Archive for the ‘Listening’ Category

19 February 2010

Traditional Market Researcher Saved by Online Communities

by Karen Barone

2 Comments »
All posts by Karen Barone

A lot has been written about the value Communispace brings to its clients . I, however, tend to selfishly focus on the benefits that Communispace brings to me…as a researcher and formerly frustrated focus group moderator.

Here are my top three focus group frustrations all alleviated by Communispace.

A lot has been written about the value Communispace brings to its clients . I, however, tend to selfishly focus on the benefits that Communispace brings to me…as a researcher and formerly frustrated focus group moderator.  

Here are my top three focus group frustrations all alleviated by Communispace.

1. The “That’s All Folks” Frustration:  Many of us have been there.  A focus group has come to an end, the audio/video tape has stopped recording and the clients in the back room are packing up their laptops when…it happens:  the respondents engage EACH OTHER in a conversation that is critical to the client’s business needs.  As a moderator you try to nose your way back into the conversation, you write down notes, you look directly into the two-way mirror and start flapping your arms to get the clients’ attention, but you know the truth:  Your next group starts in five minutes and these folks need to get going.  Opportunity lost.

In the community, these members would start their own activities and/or we’d be able to get back to them (and the whole community, if applicable) directly and probe further. 

2. The “That’s Very Helpful” Frustration:  More often than not, you can’t confidently tell focus group respondents how their feedback will be used.  Despite rumors that respondents are only there for a sandwich and a quick buck, I found respondents desperate to hear that their time has been worthwhile, their opinions respected and actionable. (In fact, some even requested a hug.  It’s true.)   It’s not surprising, respondents want connection and they want to feel (not hear) that their input is valued. 

Communities show members why and how they are valued.  By building long-term relationships, members and clients are often put in conversation with one another.  Part of creating a robust community is providing feedback on how member input is driving client business decisions. 

3. The “Are We There Yet” Frustration:  Travel.

Communities are online.  Enough said.  :)

Certainly, there are more than three ways that online communities alleviate focus group pain points. Stay tuned for an upcoming Vlog by yours truly and fellow blogger, Rocky Prozeller.

2 Responses to “Traditional Market Researcher Saved by Online Communities”

  1. Diane Hessan says:
    February 19, 2010 at 7:58 am

    Thanks Karen! Here are a few more: 1) More than 10 people — Hooray!; 2) If someone in the community is adding no value or being obnoxious, you can (nicely) kick them out; 3) You can circle back and ask follow-up questions; 4) THEY can circle back and add additional thoughts that occurred to them after the “event”; 5) It’s easy to search the community for content; 6) Cost-effectiveness — one month of a community, with 8-12 separate projects, is less expensive than 2 focus groups. I’ll stop now. :)

  2. Nelson Merchan says:
    February 20, 2010 at 4:29 pm

    Happy employees working for great companies deliver better results. Online communities are the way to go. Congratulations!

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26 January 2010

What is Research without Closing the Feedback Loop?

by Richard Weiss

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All posts by Richard Weiss

In our business they say insights can come from even the smallest nugget. Well the light bulb flashed on for me last night while enjoying some prime time television. Among the menagerie of ads for cars, electronics, and food was an ad for Domino’s Pizza. I know what you’re thinking, pizza ad? Must be a glamour shot of drippy cheese, crunchy crust, and sizzling pepperoni (heck, I’m getting hungry just writing about it). Wrong.

In our business they say insights can come from even the smallest nugget. Well the light bulb flashed on for me last night while enjoying some prime time television. Among the menagerie of ads for cars, electronics, and food was an ad for Domino’s Pizza. I know what you’re thinking, pizza ad? Must be a glamour shot of drippy cheese, crunchy crust, and sizzling pepperoni (heck, I’m getting hungry just writing about it). Wrong.

Instead the president and managers of Dominos Pizza admitted their guilt, internalized their feedback, and fed (no pun intended) it back to the customer. No hiding behind the numbers here. Focus groups, Twitter, and more told Domino’s that their pizza was bad from its cardboard crust to its ketchupy sauce. Despite my fond college memories of late night Domino’s deliveries, they revamped their pizza lineup with fresher ingredients, better recipes, and a new sense of pride. But they didn’t stop there, they did the most important act of all and told the customer what they did with their feedback (you can see the video here).

