Recently in Qualitative Industry Category
There has been a lot of discussion in the industry about whether Market Research Online Communities (MROCs) are the future of the industry or simply a fad that will pass.
Communities and community-like research is here to stay. The past couple of years have been an inflection point in our industry. "Standard" qualitative is changing dramatically. Therefore, expectations are changing and communities are a reflection of that.
For several months I have been threatening to disconnect our home land line. All 6 members of the Bryson household have a cell phone and I found myself answering the "home phone" on a regular basis when the call was not for me. Finally, in December, the Bryson's became a wireless-only family. Now we save the monthly cost of our telephone bill and I don't have to answer the phone unless someone wants to reach me personally. Apparently, the Brysons are part of a massive trend that will change the face of the research industry. The National Center for Health Statistics reported that another 2.5% of American households are now without land lines making 22.7% of all American households wireless only. At this rate, in 11 years less than 50% of American households will have a "home phone" land line. My guess is that this trend will accelerate and we are more like 5 years away from that reality.
As we enter this next decade, the research industry must resolve this problem. Will we depend on mobile phone panels to fulfill our research needs? Will we migrate all research to online or in-person and abandon the concept of telephone interviews altogether? Before you say "no way" consider the plight of door-to-door interviewing which was a research staple in the 1950s and 1960s. Or, will we find a "third way?"
The telephone we know as a research tool is becoming extinct. Individuals now carry personal communications and information devices with them 24/7. No longer do we simply call a publicly-listed household and ask for the decision marker. We must have an individual's personal number, have permission to use it and have a relationship with that individual that leads to engagement.
In 2010, you can no longer reach the "Bryson household." You may call any of us...but you have to find our number first and give us a reason to talk to you. For telephone researchers, the "Bryson Household" ceased to exist in 2009.
As primarily a fieldwork firm heavily engaged in both traditional qualitative fieldwork and online qualitative fieldwork, we have a broad vista of the qual industry. Our clients are researchers who hail from literally all over the world.
Around the office, we have been noticing a dicotomy that has created a lot of discussion and diverse opinions about the direction of the industry. We are noticing two opposing trends that appear to both be driven by the need to lower costs.
- Marketing Research Departments are shedding personnel and outsourcing more.
- Marketing Research Departments (MRD) are doing more DIY qual in-house and cutting out the outside research supplier.
Personally, I think MRDs are using online qualitative services to do more DIY to cut qual costs but continue to outsource face-to-face qual. If this is the case, then the future will look quite differently for MRDs and research firms as online qual continues to gain traction and evolve.
Thoughts?
There was an interesting conversation on Ray Poynter's blog (http://thefutureplace.typepad.com). Ray raised the question of why online qualitative has not "taken off" to the same extent that online quantitative has. Here is the response that I made to that question.
Catherine has a very good point in that we have not yet cracked what online qual can actually do.
When we started doing online qual in 2000-2001, uptake was very slow by traditional qual researchers. Frankly, qualies had a system (focus groups) that worked, was well accepted and was very profitable and they were extremely bothered that online qual was almost wholly text based. They missed (and still do for the most part) the visual cues and "feel" that one gets when sitting down with an individual(s).
Online qual has been growing significantly not because these problems have been overcome. As a rule, they have not. Online qual has begun to grow because (1) travel is expensive and a hassle, (2) researchers have discovered the diversity of a range of qual techniques to solve various problems (its not just focus groups anymore) and (3) social media has shown everyone that effective communication online is possible and, for some, preferable.
Online qual will continue to grow though it may not reach the 60%+ market share of online quant for a long time. Online qual has significant hurdles to overcome, chief among them (1) making the online experience as close to "being there" as possible and/or (2) finding new and better ways of connecting with people.
Eventually online qual will become a method for a 360 degree type of immersion that we are only guessing at right now. It will be a new world for research as Catherine said. Its very exciting and challenging to imagine and make happen.
This is one ofthe reasons that communities and "netnographies" are big now. Researchers want more than a one dimensional qual aspect. This is the most exciting time in qual since I joined the club 23 years ago. Its a great ride.
To see the entire discussion, go to http://tinyurl.com/yh4ql8f
The first day of the ESOMAR Online Conference this week in Chicago focused on social media and its impact on market research. The Conference opened with the following video that was very thought-provoking.
From: ESOMAR Global Market Research 2009
This research report included an examination of the trends directly affecting the MR industry, and blurring the boundaries between the MR industry and adjacent sectors. Therefore the competitive set is changing for MR firms. Here is a quick summary of 6 identified trends that effect our companies and our future.
