn’t even include lifetime impact or potential social media/word of mouth impact on others.

Who are the customers that complain?

If there was a need for more evidence in support of doing hot alerts, all you have to do is look at the demographics of customers who complain.

They tend to have higher incomes and are bigger spenders as reflected in their buying behavior.

Had Problem and Complained

Had Problem and Didn’t Complain

No Problem

$85,000

$71,000

$85,000

42

39

46

12.3 items

9.7 items

8.3 items

Have Teenagers

25%

20%

17%

Have Children

27%

30%

21%

Income

(Avg. household income per year)

Age

(Avg. years old)

Number of Categories Recently Transacted

(Ages 13-­‐17) (Ages 6-­‐12)

So, why aren’t all companies doing hot alerts? That’s a good question.

Some feel they are not set up to do it, while others don’t think it’s worth it. This data suggests that customers that can be recovered represent some juicy low hanging fruit.

Whatever the barrier, companies serious about driving comparable sales should want to lock in higher retention levels by doing customer recovery through hot alerts.

Following Annie Where Research Meets Social Media

Annie Pettit, PhD Vice President, Research Standards Research Now

Sent by my

i Phone Mobile research has been the next best thing every year for the last ten years. And quite possibly, this is the year where it might really be the next best thing. Our huge hopes and dreams for mobile research have been regularly squashed by the inability of mobile phones to do what researchers really wanted them to do – easy touch screens, quick page transitions, colorful images, font sizing, widespread availability.

024 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

Now, social media research thrives on the mobile phone. With iPhone in hand, we Tweet about how long we had to wait for the EL, Facebook about the awesome new cupcake flavor while standing in line at Philly Cupcake, or comment on the banned SodaStream commercial on YouTube while chillaxin’ at lunch time. iPhones make it effortless.

But mobile phones have a unique way of buggering up social media research. One of my favorite, most hated?, problems is the signature line on mobile phones.

No, not the part where you sign off as Sincerely John, or Lovingly Annie, but the part your service provider inserts on your behalf that you never pay attention to. The part that says “Sent from iPhone” or “Recorded with iPhone” or “via my iPhone.”

Just how is that a problem you ask? Well, let’s do a little social media research to discover what people love and hate about

the iPhone (as if there was actually something people hated about the iPhone).

When we collect that data from across the social media sphere, the dataset will invariably include an abundance of tweets or status updates such as “It’s the funny yellow house on the left. Sent by my iPhone.” Though helpful as directions to a lost friend, this comment has nothing to do with the iPhone. It doesn’t mean that the iPhone is funny but rather that your social media research provider hasn’t yet cleaned out all the irrelevant data.

Annie Pettit, PhD is the Vice President, Research Standards at Research Now and the Chief Research Officer of Conversition Strategies. She specializes in social media market research, survey research, and data quality. Annie is the Editor in Chief of MRIA’s Vue magazine, and is a member of the CASRO, MRA, and ESOMAR social media research committees. She is a sought after keynote speaker and has presented at conferences such as IJMR, QRCA, ESOMAR, ARF, CASRO, MRA , and MRIA

So please, check your iPhones and iPads, and every other device using an internet service provider, and delete that pesky little signature line. I thank you, and everyone working towards data quality in social media research, thanks to you too.

and has published numerous articles.

Annie tweets at @LoveStats, writes the LoveStats marketing research blog, and is the author of The Listen Lady, a novel about social media research.

Lovingly, Annie

VeraSpectives

with Peter Gold

Consider Omnibus Firm

What To When Choosing An Online

026 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

It’s virtually an economic certainty that businesses move toward systems that enable them to get what they need faster and cheaper, provided there isn’t an off-setting investment in time, energy and quality. The marketing research field is no different. Omnibus research has been around virtually as long as survey research itself. That’s because it almost always makes sense to use a system with lower costs, shorter turnaround times and large samples, provided the product quality, client service and insights it yields meets or exceeds the client’s requirements.

In this article we examine the various factors to consider when contemplating whether or not to use an omnibus solution (versus custom research), as well as the key aspects to consider and compare when selecting an omnibus provider.

We will begin with a thorough explanation of What Is An Omnibus? and When Would Using An Omnibus Make Sense

For Me? to provide a solid framework and understanding for the omnibus supplier selection discussion. We will delve into the research parameters – i.e., schedule, research budget, survey length, sample requirements, and study type – that help make the omnibus vs. custom research decision more clear.

Then, Five Check Points will highlight the key factors to consider when deciding on an omnibus provider, including level of design support, sample source and quality, sample size and flexibility, reporting options, and survey technology & advanced analytic capabilities. Each omnibus supplier offers different levels of these various components – the goal here is to identify up-front the key areas where you should think about your overall needs and preferences. This will ensure you ask the right questions and consequently select a supplier with enough “horsepower” to fulfill your needs moving forward.

The final section is titled The More You Know What To Look For, The More You’ll Get. In this discussion we will provide insights into a few lesser-known aspects of omnibus services – factors and benefits you should know about and take advantage of, in order to maximize your research investment. We will talk about making use of available subscription discounts when you anticipate being able to utilize an omnibus with some frequency over the course of the year. We will also discuss “free questions” that omnibus service providers include in their standard survey templates, which may save you money or add insight to your project.

And lastly, we will discuss the role of the omnibus survey consultant – how it has changed perceptions of omnibus research, and how you should be sure to take advantage and reap the benefits of having a great one as your partner.

VeraSpective

with Peter

What Is An Omnibus?

Peter Gold, CEO, VeraQuest

An omnibus is a survey where multiple clients can each include a variety of research questions on the same survey vehicle, thereby “sharing costs� and making it particularly budget-friendly for all clients to get a large number of responses.

Unlike custom surveys, omnibus surveys are priced per-question, making them worthwhile from a budget perspective if you have just a few questions to ask. Fielding schedules vary based on the omnibus supplier – some are on set days of the week or month, while others are flexible and field based on client need; however, overall, omnibus surveys typically run fairly frequently and are usually very quick-turnaround.

Omnibus surveys tend to have a pre-determined sampling framework with robust sample sizes. Some specialty omnibus services can be very targeted (with a respondent pool of small business owners, for example), but most omnibus services are inclusive of the general population of adults 18+, with sample sizes often in the 1,000-2,000 range. A standard set of demographic questions are included on every survey, allowing clients to view results among as wide a variety of subgroups as desired.

Online omnibus services are the most common, due to their lower data collection costs, faster turnaround, and ability to incorporate visual stimuli; however, telephone and even mail and face-to-face omnibus service options are available. Although much of the content in this article is applicable to all of these modes, this article is focused specifically on online omnibus services.

028 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

es

r Gold When Would Using An Omnibus Make Sense For Me? Before making the leap to conduct omnibus research, you will want to make sure that it’s the right tool for your current research project. Key aspects to consider are outlined below and will help steer you in the right direction, but you should also have a conversation with your omnibus supplier. A responsible omnibus supplier will want to understand your needs and goals for the research up-front and will be very direct in conveying any concerns or limitations (as well as any added benefits and flexibilities) of the omnibus, as pertains to your specific study. He or she can help you determine whether your study fits well with the omnibus or if it is best-served through custom research.

Schedule In research as in business overall, timing can mean everything. You need to receive research results in plenty of time for you to organize your resources to take best advantage of opportunities in the marketplace. When speed is of the essence, an online omnibus survey can be a powerful tool, harvesting complete and reliable research results within just a few days after the survey has launched – often much faster than the average custom project.

Exact field schedule and fielding frequency vary by supplier, but typically omnibus sur-

veys are run quite frequently – e.g., at least once a week – allowing you to take full advantage of the quick-turnaround benefit.