This is what I deem the crowning achievement of their hard work. Rather than squirreling their research away and perhaps never acting on it, Domino’s aired it out for us and showed us how they acted upon it. Hopefully, the feedback inspired customers to feel empowered, to know their voice counts, and to continue advising Domino’s and others on what the customer wants. After all, who doesn’t want to hear that they affected change in the age of the consumer?

2 Responses to “What is Research without Closing the Feedback Loop?”

  1. Jani Fraga says:
    January 26, 2010 at 7:11 am

    This “turn-around” trend is becoming more and more important in the economy today. It is vital for a customer’s voice to be heard in a time where everyone is pinching pennies. If I am going to order a pizza, am I going to order one where I have deemed their sauce ketchuppy? Pizza in my house has gone from weekend staple to a special occassion, and so to hear that Domino’s has heard my plea for a delicious treat? (Put my order in with yours, Rich! I am getting hungry too!)

    Crocs and Windows 7 have also based a lot of their ad campaigns on the buzz around their products. Windows’ campaign of “I invented Winndows 7″ or Crocs “I like the Crocs sneakers, but I will never wear the red ones” show that companies ARE listening, and the result is something we can all bite into :)

  2. Rob Markey says:
    January 28, 2010 at 7:12 pm

    Great article, Richard. In December, Harvard Business Review published an article we authored on exactly this topic. You can find it here: http://hbr.org/2009/12/closing-the-customer-feedback-loop/ar/1.

    The Dominos approach to this situation is really refreshing.

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20 January 2010

Everything You Need to Know about Social Media You Learned in Kindergarten

by Debi Kleiman

9 Comments »
All posts by Debi Kleiman

kidsI’m no social media expert, far from it in fact. I blog now and then, I’ve been a community manager for several years, I share pictures, and I like to tweet (@drkleiman) once in awhile. However, a few days ago while talking to someone who wanted some advice about participating in online communities and social networks, a funny thing happened. As I listened to the advice I was giving, it reminded me of that Robert Fulghum poem, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.

kidsI’m no social media expert, far from it in fact. I blog now and then, I’ve been a community manager for several years, I share pictures, and I like to tweet (@drkleiman) once in awhile. However, a few days ago while talking to someone who wanted some advice about participating in online communities and social networks, a funny thing happened. As I listened to the advice I was giving, it reminded me of that Robert Fulghum poem, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. 

If you think about it, it’s really that simple, the rules of engaging online are basic, human goodness even a 6-year-old can understand. Most of what you really need to know about social media, whether you are an individual or a major brand, you learned in kindergarten.

Here are few examples:

  1. Share – make sure what you do online using social media is worth sharing or at least not wasted space. It is after all called social media for a reason. You should try to provide value to your followers and make sure your participation in a community is adding something to the overall experience.
  2. Remember the Golden Rule – treat people how you want to be treated. Be nice, don’t yell, use your manners, have fun, and make friends.
  3. Be curious – Try some new things and be open to being clueless. Our CEO, Diane Hessan(@CommunispaceCEO) got on Twitter to try an experiment and poke around—she’s learned a lot from it and in turn has become a source of great information to her over 8,000 followers.
  4. Be a good sport – We all make mistakes, if you make one, own up to it—say you’re sorry. People will forgive you and may even respect you more for your honesty and good humor.
  5. Listen – You’ll be amazed what you hear. There’s a ton to learn using social media if you stop shouting and just listen.

Ok, so my personal favorite, compliments of my own 6-year-old is “take naps” however in this case it doesn’t relate. Or does it?

What are some others?

9 Responses to “Everything You Need to Know about Social Media You Learned in Kindergarten”

  1. Will @Deshair Foskey says:
    January 20, 2010 at 6:29 pm

    Reward – six year olds like Gold Stars, or any symbol of accomplishment. Although my Life Coach blog is very young, I am lining up a giveaway next month. Lots of goodies :)

  2. jwallace says:
    January 20, 2010 at 7:13 pm

    “taking naps” absolutely makes sense! This is the best guideline I’ve found thus far!! and simple to follow ;o)

  3. Dave Armon says:
    January 21, 2010 at 8:34 am

    Agreed. Nap time can only make us better communicators.