- Changing Client Needs: Clients are re-evaluating their spending patterns and experimenting with new sources of information such as free survey sites and web analytics tools rather than traditional research methods and suppliers.
- Changing Skill Sets: Advisory and consulting skills are growing in importance as researchers are increasingly called upon to draw conclusions and provide advice based on their findings. Therefore, research firms now often face new competitors such as management consulting firms.
- Technology Developments: Rapidly advancing technology opens up new sources of information and new research methods enabling researchers to expand their services and creating niches for new companies.
- New Players: Players outside traditional research are using their brand awareness to enter the market with rival research offerings (e.g., Google Ad Planner).
- Consolidation: Consolidation causes some brands to disappear while others morph and change shape to adapt to new opportunities creating a constantly shifting landscape.
- New and Emerging Markets: More global firms are expanding their operations in developing markets. New players in emerging markets are introducing new techniques that are changing the shape of the industry.
MRA released a warning about a new Maine law that restricts information that can be passed from one company to another regarding minors. The law could severly limit the ability of bona fide research companies to conduct research among consumers under 18.
Here is part of the MRA press release. There is also a video link explaining the law.
As CMOR explained in their August Legislative Update, Maine's LD 1183, the Prevent Predatory Marketing Practices Against Minors Act, prohibits the sale, offer for sale or transfer of health-related or personal information about a minor if that information is personally identifiable, was collected for marketing purposes without verifiable parental consent or will be used for "predatory marketing" purposes. The law came into effect on September 12, 2009.
"Researchers everywhere should check their data sets and research plans to ensure they comply with the strictures of this new law. Although the Maine Attorney General has said she will not enforce the law, any violator is still potentially open to private civil suits, including those sharing data between companies as part of the research process," said LaToya Lang, Counsel for CMOR.
The full press release and a video link can be found at: http://www.mra-net.org/news/article.cfm?aID=693
ESOMAR Global Market Research 2009
Ok, I know we are qualitative and are supposed to hate numbers. But, don't you ever wonder how big our industry is? Don't you ever want the numbers? I do. So, I looked it up in the recently released ESOMAR report. Here are the numbers. Its quantitative but hang in there. I'll keep it short!
Here are the global numbers:
- Global Research Spending: $32.462 billion
- Percent Qualitative Spending: 14% (9% group, 3% IDI, 2% other)
- Global Qualitative Spending: $4.545 billion
Now here are the numbers for the top 5 countries (Total spending, % qualitative, Total Qualitative Spending) in millions.
- United States ($8,866, 15%, $1,330)
- United Kingdom ($4.154, 10%, $415)
- Germany ($3.334, 7%, $233)
- France ($3.042, 15%, $456)
- Japan ($1.643, 15%, $246)
Add these up and you find that the top 5 markets in the world account for $2.68 billion in qualitative spending or 59% of the world's qualitative spending.
The research industry appears to have hit bottom in the 2nd quarter and may be on the rebound. The Marketing Research Association (MRA) has released their Research Industry Index (RII) for the second quarter.
The composite index is up slightly to 86 from 84 in the first quarter but still down from 94 in the first quarter of 2008. The survey is based on a composite score from 211 research respondents. The research showed a slight uptick in companies reporting increases in booked revenue, proposals and operating margins.Staffing levels remained flat.
This study also focused on the use of online methodologies. For qualitative, these respondents reported 14% of their qual projects are online. The report did not provide a definition of an "online project."
Of all research respondents (qual and quant), 35% have not moved online while 25% said they moved online several years ago and 40% said they moved online recently. Those moving recently were most likely to cite cost and time savings as their primary reasons for doing so. They were most likely to cite sample bias as their most serious concern.
In all, a good report. Lets hope the third quarter shows a significant and long-lasting rebound.
The Association Collaborative Effort (ACE) is an initiative by research industry associations (AMA, ARF, CASRO, ESOMAR, MRA, and the MRIA) to address the industry issues surrounding online research and panel use. The official purpose is: to ensure that all online and panel researchers and users, no matter the industry segment or the association affiliation, share a set of understood and accepted process and performance guidelines.
Today, ACE announced that it has completed its first assignment: to create definitions of online terms so that the industry will have a common basis for discussing online research. They have made these terms available on a nifty ACE website http://www.aceinfo.org/definitions.cfm.
Look for more work from ACE as the industry wraps its collective arms around the growing online research segment.