Archive for the ‘Market Research’ Category
Monday, July 12th, 2010
ESOMAR recently published the results of its eighth annual Global Prices Study 2010, which evaluates the pricing of different types of market research around the world.
One of the interesting points highlighted by the study – which was conducted among 100 countries – was the huge variety, not only of prices, but also of research methodologies favoured or employed in different geographies. For example, online research is not available in every market; similarly, face-to-face interviewing is not conducted everywhere.
However, one of the most notable findings from the perspective of B2B International, which researches markets worldwide from its offices in the UK, USA and China, was the fact that the USA topped the rankings as the most expensive market globally in which to conduct research.
Matthew Harrison, Director of our New York office, explains why the results of the survey did not come as a surprise to him:
“There are actually a number of fairly understandable reasons as to why the cost of research in the United States can seem high. Firstly, it’s a pretty large country, which brings with it all the challenges you would expect when reaching respondents across a wide geographical area – not to mention that a larger sample size is often sought in order to give a true reflection of opinions and facts.”
“Secondly, of course, the US boasts a high standard of living and high average incomes. As a result, those involved at every stage of the research process – from focus group venues to online survey providers through to full service agencies such as ourselves – incur higher costs, which ultimately have to be passed on to the end client.”
“It would, however, be remiss of me not to point out that the United States is probably the most developed and advanced research market in the world, with many top-class market researchers. Equally, American research buyers are very sophisticated and require a high level of analysis which needs to be built into the cost of the study.”
Harrison, however, additionally points to a slightly more unusual contributor to the high prices associated with the US:
“Another consideration to be taken into account is the high reliance of many business executives on voicemail. Whereas a small number of attempts at reaching an individual may be necessary in many parts of the world, in America it is not uncommon to ring a business respondent seven or eight times in order to secure a telephone interview with them.”
These facts aside, Harrison is keen to point out that while the actual price of research in the States may appear on the high side, the return on investment gained from good quality market research should never, ever be underestimated.
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Market Research, Market Research UK, Market Research USA, Matt Harrison, Return On Investment, Service |
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Monday, July 5th, 2010
Two reports released recently show that the market research industry on both sides of the Atlantic had a tough year in 2009. Research revenue in the United States fell by 3.3% last year – to $8.6bn, according to Jack Honomichl’s annual market research industry report.
Similarly, figures released by the Market Research Society earlier in the month showed that revenue in the UK was down 4.7% last year to £2.08bn – although it has to be pointed out that by the end of 2009, the figures were once again improving. The UK market research industry had experienced strong growth of 6.2% in 2008.
However, against this backdrop, B2B International – with offices in both the US and UK, in addition to China – is particularly pleased to have bucked the trend, reporting 10% growth during 2009. The company has experienced year-on-year growth since its formation in 1998.
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B2B News, Growth, Market Research |
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Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
We read recently on research-live.com that auto maker Ford Motor Company has boasted of going “beyond traditional market research” with the launch of a website where members of the public can share ideas about the types of features they would like to see in future car models.
This initiative – to be found within TheFordStory.com – invites people to make suggestions for vehicle improvements. Ideas that appear on the site can be reviewed and rated by others, with the most popular due to be forwarded to Ford’s advanced product marketing and planning teams for review.
Now, don’t get us wrong. We fully support asking customers to get involved, offer thoughts, feedback, suggestions and ideas about what they really value. After all, it’s pretty much what we do day-in, day-out – so we know it’s of vital importance to the ongoing growth and development of any company.
We would warn, as always, that you can’t just rely on this, though – you cannot expect customers to do the job of new product development by themselves. Their feedback can certainly shape what you choose to do, but it should not unquestioningly dictate it. You still need to investigate, research and test any new concept thoroughly.
Our only question is whether this is really such a ground-breaking and innovative idea as the article would suggest? After all, it does kind of seem like that good old-fashioned ‘suggestion box’ you might find located in your local supermarket for customer comments… A suggestion box for the 21st century, perhaps? We applaud Ford nonetheless for listening to their customers and encourage more organisations to do the same.
Find out more about product development studies by clicking here or reading our white paper, Using Market Research For Product Development.