    Is the SM version of the Gold Star the badges we earn for checking in on FourSquare?

  4. Debi Kleiman says:
    January 21, 2010 at 9:26 am

    jwallace – maybe “nap time” in regards to social media is the idea that sometimes you should take a break from it! Some things are better said or done in person; or there can be a tendency to get addicted to your online social life… so taking time away for it, for a “nap” of sorts, is just good sense.

  5. Debi Kleiman says:
    January 21, 2010 at 9:28 am

    Will, I like the idea of rewards – makes me think about gaming too, also a part of social. Using rewards (tangible and intangible) can make the community stronger and more interesting! Thanks for adding that.

  6. Lisa Cahn says:
    January 21, 2010 at 10:37 am

    How about
    6: don’t run (walk/tread slowly) with SHARP objects (or words or anything that can harm yourself or others….
    Be wise about what you say and do

    7: READ and do PUZZLES…it develops and hones your mind skills. Do your research. Surf the web for ideas, but don’t forget to give CREDIT where CREDIT is due (no copying!!!)

    8: PAINT a picture of what you or your business are or want to be…make new pictures often…put them up with magnets on the fridge…watch your evolution…be proud of your talents (humbly of course)

    9: Put things back where they belong…be ORGANISED…protect the earth; reuse, recycle, wash carefully, cut up old magazines but read the stories! Don’t forget your /the past…

    10: Taking naps is ESSENTIAL to healthy life

  7. Josh Bernoff says:
    February 3, 2010 at 8:55 am

    From your keyboard to god’s ears . . . you are right but civility is a hard thing to earn. Gizmodo just shut down comments since people weren’t being civil.

  8. Joseph Kingsbury says:
    February 23, 2010 at 8:12 am

    Deb, these are great common sense principles. Building on your point about listening, making an earnest effort to interact instead of just broadcasting pays dividends. Social media aside, it just makes sense, even to Kindergarteners.

    Most of us would rather talk *with* someone than be talked *at* and we appreciate when people respond to us. Sometimes that even compels us to share on behalf of someone else. And solely getting inundated with someone’s stuff isn’t a relationship.

    It sounds simple and yet many companies seem to disregard fundamentals… thanks for the post.

    Joseph Kingsbury, Text 100

  9. Barbara Vogel says:
    February 24, 2010 at 10:42 am

    Golden rule indeed! My condo had an online discussion board for owners and tenants to share info, etc. I was shocked at how nasty and uncalled for some of the responses were to some of the questions posted. The property management company eventually shut down the discussion board. If people are rude offline, they will probably be rude online as well.

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19 January 2010

How to Sell Listening to Your Organization

by Guest Blogger: Joel Rubinson

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First, let me thank Communispace for inviting me to be a guest blogger. I think I’ll ask Diane to return the favor on my blog in the near future.

Now the topic…

People who are involved with listening approaches (mining conversations in blogs, managed communities, etc.) get a little frustrated sometimes; they ask me for guidance of how to sell listening.

First, let me thank Communispace for inviting me to be a guest blogger.  I think I’ll ask Diane to return the favor on my blog in the near future.

Now the topic…

People who are involved with listening approaches (mining conversations in blogs, managed communities, etc.) get a little frustrated sometimes; they ask me for guidance of how to sell listening.

Here is my advice; don’t think of this as research.  Think of it as process reinvention.

For example, consider how an organization might reinvent its innovation process.  How could any informed marketer, when rethinking innovation in an era of social media, NOT integrate listening into the innovation process?  Listening is about hearing what people rather than the marketer wants to talk about, and hearing it in people’s own words.  It’s a window in the mind, heart and emotions of people, one you need to have your nose pressed up against continuously.  Because things change…really fast…giving agile marketers great opportunities leaving traditional marketers wearing the WTF happened look on their faces.