Budget Affordability is always a key concern when deciding whether and how to pursue a research project. An online omnibus offers a strong way to help control costs while still providing valuable, robust and relevant results that speak to your research objectives.

Omnibus surveys are more affordable in most cases because they are priced per-question. So if you need to ask only a few research questions (or even just one), you don’t have to pay for a full custom research project – instead, you can do it quite inexpensively through an online omnibus. The per-question costs vary by supplier, of course, but let’s say you’re using an omnibus supplier who charges $1,000 per simple multiple choice question. If you have five multiple choice questions, that study might cost you around $5,000 if you run it through an omnibus, compared to perhaps $20,000 or so for a custom research study.

Survey Length As described above, fielding shorter surveys through an omnibus is almost a nobrainer, given the strong cost benefits of

doing so. This assumes that the omnibus service’s parameters (e.g., sample definition, sample size and deliverables) are in-line with your needs, of course.

But what about longer surveys? Some, though not all, omnibus firms allow for a single client to include a large number of questions on an omnibus survey (up to 30 questions, for example). Clients often pursue fielding these larger questionnaires on an omnibus to take advantage of its timing benefits when turnaround speed is absolutely critical to the research. Depending on the omnibus supplier’s cost structure for these much larger surveys, you may or may not still see a cost benefit by fielding through an omnibus (compared to custom).

Sample Requirements When you commission a research project, you want to have full faith in the results so that you can make confident decisions.

That said, it is very important that you are able to a) interview the respondent group that is most relevant to your business issue, and b) interview a large enough sample of that group to analyze those results with confidence.

S

ince omnibus surveys typically have a pre-determined, standard sampling framework, it’s essential that you discuss your sample requirements with the omnibus supplier to ensure that you will get what you need. Again, some specialty omnibus services target very specific audiences (e.g., small business owners, the affluent market, etc.), but most are much more reflective of the general adult population 18+ years of age – they start broadly and with robust sample sizes so that you can screen-in a sizeable subset of your most relevant respondents, or you can opt to interview the full sampleset and look at results among various subgroups on the back-end.

Omnibus suppliers offer standard sample sizes of anywhere from 500 to 5,000 completed interviews, though most provide sample sizes in the 1,000-2,000 range. A responsible vendor will help you work through the numbers to determine if your sampling needs are well-suited for the omnibus.

030 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

For example, imagine you want to learn more about the attitudes and behaviors of widget buyers. Let’s say that widget buyers represent 25% of the population and you want at least 200 widget buyers to answer your survey questions. If your omnibus provider’s sample consists of 1,000 general population respondents, you might reasonably expect to obtain about 250 respondents who buy widgets. Therefore, the omnibus should work for your sampling needs. If the incidence of widget buyers is 10%, however, then you could only expect to get about 100 qualified respondents for your survey, which might be an issue. (Keep in mind that some, but not all, omnibus service providers can be flexible on sampling parameters. Further discussion on this topic is included later in this article.)

So in deciding whether you can utilize an omnibus or if you’ll need to field a custom survey, it’s very important to talk through your sampling requirements with your supplier and run the numbers to make sure you’ll be able to get the sample you need. And some suppliers can be flexible, so be sure to ask!

Consider Omnibus Firm

What To When Choosing An Online

Study Type Omnibus services can be utilized for a wide variety of research needs, including public opinion/PR surveys, concept tests, incidence checks, ad tests, awareness & usage studies, package tests, trackers‌really almost anything!

Because omnibus services are so widely applicable, the types of companies who utilize them are also extremely varied – PR firms, ad agencies, multi-national consumer goods companies, financial institutions, firms in the healthcare industry, automotive companies, entertainment and media firms, companies in the travel and tourism field, restaurant chains, retailers, non-profits‌the list goes on.

Five Check-Points: What To Consider When Selecting An Omnibus Supplier When you conduct research, you need to be able to trust completely that your provider, the design and the quality of the research results can all be relied upon. The sample needs to be robust and balanced; the questionnaire unbiased and thorough, yet concise; the deliverables clean, complete and on-point; and deadlines reasonably set, then met. A well-run online omnibus service is focused on its craft, and will have its people, processes and tools aligned to provide you with an experience and a set of results in which you can place full confidence.

Optimally, you will want to find an omnibus supplier that you can partner with on an on-going basis – one that you believe will have the resources and tools to consistently meet or exceed your expectations. Not only might this type of on-going partnership potentially make you eligible for discounted pricing (more on that later), but you will also become more and more familiar with the company’s omnibus processes and its nuances, while they become familiar with your business and can begin to anticipate your needs and make much more actionable recommendations. All of this will create for an even smoother, more rewarding experience.

So as you explore and make comparisons between omnibus suppliers, clearly costs and timing will be important factors, but what else should you ask about? What other factors should weigh into your omnibus supplier decision?

#1

Level

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much surve sultants ha small team dedicated t vey consult As with cus small team begin to an mendations for you.

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032 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

l Of Design Support

ith an experienced survey consultant when research is crucial, no matter what the size or he study. Depending upon the firm you choose, d be able to gain expert support in designing all your research project from someone with full e of relevant research practices – someone who ntently, ask the right questions, and make best proper tools needed to address your business isality omnibus provider will offer strong consultart at every stage of your project. peaking with various omnibus suppliers, be sure at level of design support is offered and how

ey design experience their omnibus survey conave. It will also be beneficial to know whether a m (typically one, maybe two researchers) would be to your omnibus business, or whether your surtant might potentially change with each project. stom research, having a dedicated consultant or m means that, again, your omnibus partner can nticipate your needs, make more-focused recoms, and create a smooth, consistent experience

#2

Sample Source & Quality The data in any research study is only as good as the respondents who are willing to participate in the research. As the saying goes, “garbage in, garbage out”. Making sure the sample comes from a reliable source is essential. Ask your vendor to explain where their sample comes from and what kind of quality controls they have in place to ensure the integrity of the data. This is also a good time to ask about projectability of the results – will the sample be nationally representative, and do they weight the data on the back-end to ensure representativeness?

If a vendor can’t provide reasonably good answers to these types of questions, you may want to look elsewhere.

role of the omnibus survey consultant is dismuch more detail later in this article.

VeraSpectives

with Peter Gold

Consider Omnibus Firm

What To When Choosing An Online

#3

Sample Size & Flexibility

It may be hard to foresee, but try to think about what your sampling needs might look like for the types of projects you anticipate running in an omnibus. As mentioned previously, you can find omnibus companies that offer standard sample sizes ranging from 500 to 5,000 completed interviews (with costs varying accordingly), so you’ll want to consider what standard omnibus sample size would best meet the majority of your needs. In doing so, you’ll want to take into account what the incidences are of the audiences you target most frequently.

So for instance, if you tend to target your surveys among certain category users that make-up about 10% of the population and you prefer to read results among a minimum sample size of 200, then omnibus services that reach out to 2,000 total respondents likely represent better options for you. If the lowest incidence group you tend to target with your research makes up 25% of the population, then omnibus services that yield 1,000 completes (which could get you about 250 qualifiers) should be fine for you. Be sure to keep key subgroups and desired demographic reads in mind as well. Again, a responsible

034 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

supplier will help walk you through what starting sample size you will need to yield the desired number of qualified completes for your survey.

