Nichols Research, represented by the very-active and always-supportive Paul Valdez and Aaron Nichols, were awarded the MRA Celebrated Company Award for their outstanding volunteer efforts and exceptional support at the National and Chapter level.

These awards were presented November 5, 2009 at the MRA First Outlook Conference and Expo in San Diego, CA. For more photographs from the conference and awards ceremony, become a fan of the MRA on Facebook!

Fall Meet & Greet: Social Media & You

We had a fantastic turnout at our first ever tri-city coordinated event on October 22. Over 30 people were on hand at Consumer Opinion Services in Seattle and Portland, and WatchLAB in San Francisco to participate in a discussion about how social media is changing our industry. Despite a few technical hiccups, we were able to connect the three cities via conference call at the end of the session, to share takeaways and insights from the lively discussions!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Ghandi

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

President’s Message: Opportunity Building, by Brian Fowler, CfMC

Simply put, we are doing more with less – and have been since the second quarter of 2007 when the unemployment rate began to rise. In prolonged periods of business contraction, there are points in time when we become comfortable with an ever-changing environment.

Unemployment rate, source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://www.bls.gov/cps/

Be Forward-Leaning Humans are a resilient lot – we adapt. Changes force us to constantly reflect on purpose and resources – and that can be a good thing. A changing world – and stagnant growth (“flat is the new up”) – levels the playing field somewhat, allowing individuals and businesses alike the opportunity and time to innovate and invest in their offerings. We are all now in search for either the “next big thing” or the many little things that add up to more effective and efficient business operations. If you are not focusing on these areas now, you or your business could be missing a grand opportunity to make meaningful change. Remember – Web 2.0 was born in the wake of the dot-com bust. In your company, are you contributing to finding new solutions or waiting for instructions? In this kind of market, valuable innovation can come from anyone and business leaders are looking for leaders and insights from within their organizations. Now is the time to make an impact.

Find your inspiration, build new skills at the MRA The board members of the NorthWest Chapter of the MRA are committed to helping our members address their current challenges and prepare them to take advantage of the unique opportunities presented by the current landscape. We’re here to help you “up your game” by providing affordable skill and knowledge-building opportunities. Here’s a peek into this year’s unique education and networking opportunities: · Holiday Events (networking): Seattle: December 3, with the PSRF, San Francisco: December 17, at Rouge et Blanc, Portland January 13, details to come. · San Francisco: The NorthWest Chapter of the MRA and the SFAMA will be partnering to produce marketing research events as a part of the AMA’s Special Interest Group for research. · Las Vegas: March 3-5. This year’s joint chapter event (Southern Cal. And Southwest chapters are our partners) will be held at the MGM Grand – room rate is $109! Sponsor this great event for as low as $250! · Spring Education Conference: April 29-30, Napa, CA. The three-peat Chapter Event of the Year award continues with a return to Napa! The focus this year is improving efficiency and communication. We are currently looking for speakers and sponsors! Please contact us if you are interested in either speaking at or volunteering for any of these opportunities.

Back to top ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Guest Article: Focus on Thriving, not Surviving, by Paul Kirch, Actus MR

Thanks to the economy, each of the above issues is more prevalent and creating more challenges than before. If your primary contacts haven’t been laid off or downsized, the remaining staff is more focused on price than before. Unfortunately, if you’re selling on price only, there is zero loyalty. How do you create that loyalty? Simply, you must create real value, value that matters to those buying. Of course, how you follow through and back up what you’re saying is very crucial, but you have to get to that point first. Has your company really examined its sales messaging? What are the key differentiators that make you stand out? Are your staff members all saying the same thing? If not, are you just confusing your clients or perhaps blending in with your competitors?

There’s far too much confusion created by firms that sell the same service/products as their competitors without finding a way to stand out from the pack. How do you avoid this? Simply put, invest the time to create actionable sales messaging. Marketing material is focused on “we-we” talk (we do this, we do that…). Sales messaging, however, focuses on action and focuses on creating differentiation in the eyes of your customers. If you don’t stand out as providing something different and better, you must have the best price or find another line of business. It might sound harsh, but reality is, buying behaviors are changing and will continue to change. Relationships will always matter, but opening new ones will be harder if you’re not creating value in the eyes of those buying.

Is your competition growing and your company is struggling to maintain? Are they that much better than you? Or, is their message to their clients and prospects more compelling? There are many factors that impact growth, but sales messaging is one of the most important ways to create value. Are you creating value, or are you creating confusion? Are you focused on thriving, or is your goal centered on just surviving? Don’t blame the economy; blame your approach and then get serious about your sales efforts by building a foundation for success though actionable sales messaging. If you don’t know where to begin, don’t be afraid to seek out help.

Back to top

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~