Posted in
Automotive, Market Research, Marketing, Product Development |
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Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
As first published in the latest issue of BIG Times, the Business Intelligence Group’s regular newsletter, B2B International’s Caroline Harrison, currently based in our New York office, examines the market research industry in America over the course of the recession:
Hot on the heels of the successful opening of its Beijing office in 2006, B2B International took the decision to expand its operations into a further new continent – North America – and its New York office opened in early summer 2008. Not three months later and we had the meltdown on Wall Street, triggering one of the deepest and harshest global recessions in living memory.
One question it might be appropriate to ask in these circumstances is whether we would have done things differently, had we known what was just around the corner? While I’m sure we would have thought long and hard before making the decision, in truth we probably would have gone ahead as planned.
Why is that? It’s because, as many of you will already know, the market research industry has consistently proven itself to be fairly resilient in times of adversity. Perhaps saying market research is “recession-proof” would be going a bit far, but the industry is certainly able to withstand a degree of external pressure.
Conducting market research is, of course, a means of reducing risk in business decision making, and when do companies most need to play it safe? When times are tough. When things are going swimmingly, you can perhaps afford to take the odd chance and risk making the occasional mistake. When the economy is in freefall, there can be no margin for error.
We have to acknowledge that 2009 was a challenging year for many. Budgets in most industries were cut and – while we can argue all day about the logic behind it – market research spend, like expenditure in many other business areas, was reined in for some. Similarly, a number of our clients were forced to delay projects due to the economic uncertainty.
Yet, overall, levels of enquiries and commissions have not altered significantly over the past 18 months. What we did, however, notice during the height of the recession was a change in the type of research we were being asked to conduct. The more ‘aggressive’ market entry and market assessment studies commissioned by companies looking to expand into new markets and find new customers were replaced by more ‘defensive’ projects such as customer satisfaction. It has clearly been more important than ever to protect what business you do have and look after your existing customers to ensure they don’t defect. In recent weeks and months, as increasingly we see optimism re-emerge in North America – as indeed globally – clients are gradually feeling emboldened. As their business strategies become more ‘adventurous’, so too are the types of research they require.
Perhaps a little surprising to us in America has been the high number of clients commissioning product development studies during the recession. However, most of these have not been of the all-out ambitious new product development variety; rather, they have tended to focus more around improvements to existing products or extensions to an existing product range. While we cannot determine precisely the reason for this trend, we believe it has been a measured response to a real or perceived increased threat by competitors’ products and/or decreased market share. Product improvements are a means of establishing differentiation at the same time as demonstrating innovativeness and reinforcing a commitment to better serving clients’ needs. At a time when the economic environment is forcing many competitors to lie low, product development has the added advantage of giving you something to shout about.
The intensifying of the recession also appeared to curb the movement we had been witnessing towards environmentally-friendly products and services. Many of the first market research projects we conducted upon arriving in the United States in 2008 assessed the potential for introducing ‘green’ extensions to existing product lines or launching an already-successful North American energy-saving product in other global markets. This type of project request became noticeably less common throughout 2009 but early indications in 2010 – across all our offices, not just in the U.S., it must be noted – lead us to believe that environmental issues will once again rise to the fore.
A more general observation that can be made about the U.S.A. has been the optimism throughout the hard times. Perhaps being a pessimist Brit and used to constant negative media coverage about the doom and gloom we’re all facing, being in America has, at times, been like a breath of fresh air. In spite of rocketing rates of unemployment (up from 6% in September 2008 to 9.7% at the time of writing), record mortgage foreclosures, horrendous stock-market declines and trillion-dollar Government bailout packages, what has been noticeable has been the positive messages portrayed in the media. People haven’t denied the economic problems but have been very much of the opinion that “things will get better”, “together we’ll pull through” and “America will rule the world once more.” And there I was thinking the British were supposed to be full of Dunkirk spirit!
In part, I think the presidential election of November 2008, which coincided with the start of tough times, generated a lot of positivity. President Barack Obama’s “Change we can believe in” slogan was a beacon for many. His election was seen as a chance for America to change for the better. Eighteen months on and the general public may not be quite so enamoured with what’s being achieved on the political agenda, but negativity has not taken over. Indeed, as we begin to see signs of improvements here on this side of the Atlantic, we are thankful that things have not been worse.
I will conclude by referring to an observation made to me earlier this week by a British colleague, also based here in New York: “Americans are more confident, more willing to take a risk and therefore more likely to succeed”. That, in a nutshell, sums things up nicely.