Now, that said, while many suppliers have set-in-stone sample definitions and sample sizes for their omnibus, a handful of omnibus providers can offer various levels of flexibility, which you’ll want to be sure to ask about – especially if your sampling needs could vary pretty drastically and/or you have no way to predict what overall sample size would accommodate the vast majority of your research. Be sure to ask omnibus providers if they have the flexibility to potentially: •

•

•

Field your study twice (in order to double the number of completes) and have the data aggregated, in a timely manner Increase the number of completes it typically provides for a single omnibus fielding, on an as-needed basis Include sample augments for specific target groups of interest

#4 #5

Reporting Options Do you prefer to analyze the research results yourself? Or are you often swamped and prefer that the supplier provide you with a written analysis of the results, to help save you time? Or perhaps you’re not completely sure how to analyze the results and therefore want the supplier to help you wade through all the data.

Omnibus suppliers provide different levels of reporting, so you’ll want to ask what standard deliverables are included as part of the per-question cost, as well as what optional deliverables are available, if any. Many will provide data tables run by various demographic breaks, as standard. Some suppliers also include a brief topline report or executive summary as part of the standard omnibus deliverable, though for most providers this may be presented as an optional (add-on cost) deliverable. Custom banners and full analyses with subgroup results are sometimes offered as optional deliverables as well.

Some omnibus firms also offer specific expertise in fielding surveys meant for public release and will work with you to ensure the resulting press release reflects the data and findings properly. So if you sometimes execute research for public release purposes, be sure to ask the potential omnibus firms what type of expertise and services they offer in this arena.

Survey Technology & Advanced Analytics Capabilities The vast majority of omnibus suppliers can incorporate a fairly full range of survey question types and techniques into their omnibus – skip patterns, rotations, monadic concept cell splits, scaled questions, multiple response questions, open-ends, rankings, rating grids, etc. But if you envision potentially wanting to include something a little bit more advanced into your omnibus surveys, like text-highlighter tasks, choice tasks, timed exposure tasks and such, talk to the suppliers about their capabilities. Some can incorporate certain advanced technologies while others need to keep the surveys fairly straightforward in order to maintain the quick turnaround times.

In the same vein, you’ll also want to ask about advanced analytic capabilities. For example, can they design, incorporate and analyze max-diff, TURF and choice-based tasks? Again, some omnibus providers will have that type of flexibility (and expertise), while others will direct you to their custom research team. It’s good to know ahead of time what an omnibus supplier’s limitations and flexibilities are in this realm, so you know if you have a viable resource for getting a quick line optimization study done, for instance.

The More You Know What To Look For, The More You’ll Get The saying goes “you don’t know what you don’t know”, and it is of course applicable in all aspects of life and business. There are a few aspects of omnibus research that may not necessarily be common knowledge or well-marketed to clients but are things that could be quite helpful to be aware of or know more about. Here we aim to shed some light on three such aspects or features of omnibus research.

Subscription Discounts Your hope is that you can find an omnibus supplier that will be a strong partner for your on-going research needs – one that you can rely on to consistently meet or exceed your expectations. When you find the omnibus service that you have full confidence in, and assuming you anticipate using it repeatedly during the year, you may want to consider making a volume commitment, in order to receive price discounts.

“Subscription discounts” can work in a variety of ways. For instance, some omnibus companies will say that if you commit to fielding at least x number of questions over a 12-month period, you will receive a y% discount on all of your omnibus projects during that timeperiod. There are different question-amount/percent-discount tiers available to choose from, depending on what you’re comfortable committing to. Other companies might offer a multi-tiered threshold approach, where you commit to fielding a minimum of x number of questions over a year, and you get a y% discount until you hit that question-number commitment level of x. You then get a slightly higher discount on all questions fielded beyond the initial commitment of x…until you hit the next question-amount threshold, at which point the discount increases again…and so forth.

These subscription discounts are not offered by all omnibus services but are fairly common, and those who do offer it may not proactively market it to you, particularly if they don’t realize the potential volume of research for which your company could utilize the omnibus.

So subscription discounts are very much worth asking about if you can foresee using an omnibus somewhat frequently.

036 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

VeraSpectives

with Peter Gold

Taking Advantage Of The “Free” Questions In Omnibus Surveys An aspect that is quite unique to omnibus research is that the omnibus survey itself almost always includes some form of “free” standard, pre-programmed questions. Knowing what they are and how they are reported can save costs and can be extremely useful from an analytical perspective, since many of the questions, particularly the demographics, are typically included in the standard data output.

While most omnibus services include their own standard demographic questions, some also include attitudinal and behavioral questions. These standard questions are included mostly because it makes good economic sense for the supplier. Most clients usually will have some interest in analyzing their own data within a demographic framework, so it’s often simpler and less time-consuming for an omnibus service to have those questions pre-programmed into all of their outgoing surveys. Furthermore, most omnibus companies use some kind of algorithm to weight the final data, which in turn requires that they include special weighting questions in the survey.

Vendors will often share the results of their demographic questions and sometimes their behavioral and attitudinal questions as well, especially if you ask. But of course, you need to be aware of their existence in order to ask for those results, so find out what your supplier’s standard pre-programmed questions are. Who knows, that information might be helpful to your business needs, or even just interesting.

You’ll also want to understand which questions are included in the basic service because it could help you with costs. For instance, let’s say you need to include some screening questions in your survey section, and as part of that screening, you need to ask household income and whether or not the respondent has children.

These are standard demographics that are likely included at the end of the survey but could simply be movedup to the beginning of your question set. As long as the question wording and response choices provided in these standard questions work for your needs, you won’t have to pay for those two questions.

Another item worth exploring is whether the vendor will allow you to tweak the response options to their standard questions. The way you or your company typically analyze data (or screen respondents in and out) may not coincide with the way a response set is laid out for a given “standard” question. But your omnibus provider might be able to modify the question so it meets your needs while still allowing the company to provide its standard breaks to everyone else. For example, if your business issues require that you screen for respondents with $120k+ household income, but the standard income question has an all-inclusive top-end break of “$100k+”, your vendor might be able to modify the breaks for you – i.e., change the “$100k+” break into two responses: “$100k - $119k” and “$120k+”.

To maximize the value you receive from your research dollar, you should be sure to gain access to and take advantage of a lot of free information that is incorporated into most omnibus surveys.

The Omnibus Survey Consultant There was a time when omnibus research was considered to be mostly simple “field and tab”. “Quick and dirty” was a catch-phrase commonly attached to omnibus research. You provide your own survey questions, they are dropped right into a survey vehicle with other companies’ questions, and a few days later you receive standard data tables.

Whether you are brand new to the omnibus service platform or someone who hasn’t used an omnibus in years, it’s important to know that although a small handful of omnibus services may still operate this way or close to it, this is no longer how omnibus services are defined. Today there is far more value added to the process. The process is still “quick”, mind you, but it shouldn’t be “dirty”. You need every research dollar to count and every piece of research to be trustworthy so that you can be confident in your decisions, no matter how big or how small.

These days, omnibus survey consultants are crucial pieces of the process. They will have thorough discussions with you up-front – not just to ensure that the project is a fit for the

038 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

omnibus parameters (which is very important, of course), but to also gain full understanding of the business issues at play and the objectives for the research. This enables the survey consultant to provide immense value on the front-end, as well as on the back-end of the study.

Some omnibus services require that you provide a rough draft of your questions, while others will craft your questions from scratch. Either way, experienced survey consultants are invaluable at this design stage of the research, and you should take full advantage of their expertise. Not only will they ensure that the questions will provide the data and insights you need in order to meet your research objectives, but they will also make sure that the questions are asked in an unbiased way, that question wording and instructions are clear, that the set of response choices is complete, that response scales are aligned with best practices, and that the survey flow is logical.

All of these are integral in ensuring that your survey yields high quality results that you can trust. Keep in mind that when it comes to your business issues, the survey consultant doesn’t know what you don’t tell them, so engage with them along th way and even ask them to walk through the survey questions

l

e d e

. h-

t he

with you – it will ensure everything is on-point in terms of your needs, and you might learn a few tricks of the trade as well!

