February 2009 – How to Stretch Your Research Dollars
NorthWest MRA Topline
Table of Contents
President’s Message: Your Human Spirit
Featured Guest Article: Increasing the Efficiency of Your Research: A How-To Guide
Upcoming Northwest MRA Events
March 18-20: Joint MRA Conference in Las Vegas – The schedule has been announced! Read more
May 14: Spring Educational Conference, Portland – Call for speakers and sponsors by March 20! Read more
June 19: New date for Burke Seminar in Seattle at Gilmore Research – more details to follow soon on the Northwest MRA web site!
President’s Address by Paul Kirch
What does conviction mean to you? Merriam Webster Dictionary describes it in three ways:
1. the act or process of convicting of a crime especially in a court of law
2. the act of convincing a person of error or of compelling the admission of a truth
3. a strong persuasion or belief
For purposes of this message, I want to focus on definition number 3. I believe we can all apply this word to our lives. You might have strong convictions about religion, child-care, politics, the environment, or a million other things that people might feel strongly about. What happens when your convictions are challenged? Do you stand up for your beliefs? Do you crumble under peer pressure and hide your true feelings? If so, how does it make you feel?
Featured Guest Article: Increasing the Efficiency of Your Research:
A How-To Guide by Carole Wiedmeyer, Zanthus
Looking for ideas to stretch your marketing research dollar in this challenging economic climate? The following suggestions are just a start, but should get you going in the right direction.
New Members Welcome by Jeff Spitzer, Universal Survey
It’s a scary time in the world. Every time you check the latest news, it’s just more doom and gloom. Personally, I much prefer the ostrich approach – hiding my head in the ground, deflecting the negative news. I choose to focus on the things that I can control, while at the same time looking to leverage myself for the future.
Treasurer’s Report by Hugh Miller, Opinions… of Sacramento
Northwest Chapter Balance Sheet as of February 10, 2009
Northwest Chapter P&L as of February 10, 2009
Recent Holiday Meet & Greets
Portland had a lively Winter Meet & Greet on January 28 at the Ambassador Karaoke lounge. The crowd was treated to many rousing tunes by their market research colleagues!
Seattle had a great holiday party on December 4 at the Edgewater Hotel in downtown Seattle. A good time was had by all!
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The important thing is to strive towards a goal which is not immediately visible. That goal is not the concern of the mind, but of the spirit. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
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President’s Message: Your Human Spirit by Paul Kirch
What does conviction mean to you? Merriam Webster Dictionary describes it in three ways:
1. the act or process of convicting of a crime especially in a court of law
2. the act of convincing a person of error or of compelling the admission of a truth
3. a strong persuasion or belief
For purposes of this message, I want to focus on definition number 3. I believe we can all apply this word to our lives. You might have strong convictions about religion, child-care, politics, the environment, or a million other things that people might feel strongly about. What happens when your convictions are challenged? Do you stand up for your beliefs? Do you crumble under peer pressure and hide your true feelings? If so, how does it make you feel?
How does your conviction influence the human spirit that drives each of us? When looking at the human spirit and what drives, motivates or impassions people, being in an environment which compliments their convictions is much healthier than one that does not. If you’re constantly suppressing your feelings and beliefs, can you thrive in this environment? I would say no. Ignoring the needs of the human spirit leads to problems such as stress, unhappiness, and, often, self-doubt. Let this go on long enough and you might find yourself beaten down, stressed and/or depressed, leading to a feeling that your passion and spirit are melting away. We’ve all turned on the television and witnessed people who live in oppressive situations. Have you ever asked why these people didn’t stand up or fight back? Though this is an extreme example, these people have no signs of conviction and their human spirit is most likely broken or destroyed. What about a wife that lives in an abusive relationship? Why doesn’t she leave or fight back? The human spirit is a fragile thing and is so easily damaged by outside influences. It doesn’t always have to be such extreme situations. Have you ever worked for a manager who was verbally or psychologically abusive? Or perhaps he micromanaged everything you did, questioning your every move? How did this make you feel? Are you one of these managers? If so, you might be doing more harm to your staff than you think.
