Customer Insights

The times, they are a changin’ said Bob Dylan. They are indeed changing the face of marketing research. There was a day when a segmentation study could take a month or more to complete and easily cost a significant amount. Then the internet and the do-it-yourself (DIY) movement arrived. Long a fixture in the automotive and home improvement markets, the DIY mentality has landed in the lap of marketing research.

Should we defend against it or embrace it?

One factor being driven by the DIY movement, and the recent recession, is a strong emphasis on “do it now” and “do it for less.” This has lead to an increase in poor research! Anyone with an internet connection can author an online survey. In the hands of someone who has been trained in survey research, this becomes an advantage and allows us to deliver impactful research. However, in the hands of someone who has not spent time in the trenches, this can lead to faulty research and poor decisions.

Enough of the ranting already!

The DIY movement has lead many companies to create their own communities or panels for research purposes. This has made it easier and quicker to get feedback from those who have an engagement with your company. But wait, are we missing anything here? Yes, indeed we are. Seldom are we solely interested in our current customers. Most projects can be augmented by input from the larger pool of potential customers, aka prospects. If you have a prospecting database then this is place to start. If not there are other options.

Online sample providers can offer access to the broader market. This is useful, especially if we are conducting awareness and positioning research. Why you ask? If we rely solely on our customer our prospect files we will be surveying people that have seen or heard our marketing messages to varying degrees. It is reasonable to expect that people in the line of sights of our marketing efforts will have greater awareness. Outside sample can provide a less biased opinion.

There are numerous sample providers each with varying levels of specificity in who they can reach. Due diligence when looking to acquire sample.