Traditionally, research has been at the fuzzy front end with qual and downstream with volumetric concept or concept/product testing.  Listening is about realizing that things change constantly.  Consumer needs are not linear and scheduled, they change at any time.  If there is no linear process, there is no fuzzy front-END; this is continuous and listening is essential.  Your concept testing must morph into learning experiments instead of magic number idea killers.  If you missed the action standard, learn why.  Is the underlying premise wrong or the idea impractical from a business point of view?  If not, keep working at; if yes, move on.

Now it gets even crazier.  Innovation is not just about creating new “things” with new features.  Brands are experiences and the innovation might come from a connection made via social media.  For Unilever’s Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, the innovation is in the media—creating social media environments, videos, and events that were intended to change people’s concept of beauty in a way that would enhance female self-esteem.  It was a great and innovative thing to do and not a new SKU in sight!

Now if the fuzzy front end is really a continuous backdrop requiring listening, it also means that there is little difference between new product innovation and existing brand sense and respond.  It’s all about a marketer intersecting their assets with emerging needs to serve people—add value to daily human life—who cares if you do that via media, new products, or rethinking your existing brand?  It’s about the need, not your brand management structure.

In an era when 300 million or more are on Facebook, where word of mouth is becoming one of the most trusted sources of advice, and where people love sharing their feelings online in communities, how can a marketer not want to tap into this constant and organic flow of conversations?

IMHO, that’s how you sell listening.

To learn more about how to become an agent of change for your organization regarding listening, come to the ARF’s workshop on Jan 28th in San Francisco, “Putting Listening to Work”.  All attendees will also receive a copy of our just published book, “The ARF Listening Playbook” which contains 35 great success stories that wouldn’t have happened without listening.

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30 December 2009

Was Ben Franklin an Early American Blogger?

by Mollie Garberg

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All posts by Mollie Garberg

BenFranklinOn my way to a recent conference, a stranger standing next to me in the elevator posed that question to me. Sometimes it’s the off-occurrences in life that stick with you and I’ve been contemplating the question ever since.

I was representing Communispace on a panel at the Wharton Interactive Media Initiative/Marketing Science Institute’s conference on the Emergence and Impact of User-Generated Content. Some of the best academics from across the world were gathering to discuss the collective impact that empowered internet users are having on companies and organizations.

BenFranklinOn my way to a recent conference, a stranger standing next to me in the elevator posed that question to me. Sometimes it’s the off-occurrences in life that stick with you and I’ve been contemplating the question ever since.

I was representing Communispace on a panel at the Wharton Interactive Media Initiative/Marketing Science Institute’s conference on the Emergence and Impact of User-Generated Content. Some of the best academics from across the world were gathering to discuss the collective impact that empowered internet users are having on companies and organizations.

I heard over the course of two days some of the most current thinking on topics like the role online communities play in innovation; the potential for text mining across the web in understanding stock performance; along with the benefits and pitfalls of crowd-sourcing new ideas, just to name a few.

You and I have already heard that we are living in a brave new world of fast, intense, hyper-sharing of information and opinion because of the advent of the internet and social media. But I have to say the excitement at the conference about the potential for better understanding and responding to the needs of consumers, investors, patients…people worldwide was absolutely palpable.

As I think more about it, technology has seemingly always been playing catch up to human expression, whether it was the printing press allowing for an autobiography like Ben Franklin’s to be broadly distributed or YouTube making homemade videos consumable. We now need to not only read text contributions but also evaluate digital images, audio and video that people post to really ‘listen’ to them effectively. We can never stop thinking about the next methods they’ll come up with. 

My initial knee-jerk reaction to the question in the elevator was to laugh but if you think about it in the context of the technology of the time and the innovation in personal expression and message it represented, Ben Franklin may indeed have been our first American blogger.

2 Responses to “Was Ben Franklin an Early American Blogger?”

  1. Tom Summit says:
    December 30, 2009 at 12:12 pm

    I agree with you. Not only is Ben Franklin one of my personal idols, but most certainly Ben Franklin was the original hacker and blogger http://blog.bos.genotrope.com/2007/08/14/ben-franklin-was-a-hacker/

  2. Chuck Katz says:
    January 6, 2010 at 8:55 am

    Very good point! And some have described his aphorisms in “Poor Richard’s Almanack” as the first tweets. Truly an amazing man.