Some cultures put a great deal of emphasis on maintaining a healthy human spirit, recognizing the dangers of ignoring it. A great example is the Chinese practice of Feng Shui, meaning “wind-water” in English. Many of you might know this as a practice of designing and configuring a room and the positive energy associated with it. While room configuration is one component of this practice, it actually goes beyond that. The core belief behind Feng Shui is focused on harmonizing with spiritual forces to help one receive positive energy flow. Inner peace and energy flow are important components required to keep your human spirit thriving.
How does this impact your professional life? Have you ever been asked to do something for your company or maybe a client that you didn’t believe in? Does the direction of your employer contradict what you’ve always stood for? If so, what did you do? Sometimes in business, the direction of the company you work for or the instruction of upper management may not be something you can support. How do you respond? On one hand, you can stand up for your beliefs, which may or may not be well received. On the other hand, you can ignore your own feelings and have faith that they know better than you. Depending on the level of your conviction, you may be able to do this without damaging your spirit. Other times, however, you might find that you have to take a stand, or find a firm that better fits the needs of your human spirit, one that matches your convictions. From my experiences, I assure you that you’ll know when you’ve made the right decision, as it is very liberating.
When I joined the MRA, I really wanted to help make a difference in this great industry of ours. I joined the board of directors to give something back and to play an active role in driving the direction of our chapter and influencing the organization. Now, as President, I am fortunate enough to say I am a leader in an organization I believe in and that I feel supports my convictions in many ways. Recently, the MRA has gotten more involved in the issues related to quality standards. I’m happy to say that I have directly influenced the direction of some of the initiatives related to evaluating the quality of online sample providers and other suppliers. Some of my convictions are deeply focused on being part of the solution and not part of the problem. I’m excited that industry organizations like the MRA are working toward setting standards that all suppliers should strive to meet. It’s my convictions that keep me actively involved in the MRA and other industry organizations because I believe that we can make a difference.
How strong are your convictions? Are you a member of the MRA but not actively involved? How can you get started? The best way to start is to attend an event or volunteer to assist your chapter in ways they need help. The MRA needs people with strong convictions that believe in making marketing and opinion research better than it has ever been. The human spirit can thrive when you are able to make a difference and I encourage you to play a part where you feel comfortable. Stand up for what you believe and you’ll live with few regrets. Plus, you might just make a difference…
I’d love to hear how you are exercising your convictions in a positive way, personally or professionally. If you email me with your stories, I’ll feature them in the President’s Address of our next Topline.
Featured Guest Article: Increasing the Efficiency of your Research by Carole Wiedmeyer, Zanthus
Looking for ideas to stretch your marketing research dollar in this challenging economic climate? The following suggestions are just a start, but should get you going in the right direction.
· Do your homework. Secondary research can help you better target your research objectives, or even find just the answer you were looking for. Of course, this approach won’t do if you have a concept to test that requires hands-on experience with the product. In other situations—like in the earlier stages of concept development, or when trolling for unmet needs or gauging customer satisfaction—these techniques can give you a head start.
- Mine online forums, blogs, and user reviews for keywords and topics. You can do this by simply reading through postings, but you may want to consider using some sort of analytic tool to help cull out the themes and trends. There are numerous options available, including Internet keyword searches and social media analytics. (See Search Engine Journal’s "Ultimate Guide" to free keyword research tools: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/free-keyword-research-tools/8153/ ).
Of course, you don’t have to just passively observe all this chatter – you also can post your own questions and invite responses in some forums (especially those hosted by you or by your client). - Don’t forget your library card. Through a library, you can get online access to the "invisible” or “deep” Web, including publications, journals and databases that are otherwise only available to paid subscribers (LexisNexis, The New York Times, Medline, to name but a few). You don’t have to leave the office to do it (that is, unless you want to). The quality and usability of these resources is often better than what you can find on the open web, due to frequent updates and source credibility.
· Mine your data. Review past studies and other internal data sources (such as call center logs) with a fresh eye to yield valuable insights, test new hypotheses, and point to future trends. A simple cross-study executive summary review might uncover previously unnoticed patterns. If possible, consider conducting advanced analytics across studies where common metrics were captured. Techniques such as factor analysis or regression-based modeling could be used to identify high-level drivers of satisfaction and brand engagement across product categories, for example.
· Collaborate. Multi-client studies, omnibus studies and industry group research efforts let you share the cost of finding your target respondent with others. You won’t want to test that top-secret new product, but collaborate with industry partners on targeted topical research items.
