Research in the News |
How To Use Market Research To Improve Your Business August 2012 Who are my customers? What do they want? Why have they bought my product? Gathering vital evidence by conducting thorough and well-considered research can benefit businesses of all sizes and, if used correctly, can be a particularly valuable resource for startups. Evidence is a critical component in every owner's or manager's toolkit. Yet, too often, gut feeling is relied on instead of informed decisions shaped by good research. This is particularly the case with smaller businesses and those just starting out; it can be difficult to gain access to funds for research, and stretched budgets are a real challenge. However, conducting some well-targeted, thorough research in the early stages of running a business can actually save you money in the long term. Not understanding your customers will cost you much more. It is also one of the most important times to have good, solid evidence – essentially, you are entering uncharted waters and don't have the benefit of past experience to base decisions on. Research can provide invaluable insight into your new territories and markets, highlighting how you should be adapting your strategy and approach to succeed. It can be used to show you how best to secure finance, how to work out your next steps and stand apart from your competitors. The knowledge that you have the evidence to base decisions on and inform your strategy can be of real help to a fledgling business or entrepreneur. Using research doesn't always mean commissioning a big project with an even bigger fee. You may have more information at your fingertips than you realise, and you need help analysing it. The key is using competent and qualified research professionals, as they will know how to keep costs down for startups while still delivering research that meets your objectives. It is also worth taking the time to do some of your own research. There is a wealth of data available if you take the time to look. The UK census contains a range of useful demographic information which can prove a useful aid. As your business grows, you will generate customer data; it is worth getting help on how to capture and maintain this to give you a really good basis for the future. When commissioning research from an expert, it's important to have a specific and well-considered brief to get the most for your money. Think about what exactly you need to find out. Then aim to evaluate which suppliers have relevant experience, offer value for money and will demonstrate a return on investment. Always consider how you wish to use the research and what outcome you want – the results of your research could well surprise you, and will certainly benefit you as you set up your business. Here are my five top tips on writing a good brief for a researcher, or research supplier: Plan, plan, plan Start with the end in mind – what do you want out of the research? What do you intend to do with the results? Be prepared, as the results could surprise you. Be clear on time and money Ensure you are clear on delivery time-scales and leave the agency enough time to respond. The clearer you are on available budget, the better their brief will be. Help them get to know your business Bring the researcher up to speed on your business ideas, strategy and objectives. They will then be better able to advise on what research you need when you tell them what you hope they will find out. Establish the relationship The better the working relationship, the more you will get out of the research. Be clear on delivery expectations and time-scales, and how you would like the client-researcher conversation to work. Do you want formal presentations, or a series of meetings? Use a researcher you can trust You need to be able to rely on the results, so use an accredited researcher or agency. The Research Buyer's Guide, published by MRS, is the best place to start. Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk The Small Business Benefits Of Focus Groups, Customer Interviews And Qualitative Research August 2012 Carefully executing several phases of research can help you understand your internal audience (your team), your external audience (your customers) and your competition. Qualitative research requires conversations with customers that go beyond survey questionnaires. It’s best to start with an internal marketing audit, in which you talk to your staff and management team about their attitudes toward the brand and business goals. But afterward, it’s even more critical to talk to your external audience. This second part should be done through qualitative and quantitative research conducted by a third party. Qualitative research involves either in-depth interviews, also known as IDIs, or focus groups. Both IDIs and focus groups allow you to have in-depth conversations with customers, gaining a deep understanding of what drives their decisions, vetting processes and even the emotional factors involved in their relationship with brands and products. There are many different tactics that research directors and moderators use to get the best results from these conversations with the target audience. But when conducting both IDIs and focus groups, preparing discussion guides and pre-screening respondents are imperative. Focus groups can be used for many