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8 December 2009

Are Your Customers Responding or Sharing?

by Bill Alberti

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All posts by Bill Alberti

I’m a member of a consumer research panel. I get emails about once a month asking me to respond to a survey or two from a well respected management consulting firm. The surveys are about 25–30 questions in length and take about fifteen minutes to complete.

I respond to their questions but must admit: I kinda tune out after about question twelve, especially when it sounds an awful lot like question seven. And then I begin wondering why they’re asking this in the first place; what am I gonna have for lunch; and what really is the difference between “somewhat agree” and “somewhat disagree”?

I’m a member of a consumer research panel. I get emails about once a month asking me to respond to a survey or two from a well respected management consulting firm. The surveys are about 25–30 questions in length and take about fifteen minutes to complete.

I respond to their questions but must admit: I kinda tune out after about question twelve, especially when it sounds an awful lot like question seven. And then I begin wondering why they’re asking this in the first place; what am I gonna have for lunch; and what really is the difference between “somewhat agree” and “somewhat disagree”?

On this panel I’m a respondent. I’m not me. I don’t open-up. I’ll click the box; drag-and-drop my response; or rate the following on a scale of 1–5 all day long. However, at the end of the survey, the esteemed consulting firm won’t know me any better than they did before I took their survey. They will know my responses. And while I’m trying my best to tell the truth with each response, I feel like I’m doing a terrible job at it. I feel like a subject in a study, not like myself.

My experience as a respondent (and seemingly like the experiences of others) begs a pretty important question for this consulting firm. Are your findings from your research actually right? While they may be “statistically significant,” “nationally representative,” or “projectable” they may not be “true.” And that’s a problem… a pretty big one.

So maybe the question is not, “how ‘statistically significant’ is the data?” but “how ‘personally significant’ is it?” Are people opening up and sharing their intimate thoughts and emotions or are they simply responding to what you’re asking?

I feel like I could be a lot more helpful to the consulting firm (and their clients) if we had a conversation. If I knew someone was listening and not just crunching my data. If I could share ideas with other like-minded people and build on theirs. If the conversation were facilitated by someone who cared what I had to say rather than presented as a forced set of questions.

Instead, the panel company, the consulting firm and their clients keep me at a distance—only asking what they want to know, how they want to know it. They have my data points to point to but they don’t have me. They aren’t engaging me. And as a result, they don’t know me. 

So ask yourself, do you really know your customers, or do you know their data points? Are you treating them like respondents or like people you want to get to know?

One Response to “Are Your Customers Responding or Sharing?”

  1. Praz says:
    December 13, 2009 at 6:41 pm

    Interesting post, I think the Online Panel Industry is going through a revolution of sorts (who isn’t?) with Social Media becoming more and more mainstream. I’ve long argued that simply “asking” people questions in a more siloed manner rarely gets accurate or “rich” results.

    The sentence below perfectly captures the sentiment here.

    “On this panel I’m a respondent. I’m not me. I don’t open-up. I’ll click the box; drag-and-drop my response; or rate the following on a scale of 1–5 all day long. However, at the end of the survey, the esteemed consulting firm won’t know me any better than they did before I took their survey”

    When the dialogue and conversations is 1 way people KNOW they are a mere figure or stat, that their “responses will be grouped with those of other people so they won’t be recognized” which in turns somewhat defeats the purpose of Social Media and Communities as this field is a) about recognition and the having your voice heard by joining the conversation and 2) they’re in it just for the incentives.

    Also love this point here: “So maybe the question is not, “how ‘statistically significant’ is the data?” but “how ‘personally significant’ is it?”

    In our obsession with “methodology”, we’ve started to over-look the basic art of listening to what people are talking about already. Are you more likely to get richer insights from a 1-way Online Survey with Respondents? Or from a Community of people who use the product, and are either advocates (or “haters”) of it? I’d personally say the latter!

    I’ll be sharing this on my blog too….thanks for a interesting read,

    Regards,

    Praz

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4 December 2009

Yahoo! What The Top Searches of 2009 Might Tell Us

by Diane Hessan

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All posts by Diane Hessan

Jon Keller, of WBZ-TV, recently asked for my perspective on Yahoo!’s “Most Popular Web Searches for 2009”. If you haven’t read the list yet, guess what made the Top Ten. What might we have wondered about in 2009? Obama? The war in Iraq? Sarah Palin? Twitter? Mad Men? AIG?

