Blog >> STOP This Madness
There is a lot of talk about new market research methodology. More specifically, how we all need to get involved in doing things differently, thinking in a new way, monitoring social networks to understand consumers, abandoning our old ways and the big one – stop fielding surveys! However, correct me if I am wrong, but the main requirement of companies today (which is not much different than in the past) is to be able to quantify a result that is accurate and reliable in order to make better business decisions. In most companies, these business decisions are associated with new product development, programming content, pricing, promotions, positioning, advertising, communication and the like. These business decisions and the resulting research requirements have not gone away, so how is it that we are somehow going to walk away from running quantitative surveys which are the most reliable and robust way in which to obtain these answers?
Small panels are good, but not a golden ticket
Further, when it comes to custom panels and research communities (I use these terms interchangeably), some in our industry advocate small panels — with 300 to 500 members – claiming that this is the ideal number to gleam insights. My question is what kind of insights? These same small panels are often being used for quantitative research and because of the various profiles contained within these panels, and the need to select from these depending on the research objectives, the total number of completed interviews on which interpretation and decisions are being based is often in the single digits! There is a natural inclination to use these small research communities for this purpose because these type research communities which involve a substantial amount of active and on-going moderation and management on the part of the supplier and client are very costly so because of this very large investment, clients want to use them for as many purposes as possible. However, this is very dangerous and likely results in a lot of misleading conclusions being drawn.
Engagement is the key
I am not sure why clients are at all concerned about having panels that are too large. There really is no rational reason for concern if you use the Cint Panel Exchange (CPX) platform to build and maintain your panel database and, if desired, open your panel to other researchers.
This serves two key benefits:
1. Keep panelists sufficiently engaged and active so that they are ready and waiting when the panel owner itself has research they would like to conduct with them.
2. Revenue share helps to offset any on-going costs associated with the maintenance of their panel and their own research needs.
Custom panels are built on engagement
Custom panels can still be highly targeted and specialised even if they seek to be large enough to accommodate a broader base of research needs and requirements. For example, one of the more recent panels that we at EasyInsites have built is for Premier Foods (the largest independent food manufacturer in the UK) – the Premier Chefs panel. It is comprised of chefs across the UK – over 1300 of them currently – who are interested in voicing their opinions regarding their needs and preferences across a wide variety of food and food ingredient/preparation categories.
How the Premier Chefs panel is engaged
Premier Chefs members also enjoy being able to see what other chefs think, something that is accomplished through both quick polls as well as feeding back results including how these results are being used by Premier Foods. Members are also able to obtain other value-add features on the website such as access to a recipe database and the opportunity to view and comment on a Chef’s blog, all of which contributes to improved engagement and therefore responsiveness to research invitations and reduced attrition. Although Premier Foods has and continues to use this panel extensively, they are continuing to invest in further recruitment to double or even triple the panel size in the coming months. They have also now decided to make it “visible” on CPX for those who are interested in running research with this specialty audience. Premier has made the investment, and now the vast array of other companies operated in the Food Service sector within the UK market can benefit by procuring sample from this panel.
Market research as an industry has expressed concerns about relevance and contribution. Whilst it is worthwhile to continue to explore new ways in which we can contribute, I for one think that we should not abandon the tried and true and that we need a shot in the arm of pragmatism and realism. Custom panels that are built to a size that makes them fit for purpose can and should become every company’s reality.
Posted by: Charles Pearson
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