Why don’t more SMEs have customer advisory panels?

I was asked to present a seminar yesterday at a local business conference, the topic was on customer research and how this can be beneficial to SMEs.  In the midst of preparing this presentation, it occurred to me that there is little research being conducted by SMEs relative to the amounts of research being conducted by larger companies.  Is this simply a function of smaller budgets or something more?  When I discussed online research and customer advisory panels in particular and polled the room as to whether any of the businesses who were in attendance had a panel, the show of hands (or lack thereof) confirmed this belief.  Also, when I showed a slide containing the types of companies for which EasyInsites has built and maintains customer advisory panels, it became very clear that there were no SMEs represented on this list.

In this presentation, I pointed to several differences in SMEs vs. large companies which begins to explain why this is the case:

• Fast moving, creative and entrepreneurial
• Not a lot of time or money
• Have to succeed relatively quickly
• Generally can’t compete with the same approach as larger companies
• Critical importance of current customers
• Limited resources in-house

And specific differences regarding market research also contributes toward an explanation:

• Typically not a lot of experience i.e., not a lot of history in conducting research
• No one on staff dedicated to this function, usually just a small part of the marketing person’s job
• Research needs to be conducted more frequently, smaller scale and very cost effective

Whilst the above differences between SMEs and large companies help explain why an SME having a customer advisory panel is a rarity, these differences are also some of the very best reasons why they should!   Whenever I talk with our prospects and clients about why they need a customer advisory panel (or a custom panel comprised of consumers, subscribers, members, employees or some other group whose feedback they are interested in collecting), I concentrate on several needs and benefits starting first and foremost with the decision to have this type of panel sends the right message to your customers and the marketplace in general — it indicates that you as a business are listening to your customers (and potential customers) and you care what they think and you are going to take into consideration their feedback.  This is why we encourage all of our clients to issue a press release letting everyone know!

Other benefits which also serve the SMEs sector well include having a point of differentiation to compete more effectively, needing speedier turnaround of research results, having to reach a lower incidence group, making more of your overall budget, and needing a more continuous flow of feedback that can be absorbed and acted on effectively by your organisation.  Although an online customer advisory panel fits with most of the needs of SMEs beautifully, it is true that the decision to invest in one also requires at least some forethought and commitment to the research process.  I am convinced that in this situation, a little bit of forethought will go a very long way.

Community ‘Control’ More Sensible with Marketing than Market Research

Our ESOMAR paper has been featured in the Research Conference Report December 2010-January 2011 issue.

Main point: Online communities, particularly brand communities, are best led ‘by customers for customers’ and self-perpetuate most strongly when left alone. We almost dupe consumers if we interfere in these arenas with researchers’ formal, corporate or professional questions and comments. It’s not what consumers sing up to communities for.

RCR impressions of content:

Freshness: A
Relevance: A
Practicality: A-

For more information and to read the full article where our paper is featured on the front page of this report, contact Bob at www.rflonline.com

Why Are We Trying To Create New Communities For Market Research Purposes?

I presented a paper earlier this week at the ESOMAR Online Conference in Berlin.  Below is a brief extract from it.   For more information and to purchase a copy of the complete paper, please contact ESOMAR.

There is currently considerable discussion and debate at market research conferences and online on market research forums, blogs, Twitter and the like regarding custom panels and communities.  Several themes and strongly held opinions emerge when examining this dialogue, including:

• Market researchers should be taking the lead in creating online communities to help brands get closer to their consumers and gain insights to better manage and grow these brands. The loudest voice here argues that market researchers are best suited to take the initiative because of their experience with insights and awareness of how best to listen to and interpret what consumers are saying, as well noting these communities touch all parts of the business so someone in the organisation needs to take the lead so why not the market research department. A minority voice argues that market researchers are not necessarily best positioned for this and that the appropriate place out of which the initiative should be driven is the Marketing Department.
• Online communities which are designed for market research only should be created to enable the opportunity to view and interpret the uninterrupted voice and exchange of ideas amongst consumers. The argument here is that these communities need to be constructed by the company in order for these dialogues to occur and be heard. The counter argument points to the vast array of online communities that already exist across various social media platforms such as Facebook, MySpace, and many others and asks why the company would need to construct (and fund) another community when there are already so many in existence from which to listen and learn.
• There are major differences between an online community and an online custom panel. Some argue that online custom panels are commonplace and something of the past, and do not enable theopportunity for uninterrupted conversations between and amongst consumers. This perspective suggests that online custom panels are somehow less useful than an online community. Another perspective is that online custom panels are not yet widely adopted and do not naturally occur and that these panels deliver substantial and clearly identifiable benefits to the companies who have them. Still others argue that both have their place, and they serve different purposes.

