problems with a survey.
(4) Dropout rate. These are
the
questions
respondents
appear to abandon the survey
on. This is often not the same
measure as (3), questions may
be problematic because of the
information they request is too
sensitive (for instance income),
or they may be badly worded or
just plain confusing.
How to ensure that the
respondents are engaged
and active throughout the
course of a survey?
Andrew Jeavons: My answer
to this is to return to the idea of
respondent theory. If we knew
more about what motivates
respondents to take surveys we
would be able to design surveys
in such a way as to keep them
engaged. At the moment we fall
back to the “bright shiny things”
approach, this is the idea that if
we make the survey interesting
enough (make it bright and
shiny) then respondents will
be engaged and complete
the survey. This approach is
roughly the same as the design
approach for cat toys. We need
to be more sophisticated. It is
significant that the problem
of survey engagement has
been a hot topic for decades.
When telephone surveys were
prevalent it was an issue, now
with the dominance of web/
mobile surveys it is still an issue.
It is time for a new approach,
bright and shiny doesn’t seem to
be working.
How
can
established
companies
maintain
a
competitive edge given new
players
entering survey
research market?
Andrew
Jeavons:
It
is
always important, in my view,
to be at the leading edge of
technological
advancement
if at all possible. But the truth
is that this will not guarantee
the growth of your company or
protect you from new entrants
to your market place with
the same technology. Client
retention is as important as
being at the leading edge.
Clients will not leave you if they
are treated well and feel that
you are “keeping up” with the
industry trends. A comprehensive
client retention program is
crucial to the success of your
company; client churn costs
a lot of money. One approach
many new companies use is to
undercut your company on price
to effectively buy the market.
This can be a hard approach
to counter but if you have
established loyalty among your
client base it can be protection
against this sort of predation.
There has been a trend over
the last 20 years or so to do
business without any face to face
meetings. This has obvious time
and money advantages, but it
does mean you have a weaker
relationship with your clients.
Pick a client account value (for
instance accounts worth more
than $X per annum) and visit
these clients. The relationships
you have with the clients is your
protection against new players.
According to you what
seems to be the future of
market research – especially
in context of survey
research?
Andrew
Jeavons:
There
is no doubt in my mind that
survey research will continue
for many years to come. The
question is the medium. We
have seen the growth of mobile
technologies change surveys
and I think IOT will do the same.
Appliances initiating surveys,
which I think would be done
via a smart phone, will become
common. I think the problems
with obtaining valid sample
will be mitigated to a degree
by such services as Google
Surveys which have a large
coverage. So called “Big Data”
is the real challenge to the
core of market research. “Big
data” in my mind really means
analytics.
Many
companies
conduct their own research
without outside analysts and
seem perfectly adept at doing
this. Budgets are the driving
force for this; companies are
not willing to spend the type
of money traditional market
research companies need. In
the past obtaining survey data
was only possible via a market
research company. Now this is
not true. The analytical skills
required to analyze the data
were not available except via a
market research company. Now
this is not true. Market research
has to regain the higher
ground of genuine theories
about
consumer
behavior,
something data and analytics
will not provide on their own. The
customer satisfaction practice
has been sliced away from
traditional
market
research;
predictive analytics has also
been taken over by non market
research companies. This trend
will continue into other practice
areas. Market research needs
to redefine its role with some
urgency.
Survey research is
only one channel of data now.
Surveys have to remake their
image, they have to be better
constructed and their limitations
have to be acknowledged. At
the moment surveys are seen as
a universal tool, but that is not