On the back-end, experienced survey consultants will make sure your data tables are error-free, organized in the most efficient and actionable way, and inclusive of any important subgroups of interest. If delivering a written analysis, the consultant will ensure that the report is complete and concise, that the report fully addresses your objectives, and that any additional insights that can be gleaned from the data are highlighted. He or she will be able to provide actionable recommendations and insights based on those up-front conversations about your business issues and objectives.

Ultimately, you’ll want to be sure to look for the well-run, quality-driven omnibus service providers that have experienced survey consultants and can provide the type of value discussed above. Find a great one, and then make sure you take full advantage of all the benefits the survey consultant can provide. It’s a great aspect of today’s omnibus services.

Omnibus services have evolved greatly over the years and

are more flexible and valuable than ever before, with a lot of fantastic benefits. The lower cost and fast-turnaround aspects that have driven interest in omnibus surveys for decades are still key aspects of today’s services, but now you can find omnibus providers that offer consultation and quality that is on-par with what you find for custom research. And whereas omnibus services of old used to be very rigid, now you can find providers who can easily augment or alter their sample parameters, depending on your needs.

The key is to know what options are out there – which we’ve hopefully shed some light on within this article. Think about what your needs are likely to be, ask the key questions, and then choose an omnibus supplier accordingly. A good rule of thumb is to select an omnibus partner that has the basic horsepower to cover the majority of your potential omnibus needs, but also has the capability and flexibility to provide you with a little something extra from time to time…as we all know that atypical situations can and do arise. The difference these days is that with the right omnibus supplier, “atypical” doesn’t always need to be addressed with custom research anymore.

On the other—and perh a greater catalyst of org

From Data Collector to Agent Provocateur 3 Keys to Capitalizing on the Big Data Opportunity

In this context, the “big data opp microcosm of these two forces p time. We believe that success o termined by the degree to which make three key transitions of min creation.

Stewardship: Objective Holistic Synthesizers “Nothing is more expensive than a missed opportunity.”

H. Jackson Brown

As a whole, the challenges facing the marketing research industry are twofold.

On one hand, clients and vendors are trying to navigate the disruptive currents that are redefining our

It will finally be time to break free lection mindset. Historically, whe a market researcher with a prob ally begin designing a data collec to provide a solution to the issue

Data integration requires a more We need to think like holistic syn preexisting enterprise data to sh the issue. This will require under of potential datasets—both their tations—as well as cascading ef throughout the organization.

discipline.

Openness to Failure: Effi facturer vs. R&D Innovat

Greg Heist,

Blogger’s note: This post was co colleague Jason Raguso, who le Gongos’ newly formed data inte

go-innovate blog >> CLICK HERE

NEWS: GONGOS FORMS DEC CONSULTANCY “O2 INTEGRAT

VP, Research Innovation Gongos Research

Gongos has formed O2 Integrated, a con

to fusing enterprise data and primary res

customer-centric decision making for Gl

as announced by president & CEO Cam

start-up executive Jason Raguso has be

040 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

haps more fundamentally—there is a demand for research to become ganizational transformation.

portunity” is a playing out in real or failure will be deh organizations can ndset and value

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e macro approach. nthesizers, exploring hed further light on rstanding a breadth r strengths and limiffect of the insights

New college grads with applied mathematics or computer science chops are a great addition to market research teams because of their natural analytics aptitudes. Yet today, MR firms tend to plug these recruits into preset roles to execute industryvalidated analyses, ensuring they are highly billable out the gate. It is a manufacturing mindset that values scale, efficiency, quality and consistent delivery of a given set of actions over and over again.

Contrast that with a big data environment. The same talent would be empowered to explore and tinker with data in the quest for game-changing insights. Like scientists in an R&D environment, data integration embraces the willingness to experiment (and even fail), retool and try again all in the pursuit of the “eureka moment.” It’s learning, not knowing— a journey with the client, not a rush to deliver a report.

CISION-SUPPORT TED”

nsultative unit dedicated

Succeeding in this space means possessing both vision and will of leadership to disrupt the nature of business as usual. In doing so, firms will take an essential step toward becoming the catalysts of change this new era demands.

the company’s new business unit.

mathematics. O2 teams will work with clients to operationalize insights across business units. Beyond developing integra-

“O2 Integrated is the result of a year-long discussion about the

tive strategies, O2 will reconcile the signal-to-noise paradox to

role Gongos will play in the future of decision intelligence,” states

strengthen and socialize decision-making for its clients.

Nicita. “Jason has been a growth leader in the decision support space since 2007, and we are thrilled to have him join our team

“We’re setting out to solve a broader set of problems for our cli-

and drive this new area of business for our company.”

ents, understanding that they often make choices in constrained environments,” adds Raguso. “Gongos’ ability to quickly adapt,

search to reshape

lobal 1000 companies,

mille Nicita. Analytics

een appointed to lead

Regardless of whether we are client- or vendorside, we often bemoan not having a “seat at the table.” Yet maybe it’s because researchers still behave in a way that perpetuates that outsider status.

All too often, we work from an order-taker mindset, pulling the tool from our belt that seems befitting for the question.

By contrast, the very nature of data integration is that of an agent provocateur—being a catalyst of deeper thought into the true nature of the dilemma.

In this role, the stated problem likely isn’t the real problem. Rather, it could be merely symptomatic of a broader business issue. Grasping the larger issue and providing a framework for formulating hypotheses and identifying variables is the role of the big data consultant.

Success in this space demands a new kind of leadership—one that indulges curiosity and preserves the innovative spirit from being organizationally diluted.

ficient Manutor

oauthored with my eads O2 Integrated, egration unit.

Role Within Client Organization: Reactive Order-Taker vs. Agent Provocateur

O2 Integrated will serve organizations by building retained exten-

paired with its deep client partnerships, provides an ideal

sion teams that harmonize disparate data sources spanning

ecosystem to transform insights for clients as they navigate this

enterprise, third-party and primary market research with applied

complexity.”

We have the tools to help you make sense of the world.

Shouldn’t research be a chance to see things differently? To see order in chaos? And to see opportunities in the marketplace? Yup, we agree. That’s why we roll up our sleeves with you to find the best solutions for your project. Put us to work programming for you or take it on yourself using our proprietary Beacon™ software suite—or we can divide and conquer as needed. Let’s talk about the best approach for you.

To learn more, visit DecipherInc.com.

SURVEY PROGRAMMING | MOBILE SURVEY SOLUTIONS | SAMPLING | DATA PROCESSING & INTERACTIVE DASHBOARDS | ONLINE REPORTING & DASHBOARDING

040 >> Survey Magazine > January 2013

Report writing in 2013:

Less is More Impact The world of information is changing, and qualitative market research reports should follow suit. Clients still want to hear what their customers have to say, but how they want to hear it has changed.

No one wants to go through thick decks to get at the meat of the findings…and let’s face it, we don’t want to write reports like that either. Qualitative research reports are getting shorter and shorter, but they can be more impactful at the same time.

Reports are like onions…they should have layers It is important to know who will be reading your report and to recognize that people at different levels within a company will have different needs. If you write a report in layers, your audience can choose the level of depth that is right for them. I recommend the 3-layer approach to report writing.

The first layer is the view from 40,000 feet. If the client has 5 minutes to devote to the findings of a particular research project, they can read a page or two and learn all they need to know.

The second layer is for people who have more hands-on involvement in the research.

They have 30 minutes to spend on the report. They want a closer view of what happened. They can absorb 7-10 pages.

The final and most detailed layer is for people who want all the details or who want to pick and choose certain areas where the details are key.

