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1. Research War Stories
Long-time Quirk's readers may recall the popular War Stories column, which ran sporadically in the magazine from 1994 to 2007. In it, Art Shulman, president of Shulman Research in Van Nuys, Calif., presented humorous tales of life in the research trenches, based on his own experiences and those of researcher friends and colleagues. Each month in our e-newsletter we'll feature a few anecdotes from past War Stories columns. Art is always gathering material for future War Stories installments so e-mail him at artshulman@aol.com to submit your own anecdotes for consideration.
Early in Janice Strickler's career while conducting door-to-door interviews, the opening door revealed a naked woman who asked how she could be of help. Strickler, ever the professional, proceeded with the interview on detergents, neither woman bringing up the respondent's nudity. In the midst of the interview, the woman's children returned from school and walked by as if nothing out of the ordinary was occurring. Maybe the woman wasn't wearing anything because all of her clothes were in the wash.
Sometimes clients can be coarse. Joel Lowell remembers a mall survey, attended by his client, where mall traffic was slow and the interviewing service had trouble obtaining qualified women to participate in the study. So Lowell's client, not a professional marketing researcher, stood on the mall asking women under the age of 35 as they passed by, "How'd you like to make $20?" Mall security soon put a stop to that!
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| 2. A stimulus package penny saved is a stimulus package penny earned
Many Americans already have plans for the extra money landing in their bank accounts in May by way of President Bush's economic stimulus plan. The rebate program is intended to help jump-start the U.S. economy, but it seems that the majority of stimulus package recipients are more concerned with frugality and future planning than they are with spending the loot, as only 27 percent of recipients plan to spend the money immediately.
While more than a quarter of check recipients do plan to spend the money - the stated rationale for the rebate program - many also will use the cash windfall to pay bills or create nest eggs, according to a survey conducted by Dallas research company e-Rewards on behalf of American Century Investments.
When asked what they were likely to do with the rebate check from the economic stimulus package, 36 percent of respondents said they would use the money to pay off debt. Twenty-five percent said they would save or invest it. Among survey respondents who indicated they would save or invest the rebate check, nearly half (47 percent) said they would put the money into a savings account.
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| 3. In-stream ads are intrusive
The good news is that more than half (53.6 percent) of online video viewers recall seeing in-stream (pre-, mid-, post-roll) advertisements in content they've watched, according to a study conducted by Burlington, Mass., advertising company Burst Media. The bad news is that advertising placement in online video is not met with overwhelming consumer approval. In fact, three-quarters (78.4 percent) of respondents say in-stream advertisements in online video are intrusive - and one-half (50.4 percent) say the presence of in-stream advertisements in video content disrupts their Web surfing experience.
Key findings:
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Women (53.1 percent) are more likely than men (48.1 percent) to say advertisements in video content disrupt their Web surfing experience;
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One-half (50.7 percent) of respondents stop watching an online video once they encounter an in-stream advertisement;
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15.3 percent of respondents immediately leave the Web site once they encounter an in-stream advertisement;
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Half (49.7 percent) of respondents say the presence of in-stream advertising in online video content makes them less likely to view other video content they may encounter online;
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Two out of five (43.2 percent) respondents stay to watch the ad and remaining video content;
- Respondents 18-24 years old are the most tolerant of advertisements included in online video - 57.6 percent will watch an advertisement in an online video and continue to watch the content;
- Interestingly, the segments with the lowest level of recall are the youngest (18-24 years) and the oldest (65 years and older) respondents.
Related tags: advertising effectiveness, advertising research, advertising research suppliers, demographic analyisis, online research |
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| 4. Online moderating: put 'em at ease, make 'em laugh
The May Quirk's features a focus on qualitative research. From our archives, here is an excerpt from a past article on qualitative research, which featured 16 ways to improve online moderating:
1. Provide an engaging introduction and clear instructions.
Just as for in-person interviewing, you need to immediately establish rapport and make your participants feel welcome. Recognize, too, that even though they agreed to participate, your respondents may not be entirely comfortable in an online interview and may be uncertain about what is going to be required of them.