Jon Keller, of WBZ-TV, recently asked for my perspective on Yahoo!’s “Most Popular Web Searches for 2009”. If you haven’t read the list yet, guess what made the Top Ten. What might we have wondered about in 2009? Obama? The war in Iraq? Sarah Palin? Twitter? Mad Men? AIG? 

Most people I interviewed were surprised at the results:  a roundup of pop culture icons—and escapist activities ranging from video games to WWF to American Idol. There are many implications of the results, not the least of which is that as marketers we shouldn’t assume we understand what occupies people’s minds these days, because we’d probably get it wrong. Here’s the link to the Jon Keller piece, where he and I agree that our collective fascination with relatively “shallow” topics is probably more related to needed therapy in stressful times than it is to a Cultural Armageddon. I’d be interested in your thoughts.

2 Responses to “Yahoo! What The Top Searches of 2009 Might Tell Us”

  1. Twitted by CommunispaceCEO says:
    December 4, 2009 at 10:56 am

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4 December 2009

Market Research and the Transformative Power of Listening

by James Bailey

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All posts by James Bailey

Vice President of Research Solutions at Meredith Corporation, and Communispace client, Britta Ware sits down with Charlene Weisler, of Weisler Media to discuss “the role of research, how print and research are evolving, media mix modeling, data matching, trends and predictions, and audience targeting for print”. Through a series of 6 quick interviews, Britta provides a unique perspective on the state of the media and publishing industry (online and print) and how specific research can be used to more effectively target the right audience.

Vice President of Research Solutions at Meredith Corporation, and Communispace client, Britta Ware sits down with Charlene Weisler, of  Weisler Media to discuss “the role of research, how print and research are evolving, media mix modeling, data matching, trends and predictions, and audience targeting for print”. Through a series of 6 quick interviews, Britta provides a unique perspective on the state of the media and publishing industry (online and print) and how specific research can be used to more effectively target the right audience.

In the clip below, Britta talks about how Meredith is harnessing the power of listening deeply to their audience and engaging them to drive innovation and growth in a dynamic and competitive market.  Their private community is part of the mix.


Click here to view the full interview.

You can also read the research paper Britta references here.

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  1. Pollster.com: Market Research Trends for 2010 | Key Concepts Marketing Wisdom says:
    December 6, 2009 at 1:22 pm

    [...] Market Research and the Transformative Power of Listening « Verbatim [...]

  2. My Passion: Seven Tips for Online Retail Marketing | Key Concepts Marketing Wisdom says:
    December 6, 2009 at 11:45 pm

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1 December 2009

A New Day for Market Research

by Debi Kleiman

12 Comments »
All posts by Debi Kleiman

It feels a little different now, something is in the air. Now, people can’t get enough of customer insights, it’s the connective tissue in the body of business growth. It used to be that market research was this staid, project thing—have a question? Do a study! That just doesn’t work in today’s marketplace where customer attitudes and behaviors quickly become outdated, as markets and needs move at the speed of light.

It feels a little different now, something is in the air. Now, people can’t get enough of customer insights, it’s the connective tissue in the body of business growth. It used to be that market research was this staid, project thing—have a question? Do a study! That just doesn’t work in today’s marketplace where customer attitudes and behaviors quickly become outdated, as markets and needs move at the speed of light.

Last week, I saw two things that made me really excited to be in the customer insights business. First, colleagues who attended the ARF Research Transformation initiative meeting in early November relayed some quotes from a speech made by ARF CRO Joel Rubinson, like this one:

“…marketers must become fast learning organizations. Researchers need to become agents of change to help the organizations they serve transform in this way. Such organizations realize that great ideas can come from anywhere and that there is shared control with consumers. To serve such organizations, the researcher’s role, must expand beyond measurement to also listening for the unexpected in order to inspire the organization.” (My emphasis was added.)