044 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

Make the findings c

Words are only one way to tell a st findings come to life: • The right picture tells a thousa can make a feeling come to life just choosing a pretty picture.

• Let the participants speak for t client that X number of respon really drive the point home is o when that changes the meanin

But don’t forget the

In this world of tell me what I need ground and context. But I would c depth, they should live on past a p after the research is finished for ad research.

Therefore, it’s important to make g ogy (how you asked a question an specs (who you spoke to and how

But above all else, when writing a r needs are. Their needs should be excellent advice!

come to life

tory and often there are better ways to make research

and words….so you don’t have to. A well-chosen visual e in a way that words can’t. Don’t make the mistake of

themselves….Include video/audio clips. You can tell a ndents had a certain opinion, but sometimes what can one respondent’s inflection or body language, especially ng.

e history

d to know now and fast, it is easy to skimp on backcaution against it. If your findings have worth and particular assignment. A good report can be mined long dditional ideas or become a foundation for additional

good use of an Appendix to briefly explain the methodolnd when matters) and to outline the key demographic w you defined the demographic is equally important).

report it is crucial to know your audience and what their your first priority, even if it means ignoring all of my

Jennifer Larsen has been utilizing her psychology background to get deeper meaning out of participants for Fader & Associates since 1999.

She has conducted hundreds of groups and one-on-one interviews across topic areas, but she considers report writing one of her favorite aspects of the job and is always looking for new and better ways to get her message and insights across. She can be contacted at jenniferlarsen@faderfocus.com.

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048 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

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Welcome to a place with enough around-the-clock awesomeness to keep you playing all day and partying all night, all on the shore of the largest alpine lake in North America, its clear water surrounded by the majestic Sierra Nevada mountains. Jaw-dropping vistas, stately groves of pines, and ludicrously gorgeous sunsets await.

When it comes to wild life, we’ve got both kinds. In spades. Consider TahoeSouth.com your field guide to the great outdoors, as well as our tasty restaurants, hopping dance clubs and kaching-ing casinos. Feeling lucky yet?

Recognized for its diverse terrain, incomparable snow quality, and views of Lake Tahoe, Alpine Meadows offers everything from impeccably groomed slopes to backcountry-accessed peaks for zealous adventurers. Kids will enjoy the newly-redesigned children’s center, full- and half-day ski or snowboard sessions, and two surface lifts for beginners. Kids at heart find fun on the slopes through the Alpine Guides daily guided ski and snowboard tours, group or private instruction, and multi-day camps.

Alpine Meadows recently joined forces with neighboring Squaw Valley, bringing the two ski resorts under common ownership. Skiers and riders can now access 6,000 skiable acres, 43 lifts and 270+ trails at Squaw and Alpine Meadows on the Tahoe Super Pass or any lift ticket.

Overlooking the incredible blue waters of Lake Tahoe, Heavenly is one of the most unique snowsports destinations on the planet. Skiing and snowboarding at Heavenly presents you with a number of different choices. With more terrain variety, more hidden glades, more rippin’ groomers than any Lake Tahoe resort, you’ve got plenty of decisions to make.

Do you ski California or Nevada? Do you want jaw-dropping views of sparkling Lake Tahoe, or the stark contrast of the high Nevada desert below? Will it be 34 miles of wide-open, groomed cruisers, 1,600-foot plunges in the double-black canyons or the most outrageous tree skiing in North America?

Is it the 80-foot jumps in Highroller Terrain Park, or the natural pillow drops in Nevada Woods? How about 1,800 vertical feet of knee-pounding, Volkswagen-sized moguls on the world famous Gunbarrel?

The choices are yours – and you’ll have a blast choosing.

052 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

Pristine beauty, action-packed expeditions and events, and a huge variety of terrain. Lots of open bowls, the highest base elevation and the deepest annual snowfall in the Lake Tahoe area. It’s no surprise that winter purists love Kirkwood, and that the national media have noticed too.

Kirkwood was ranked No. 10 in the country by Ski Magazine (October 2009), the only South Tahoe resort ranked in the top 10, and readers of Silicon Valley’s The Wave Magazine selected Kirkwood as Resort of Choice for Winter 2008.

Located just 177 miles from the Bay Area along scenic Highway 88, Kirkwood is becoming one of the nation’s top year-round, family destination lifestyle resorts, with winter fun including skiing, snowboarding, cross country skiing, snow shoeing, sled dog tours, and backcountry expeditions.

Mt. Rose is the place to kick off and wind down your Lake Tahoe ski getaway – it’s the only mountain offering views out over both the lake and Reno, and is the closest resort to the Reno/Tahoe Airport. With 1200 acres worth of north and east facing slopes to explore, you won’t run out of adventure.

Awaiting you at the top are 1800 vertical feet of Lake Tahoe skiing & snowboarding, topped off with the now legendary Mt. Rose Chutes, offering some of the steepest, sweetest, and longest inbounds slopes in North America.

A quick 25 minutes from Reno, and 10 minutes from Tahoe‘s North Shore, Mt. Rose’s ideal location is what makes it the best choice for the first and last days of a Tahoe ski getaway. Daily ski shuttle services are available from many Reno properties.

Take advantage of our discounted online lift tickets, Rosebuds kid’s camps, and the incredible $69 First Timer package. Affordable ski & stay values out of Reno and Lake Tahoe are available from as low as $79 per person.

One of the finest year-round mountain resorts in North America, Northstar Resort is host to a new base area village featuring 35 unique shops and restaurants, a conference center, 9,000 square foot skating rink, on-site lodging, special events and more.

A winter sport enthusiast’s paradise, Northstar Resort offers 93 ski trails spread across 3,000 acres, award-winning terrain parks, and snow sports including alpine and telemark skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and tubing. Summer activities include mountain biking, golfing, scenic lift rides for sightseeing and hiking, horseback riding, fly-fishing and more.

Northstar Resort is located on Highway 267, just six miles north of Lake Tahoe and six miles south of downtown Truckee. For more information, call 1.800.GO.NORTH (1.800.466.6784).

Known for incredible family programs, some of Lake Tahoe’s best beginner terrain, award-winning terrain parks, and amazing runs through old-growth trees, Sierra-atTahoe Resort gives skiers and snowboarders an escape from everyday life to enjoy the simple pleasures of winter in the mountains. One of Lake Tahoe’s first resorts, Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort offers multiple generations of skiers and riders terrain and amenities to create that perfect ski vacation. Recognized by TransWorld SNOWboarding as a Top 10 Overall Resort, Sierra Resort is easy to get to and always welcoming. Just 12 miles west of Lake Tahoe, Sierra Resort received 763” of snow during the 2010-11 winter season.

Host of the 1960 Winter Olympics, Squaw Valley is a year-round mountain destination offering world-class adventures in every season. Come winter, Squaw is renowned for its legendary terrain that spans 3,600 skiable acres, six peaks and 30 chairlifts including a unique mountaintop beginner area and unrivaled expert steeps, chutes and bowls. In summer and fall, Squaw’s scenic Aerial Tram offers transport to a wide array of mountaintop activities in a spectacular alpine setting and The Village welcomes a full line-up of live music and festivals. For the ultimate slopeside lodging experience, guests can stay in one of The Village at Squaw Valley’s one, two or three bedroom suites, each with a fireplace, kitchen and balcony.

Squaw Valley recently joined forces with neighboring Alpine Meadows, bringing the two ski resorts under common ownership. Skiers and riders can now access 6,000 skiable acres, 43 lifts and 270+ trails at Squaw and Alpine Meadows on the Tahoe Super Pass or any lift ticket.