· Piggyback. Can’t afford to do both a quantitative and qualitative study? Consider adding live online moderators to probe on responses to online surveys for relatively low additional cost. A typical approach is to initiate a real-time 10- to 15-minute instant messaging session between a trained moderator and individual respondents during a web survey. This can be great for drilling into a single key issue.
· Go virtual. Asynchronous (not “real-time") online bulletin boards and diaries let you save money on travel, online video streaming and transcripts. Be careful; costs can rival a traditional focus group set-up, especially with deep exploratory research or immersive techniques like photo/video diaries. A more targeted study may not only save you money over traditional groups, it will allow you to draw from a wider geographic area, potentially simplifying the recruit.
· Cut the "fat." Focus on what really matters when designing your questionnaire or discussion guide. Leave out all those “nice-to-know” questions that never make it into the report, and those you can get answered some other way. Not only will you save money, your data quality will improve, since respondent engagement is inversely related to survey length.
Demographics should be the first to go, especially if you can link the survey data to known characteristics from your sample database. Other prime candidates for the cutting room floor are questions that require more precision than is actually needed. Do you really need to know how many hours per week each person in the household spends watching video on each computer in the household? Or is it enough to know that household members spend a combined total of 20 hours per week watching video on a computer?
(Hint: Panel providers are beginning to offer "snack-sized" survey options as an affordable alternative to larger surveys or omnibus studies.)
Turbulent times provide added incentive for staying current with market dynamics. Keeping up your research program while tightening your belt is definitely challenging, but it’s certainly not impossible. It might just be the motivation you need to try something new. Good luck!
New Member’s Welcome by Jeff Spitzer, Universal Survey
It’s a scary time in the world. Every time you check the latest news, it’s just more doom and gloom. Personally, I much prefer the ostrich approach – hiding my head in the ground, deflecting the negative news. I choose to focus on the things that I can control, while at the same time looking to leverage myself for the future.
We all have friends and family who have lost jobs, cars and houses. Fear and worry won’t get you anywhere. Instead I start every day doing the best job I can. If I’m successful, my company will be too. If my company is successful then so will be the rest of our employees and clients. Success for all of us is key – now more than ever.
How can you leverage yourself for the future? One way is to volunteer with the NorthWest Chapter of the MRA. Through MRA volunteering, you will make connections to new people and companies. You never know how the relationships you create today will come back to benefit you or your company in the long run. I have many friends and colleagues I’ve met through my involvement with the MRA . We can help each other through these tough economic times.
The NorthWest MRA could use your help now more than ever – volunteer some of your time with MRA and expand your professional network. You might even have fun at the same time.
Jeff Spitzer, PRC
Universal Survey Center
Membership Committee Chair
646-616-9155
Welcome some of our newest Northwest chapter members!
| Ruth Bernstein
EMC Research Inc. Oakland, CA |
Christian Hogg
Market Decisions Corporation Portland, OR |
| Deb Ned
Clearwater Research, Inc. Boise, ID |
Marlin Roberts
Clearwater Research, Inc. Boise, ID |
Joint MRA Conference
March 18-20, 2009 at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas
Speaker highlights include:
Karen Manne – ABC Disney
Dan Safreno – Intuit
Keiko Powers – JD Powers & Associates
Beth Kane – SiTV
Justin Wyatt – Hyppothesis Group
Featuring a panel discussion on the current economic environment, moderated by Merrill Duborw of M/A/R/C Research.
Cost of registration is $399 for Northwest, Southwest and Southern California MRA members / $449 for Guests and Non-members / $125 for Reception only.
Book your room at the Mirage by calling 1-800-499-6311 using registration code: SWMRA09.
This event would not be possible without sponsorship, and there are many benefits available to conference supporters! Please check out our Sponsorship Benefits PDF. For more information, please contact Paul Kirch.
Spring Educational Conference, Portland
The award-winning Portland Educational Conference is back on May 14, 2009!
Event location details and costs are still being confirmed. More details to follow on the Northwest MRA web site within the next few weeks.
Don’t miss your chance to present! We are accepting applications for speakers until March 20. For more information, please view the submission guidelines here.
For more information, please contact Meegan Thye-Walker.
