Market Research Facts

How to solicit views of Opinion leaders

Soliciting views of opinion leaders and high net worth individuals has always been a big challenge to both companies and market research practitioners. This group of people is very busy, and very difficult to get them to commit to an interview.

People in this group include business owners, high-level executives, community and business leaders, key opinion influencers, technicians, specialists, politicians and other professionals. In order to solicit views of such people, a market research technique called in-depth interviewing is used.

In-depth interviews are a marketing research interviewing technique used to gather expert opinions or detailed information from customers or users of competing products or services. It is a one on one interview conducted by a qualified moderator, using a semi-structured questionnaire to solicit views of the respondent in an informal setting. The goal of the interview is to deeply explore the respondent’s point of view, feelings and perspectives on a topic of discussion.

Interviewing Process

The actual interview consists of three main parts. The first part involves personal introduction and the survey. It is critical for the moderator to establish a good rapport with the respondent. The moderator should endeavor to put the respondent at ease. The moderator’s main responsibility is to listen and observe as he/she guides the respondent through a conversation until all the important issues on the interview guide are explored. This, of course, is one of the most difficult aspects of an in-depth interviewing process. However, there are some strategies that have been used by researchers to improve the quality of the in-depth interview experience for both the moderator and the respondent. The actual interview consists of three main parts.

• Active listening. This entails listening and rephrasing what is said to insure that you are on the same page with the respondent.
• Patience. The moderator must not rush the respondent; allow him/her to speak freely while guiding the conversation to cover important issues.
• Flexibility. Moderator must be open to slight deviations from the topic, which may require rearranging/reordering the questions or coming up with new questions. If the respondent deviates too far from the topic, then carefully return him or her to the topic at hand.

Before commencing the interview, always ask permission of the interviewee before audio/video recording the interview for later reference and increased accuracy.

Market Research Aids Marketing Strategy

Marketing strategy is a method of focusing an organization’s energies and resources on a course of action which can lead to increased sales and dominance of a targeted market niche. A marketing strategy combines product development, promotion, distribution, pricing, relationship management and other elements; identifies the firm’s marketing goals, and explains how they will be achieved, ideally within a stated timeframe.

Marketing strategy determines the choice of target market segments, positioning, marketing mix and allocation of resources. From the above definition it is very clear, for any marketing strategy to be successful; a lot of information is required. This information can come in the form of secondary or primary data. However, it is important to note the difference between secondary and primary data.

Secondary data is data collected by someone other than the user. Common sources of secondary data for social science include censuses, surveys, organizational records and data collected through qualitative methodologies or qualitative research. Whereas, Primary data, by contrast, are collected by the researcher conducting the research.

Both primary and secondary data are useful in aiding the formulation of an effective marketing strategy. It is important to note that market research in this case plays an integral part by providing the much needed market insights to aid formulation of an effective marketing strategy which is customer/client oriented.

To your success

Market research an integral part of business strategy

Market research is an integral part of any business process. It is critical to comprehend one’s business thoroughly and this can be done by collecting and analyzing information that contributes to a more holistic understanding of consumers, market niches, and marketing programs. Market research aids in providing important information and in guiding business strategy.

The essence of a good business strategy cannot be over emphasized. All firms, from one-person start-ups to global conglomerates, should have a strategy.

Following a good, distinctive strategy will ensure that a business builds, maintains, and continually strengthens a specific identity in the marketplace.

Market research information (market insights) will aid in coming up with a market oriented business strategy. In order to succeed in your business, it is prudent to ensure every decision you make in growing your business is supported by market insights (market research). In order to stay ahead of your competition this year, you may need to consider commissioning the following surveys:

Perception Survey

The purpose of conducting a Perception survey is to understand how your brand is viewed in the market, what brand attributes are preferred by customers, and to identify how your customers competitively position your products/services.

Customer Satisfaction Survey

Customer satisfaction is essential to the survival of every business. The question is how do we find out whether our customers are satisfied? The best way to find out whether your customers are satisfied is to speak to them. When you conduct a customer satisfaction survey, it is important to address all key service and product areas. This way you will get important feedback regarding on how you are faring in terms of meeting your customers’ needs.

Employee Perception Survey

An Employee Perception Survey (EPS) is an employee attitude survey that provides an important view of your company through the eyes of your employees. This survey allows employees to give honest, confidential input about their job and your company. This discreet feedback provides a powerful tool for understanding and meeting employee needs. Employees that are satisfied and motivated perform better, leading to improved customer loyalty.

