When will surveys disappear? (2017 update)

Back in 2010 ,I caused a minor stir in the research world by predicting (at the MRS Conference in London) that surveys would have disappeared in 20 years (i.e. by 2030). This prediction was put into wider circulation when I clarified my prediction in a blog. The key point being that I was predicting the end of the commercial, long survey, and it being replaced with social media listening, online communities, new ways of researching, the use of open-ended questions, and the use of stored information to remove the need to keep asking questions. In 2014 I updated my prediction and showed some numbers from the ESOMAR Global Market Research Report. The table below shows the figures from ESOMAR for 2007, 2010 and 2013, and my projections for 2016 and 2019. Note the figures show the spend on research, not the volume. (Click on the tables to enlarge them.) So, how did my predictions stand up? The table below shows the ESOMAR figures for 2016, below my estimates. Note, I have added a new column which combines Other Quant (e.g. traffic and audience data) with Other (e.g. big analytics). In the future I will focus on Surveys, Qual, and a single […]

The Statistics and Statistical Tools Used in Market Research in 2017

In this post I am sharing the summary and two key charts. The eight-page version of the results can be downloaded. Summary The top four things that I want to share about the use of statistics and statistical tools are: Most statistical tests/approaches are not widely used. Only Correlation, Regression, z- or t-tests, and Cluster Analysis have been used by more than 50% of the participants in this research, during the first half of 2017 – and this sample probably over-represents people using statistics, and under-represents those using statistics less often. SPSS is the dominant software package amongst people using statistical packages. Given SPSS is approaching 50 years old, that may not be the sign of a dynamic industry? But, there are many people using tools such as Q, Sawtooth Software, SAS – and beyond them programs such as Latent Gold, Tableau, and XLSTAT. One of the growth areas is the use of tools is the use of integrated data collection / analysis solutions, for example Confirmit, Askia, Vision Critical, Qualtrics. The use of these tools requires the researcher to make fewer decisions. For example, survey monitoring flows into the analysis without any extra steps, the packages have a default […]

Storytelling Starts with Finding the Narrative During the Analysis

Storytelling is very much in vogue. There is general agreement that research findings that employ storytelling are more likely to result in action than the reporting of facts and findings. However, the process of story creation is less well established, and the focus often seems to be at the reporting stage. However, I believe that finding the story is an integral part of the analysis, not something that happens afterward. The story or narrative is not a collection of numbers; it is an idea that can usually be expressed in words. For example, a tracking study might find that in two regions there was a dip in the main KPIs of 5% – but that is not a narrative. The business needs to know which of the following narratives is the relevant one: Minor downturn in 2 regions, worth checking further, perhaps during the next quarter. Important downturn in 2 regions, suggest further analysis. Major downturn in 2 regions, action required now. Knowing which of these three is the right narrative requires a combination of knowing about the business, understanding the business question that led to the research being conducted, and an ability to analyze the data in the context […]

Survey about the stats we use in market research

At the moment (August 16 to August 31, 2017) NewMR is running a survey to collect data about the stats commonly used in market research. [Note, since August has finished, the survey is now closed. We will be posting the results soon. However, you can still see the raw data report below.] If you have not already taken the survey, please do so [by clicking this link] before reading the data below. The background to this survey is that we are writing some materials for two university courses and for workshops that we are running. We would like a clear idea of which stats are commonly being used, and which are more specialist. Stats that are commonly used need to be taught in a way they convey how to use them as well as when to use them and how to interpret them. Our feeling is that stats that are more specialist should (in the context of the courses and workshops we are involved in) be focused on when to use them and how to find out how to use and interpret them. Below is an automated report of what the data looks like at the moment (you might want […]

104 Facts You Don’t Know About Mobile Marketing

Guest blog by Megan Arevalo, WebsiteBuilder.org As well as the post below, Megan has contributed a really useful infographic about Mobile Marketing, click on the image to see all 104 facts. 5 Expert Tips on Maximizing your Mobile Marketing Strategy Before anything else, it is important to point out the fact that right now, mobile marketing represents one of the newest forms of marketing available, yet regardless of this, it has also grown to be one of the most popular methods being used all around the world. Some of the main benefits associated with mobile marketing include the fact that marketers can send location, but also time-sensitive pieces of information to users, via numerous channels including SMS, push-notifications, MMS, Bluetooth, QR codes, in-app advertising and more. Therefore, marketers can promote products and services, while also encouraging people to purchase, establishing a form of brand loyalty and increasing brand awareness. In a recent brief, published by the folks behind Website Builder, they have shed some light on the history of mobile marketing, its future and what some of the wisest tips for maximizing your mobile marketing strategy are. Without further ado, here are five expert tips that will surely boost your […]