This paper seeks to explore these varying points of view and to shed light on the topic both through a detailed assessment of the research that has been published to date as well as a detailed examination of one company’s experience.

Why Build A Panel (vs. Using A Database)

I was recently asked the following question by a client for whom we had conducted a screener survey on an email list of theirs: why should I take the time and resource to invest in a custom panel when I can just send surveys to this email list whenever a project comes up that would be suitable?  We spent an hour together in person discussing the reasons, the very abbreviated summary version follows.  Maybe you too are facing a similar situation and this will be helpful to you.

There are many reasons why building a panel over using a database is a sensible decision. The key reasons include:

Cost – although there are set-up costs with a panel, these are one-time costs. The panel website, database structure, and registration/profiling survey will not need to be replaced each year and small changes can be made without a lot, if any, cost. There are also cost savings with a panel vs. using a list – with a list, at some point you are likely to need to find more sample to complete a project because the list is not producing enough completed interviews for you to complete the analysis. It is also more expensive per project to use a list vs. a panel because the latter has more that can be automated, such as incentive payment/fulfillment.

Higher response rates – with a panel, you can expect 60%+ response rates. In contrast, a list will typically produce response rates in the single digits. Even if these begin high with the first survey, they are likely to decline fairly quickly and consistently over time as consumers forget about the relationship and become distracted and engaged with other things especially if long gaps exist between communications.

Reliability – with a panel, we will be able to predict how many completed interviews can be obtained within specific timeframes. This is important as the business relies on you to deliver each study by a certain time and within budget.

Depth of insight – with a panel, you will not have to re-ask questions and will be able to easily combine profile information (that had been collected when members joined the panel) with the specific data from the survey, thereby enabling you to produce even deeper insights on each study.

Level of engagement – with a panel, when managed properly, your members will feel a part of something you might call a community of sorts. This results in their willingness to participate often and to provide you with even more feedback than you would otherwise be able to obtain.

Ability to recruit on-going – with a panel, we would be able to easily direct traffic to join the panel through your promotions or other methods. This will help to keep it growing and fresh. In contrast, with a list, there is really nowhere for consumers to go who are interested in participating.

Top 10 Reasons To Consider Using EasyVideo For Your Next Qualitative Research Project

(Sourced from a Top 10 list published by our partner QualVu)

Why EasyVideo?

EasyVideo connects our clients with their truth through an innovative video-based platform that enables our clients to connect with their customers, gather rich insights, and make better business decisions.  EasyVideo (powered by a proprietary platform from our partner QualVu) uses a streamlined proprietary process that delivers qualitative intelligence faster and more cost effectively, while driving new levels of insight from consumers globally at home, work, or on the go.

1.    Connecting Clients With Their Truth
By truth we mean to understand your customers completely and have their honest input about your company, products, ideas or brands. EasyVideo will completely change how you get close to your customer to really know them – not just to collect data, but to improve how you do business.

2.    Streamlined & Global

Because of our asynchronous methodology, we have a national or global reach instantly. We can connect with hard-to-reach segments in the business, medical, and scientific communities who are hard to get into a live focus group since they are so busy.

3.    Respondents Speak for Themselves
It’s not just accurate, it’s their personal truth. It’s their voice, their environment, their sights and sounds. The richness of this webcam feedback stems from the fact that the participants are truly on their own turf when they respond.

4.    Convenience and Comfort Level
Respondents can be in their home, in their favorite chair, even wearing pajamas if they want, and can respond to the research questions at a time that is convenient for them.
The ability to do this creates for them the ultimate comfort zone and it gives you a chance to witness their reality, to truly understand your customer. We utilize web cams and can also equip them with a mobile flip cam to take on shop-alongs, into the kitchen, bathroom, backseat and other “real world” locations.

5.    Insightful

The typical focus group response can vary from a few sentences to a monolog that dominates the conversation. EasyVideo respondents are not influenced or distracted by “alpha–dogs”. The average video response on an EasyVideo project can be between four to seven minutes. Because the respondent is in a familiar and low pressure environment, they are often willing to share more intimate and insightful information.

6.    Better Information Creates Better Business Decisions
EasyVideo is much more than a focus group, a triad, or IDI.  EasyVideo gives you a new weapon in delivering substantive insights to your brand team, to set your brand apart. True engagement with customer helps you better leverage the value of qualitative insights in your journey to get to your brand’s truth.