Inspiration!! Yes!! Inspiring takes things to a whole new level, and really, if businesses are serious about customer centricity, shouldn’t the customer be the muse? Isn’t this the way for insights to be strategic and game-changing—not just gathering dust in a binder on the shelf?

Then, to further add to this feeling there’s something big happening… BCG published a study stating that nearly 90% of blue-chip companies aren’t fully leveraging their market research functions because they are simply order takers instead of strategic partners generating breakthrough insights. In the best companies, researchers can answer the “so what” in a meaningful way and provide senior executives with perspective critical to their decision making. Wake up people! It’s time to seize the day!

Given the rapid growth of online market research, especially customer communities, (which according Forrester Research analyst Tamara Barber, is only going to continue to gather steam), there is a huge opportunity for customer insights professionals to get a seat at the C-table. They can have a connection to the voice of their customer (or non customer as the case may be) at all times. They have a listening channel to hear the unexpected—new, fresh, ever-changing perspective, to impact their business decisions both large and small. They can “bring it” every day.

I think we are at an inflection point in our industry; it’s time for transformation to take hold and bring about this new order for market research—customer insights are going to be the lifeblood for organizations that want to thrive in continuous change. (We recently did a webinar which talked about the change in thinking that’s needed for 21st century market research, and how insight communities can meet these needs; listen to the full session here.) Are you seeing this too? What do you think needs to happen to make researchers the “agents of change” in this new business order?

12 Responses to “A New Day for Market Research”

  1. Ken says:
    December 1, 2009 at 10:13 am

    Great post Debi. Terrific content and writing. A must read.

  2. Randy says:
    December 1, 2009 at 10:54 am

    Good insight! I’ve seen so many companies not leverage project results to their fullest. Plus mkt research groups within co’s are too dug into the weeds these days. There needs to be a layer of customer insight pro’s who are the trend spotters, and communicate to c-level. You can’t be digging through the weeds of SPSS, AND spotting the trends, AND pulling the slides together, AND working with c-level on “what’s actionable” on a daily basis.

  3. Twitted by drkleiman says:
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  4. Michael Troiano (@miketrap) says:
    December 2, 2009 at 5:11 am

    Amen. Market research is dead. Long live the fast learning marketer…

  5. Rachel Happe says:
    December 2, 2009 at 5:45 am

    Great post Debi -

    I couldn’t agree more and actually I see the secret sauce of all communities being very actionable, real-time, insights. The companies that use their communities to do this will have huge advantages if they can figure out how to quickly roll insights into corporate operations. Of course, all of that is predicated on being able to build robust communities… and that is not small feat and a barrier for many companies at the moment.

    Carry on with the great work you guys do :)

    Rachel

  6. David Meiselman (@dmeiselman) says:
    December 2, 2009 at 6:52 am

    Right on Debi!

    I think what you are driving at is also a corollary of the relationship development aspect of social media and leveraging communities for customer insight. Good insights SHOULD come from good relationships. As we move past the era of mass marketing and into the one of social connectedness at scale, the insights the marketer can get through customer relationships provide a real opportunity to listen to the customer at scale…

    To use one of those old SAT-like analogies, perhaps as Traditional Market Research was to Mass-Marketing, Customer Communities will be to Social Media Marketing…

  7. Cathy Harrison says:
    December 2, 2009 at 6:57 am

    Absolutely agree – these are exciting times. Too often still corporate researchers are excluded from key strategic meetings where they can get a full understanding of the issues. Cross-functional teams (always including a researcher) are the most effective way for companies to get a holistic perspective of the issues/opportunities and work towards a common goal. In the less progressive companies there is a disconnect between product development, brand management, marketing, sales, and customer service – driven by turf wars and inefficiencies. The researchers I know are intelligent and creative, fully capable of evolving with the times, but they need the support of the top executives. Sometimes a change in structure (and accountability) needs to come before a change in thinking occurs.

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    December 2, 2009 at 7:00 am

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  9. Debi Kleiman says:
    December 2, 2009 at 12:08 pm

    Great comments! Thanks! I am so excited to see the energy around this topic.

