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How to bring on new research suppliers: Part I - Selection
In my former role as consumer insights leader, there were several times when we brought on new suppliers (usually referred to as partners) and I'd like to share the process I used when selecting them. For the sake of this article, I'll assume that the partner being brought on is working on something of a sizable magnitude, like a customer satisfaction program or a brand and communications tracking study. All of these steps may or may not be necessary if the partner is not engaging in work that touches many internal customers but they are still good tools to have available.
Read on...
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More than an activity: How passive 'shopping' is changing the path to purchase
By Manila Austin
Basic psychology tells us that much of what drives behavior happens beyond - or below - our conscious awareness. And this is certainly true for shopping behavior, particularly as it occurs today against the humming backdrop of a digitally-enhanced and socially-energized landscape. Communispace recently participated in an Advertising Research Foundation (ARF)-commissioned research project exploring digital and social media in relation to the purchase process.
With so many inputs and options (online and off), people "shop" almost constantly - they browse, search online, talk to friends about brands and products, read advertisements - but they are not necessarily aware that they are, in fact, shopping. As market researchers, how can we explore material that, by definition, is beyond consumers' awareness?
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Insights from video diaries help Midas in its drive for better customer service
By Joseph Rydholm
The May issue of Quirk's features a focus on qualitative research. From our archives, this case study details how Midas researcher Garry Rosenfeldt turned to qualitative research to develop a new service model among franchisees.
Next to visiting the dentist, taking a car in for service likely ranks among a consumer's least-favorite tasks. You know it will probably cost a lot more than you want it to; you likely won't understand everything that gets done to your car; and the second you drive away you'll start dreading the time you have to do it all over again.
Itasca, Ill.-based Midas Inc. is one of the best-known providers of automotive services, offering brakes, maintenance, tires, exhaust, steering and suspension repairs at nearly 2,400 franchised, licensed and company-owned Midas shops in 16 countries, including more than 1,600 in the United States and Canada. Though he works for Midas Inc., Garry Rosenfeldt is the first to admit that some of his company's customers could have the same uneasy feelings about visiting a Midas shop. "As an industry, we are typically not known for warm and fuzzy customer service," says Rosenfeldt, the firm's director of marketing research.
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The trouble with convenience sampling
By Noel Roos
Recently, a student completing his master's degree called to ask a question regarding convenience versus random sampling - and the perils of making decisions based purely on a convenience sample.
"Is it poor business to make decisions on convenience data?" asked the student.
To the great frustration of the student, I said, "It depends."
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Research War Stories: A respondent traveled out of her area to visit her 'dinacologist'...
Doug Conwell recalls a survey conducted for a local hospital. A 17-year-old male interviewer, very new to surveying, indicated that a respondent traveled out of her area to visit her "dinacologist," followed by a string of question marks.
Read on...
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Latest market research
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| Coming in June... | 
Big data: boon to improving customer experience, bane of researchers?
What skills are the next wave of researchers being taught?
A report on the 2013 Quirk's salary survey of corporate researchers
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