7.    A Unique and Flexible Approach
Our iterative approach to research is to move in distinct phases, based on the needs of each individual client.  We can be a full-service, turnkey operation, if you so choose. From start to finish, we can do the recruit, data collection, organization, and final reporting and analysis.

8.    Build a Panel for Longer Term Relationships and Insight
Our online framework allows us, and you, to maintain people for continuous access over time. So you can build on the insight you gained from them in the first place.

9.    Economical
Never before has innovation combined with optimal cost-efficiency been more important to today’s researcher. EasyVideo can deliver significant savings on costs and time vs. traditional methods of research.

10.    Proven Track Record
Many of the world’s leading brands use EasyVideo to outflank their competitors by gaining on-demand access to their target consumers. Users of this platform source from numerous Fortune 100 companies, including those in the food and beverage, packaged goods, telecommunications, financial services, travel, health care/pharmaceutical and technology industries.


A Posting In Response To A Forrester Blog “The Race Is On For Selling MROCs To Agencies”

Authored by Misha Tsvelik, Custom Panel and Research Operations Manager at EasyInsites:

I’m not sure about communities being used effectively for marketing. If I was, for example, an FMCG company with a massive consumer base, I would want to recruit as many people to my community as possible to make this marketing effective. Of course some companies may just want to market to a small segment of their audience and indeed if they only have a small audience in the first place, setting up an online community would reinforce that they care about them. As you mention above though, communities are quite expensive, not only in terms of set-up costs, but the ongoing resources needed to run them. By that logic, the end clients out there with the budgets to purchase and pay for maintenance of communities would by enlarge want to attract as many people as possible to them if they are to be used effectively for marketing purposes. In that case the costs of recruiting, managing and maintenance would shoot up, making the investment unappealing from a marketing point of view.

To use communities for market research however, the element of interaction between members needs to be carefully managed. How many times, for example have we seen respondents be asked an open ended questions about product concepts and re-act with answers like “This cereal bar looks great and healthy! I can’t wait to try it!” or “I loved picture A, could you let me know where I could buy this product?”, conversely “I’m fed up of doing surveys about bathroom cleaner, send me something fun!”. A community used for MR purposes cannot afford to have members sharing such comments with each other. For the same reason researchers try to exclude people who have done a survey about topic X recently from doing another survey on topic X, to avoid biasing the results.

I think that as time goes by, end clients will think longer and harder about whether a community really meets their research needs and tend towards more structured online interaction between their audience members such as online qualitative research, video qual and the running of a custom research panel (with it’s own identity, messaging made clear to canvass people’s opinions rather than promote the a brand). They may also question whether an online community is anything more than a peripheral element in a digital marketing strategy. Whatever end clients decide, these points are essential to bear in mind when thinking about what they will get for the considerable money needed to set-up and maintain an online community.

To view the full blog, visit: http://blogs.forrester.com/tamara_barber/10-04-07-race_selling_mrocs_agencies

EasyInsites recognised as one of the UK’s smartest small businesses

EasyInsites has been chosen by a judging panel including Deborah Meaden and other leading entrepreneurs such as Bebo Founder Michael Birch as a winner of Smarta.com’s inaugural ‘Smarta 100’.

The Smarta 100 is the ultimate business accolade, recognizing the UK’s smartest small businesses. Smarta.com has uncovered remarkable companies who have gone the extra mile to differentiate themselves from the market or found clever ways to compete, from their marketing plan to their ethical stance. The result is a fascinating insight into the unique business ideas that are thriving in the current economic climate.

The finalists proved to the judges that they have what it takes to run a successful venture, from spotting a new opportunity to making it a reality.  And the high-profile panel were delighted to see that ambitious people are saving hard and raising finances to turn their ideas into flourishing businesses.

Deborah Meaden commented:

“Discovering great new businesses is a passion of mine as is encouraging businesses to think and work better.  The Smarta 100 does both of these things – and celebrates the best of British business at the same time. I was delighted to see ambitious people saving hard and raising finances to turn their ideas into flourishing businesses.”

Smarta.com founder Sháá Wasmund said:

“Socially conscious, disruptive businesses that are not afraid to challenge the status quo are being set up in the four corners of the country. I founded Smarta to make sure these enterprises are supported at any stage of development. The results speak for themselves – the Smarta 100 list is a collection of remarkable success stories.”