    It is about speed and actionability that leads to increased relevance – the holy grail of insight right Rachel? We’re digging deep for it every day, lucky to have amazing curious clients. Thanks. :)

    I agree Cathy, a change in structure could help the mindset shift. I think c-suite says they want insights but then doesn’t make it a priority to go to the source or make it a continuous feed. I think there’s something in the way insight gets served up in organizations that can make all the difference too. It needs to paint a picture, tell a story – inspire!

    So true David, and it creates huge possibilities to learn even more than ever before. It’s a true shift and the market researchers that harness it and recognize the value in these new relationships, rather than getting hung up on the technicalities, I think, are going to be the leaders going forward. Love your analogy!!

    Randy, it’s interesting to think that maybe there needs to be a “translator” skill set for insight pro’s –or a strategy layer on top to help bridge the divide to executives day to day decision making and what they are learning with consumers. Another idea — how about if executives incentives were aligned with how well they truly “get” their consumers. Could there be a measure for this?

    What else? Tell me more of what’s on your mind here…

  10. Barbara Bix says:
    December 3, 2009 at 10:09 am

    Hi Debi,

    Couldn’t agree with you more–yet so few B2B businesses gather market insights as a regular part of their daily operations. Sure, Sales is out there with prospects and customers but they don’t have the time–and aren’t financially motivated to share to disseminate what they learn–with the rest of the organization.

    It was interesting to note that Pragmatic Marketing’s recent survey noted that product managers are working hard on product roadmaps and marketing requirements–yet are spending very little time with prospects, customers or marketing research. It makes one wonder how they get products and communications right.

    Perhaps they’re not. I just sat in on a Marketing Sherpa presentation that said that getting the message right is a key concern for B2B businesses–so I hope they do start taking advantage of social media venues to get easier access to customer insights.

    That said I think the trend is moving in the right direction. With growing interest in web analytics, marketing automation, etc., companies see the impact customer insights can make–and that dearly held assumptions about customer preferences are not always valid.

  11. PRESS RELEASE: GM Announces Leadership Changes – Automotive News | Management Business Wisdom says:
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  12. foibles says:
    December 9, 2009 at 9:21 am

    speed and actionability indeed. It’s important to be agile. Tools for tracking raw trends and sentiments ‘in the wild’ have a use but they are often crude because the data hose is so fat and noisy (think: Twitter). Polling and surveys still have a place at the table, albeit adjusted for new media platforms. zoomerang’s facebook app comes to mind as one tool for fast action.

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3 November 2009

It’s Okay to Follow the Crowd!

by Guest Blogger: Roy Dykes from Network Solutions

Comment »

So what’s all this talk of crowdsourcing anyway?

First, let’s ground ourselves on what we’re talking about when we refer to the term crowdsourcing. In general, we are talking about outsourcing a job or task to an undefined, generally large group or community. Naturally and fortunately, the Internet, by its very nature, makes this easier and highly scalable.

So what’s all this talk of crowdsourcing anyway?

First, let’s ground ourselves on what we’re talking about when we refer to the term crowdsourcing. In general, we are talking about outsourcing a job or task to an undefined, generally large group or community. Naturally and fortunately, the Internet, by its very nature, makes this easier and highly scalable.

Various models are still evolving, but good examples include intellectually challenging projects like those found on InnoCentive to the more rote style work that can be found at Amazon’s Mechanical Turk site. At its most rudimentary form, one could even argue that online auctions, which have been around for a while, are a form of crowdsourcing.

From a design standpoint, arguments have been made on both sides as whether crowdsourcing an online logo or web design cheapens the work of a designer. I, for one don’t believe so. In fact, in a sense, it serves as a catalyst for competition, which is ultimately good for the industry, good for customers, good for everyone. I see it as a 1+1=3 equation. In the models where there is only one deemed “winner,” as long as they are able to be contacted by the buyer, a single crowdsourcing project can easily benefit multiple designers. Winning a design or even simply interacting with the project leader/customer can also be the fast track to a new, ongoing relationship (i.e., new client) as well.

Because the crowdsourcing concept is still relatively new—well, in Internet time at least, I am anxiously watching to see how it will evolve and in particular, the clever ways in which it can be monetized. 

To experience the phenomenon for yourself, try Network Solutions’ new Freelance Logo Design service on the Network Solutions Storefront.

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