For more information  feel free to contact me here

Market research finding – Ideal Xmas Gifts

According a recent market research survey conducted by Galaxy Research revealed the best and worst gifts for the upcoming Christmas holidays. You might find useful information in this article and avoid giving gifts that could create disappointment to your loved ones.

According to the survey, gifts that are got negative rating are books, dressing gowns, lingerie, photo frame, socks and bath gels. More than 1,200 respondents aged thirteen years and above were interviewed in October to determine the trend for this year’s gift-giving season.

Based on the research findings, about 72 percent of the participants revealed that their Christmas gifts were below expectations. Topping the worst gift-givers in the survey were grandparents at 37 percent, followed by mothers at 20 percent and fathers came in third at 14 percent.

More than 50 percent of teenage girls surveyed stated that they don’t like the clothes purchased by their parents. On the contrary, 70 percent of the parents surveyed revealed that they consider clothes as the best buy for their daughters. This shows that teenage girls disguise their disappointment.

As for the best gifts, the younger population revealed that they prefer perfume (for women) and electronic gadgets like iPod (for men) as gifts for the coming Christmas. So for the parents, if you can afford these items then it may be time to reconsider.

Wishing you a wonderful festive season!!!!

How to design an effective Research questionnaire

Designing a survey instrument commonly known as questionnaire is a process which needs a lot of attention to detail. A questionnaire is a medium of communication between the researcher and the respondent, which is administered on the researcher’s behalf by an interviewer.

In the questionnaire, the researcher defines the questions to which he or she wants to know the answers and, through the questionnaire, the respondents’ answers are conveyed back to the researcher. The questionnaire therefore, can be described as the medium of conversation between two people, which in this case is the researcher and therespondent.

A structured interview is one in which each subject or respondent is asked a series of questions according to a prepared and fixed interviewing schedule – the questionnaire.

In all cases the role of the questionnaire is to provide a standardized interview across all respondents. This is so that all respondents are asked the questions that are appropriate to them, and so that, when those questions are asked, they are always asked in exactly the same manner to maintain uniformity.

Having defined what a questionnaire is and its resultant role in the survey process. We can now safely look at the key issues that need to be addressed before a questionnaire can be designed. It is important that you understand the reason why the survey is being commissioned in the first place. You need to understand the research and business objectives of the survey, and how the data for the survey is going to be collected.

Once you understand the definition of the research universe, the data collection medium and the survey design, the questions can now be drafted. It is important to follow these steps in planning:

©     Define the principal information that is required.

©     Determine what else is required for analysis purposes.

©     Map the flow of the subject areas or sub-sections within the questionnaire.

Defining the information required

It should be clear from the research objectives and the business objectives what information areas the questionnaire needs to cover. This is the principal information such as product and brand awareness and usage, behavioral patterns, attitudes, satisfaction with service, response to concept or test product, etc. The level of detail to which it is required should also be apparent from the research and business Objectives.

Other information required

It may not always be obvious from the research objectives what additional information is required for analysis purposes. This may include demographic or classification data, but could be far broader than that. In an attitudinal study, for example, it could include brand and product usage and brand loyalty so that attitudes can be cross analyzed by products used and weight of usage. It is important to know how the data are to be analysed at the initiation stage. If the appropriate data are not collected, the analysis cannot be carried out.

Sequencing of the questionnaire sections

The questionnaire can be properly planned once the main objectives and analysis information requirements have been decided. It is most commonly divided into three sections:

Exclusion

A common, although not universal, practice is to exclude respondents from research surveys who work     in market research, marketing or the client’s industry.

Screening questions

Following the exclusion question, the next part of the questionnaire will be to screen the respondents for eligibility for the survey, depending on whether or not they belong to the research population.

Main questionnaire

As a rule, it is better to work from the most general topics through to the most specific. Thus, the interview might start with questions about the respondent’s behaviour in the market in general, before proceeding through to specific questions about the client’s product and then to reaction to a new proposition for the client’s product.

There are two reasons for this. First, if the questions regarding the specific product or brand of interest were asked first, then the respondents would be aware of the question writer’s interest and this would bias their answers to the more general market questions that come later.

I will complete this article in my next post. Please feel free to make contributions in the form of comments or questions.

To your success!!!