What is the best way to present numbers?6 tips for better conference presenting

A couple of weeks ago I was at a conference in Lisbon and spent five days listening to some very smart people share some really valuable information (see my summary of new findings in mobile market research). However, many of the presentations at the conference were rendered less impactful because of the way the presenters showed numbers. There are some easy ways to make numbers more accessible and impactful, and in this post I share a few of them. Note, this post does not focus on data visualisation – that will be another post. This post looks specifically at six easy steps you can take to ensure that the numbers you display can help tell the story, increase engagement, promote understanding, and make action more likely. 1) Use Fewer Numbers The first tip is to simply use fewer numbers. Imagine that you had to pay 5 dollars for every number you included in your presentation; you would soon cut back the quantity of numbers. The key question to ask is whether each specific number says something useful. If it doesn’t, drop it from the presentation (even if it stays in the background data, notes etc.) Instead of showing the top ten, […]

Major update on mobile market research

For a few years there have been relatively few new findings about mobile market research. We have seen the share of online surveys completed via mobile increasing and we have seen the number of mobile only studies (studies that require a smartphone, for example location-based, in-the-moment and smartphone ethnography) increasing. But the overall picture has remained fairly constant in terms of advice and practice. However, the picture has now changed. Last week saw five days of short courses and presentations in Lisbon, Portugal at the ESRA Conference (European Survey Research Association). There were over 700 presentations and most of the leading names in survey, web, and mobile research were present (including: Don Dillman, Mick Couper, Google’s Mario Callegaro, SurveyMonkey’s Sarah Cho, Edith de Leeuw, Roger Tourangeau, GfK’s Randall Thomas & Frances Barlas, and my colleague Sue York). There were more than 20 presentations particularly relevant to mobile market research – making it one of the largest collections of reports and findings from experiments reported anywhere. In this post I set out my key takeaways from the ESRA Conference in terms of mobile market research. But, I may update this post when I get access to all of the presentations and […]

Why Use Bullets in a Presentation? The difference between good bullets and bad bullets.

Every so often there is an upsurge in criticism about the use of bullets in presentations, often linked to criticism of PowerPoint. I agree that any presentation that is not engaging, understandable, and memorable is likely to be a failure. But I do not think that means bullets do not have their place. Lets’ consider a famous and influential bullet list, at least for people who live in a culture or group for whom the Bible as a reference. The Ten Commandments are an example of a bullet list. Do you think these points would have lasted millennia if they were buried in the text, or depicted as an infographic? Another place where many of us see a bulleted list, indeed a list with sub-lists, is when we read a menu. The major list might be Starter, Main, and Dessert – with each of these three broken into several options. For example, the options for the Main Course bullet list might be Steak OR Cod OR Macaroni Cheese. Why do we use bullet lists? Although bullet lists are frequently criticized, they remain in very common usage. That is because, when used correctly, they fulfill a specific set of benefits. These benefits include: A. Belonging […]

Why should I use international standards?

The post below is a guest post from Will Poynter, lead engineer at CLOSER Discovery, based in the UK. Space is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. – Douglas Adams And now data is big too. Lots of you will have heard, or read, that in the past two years we have created more data than all previous years combined. And there appears to be no indication or reason to think that this rate of growth is going to slow down anytime soon. In a previous post, I shared my thoughts on the big data issue, and why, in order to correctly utilize the new quantity of data, we need new tools and infrastructure. But currently, there is a huge impediment in the way of achieving these new tools and infrastructure. Most data is not held using international standards. Let me jump back a little. I am an alumnus of the University of Manchester, where an impressive number of buildings, roads and parks are named after Joseph Whitworth. Whitworth was a pivotal figure, during the 19th century, for his creation of a set of standards covering screws, nuts, bolts and tools. This may […]

What is Agile Market Research?

One of the hottest terms in market research at the moment is the word ‘Agile’. However, there is not a lot of clarity about what exactly it means and how it should best be utilised. Two definitions, with Two Different Derivations One of the reasons that there can be confusion around the term agile market research is that there are two separate definitions, based on two different perspectives and derivations. Agile, as in responsive, a term that has been used in research for many years. Agile, as in the Agile Movement, a modern method of project management often identified with the software industry and concepts like minimum viable product, sprints, and scrums. In this post, I am going to use agile with a lower case ‘a’ for the first of these meanings, and Agile with an upper case ‘A’ when referring to the adoption of the Agile Movement approach to market research. Responsive Research is Often Bespoke Research Using the word agile in its more traditional way, it is often used to describe research that is flexible in the sense of being designed specifically for the needs of a client/project. Whilst this form of research typically needed to move fast, […]