Put everyone at ease by letting them know that spelling and grammar don't matter - what matters is what they have to say. Provide clear, easy-to-read instructions in both their e-mail confirmation as well as in the introduction once they've logged in.
2. Warm up your respondents before diving into the topic at hand.
Your first few questions should further work to develop rapport and make participants comfortable. Start with asking them to introduce themselves, just as you would in an in-person group. Respond with similar information about yourself so long as it's not germane to the primary discussion topics.
Give them an open-ended question that allows them to share broadly about the topic at hand, even if you won't include it in the analysis. For example, if you are going to be evaluating advertising for a new digital camera, ask them: "Tell us about what kinds of pictures you've been taking lately and what you've been doing with them."
3. Use a chatty, informal style for your questions and include a variety of question formats.
Written discussion guides can seem cold, formal and, sometimes, overly-repetitive. Go out of your way to make yourself seem human by using a style that's similar to the way you talk.
Sometimes, we need to ask a question in a variety of ways to get at what we're looking for. If, for a series of concepts you find that a particular question style is eliciting a richer response, then you can probe using the variation that is most evocative for the respondent.
4. Ask oodles and oodles of probing questions.
This is exploratory qualitative, so ask as many questions of your respondents as you would in an in-person group. Asynchronous groups allow for greater consideration of responses and probing than face-to-face groups. Probing questions will show that the moderator is engaged and interested and will often inspire respondents to be likewise engaged.
5. Infuse a little humor
If you'd use humor in an in-person group, then use it online, too, especially in probes and additional requests for information! Humor can help to establish empathy and defuse tough situations. Studies have also shown that when one uses or experiences positive humor, the whole brain is involved, not just one side, and that there's more coordination between both sides. Just keep it good-natured and don't make it too personal or at all vicious.
"Best practices for online qualitative research," Quirk's Marketing Research Review, May 2007
Related tags: focus group moderating, focus groups online, focus group facilities, online moderators, qualitative research, qualitatively speaking, qualitative research suppliers |
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5. Small budget? Save money on qualitative research
The current economy is generating financial challenges for most businesses, and many companies have been forced to reduce budgets - including the marketing research budget. But a slowing economy doesn't make market research less important. As a matter of fact, a challenging economy means companies will strive to minimize risk and gain more impact from their marketing efforts.
Kevin Kimbell of San Francisco research firm TKG Consulting offers advice on how to meet research objectives with less money. The following are some suggestions that can save money without impacting overall research strategy:
Combine complementary objectives into a single study
Take advantage of opportunities to address multiple research questions in a single qualitative research study, especially when the research objectives are complementary, but be careful not to pack too much into a single discussion. If the moderator is forced to quickly move from topic to topic, the client probably won't get the rich learning they are looking for.
Consider using mini groups
Mini groups are shorter (usually 90 minutes) and smaller (four to six respondents), allowing the moderator to explore complex topics while maintaining a group dynamic. Three mini groups can be conducted in one day while two is usually the limit with traditional groups. When considering mini groups, always compare the cost of conducting more focus groups in less time and the cost of conducting fewer focus groups over a longer period of time to insure that the plan is maximizing research dollars.
Only pay for the report you really need
Full reports are often too time-consuming to generate when companies need to move quickly and can be expensive for the client. Consider a summary or topline report, which are presented in shorter forms that are faster to read and can be prepared more quickly. Typically, a summary or topline report can be delivered in about a week or less after a project's last focus group and can save the client money.
Choose locations carefully
By selecting the right cities you can save as much as 10 to 15 percent off of project costs. Many cities are more expensive than others. Of course, the most important consideration is choosing locations that represent the desired consumer, but that usually leaves a range of city options with a range of costs.
Minimize travel costs
Selecting the right location can also impact travel costs. It is important to understand the cost of flying, hotels, transportation and dining. A two-night project in Manhattan will cost far more than the same project in the Chicago suburbs. Remote is also an option for reducing travel costs.
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| 6. Upcoming research events
CASRO INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH CONFERENCE
May 6-7
New York City
May 7-9
Barcelona, Spain
May 15-18
New Orleans
May 21-23
Mövenpick Hotel, Berlin, Germany
May 25-28
Winnipeg
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