different reasons; for example, to gain general insights about your brand and your competition or, more specifically, to test advertising campaigns or new products. Most of them involve about 10 participants in a room with a third-party moderator while the client listens behind glass, and participant groups generally consists of a mix of existing and potential customers. All participants should be screened ahead of time to ensure they have some familiarity with the brand and/or the competition, ensuring that the group is well representative of the target customer. One interesting tactic that is used frequently involves the use of imagery for participants to help explain their feelings about a brand. In some cases, participants are asked to cut images from magazines and create collages that illustrate their connection to a brand. This helps draw analogies that prove very helpful to marketers when developing brand positioning and eventually creative executions. But if focus groups aren’t in your budget or timeline, IDIs via phone, can often prove just as beneficial. These IDIs are meant to explore deep driving factors and attitudes toward a brand, product and/or service. They usually last between a half-hour and an hour for each conversation. These one-on-one conversations with existing and potential customers allow you to uncover many nuggets of information that respondents may not otherwise share directly with the brand. A research director usually serves as an impartial third-party, which can help respondents feel more comfortable sharing information about good, the bad and the ugly concerning your company. And while these IDIs aren’t conducted in-person, you can still use visuals to gain an understanding of attitudes. Often, the use of visuals via storyboards for advertising purposes can be emailed to the respondent before the call, or the respondent may be asked to access a URL in order to give input on both design and function of a website. The key to IDIs is to start with a solid discussion guide from which the research director can pull questions as needed. It’s also important to contact these respondents ahead of time to schedule a convenient time for the interview – remember, this isn’t a survey, it’s an in-depth interview, so you need to secure the time and approval with the respondent before you begin to glean the insights. Once you have gained valuable insights through qualitative research, it’s always best to bounce the key findings off of the masses through quantitative research to ensure those findings stick. The quantitative components can be done through phone or online surveys, and unlike qualitative research, you don’t need to provide monetary incentives for respondents to participate, as it’s much quicker and more convenient for respondents. Once you have completed an internal marketing audit as well as qualitative and quantitative research, you are ready to move forward preparing your branding, marketing and creative strategy. Then comes the most fun part — getting customers and driving your business. Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com Small Business Hiring Expected to be Slow for Quite a While July 2011 The latest survey comes from the US Chamber of Commerce and unfortunately it doesn't contradict the ones that have come from other analysts. The small business community is not expecting to see an economic rebound sufficient to convince them it is time to add to their staffs. The vast majority (64%) expect no additional hiring and 12% thought they would be reducing their workforce. That leaves a whopping 19% that think they will adding jobs in the next year. Given that small business accounts for between half and three quarters of the jobs in the US economy that is a depressing assessment. The definition of small is a judgment call but the Chamber survey looked at companies that had less than 500 employees and the majority of these are companies with revenues that are under $25 million. It has been no secret that this is the sector that plays the biggest role in the economic recovery and in terms of employment but what is somewhat surprising to note is what has changed as far as their rationale for the lack of expansion. In the past three years there have been three distinct phases as far as small business is concerned. The first was the collapse in demand that took place as the economy crashed in 2008. The majority of the small and medium sized businesses survived solely on what was already in their pipeline and then the drought started. As 2010 rolled around the demand started to come back but the small business community reported that it could not get access to credit. At one point almost 65% of them reported that credit was their number one issue. Today that percentage is 7%. The issue is therefore not demand and it is not credit access - at least to the majority of the small and medium sized businesses. Analysis: The number one issue cited was economic uncertainty and at the top of the list was concern about what was going to happen in Congress and elsewhere in the government. The wrangle over the debt limit has been top of mind for many but this is not the only fear. The small business community expects to be a target when it comes to taxes as they feel that politicians fail to understand that when they are talk of going after those