Nigeria is the largest Mobile market in Africa

In 2008, Nigeria had 44 million subscribers beating South Africa to become the largest mobile market in Africa.  New customers were reported to be signing up at a rate of almost one per second, and yet market penetration stands at only just over 30%. To expand networks, operators are investing billions of dollars. 3G services have been instigated, and rising competition comes from a number of additional players who have entered the lucrative mobile market under a new unified licensing regime. Falling ARPU levels compelling the operators to introduce new services and transform themselves into converged broadband service providers.

Key Operators covered in Nigeria include

• MTN
• MTC
• Nitel
• Globacom

Notable highlights of  Mobile Forecast include:

• The subscriber base in Nigeria will be increasing rapidly from 2008 to 2010. The number of total subscribers will rise from our current projected 52.7 million to a forecasted 70.8 million in 2010.
• The level of wireless penetration in the country will also increase from 35.9% in 2008 to 45.5% in 2010.
• The largest operator in Nigeria will continue to be MTN whose market share in 2010 will be 43.6%. The competitive environment in the Nigerian wireless market to be stable over the next few years with second player (MTC) and third player (Globacom) serving approximately 33.1% and 20.3% of total subscribers respectively.
• MTN will receive ARPU of US$ 14.57 and will enjoy 52.9% EBITDA margin in 2010 whereas MTC will have ARPU of US$ 8.07 and 39.8% EBITDA margin.

Source: Wireless Mobile Telcom

What does your employees think about your business?

Employees are an integral part of an organization. They are the life blood of a company; its fortunes are entirely dependent upon their input. For any organization to excel, its employees must be motivated and feel appreciated for their contribution in the company.

There is a school of thought which says when employees feel appreciated, they tend to work harder and become loyal to the company. When your staff are happy, they will also transfer their appreciative mood when they are serving your customers. So it’s a win-win situation and the business will benefit immensely through repeat business from happy customers/clients who will continue to patronize its services/products.

Often times management decides on what they think will make their staff happy without consulting them. Some companies have employee of the month appreciation programs while others give different incentives to excelling employee as a sign of acknowledgement.

However, market research has found a disconnect between the type of appreciation employees want and what their managers think they want. A recent market research survey conducted by the International Association of Administrative Professionals found out that Managers ranked promotions and cash bonuses as the two most effective ways of recognizing employee accomplishments. On the contrary employees said they preferred an in-person thank-you or having a job well done reported to senior management.

In other words, though a decent bonus will always be a highly coveted form of recognition, employers often underestimate the degree to which workers value kind words delivered face to face. This sounds like an inexpensive way of showing appreciation to your staff, but the important aspect of this is thanking your employees regularly.

According to a survey in employee motivation spearheaded by Dr. Kenneth Kovach at George Mason University, the second biggest motivator for employees is recognition. Number one is interesting work- which requires an investment in staff training.

Having an open door policy where you discuss with your staff when they are doing well and when they need to up their game, provides a conducive channel through which various issues affecting the employee on a personal or business level will be discussed. Doing this will help them accept criticism better, when they are at fault as long as the feedback is specific.

What are the causes of employee dissatisfaction?

According to a survey conducted in 2008, by Probe Market research in Zimbabwe, found some key issues that cause employee disengagement. Some key nuggets are highlighted below:

• “My efforts are not valued. No-one tells me how I’m doing.”
• “I am criticized for mistakes, but never praised for doing a good job.”
• “I’m not making progress (learning anything) here.”
• “I never know what the rules are. They seem to change all the time.”
• “There’s no challenge any more.”
• “The boss is mean about little things but does not recognize my extra effort.”
• “ I’m not paid enough for what I do.”

It seems obvious, looking at this list, that all these things are easily remedied, and above all they come pretty much free of charge.

“How do you find out what your staff think?

The best form of getting information on what your staff thinks about your business is to do an independent Employee satisfaction survey. This is the best way to collect unbiased views. Professional market research agencies will advise on the best way of conducting this kind of survey. In my next post I will look at critical market research areas where organizations can leverage to get the best out of their employees.

What are your Customers saying behind your back?

The adverse effects of the economic recession are still making ripple effects across the world. Unemployment is soaring and many businesses have been forced to close due to in adequate cash flow. Companies which are surviving in these difficult times are those that are customer focused. These companies periodically get feedback from their clients/customers through market research surveys. Customer satisfaction surveys are critical in ensuring an organisation keeps abreast with what their external stakeholders think about their business.

