Friday, June 27, 2008

The End of Data Tables?

Are data tables going away? I know I have been in the industry a long time, but when I’m writing a report, I still want access to data tables. I cross tab everything by my key analytic breaks, and then I usually have a bunch of additional “what-if” crosstabs. I have mostly abandoned printed tables and work with an electronic copy. And occasionally I’m happy with the cross-tab capabilities of the online reporting tools (but not usually). But I still need tables.

Someone on the project team typically prepares a report shell based on the research objectives. But I need to know where the rest of the people are who didn’t give a top 2 box rating. Or is a mean driven by a polarizing skew? Is some sub-group driving the results? Is there a coded open-end response that was too small to chart, but extremely meaningful for the study? Crosstabs give me these answers.

I ask if they are going away because frankly, most clients don’t want them. And when we have sent them to some clients, especially younger ones, they will email back and ask us what they are, and if they need to look at them. Clients count on us to dig into the data and pull out the meaningful findings and insights. And they should. That’s what they pay us for. But don’t they get curious? Am I just a number junkie?

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Have you been to Costco lately?

I think all marketers or researchers of consumer goods should be required to visit Costco (or Sam’s or BJ’s Club Stores) at least once a quarter. It is a fascinating place to do observational research. If you are interested in a particular product category, and just hang out in that aisle a while, you can learn a lot. The more expensive the item, the more you can learn.

Last night, I was in the small appliance aisle, where they had two different power toothbrushes for sale: Sonicare and Oral-B. This is actually a bonus for a researcher, because Costco typically only carries one brand of an item. Here I got to see real consumers making side-by-side comparisons. In a short amount of time, I observed a handful of purchases. The first thing I noticed is that this type of purchase is usually a dual decision. It was almost always a couple making the decision. Somewhat eavesdropping on their conversations, I was learning a lot. They were discussing the pros and cons of both brands. And a pro to one, was a con to the other. It was also clear that many of them had already researched the category, but had opted to come to Costco to make the actual purchase.

Now I know this is not a representative sample, and it is only observational data. But, if I was writing a survey on power toothbrushes, what I learned at Costco last night would have helped me craft a much better survey.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Opening Night!

If you read my posting on the annual MRA conference, you will know I recently spent a week in the Times Square area of NYC. My mind seems to still be buzzing with Broadway terms. When I went to write this article; the words dress rehearsal, opening night, stage fright, matinee, and extended run kept jumping to the front of my brain.

Well, Cooper Roberts Research’s first blog, “the research chronicles”, has been in dress rehearsal for a few weeks. Today marks our public debut, our opening night (or opening day – depending on what part of the world you are in).

So we join the other 175,000 new blogs that will be launched today. We hope you enjoy “the research chronicles”, we hope it entertains you, we hope you learn something new, we hope it gives you a flavor for the personality of Cooper Roberts Research, and we hope you keep coming back.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Anxious vs. Eager

I recently had someone in their early twenties correct me on my use of the word anxious, when I should have been using the word eager. I said something like “I am anxious to see your vacation pictures”, when I should have said “I am eager to see your vacation pictures”. A quick Google search told me I should use 'anxious' when I am worried or uneasy about the subject. I should use 'eager' when I have desire, or I look forward to the subject on hand. I’m not sure, but I suspect I have used 'anxious' incorrectly for most of my life.

While I was mildly embarrassed to learn of my error, I was thrilled that someone in their early twenties knew the correct grammar. It turns out they had studied journalism. This brings me to my point. Marketing Research is one of those fields where good writing skills are critical. But we find the youth coming into our industry have poor writing, grammatical and spelling skills. It’s not completely their fault. With spell check, grammar check, auto-fill, and all of the shortcut lingo used for texting, chat and email; they are naturally developing bad habits. The same thing happened to math skills many years ago, when calculators became common.

Unfortunately, my expectations for a college graduate have lowered over the years. They are not entering the workforce with the basic set of skills that employers use to take for granted. We work with our new hires to improve their writing skills. Most of the time, when an error is pointed out to them, they realize the mistake and learn from it. But more and more, they look at us in confusion. They don’t really understand the error, and they don’t understand why it is important. Maybe we will start interviewing journalism majors for new hires.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Fire!

While this is a bit off topic from research, many of us researchers are also frequent business travelers. So I think this topic is worthy of a few lines.

I have been traveling a lot lately. A few days ago, I woke up in my hotel room to the sound of the emergency evacuation message. It took me a minute or two before I realized it was not my alarm clock. Knowing this meant a fire in the hotel, my adrenalin kicked in pretty quickly. Fortunately, it turned out to be a false alarm. But, it took me more than 10 minutes before I was ready to leave the room. Sure, I felt the door to see if it was warm, or if smoke was coming under the door. I even had a wet towel from the bathroom ready. But, if it had been a real fire, that 10 minutes could have made a big difference in whether I survived. I was busy grabbing my clothes, finding my wallet, and trying to remember where I had my cell phone charging. Lesson learned – when you are in a hotel, and settling in for the night, put some thought into it. If I had just been a bit more organized the night before, I could have been out of the room in 2-3 minutes.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

MRA Annual Conference

I just returned from the 2008 Marketing Research Association (MRA) annual conference in NYC. And while I am somewhat biased (I sit on the board of the MRA), I was extremely impressed by the caliber of this event. The MRA has grown to be the preeminent organization for marketing researchers. That is the reason I chose to get involved. Some highlights:

• There was a strong international presence – especially Europe, South America and India.
• The special “end users” track is attracting more and more end users.
• The vendor exhibit hall was always busy.
• The CEO/Owner sessions for research companies are extremely popular.
• The caliber of the keynote speakers was phenomenal, yet they were very candid in their discussions about marketing research within their organizations.
• There were ample opportunities to earn PRC contact hours.

The bar has been raised! I’m eager to see what the fall conference, in Las Vegas, holds in store.