that make $250,000 a year - they are going after small business owners whose business income is tied to their personal incomes. They worry about the regulations that have been coming from the Environmental Protection Agency and they worry about the new rules affecting banking. The biggest concern expressed by the majority is the impact of health care reform as they are still very uncertain how these new laws will apply to them. Another issue is the emphasis on union organizing. Most of the new regulations affect their employment plans as they do not want to add people until they really understand the true cost of that addition. Granted, if demand from consumers sparks, the business community will be far more interested in hiring than they are now. The problem is that nobody really knows which comes first - the consumer demand or the hiring. Source: http://www.fcibglobal.com One in Four Americans Worried About Having Enough Money for Food March 2011 FRAC, Tyson Foods Survey Confirms Misperceptions About Hunger One in four Americans is worried about having enough money to put food on the table in the next year, according to a national hunger survey by Hart Research Associates, commissioned last month by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) and Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN). Another key finding is that many Americans are unaware of how serious hunger is in their own communities. The online survey was initiated as part of Tyson's 'KNOW Hunger' campaign, which is focused on helping more people understand and actively address the problem of hunger in the U.S. The survey found that 24% of respondents indicated they are very or fairly concerned about being able to afford food at some point in the next year, while 31% are slightly worried. The survey, which is one of the largest and most comprehensive ever conducted on attitudes and perceptions of hunger, also revealed that many Americans may be underestimating the seriousness of hunger in their own community. Two-thirds of the people surveyed rated hunger as a more serious problem nationally than in their own community. Yet according to a report published in 2010 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Economic Research Service, 14.7 % of American households are food insecure at least some time during the year, the highest recorded levels since 1995, when the first national food security survey was conducted. While more than one third of those surveyed indicated they have a direct connection to hunger, 59% of respondents were surprised to learn the parents of hungry children in the U.S. typically have full-time jobs. A majority also assumed hunger is concentrated in urban areas, however, according to USDA, hunger is slightly higher among rural households than the national average. 'The research shows that the vast majority of Americans believe that hunger is a problem for the country, and it also shows they are committed to the belief that no one should go hungry,' said Jim Weill, FRAC President. 'No community is free from hunger, but the survey demonstrates very broad and deep support for efforts from both the public and private sectors to implementing solutions to this continuing challenge for our nation.' 'As we've become involved in hunger relief over the past ten years, engaging our employees, customers and communities, we've seen evidence of what this survey confirms,' said John Tyson, chairman of Tyson Foods. 'People do think hunger is a serious issue. They're willing to become involved. But they also need to be shown how it directly impacts their own communities. We believe creating more awareness creates more involvement.' 'The survey confirms what we see every day,' said Lynn Brantley, president and CEO of the Capital Area Food Bank. 'Hunger affects more than the homeless. It also impacts people who are employed but simply don't make enough to consistently feed themselves or their family. While we provide many different kinds of foods to the agencies we serve, meat and poultry are typically among the most requested, but least available, foods.' Other key survey findings include:
Notes from the Road to Recovery... On the Economy August 2009 The road to recovery looks very much like a highway construction zone and along the way we're finding that we have to reduce our speed and watch out for unusual hazards and the unexpected. In traveling along that road, there are a number of signs we're looking to that will provide answers about the 'new' consumer that will be emerging. What has happened with consumers' income and spending power? Having over 6 million workers out of work has been a huge issue for the economy as a whole. Economists say however, that there has not been the major reduction in wages that often accompany a serious recession. The fact that inflation has been low has helped stabilize incomes. Most consumers have about the same income they had in the past but are simply distributing it differently - saving more and spending less. This is very different than what has been seen earlier in this decade. What will people be doing with their income? The savings rate has jumped to almost 6% compared with 0.2% 5 years ago. Each time there is a recession, the savings rate jumps up significantly. In the 1970s, the rate of savings ranged from 9% to 10.5%, in the 1980s, the