Posted in
B2B News, Customer Satisfaction Research, Industrial Research, Market Assesment, Market Research, Product Development |
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Monday, April 19th, 2010
The Holy Grail for the market researcher is to find out what people really are thinking. When we ask people in interviews what is the importance of a brand, or how much they value a trustworthy supplier, we can’t always believe we have got the right answer. Throughout our education we are taught to think rationally and therefore when we are asked questions in a market research survey, we are likely to answer rationally. This means that we are in danger of overstating the importance of the rational factors such as price and technical performance at the expense of the emotional factors such as appearance, imagery, brand and the like. For this reason our attention was grabbed by an article in the Financial Times this week which scarily tells us that scientists are close to being able to tap into our innermost thoughts by putting on our heads a red bathing cap with wires attached. Apparently without asking any questions, they can work out what emotions are most successful in persuading us to take action. Read on…
Why marketing minds have turned their heads to mind-reading
By Hannah Kuchler
Financial Times April 12 2010 03:00
Last month, I surrendered my subconscious to analysis. A red swimming cap was stretched over my head, long grey wires stuck to my skull and my innermost thoughts fed into a computer as I nervously watched an advertisement for Volkswagen.
In turn, the computer told a team of researchers which scenes I paid attention to, what I responded to emotionally and what I would go away remembering.
It was a far cry from the marketing industry’s traditional method of finding out what consumers think about their brands: asking them.
The problem is, when gathered in traditional focus groups, respondents can be swayed by those sitting next to them or by the presence of researchers. Alternatively, they may be unable to articulate their responses accurately. As a result, a rising number of marketers now prefer to analyse the response of peoples’ brainwaves to brands and advertisements by using the latest developments in neuroscience.
In recent months, these techniques have not just been applied to the marketing of finished products, but also to product development. “It’s about uncovering new undiscovered needs,” says Martin Lindstrom, author of Buyology , who has been studying the development of neuromarketing since its inception seven years ago. “A lot of manufacturers are struggling as it’s easy to come up with ideas consumers don’t feel they need.”
He cites the example of dishwasher tablets. Consumers are attracted to tablets embedded with a blue ball because, subconsciously, they believe they clean better. However, when asked in the context of traditional marketing methods, they claim no preference about colour.
“The main reason why [traditional market research often] fails is that we look at things from a conscious point of view,” says Mr Lindstrom. “We ask: ‘Do you like the brand?’ We ask the consumer to be incredibly rational and we know today from neuroscience that 85 per cent of the decisions we make are made by the unconscious part of brain.”
Neuromarketers believe their work will be especially useful for products consumers find hard to describe – particularly when they need to know consumers’ reactions to smell, taste and touch.
According to Neurofocus, the global market leader in neurological testing, consumer goods companies are even creating their own in-house testing units that mock up supermarkets. They can use them to change everything from shelf positioning to point-of-sale advertisements with the flick of a switch and monitor the shopper’s brain during the few seconds it takes to select a product.
Professor Gemma Calvert, co-founder of UK-based Neurosense, believes the future for neuroscience lies beyond products: “I see the spread of these tools into things like the financial sector - to understand how trust is built and broken down for the banks – how do you make us feel safe and secure?”
Anantha Pradeep, Neurofocus’s chief executive, believes the possibilities for neuroscience are almost limitless: “The challenge for us is to be focused because we could use it in any area of life which needs emotion and persuasion.”
But some advertisers fear this adherence to science could stamp out “light bulb” ideas and destroy creativity in the industry.
Neurofocus argues that mind-reading actually helps sell original thinking to companies that would otherwise stick with tried-and-tested methods.
“The principles [of neuroscience] are like the keys of a grand piano – you can do a lot with them,” says Mr Pradeep. “And we’re adding keys all the time.”
Perhaps a larger concern is that consumers will find it increasingly difficult to resist the pressure to buy.
“We believe we’re incredibly clever, but in reality we’re less and less immune,” says Mr Lindstrom. “There’s an urgent need to create ethical guidelines. It’s like a hammer: it can be used to put a beautiful painting on the wall or to hit someone on the head.”
Posted in
Customer Insight, Financial Services, Focus Groups, Market Research, Research Methods |
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