EasyInsites Co-Founder & Managing Director Charles Pearson commented:

“We are very pleased to be recognised by such a reputable panel of judges who have experience and success across a wide array of sectors.  Being named as one of the 100 best certainly helps reinforce to us that the positioning of our products and services is clear and compelling.  This recognition combined with the stellar list of clients we now have on board makes us even more excited for our future growth potential.”

The full results and details of the winning companies can be found at smarta.com/smarta100.

How About MRFOC? (a Much Reduced Focus On ‘Communities’)

Do you sometimes feel – as I do – as if you are working in a different industry to everyone else? From what I read on the topic of ‘Custom Panels and Communities’, which is currently quite a lot, there seems to be a fixation with the term ‘community’. Much of the discussion consists of which acronym to use (MROC, etc.) to best describe what we mean by panels or communities or whatever, while in the research business, at least from my vantage point, the large majority of research clients are really saying something very different. For the most part in my experience, the following are their primary expressed concerns and desires: In the current climate, they want to spend less or obtain more for the same research budget They want a faster turnaround of results They want to be able to easily find and gather feedback from their specific consumer or customer without paying a premium because their targets are low incidence They want to engage and learn from their consumers and customers in a more continuous, deeper and respectful manner Secondary desires include: Having their own research asset that is unique and customised PR’ing this effort as it sends the right message to the public at large and contributes to the client being perceived as listening to their consumers and customers Somewhere in most client organisations today there are discussions taking place regarding how to get closer to consumers and customers, and the use of communities might be one vehicle for doing so. These discussions are occurring in the marketing, sales and CRM functions. There is also the desire to do as much as, or more than their competitors are doing in this area. The business of the market research department is different, though obviously related to these functions and initiatives. I find it difficult to see how market research agencies are appropriately positioned to advise on how to set up and manage online communities when the primary purpose for this type of initiative is typically (and rightly so) focused on marketing and promoting the client’s brand. While there is potentially some learning that can occur by observing the interaction of those who join a so-called community, some very important research considerations need to be kept in mind. These include: Communities tend to have a very small number of participants (I have never seen a case study that indicates more than 100 or so are members and often times an even smaller number are the active ones) These participants are typically very skewed in their experience, being more ‘vocal’ and with a passion toward the client’s brand (typically good but sometimes bad) The interaction and output is by definition primarily unstructured, making the interpretation, relevance and application to real business issues difficult at best. This is not to say that there is not some value in creating and observing communities; however, it is important to recognise that these communities are not nearly as useful from a research perspective as a custom panel. So what is a custom panel and how do I define and distinguish it from a community? Custom panels are built and maintained to provide a client with a research asset that can fulfill much of their current sample needs, depending on their research agendas, as well as enabling them to conduct more and other types of research that would otherwise not be possible or economical. Custom panels are recruited from a client’s consumer or customer databases, CRM systems, websites, etc. The profiling can be completely customised to the client’s needs reflecting the way in which they view their brands and business and segment their consumers or customers. The look and feel can be branded or blinded, depending on the types of research desired, and a lot of focus and attention can be placed on engagement: the number of survey opportunities provided; the look and length of those surveys; the incentives offered; and finally the content published to those who participate, to illustrate to them how their feedback is used and importantly how their opinion compares with their peers. The most common obstacles identified by clients who have considered a custom panel are cost and ensuring that the activity level is consistent enough to sustain the panel. To address these concerns head on, there is the option of opening their panel to other researchers (in non-competing categories) on a panel exchange platform, thereby maintaining a minimal level of activity whilst providing the client with compensation to help offset the set-up and maintenance costs associated with their panel. The reality of clients today is quite different than what some in the industry have described. I have even seen it suggested in a comment made on one blog that a community is quicker and cheaper than a custom panel. I find this very difficult to understand and believe when clearly a community involves a considerable budget and a large commitment and buy-in from the client organisation not only on the part of market research but also on the part of marketing, product development and senior management. I would argue that neither a community or custom panel is a quick solution; however, it typically takes 4-6 weeks to set up a custom panel and this provides a more robust and lasting solution than a community. A custom panel is more cost effective because of its broader uses, and it requires less involvement and investment on the part of the client. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying there is no use for communities, indeed I would recommend one to a client should this fit their needs, but I would suggest building a community within / as part of or as an extension of a custom panel. Bottom line – the large majority of clients, across all sectors I see, do not yet have their own custom panel, so this should keep me busy for quite some time to come!

Bounty’s new mums/young family panel – are you interested? Tell us what you think.

Here is where you can read about it: http://www.research-live.com/news/new-business/bounty-inks-young-family-panel-deal-with-easyinsites/4001170.article