range was from 8.5% to 11.5% and in the early 1990s, the rate was between 6.5% and 8%. The most dramatic decline in savings took place in the last decade. For over seven years, the range has been between 0% and 3%. The question now is whether the consumer of today will behave like the consumer of the 1970s and 1980s and continue to save or will the pattern be the same as it was earlier in this decade? Many prognosticators think consumers will lean more toward consumption as opposed to saving. How much have the attitudes, preferences and behaviors of the consumer changed? Luxury and convenience have ruled consumption since the late 90's. The trends focused on pampering and the assertion that 'it is all about YOU'. Personal services grew rapidly and stores moved from providing the basics to adding all kinds of products and services to draw in the ever-demanding consumer. Grocery stores added all types of special sections. Organic, natural options grew rapidly as the assumption was that people had enough disposable income to indulge their preferences. Unique and expensive items served to help distinguish oneself from the crowd. Today there has been a major reversal. Grocery stores are reporting that all the action is in the center aisles and that store brands and private labels are dominating. The 'me first' notion has been replaced with a need to be socially responsible and economically efficient. The fact that 'green' is the new driver is as much about saving money as it is about the environment. What behaviors are reflective of the new consumer that will emerge? The answer to this question may lie within the 3 key demographic groups who are active consumers in the market today. Baby Boomers (1946 - 1965) Their life-defining memorable events include: assassinations, political unrest, landing on the moon, the Vietnam War, Woodstock, social and drug experimentation, sexual freedom, civil rights movement, environmental movement, women's movement, protests and riots, Watergate, Nixon's resignation, oil embargo, raging inflation, gasoline shortages, economic competition. The highest levels of consumption and the lowest level of savings for this segment showed up in the 1990s and 2000s. It was prime time for The Boomers to spend. While just a few years ago all the talk was about the mass exodus of baby boomers from the workforce into retirement, a recent Pew Research Center Social & Demographic Trends Project survey reveals that just over half of all working adults ages 50 to 64 say they are likely to delay their retirement. 16% say they never expect to stop working. http://tinyurl.com/pmeoc2 So indications are that Boomers will remain in the workforce and impact employment for some time to come. Generation X, aka Baby Bust Generation (1965 - 1976) Life defining memorable events: Challenger explosion, Iran-Contra, social malaise, Reaganomics, AIDS, safe sex, fall of Berlin Wall, single parent families This is the generation that grew up privileged and adopted the world of consumption as the norm. They grew up in the 'me decade' of the 1980s and came to maturity in the 1990s and 2000s. This is the generation that drove technology and the subsequent consumption patterns. Now they are focused on raising families and their offspring will be interesting to watch. Y Generation, aka Millennials or Echo Boomers (1977 - 1990's) Defining, memorable events: rise of the Internet, 9-11 terrorist attack, cultural diversity, social networking, text messaging, wars in the Middle East and now a major economic recession This is the 'on demand' generation, and the first since the 1970s to experience a marked decline in their standard of living. While they are the most widely technologically adept generation ever, they are having a harder time finding a job. Indications are that they will not be paid as much, and it looks like they will be the first in decades to have to contend with real inflation. This may end up being the generation of reduced expectations and that could change their consumption patterns for a long time. Curious to know more about how your business or organization will be impacted by these consumer groups? The Matrix Group is ready to help you map your route through the construction zone. Just give us a call. Notes from the Road to Recovery... On the Economy June 2009 Economist Dr. Chris Kuel, the keynote speaker at the 2009 Annual Marketing Research Association conference in Chicago, believes the recession bottomed out sometime in February or March 2009. According to Dr. Kuehl, as the banks led the economic crisis, it will not end without bank recovery. But the rules will change back to 'old school' ways of doing lending when it does. That is, lending to those who can demonstrate that they are financially secure enough to pay back the loans. The good news:
The not so great news:
Considerations as we move forward toward recovery:
Dr. Kuehl emphasized that, as we move ahead toward recovery, market research is more crucial than ever for directional guidance and in separating reality from speculation. And we at The Matrix Group can provide you with the resources and information you need to map out a strategy for success.
Latest Polls Suggest that Frustration Over Economy is Growing
The Value of Market Research in Tough Times Source: Wilson Research Strategies and The Hill Ad Review (Blog) |