054 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

In The News

ThinkNow Research Releases Findings from Hispanic Mobile Banking Trends Study ThinkNow Research, one of the nation’s leading Hispanic market research firms, today released their findings from, “Hispanic Mobile Banking Trends: Mobile Banking Usage on Tablets & Smartphones,” a study that identifies key mobile banking trends and usage traits among Hispanics in the U.S. Conducted in concert with Zpryme, the findings show that 69% of Hispanics use their smart phone to do mobile banking while 47% use their tablet to conduct mobile banking. Additionally, younger Hispanics and those with higher incomes were more likely to use mobile banking. The main mobile activities being performed were listed as checking balances, viewing transactions, transferring money, and paying bills.

“One of the key findings of our research is that mobile banking services are highly valued by Hispanics,” stated Mario X. Carrasco, Director of Online Research at ThinkNow Research. “Almost 30% of respondents stated they would in fact switch from their current bank for a bank that offered mobile banking services, and this presents a large opportunity for financial institutions that want to go after this market.”

056 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

In addition, the study revealed several recommendations for banks that would increase the usage of mobile banking by Hispanics, including conducting a comprehensive risk assessment of the bank’s mobile banking product, incorporating social networking sites to address banking issues and making sure that both Spanish and English versions of the mobile banking sites provide a positive and rewarding experience.

To download a copy of Hispanic Mobile Banking Trends: Mobile Banking Usage on Tablets & Smartphones, Click Here.

ABOUT THINKNOW RESEARCH – ThinkNow Research is full-service Hispanic market research firm that works exclusively with Fortune 5000 companies to help them understand Hispanic consumers in the U.S. In addition to a full range of research services, they also have one of the largest Hispanic research panels available in the industry, conduct a monthly Hispanic Omnibus survey and work with their clients to create customized online Hispanic communities.

To learn more about ThinkNow Research, visit us Online or contact co-Founders Mario Carrasco (Mario@ThinkNowResearch.com) or Roy Kokoyachuk (Roy@ ThinkNowResearch.com) or call 877-2002710.

Confirmit Announces Customizable Mobile App MyMobile enables companies to launch tailored apps for feedback and research programs.

Customer input via a Voice of the Customer (VoC) program, a Market Research initiative, or informal feedback offers companies a wealth of

agencies with the flexibility to create seamless multi-channel feedback and research programs with consistent branding throughout. Confirmit’s mo-

Confirmit MyMobile can be harnessed to deliver instant, actionable insight, customized to match your brand.

insight. To enable consistent brand experiences wherever and however the feedback is shared, Confirmit, the leading global software provider for Customer Experience, Employee Engagement and Market Research, has just launched Confirmit MyMobile.

bile capabilities have led the market from its inception, and this addition to our portfolio enables forward-thinking businesses to take mobile data collection to the next level, building even stronger user experiences.”

About Confirmit

Whether companies have a mobile employee base and need a dedicated mobile program, or they need to add mobile options as part of a larger Market Research, VoC, or Employee Insight program, the customizable mobile feedback and research app enables businesses to channel those insights back to the right stakeholders via any type of mobile device. From beginning to end, respondents will enjoy a branded look and feel that matches other feedback channels and marketing materials.

“Mobile delivers instant, engaging, and effective insight – offering new opportunities to multi-channel programs,” commented Dave King, Confirmit’s Executive Vice President of Mobile Solutions. “Confirmit MyMobile provides businesses and MR

As with all Confirmit mobile products, Confirmit MyMobile: •

•

•

•

Enables seamless dissemination of critical feedback to the right stakeholders in a timely fashion; Integrates with photo, video, audio and GPS capture capabilities to provide rich feedback; Deploys on all major mobile devices, including iPhone, iPad, Android tablets and mobiles, Blackberry, and Nokia; and Runs offline so feedback can be captured anywhere, at any time.

For more information about how the new Confirmit MyMobile solution can help your business deliver an outstanding in-the-moment respondent experience, please visit www.confirmit.com. Attend a webinar on March 14th for a demonstration of how

Confirmit is the world’s leading SaaS vendor for multichannel Voice of the Customer, Employee Feedback, and Market Research applications.

The company has offices in Oslo (headquarters), Cologne, Guildford, London, Moscow, New York, San Francisco, Vancouver, and Yaroslavl.

Confirmit’s software is also distributed through partner resellers in Barcelona, Kuwait City, Madrid, Milan, Pattaya, Sydney, and Tokyo.

Confirmit targets Global 5000 companies and Market Research agencies worldwide with a wide range of software products for feedback / data collection, panel management, data processing, analysis, and reporting.

Customers include A&N Media, Aurora, British Airways, Cross-Tab, Dow Chemical, Farmers Insurance, GlaxoSmithKline, Ipsos, JTN Research, Keep Factor, Morehead Associates, Nielsen, The NPD Group, Swapit, Swisscom, Symantec and The Wellcome Trust. Visit www.confirmit.com for more information.

In The News

Management Changes and New Hires for Toluna UK and North America Toluna, one of the world’s leading online research panel and survey technology providers, today announces a series of management changes and new hires to take effect on 1st April 2013.

George Terhanian will transition from the dual role as President, Toluna North America and Group Chief Strategy and Products Officer to the single role as Group Chief Strategy and Products Officer. Dr. Terhanian will assume responsibility for Toluna’s technology practice and Toluna QuickSurveys™ as part of a strategic reorganisation that brings together the functions of strategy development, products, product marketing and marketing.

Mark Simon has been appointed to the position of Managing Director, Toluna North America. Since joining Toluna as a founding member of the UK office in 2005, Simon has excelled in a number of different roles, most recently serving as Managing Director of Toluna’s UK office while also overseeing the development and launch of Toluna’s PanelPortal Online Communities and Toluna QuickSurveys products. In his new role he will be responsible for Toluna’s North American business. Simon has relocated and is now based in the company’s US headquarters in Wilton, CT. In addition, Julie Paul joins Toluna as Senior Vice President, Online Communities. Prior to joining Toluna, she was Senior Vice President, Interactive Custom Panels at IPSOS. Paul brings a wealth of experience in the area of online communities, panels, market research and online operations. She will be responsible for the continued worldwide expansion of Toluna’s community panels business. She will report to Dr. Terhanian.

Paul Twite has been promoted UK Sales Director to Managing Director of Toluna’s UK office. Twite has been with Toluna since 2010 and will be responsible for Toluna’s UK business.

“These appointments are critical to Toluna’s continued growth and success,” says Frederic-Charles Petit, CEO. “Toluna has innovation in its DNA. We strive to provide cutting-edge, sophisticated data collection and consumer insight solutions to the market research industry. George Terhanian’s laser focus on Toluna’s strategic development and product portfolio is critical as the industry continues to evolve.”

058 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

“Further,” says Petit, “Mark Simon has done an excellent job during his career at Toluna as Managing Director for Toluna UK, and as the head of the Group Technology Practice.

His depth of industry knowledge, leadership, product, and technology experience will be a great asset for our business in North America.”

“We are also pleased as well to announce the hiring of Julie Paul. Her experience, and bestpractices approach, will enable us to continue building our already successful PanelPortal Online Community product offering.”

“Finally, it is a pleasure to be able to promote Paul Twite to the role of Managing Director, UK. Paul has done a fantastic job since joining Toluna and we expect him to flourish in his new role.”

About Toluna With 17 offices in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, Toluna works with many of the world’s leading market-research agencies,

media agencies and corporations. Toluna’s survey research has informed stories in the Financial Times, Advertising Age and Time Magazine.

Toluna pioneered a one-of-a-kind approach to recruiting and engaging members through Toluna.com, its online social voting community. Recently the company launched SmartSelect™, a sophisticated respondent selection methodology for assuring sample representativeness and increasing response accuracy.

