Reaching Consensus

As a fact of daily life we are confronted with choices and options. Some of these decisions are easy to make and take little of our precious time. However, there are those decisions that take considerable time and resources to resolve. As survey researchers we put our respondents through choice...read more

Let's Go Mobile!

I’m goin’ mobile as Pete Townsend once sang. The trend toward all things mobile continues to cruise down the highway unconcerned by high gas prices. Does this mean market research should follow along? I say so with a cautious yes! Why the caution you ask? When we go mobile we should do so with open...read more

Course Correcting the Direction for MR

There comes a time when all professions begin to question their purpose. Consider it therapy for the profession. Market research is no different. Since the new millennium started, the MR profession has seen the rise of data mining, social media, online survey platforms, big data, gamification, The...read more

5 Benefits of Online Employee Surveys to Improve Your Small Business

Not long ago, I learned some startling statistics: The loyalty of employees who work for small businesses has dropped by almost 20% since 2008, and currently stands at a paltry 50%. Although I have never experienced any serious turnover in my own venture, I decided to take preemptive action by...read more

Timely Response is Critical

In the voice of the customer world it is our role as market researchers to listen and follow through on what the customers are saying. Quite often this puts us in the position of ‘middle men’ between the customers and internal groups (e.g. sales, marketing, finance, customer service, etc.)...read more

The Art of Asking and Connecting with Customers [TED Inspired]

Greg's most recent post, Get Back to the Trenches, reminded me of a session I attended at the recent Mid-Atlantic Marketing Summit. Where Ken Chow, CMO at LogiAnalytics, Tom Kohn, Former EVP of Digital at Cygnus Business Media, Bob London, Founder & President of London Ink, and Bob Ragsdale, VP of...read more

Give 'em a Second Shot!

The goal of any survey project is to generate completed responses that can be passed through for survey data analysis. However, life often gets in the way and respondents may not be able to complete your survey between meetings of before putting the kids to bed. This can lead to incomplete...read more

Philosophers & Market Researches, One in the Same? Dancing in the Consumer's Shoes

Just who we are is a question that has been asked by philosophers since time immemorial. Market research professionals are no different than those wise men from ancient Greece in this regard. Our task is to create an understanding of the consumer’s mind in which we can shape our brand positioning...read more

Quota Design

Not all surveys will be applicable to all potential respondents. Targeting our survey efforts to those most likely to respond will increase our engagement levels and in theory provide a more interesting experience. How do we know who is most likely to respond? This is a question for the ages, but in...read more

Know Thy Competition!

The number of true monopolies in the global economy is not that large. What this means to the rest of us is that we have to compete to sell our products and services. Competition can come from both global competitors and those homegrown in your back yard.To grow in a soft economy companies must be...read more
The Rise of the Smart Phone: Are you Leverging Mobile? 10 Tips for Mobile-Friendly Survey Creation