Its high time to be customer focused

The reason to become customer focused is to achieve a competitive advantage that enables long-term sustained success. In order to achieve this management should spend some time with customers and be able to communicate their commitment to customers throughout the organization. Customer focus should start from the top down. It is management’s role to ensure a service culture is communicated across the organisation and it should be made part of a service offer through which staff will be evaluated in their appraisals

Implementing a customer service culture is not difficult and does not require capital expenditure. In a study of Fortune 500 corporations, market researchers found that the number one motivator of staff is recognition – knowing that they are appreciated. Customer Satisfaction surveys give managers a forum to provide recognition that’s not based on seniority – but on exemplary customer service. Perhaps even more important is that the recognition doesn’t just come from management – it comes from the workers’ peers. That means you’re creating a shift in culture right at the grass roots. Add to that a few words of open praise from the senior manager to the team, and everyone feels like they are part of a greater good.

Elements of a customer focused

Customer First is clearly ‘ingrained’ into the fabric of the business

• They know who their customer are, what their customers want now and in the future, and how they are going to provide that product or service
• Their strategies, plans, and processes are aligned with their customers’
• Customer satisfaction is an important metric, is tracked, improvement goals are set, and success is rewarded

In order to fully take advantage of valuable feedback from your customers and clients, it is important to note that periodic customer satisfaction surveys must be done across the organisation. This can be done through random customers satisfaction surveys and or mystery shopping surveys.

Results from these surveys will be used to close service gaps identified and to improve in service delivery.

Market Research News

Market Research Recovery Hindered by Online Surveys

UK— Market research’s recovery from the recession could be held back by stiff competition from new ways of gathering business intelligence online, a report from Morgan Stanley has warned. follow this link:

http://www.research-live.com/news/financial/pressure-from-online-alternatives-‘could-stunt-research-recovery’/4001199.article

What drives Market Research?

What drives trust in market research, and how is it changing in different markets? With the help of some fresh data from GfK’s Trust Index, Phyllis Macfarlane looks at how the profession is perceived and how that affects the entire industry.http://www.research-live.com/magazine/who-do-you-trust?/4000987.article

Three Tips to Know your target market

I left the American Marketing Association’s annual Marketing Research Conference in Palm Springs yesterday with three key takeaways (three, and not four or seven or two, because David Weinberger of Georgia-Pacific said we should always summarise research in threes). If you think of the role of marketing research as providing snapshots of markets to the business, my three things to remember are: zoom in, zoom out and focus.

http://www.research-live.com/comment/three-tips-for-a-clear-picture-of-your-market-zoom-in-zoom-out-and-focus/4001107.article

Putting Wisdom of Crowds to Good Use

Four years ago, clientside researcher Ed Martin set about developing a way to fund millions of dollars worth of charitable programmes by tapping into the billions spent on market research each year. This week sees the launch of Pause to Support a Cause – an initiative he developed with the CMO Council to set up a research panel that would helped respondents donate to charity by participating in research studies. .http://www.research-live.com/features/putting-wisdom-of-crowds-to-good-work/4000907.article

Coca-Cola, Ogilvy, Unilever unveil their Online Strategy

According to GDS International, online sales have shown a significant increase this year capitalizing on the return of consumer confidence across Europe.

European shoppers spent £11.2 billion online in July, 15.7% more than was spent in June and 16.8% more than July 2008.

The driving force for the increase appeared to be the clothing, footwear and accessories sector, which showed growth of 18% month on month and 17% year on year, the latest IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index said.

Retailers across Europe are predicted to sell $97 billion in goods and services online in 2010, up 37% from last year.

Owing to this unprecedented growth Retail Giants will join forces at the iStrategy program this October in Berlin to capitalize on the growth of the Online Dollar.

Visionaries such as Babs Rangaiah, Global Director Communications Planning Unilever, Rikke Wivel, VP Global Advertising and Media Monster, Michael Donnelly, Group Director The Coca-Cola Company, Michael Buck, Global Head SMB Online Dell, Sarah Evans, Head of Mobile Advertising O2, Thomas Marzano, Creative Director Phillips will be sharing the innovative steps they have all taken to drive value through online investments.

This meeting further illustrates the migration to new media for retail giants.

The growth of Web 2.0 has lead to far greater opportunities for such retail giants outside to the obvious sales growth.

With more of us sharing personal information online through sites like Facebook, Linkedin, MeettheBoss and Xing, companies can monetize online investment through analyzing consumption patterns, behavioral targeting, cost effective online product testing and having direct contact with the consumer.

Online is still the key growth market and in the midst of a Global recession it seems to be the main focus for European retailers.