Toluna provides the industry’s leading survey technology suite, enabling hundreds of organisations worldwide to create online and mobile surveys, manage panels and build their own online communities. Toluna products include PanelPortal™ Online Communities and Toluna QuickSurveys™.

In The News EU awards TNS its Qualitative Eurobarometer Studies contract TNS has retained the prestigious Eurobarometer Qualitative studies contract from the European Commission and the European Parliament for another four years. This framework contract represents what is believed to be the world’s largest qualitative research programme, valued at nearly €18 million. TNS beat IPSOS, GfK and Gallup to win this competitive tender.

uSamp Announces Partnership with US Airways that Allows Loyalty Members to Join Exclusive Panel US Airways Chooses uSamp˙s Invite-Only B2B Panel to Provide Loyalty Members with a New Way to Provide Feedback and Be Rewarded Encino, Calif. (March 18, 2013) uSamp, a leader in providing targeted audiences for global consumer and business insights, today announced that it has partnered with US Airways to bring its invitation-only B2B panel, The Whiteboard, to US Airways Dividend Miles members. Through this partnership, US Airways will be able to engage and reward its members in new ways.

The Eurobarometer Qualitative studies will be managed by TNS’s Political & Social practice. The EU uses its Eurobarometer Qualitative studies to examine reactions to different public policies or actions undertaken in connection with them, to evaluate communication material and key messages, and to gain a deeper understanding of quantitative results and the formation of public opinion over time.

The studies involve focus group discussions, in-depth interviews with the general public, and specific target groups, and additional consultancy services. The Eurobarometer Qualitative studies will cover no less than 35 countries/territories, including all EU member states but also non-EU countries such as the USA. Leendert de Voogd, Global Head of TNS Political & Social, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this major assignment from the European Institutions for another four years. This is a great testimony to the quality of TNS’s work, and our strong track record in conducting sophisticated qualitative market research on a global scale. We look forward to continuing to build on our strong partnership with the European Commission and the European Parliament and help them understand the “whys” behind the data.”

Judith Passingham, CEO of TNS Northern Europe, said: “The award of this contract reflects the investment TNS has been making in the evolution and development of its Global Qualitative practice under the leadership of Rebecca Wynberg. We are very excited to be working in an area where the application of qualitative research has the potential to drive a substantially improved understanding of key issues and potential actions within Europe.”

060 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

The Whiteboard, powered by uSamp, is an invite-only panel of professionals that provides market research companies with insights straight from business decision makers and professionals on the front lines. Panelists are engaged in insightful online business surveys from market research companies and are then rewarded for their insights with airline miles, hotel points, and gift cards.

US Airways is able to reward its loyalty members by offering them access to The Whiteboard, where they will be able to take short surveys and be rewarded with extra miles, gift cards, or loyalty points. These surveys can be for any number of brands and all reward panelists differently depending on length of the survey.

“By partnering with uSamp, US Airways will be able to reward our loyalty members in a new and engaging way,” said Fern Fernandez, US Airways managing director, Customer Loyalty & Marketing Programs. “uSamp makes it easy for us to expand our loyalty program options.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE >>

Experian Marketing Services and Research Now alliance to deliver unique on-demand survey capability tied to online behavior

“The combination of Research Now’s high-quality consumer panel and on-demand survey capabilities with our in-depth understanding of online consumer behavior will provide forward-thinking marketers with the actionable insights they need to drive successful consumer interactions,” said Simon Bradstock, general manager, Consumer Insights at Experian Marketing Services. “The team brings a powerful new capability to the market and closes a gap in helping brands understand how consumers use multiple channels during their purchase journey.”

The alliance extends to operations in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.

New data and insights provide marketers with actionable understanding of how consumers use multiple channels along their purchase journey NEW YORK – March 18, 2013 – Experian Marketing Services, a global provider of integrated consumer insight, targeting and crosschannel marketing, today announced a multi-national alliance with Research Now, the global leader in digital data collection. Together, the two companies have developed custom research capabilities leveraging online behavior measurement of Research Now’s consumer and business panelists and the ability to survey the same individuals. The joint offering allows multichannel marketers to receive valuable self-reported insights about select consumer activities from regular surveys with aggregated and anonymous research about their associated online behavior.

The goal of the team is to apply this innovative approach to provide actionable insights such as understanding customers’ path to purchase by tying online behaviors to surveys that capture offline activities, influences, motivations and purchases. These insights show where consumers in a brand’s category begin the shopping process, the offers and exposure events that trigger a purchase, the competing products and brands consumers are considering at each phase of the purchase process, and more. By understanding the consumer purchase journey, marketers and their agencies can optimize their engagement and targeting of in-market consumers throughout their purchase journey.

“We are excited about this and our ability to address a major need in the market for understanding cross-channel consumer purchase behavior,” said Eric Sandberg, vice president, Research Now Digital.

“Experian Marketing Services provides an unparalleled ability to understand online consumer behavior and is the best alliance for us to work with to develop this solution.”

About Research Now Research Now, the global leader in digital data collection, powers market research insights. We enable companies to listen to and interact with the world’s consumers and business professionals through online panels, as well as mobile, digital and social media technologies. Our team operates in 25 offices globally and is recognized as the market research industry’s leader in client satisfaction. We foster a socially responsible culture by empowering our employees to give back.

To find out more or begin a conversation with us, visit http:// www.researchnow.com.

About Experian Marketing Services Experian Marketing Services is a global provider of integrated consumer insight, targeting and cross-channel marketing. We help organizations from around the world intelligently interact with today’s dynamic, empowered and hyperconnected customers. By coordinating seamless interactions across all marketing channels, marketers are able to plan and execute superior brand experiences that deepen customer loyalty, strengthen brand advocacy and maximize profits.

For more information, please visit http://www.experian.com/ marketingservices.

Events Big Data Innovation Summit The Big Data Innovation Summit taking place April 11 & 12 in San Francisco is only 8 weeks away.

With 1000 attendees, this event is the largest executive led Big Data Innovation summit to date, including an exploration of Big Data technology across 6 verticals (Big Data Innovation, Healthcare, Government, Finance, Hadoop & Women in Big Data).

Don’t miss out on hearing from Walmart, Facebook, NYSE Euronext, Groupon, eBay, General Electric, Walgreens, NASA, Deutsche Bank & many more. View the full speaker line up.

Presentation topics include: - How to Respect Yourself in the Morning using Scalding and R - Big Data Analytics & Data Science using Hadoop - Taming Big Data to Drive Operational Efficiency - Big Information in Big Data - Forecasting the 2012 Presidential Election from History and the Polls With places filling fast, please let me know if you would like to secure a place. Can’t make the summit? Join us for the Big Data Executive Breakfast as part as the Big Data Innovation Week in San Francisco, April 10.

Allegiance VoCFusion 2013 Turns Data into Dollars with Keynote by Nate Silver SALT LAKE CITY – February 20, 2013 – Customer experience and Voice of Customer professionals will join with industry experts to discover how to turn data into insight at VoCFusion 2013 on May 14 to 17, 2013, at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas. Sponsored by Allegiance, Inc., a provider of VOCi (Voice of Customer Intelligence) technology and services, VoCFusion offers inspiring speakers, informative workshops, peer networking and panel discussions about how organizations can get closer to customers and employees, improve customer retention and increase revenues.

Noted political forecaster and best-selling author Nate Silver will kick off the event with a keynote presentation “Powerful Prediction Through Data Analytics.” Silver first gained national attention during the 2008 presidential election when he correctly predicted the results of the primaries and the presidential winner in 49 states. Today, he runs The New York Times awardwinning political website FiveThirtyEight.com, where he publishes a running forecast of current elections and hot-button issues. He is also widely known as the author of the best-selling book The Signal and the Noise.

VoCFusion features more than 60 sessions, including keynote presentations, panel discussions, case study presentations, workshops, handson training and industry certifications from leaders in their fields. Notable speakers include Adam Edmunds, Founder, Allegiance; Terry Cain, Vice President, Global Customer Engagement, Avnet; Matt McNerney, President, Ipsos Loyalty; Barbara Porter, Executive Director Advisory Services and Customer Experience, Ernst & Young; Bruce Temkin, Customer Experience Expert and Strategist; Cole Nussbaumer, Manager, People Analytics Team, Google.

“This event — which is the largest VoC event in the world — has something for everyone,” said Allegiance CEO Carine Clark. “Every customer-focused professional who wants to engage customers and employees, act more quickly on feedback and increase retention using the latest innovations and best practices will benefit from this thought-provoking event.”

In addition to Allegiance, VoCFusion 2013 is supported by many sponsors, including Ipsos Loyalty, the world’s third largest market research company, CRMXChange, Quirks, and Survey Magazine.

Registration and Information: To register for VoCFusion 2013, to find out more about this year’s speakers, and to see the conference agenda, please visit http://www.VOCFusion.com.

062 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

MISSION Pete is on a

to optimize your sample in Brazil, Beijing or British Columbia.

SSI is committed to a robust international presence. We sample in 78 countries; we maintain 27 offices worldwide; and our staff is fluent in 36 languages.

The result: every time zone is our comfort zone.

This commitment enables experienced professionals like Pete Cape to adjust questions and modes to fit the culture, and deliver the most meaningful samples available in every province, arrondissement, and canton. And better samples mean better results.

Pete Cape. Just one of the people working for you at SSI.

速 info@surveysampling.com surveysampling.com

Looking for Answers About Your Customers?

Big Data: uSamp Harnesses One

presents

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF

BIG DATA GATHER INFO

90+

12 Million RESPONDENTS

STUDIES

Encino, Calif. (March 26, 2013) – uSampTM, a leader in providing targeted audiences for global consumer and business insights, has announced that it has collected more than one billion profile attributes and demographics from its worldwide audience of 12 million. Companies are using this plethora of dynamic data points to drive innovation and make informed business decisions about their products and services.

1 Billion

ORGANIZE DATA

ENTERTAINMENT

TRAVEL

GAMERS

CONSUMER TECH

HISPANIC MARKETS

MONEY & FINANCE

FOOD & BEVERAGE

HEALTH

AUTOMOTIVE

BUSINESS

GENERATE ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS How much do athletes spend on energy drinks?

12 million participants worldwide deliver actionable insights

41,000

COUNTRIES

CONSUMER TOUCH POINTS

Do most hybrid drivers lease or buy their cars?

Billion Consumer Data Points to Help Businesses Be Better, Smarter, Faster

Civicom Shows to Mana

How often do tablet users purchase audio books?

During which month do moms travel most for work?

DELIVER BETTER PRODUCTS & SERVICES

uSamp , a leader in providing targeted audiences for global consumer and business insights, has collected more than 1 billion data points from 12 million respondents over its lifetime. Self-identified gamers, auto-enthusiasts, moms, business leaders and techies have voluntarily answered questions about about brands, consumer habits, hopes, aspirations and dreams. These billion bits of data translate into rich insights for companies seeking to better understand their customers.

TM

“Everybody is talking about the power of big data,” said Matt Dusig, CEO of uSamp, “But what exactly does it mean, and how can we harness it in our businesses while protecting our audiences? We see it as ‘actionable data’ advancing the MR industry in three areas: 1) precision targeting 2) real-time or in-the-moment insights with mobile responses 3) survey content curated to respondent affinities.

The customer intelligence derived from actionable data helps to identify markets and customers, measure brand loyalty and pinpoint new trends. Ultimately, this helps companies understand what people think. Big data doesn’t come from one source, but from a multitude of sources – surveys, focus groups, mobile feedback, purchase history and customer service to name a few.

“Big data is helping the market research industry understand that surveys are just one of several data sources that can be used to help clients figure out what consumers want and need,” says Dave Sackman, CEO of LRW. “Big data is an invaluable addition to the arsenal, but will not supersede the need for survey data too.”

www.uSamp.com

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE >> 064 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

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In The News MORE >>

arketing Research Services presented their novative Qualitative Text Analytics service in a March 12 entitled “Getting to the Insights You Text Analytics.” Participants in the online event w the capabilities of Civicom Text Analytics d how market researchers can benefit from e services to reduce research analysis time er key insights.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE >>

Survey Technologies Details nsiderations for Online Survey m Conversion

vey Technologies LLC (Kinesis), the industry uture-proof market research software solupublished a new whitepaper entitled Online tform Conversion: Processes, Issues and Costs.

aper identifies commonly-encountered survey ration issues and offers various recommendat how to successfully convert market research one software platform to another. It addresses cern which data to migrate vs. archive, details conversion methods and related security isexplores cost and timing factors. >>>

“Once the decision to switch survey platforms has been made – for reasons such as access to improved technologies, efficiencies, and/or return on investment – there are numerous steps that must be taken in order to achieve a smooth conversion,” said Kinesis CEO Leslie Townsend. “The information provided in this whitepaper is based on Kinesis’ vast experience in migrating market research data from other vendor platforms to our own, and we hope it proves a valuable resource for companies seeking to undertake such an initiative.”

The Online Survey Platform Conversion: Processes, Issues and Projected Costs whitepaper is available for free download on the Kinesis website: www.kinesissurvey.com/whitepapers.

New Study Details How the Next Generation of Americans View the American Dream

The Pluralist Generation is focused on individuality and happiness rather than wealth

A new study from iModerate, a leading qualitative research firm, takes an indepth look at how the Plurals, the first generation of the 21st century, feel about the American Dream. Do they believe in The Dream? Does it matter to them? And what exactly do they think it is?

This qualitative study which utilized one-on-one conversations and Pinterest boards, uncovered that this group does indeed believe in The Dream and is full of hope. However, the economic swing this group has experienced in their lifetime has had a profound impact on what their Dream has become. They have witnessed a culture that celebrated excess, has been through a recession, and a fledgling recovery. As a result, the Plurals are very realistic about what is achievable, and feel that they must follow the path that will make them personally happy. Happiness and the individual freedom to pursue it are more important than financial success.

Untethered from mainly materialistic goals, the findings demonstrate that the Plurals are varied in their ambitions and patient in their pursuit of them. They have learned that the things which last do not come easy, and embrace the hard work necessary to build a life of comfort and, more importantly, contentment. This is just one of the Plurals’ philosophies reminiscent of those held by past generations. As one plural said in describing The Dream, “I’m free to accomplish anything possible if I am willing to work hard.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE >>

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IDG Research Services At IDG Research we have two primary focus areas; Marketing and Media-Related Research and Employee Engagement. Our clients range from top technology companies to educational institutions, but our focus on quantitative research remains the same. We service advertising agencies, media companies, b2b and b2c marketers and HR professionals.

READ MORE >> 066 >> Survey Magazine > March 2013

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employees worldwide, the company operat through its business units.

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Complete Research Connection The CRC team is excited to announce that we have recently opened a brand new research facility. This fully-equipped, modern

ay!

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PeopleMetrics

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PeopleMetrics can help you transform your customer experience and make better

nd the

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ents

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vides customized b-to-b market research and

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Decipher

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cover guide

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Questback

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As a pioneer in online feedback QuestBack aims to work in partnership with our clients to

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