Articles

A Panel by any Other Name - Online Consultation Examined

Governments all over the world are starting to harness the power of online consultation, using technology in an effective manner to engage citizens.

It seems we've been looking at one side of the coin for too long. While we've been focusing on the great research applications for online panels, others have been using the same technology to engage community groups in insightful discussions and gather valuable feedback on public policy issues. Here are just a few examples of online panels in innovative settings.

Parliamentary Select Committees in the United Kingdom have completed a series of successful Internet panels over the past two years, on topics such as human reproductive technologies and constitutional reform. These forums have allowed public servants to go beyond statistics, and get citizens directly involved in the consultation process.
(http://www.tellparliament.net)

In the United States, regulations.gov has enabled Americans to have a say on a variety of existing federal guidelines. The use of online technology makes it easier for citizens to voice their concerns, providing lawmakers with immediate feedback on the effectiveness of specific policies.
(http://www.regulations.gov)

In Denmark, the Danish National IT and Telecom Agency collaborated on a project that sought to encourage public discussion on several issues. Citizens offered instant responses to regional and local administrations that were in turn able to proceed with reforms to a development plan and review the allocation of city expenses.
(http://www.danmarksdebatten.dk)

In Germany, the City of Hamburg opted to use online tools to seek detailed ideas on a simple task: making Hamburg grow. The ensuing panel resulted in thousands of positive ideas that would have been hard to come by through traditional means. The unique proposals identified by the city eventually became the blueprint for Hamburg?s new urban strategy.
(http://www.wachsende-stadt.hamburg.de/index-flash.html)

It is clear why governments are relying on technology for consultation. Participants can access forums from virtually any location in the world at any time, without any special training. The results come at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods, with a low refusal rating, a quick turnaround, and the possibility of incorporating visual tools to enhance the participant experience.

Posted on February 3, 2005
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Junk Email on the Rise - What can you do?

In the year since the US passed the Can Spam Act, junk email has risen almost 30%.

Just over a year ago the US Federal Government passed the Can Spam Act, essentially banning unsolicited junk email. Despite this, unsolicited email has come to total almost 80 percent (or perhaps more) of all email sent, well up from 50 to 60 percent before the legislation was passed - this as reported in the February 1st, 2005 edition of The New York Times.

While the marketing research industry has been relatively proactive in the use of double opt-in email lists when conducting research online, we certainly contribute to the perceived problem of overwhelming in-boxes around the globe, similar to how the industry contributed to the do not call legislation that banned annoying and unwanted telephone calls.

The research industry is now facing the same challenge online that it has been fighting for well over 10 years offline - unscrupulous and annoying direct marketing efforts are threatening the life blood of the industry by decreasing respondent cooperation, which in turn creates concerns regarding non-response error, survey bias, and generally unreliable response rates.

This may sound familiar if you're in the research industry, but all is not doom-and-gloom; there is hope! It comes in the form of online custom panels, which use gold standard research practices in terms of respondent cooperation. You'll have respondents inviting your emails into their in-boxes.

Custom Panels provide the research industry with an opportunity to engage respondents in survey research, with encouragement through the intelligent use of incentives, without being considered 'SPAM'. Recruiting respondents using appropriate double opt-in techniques creates the impression that survey research is 'different', thereby not overextending potential respondent's goodwill. Custom Panels provide researchers with the ability to not only use double opt-in research techniques, they provide the ability to shorten the length of surveys, and launch them more frequently (cognitive recall of participating in a panel decreases the likelihood that email invitations are considered SPAM). Recruit once, invite regularly,

It is only after we as an industry elevate our best practices that we will achieve the collective benefit of higher respondent cooperation rates and a disassociation with email marketers. Developing a custom online panel to service your marketing research program can ensure that you engage your respondents with positive online research experiences, and assist the research industry as a whole to rise above the SPAM!

Posted on February 1, 2005
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The Best & the Brightest - Julie Ishiwara

We couldn't keep this place running without them, so we thought we should share them with you. This bi-monthly feature is about the people behind the scenes that keep this ship afloat.

Name:	Julie Akemi Ishiwara
Title:	Account Manager
Age:	311 full moons
Height:	40800 pixels, in high resolution
Nickname as a child:	Ju-jube
Likes:	Entertaining friends, Fashion, Decorating & I have to admit gambling...
Dislikes:	Closed toed shoes (I think my coworkers can attest to that!)

How long have you been at Vision Critical?
I started things off at Vision Critical a year and a half ago, when it was a third of its size. We've come a long way since then and still managed to maintain a diverse group of fun, intelligent, and dedicated individuals.

What role do you play at VC?
I help our clients set up and customize their Panel+ platforms from start to finish.

What accomplishments are you proud of?
I was honored this year with the one and only "Always Smiling Award".

What is your educational background and how does it benefit VC clients?
I have a degree from UBC with a major in Psychology and minor in the English Language. University taught me how to multi-task, build relationships and take in the invaluable knowledge others possess.

What major improvements in products or service delivery have you seen in your lengthy tenure at Vision Critical?
Vision Critical's products and services have come a long way since I first started. I think Fusion and Panel+ are phenomenal research tools, and with each product we sell it's great to see how our clients are taking ownership and making the research world more innovative and exciting.

What do you like most about Vision Critical? I think that each and every employee of Vision Critical contributes greatly to our success in the industry. It also helps that we know how to have fun from time to time while still getting our work done.

This piece was brought to you by: many furry monkeys, the number 4 and the letter J.

Posted on January 23, 2005
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Panel+ 3.0 : Advanced User Tip #1

What on earth is a data map anyway?

Did you know that you can export data from a combination of different studies into a single file with a few simple mouse clicks? It's as easy as creating a custom data map and using the data export function within your Panel+ platform. You can easily take demographic information collected in your profiling questionnaire and export it along with the information gathered in a recent study.

First you need to make your way to the Panel Management section of your platform, and then click on the Export Data button. Choose your preferred file format (CSV, Fixed Width, or SPSS) and click the Custom Data Map option. You will be presented with a list of all the studies within your panel. Choose your Profiling Questionnaire and select the questions or responses you want to include in your export. You have now added the demographic information to your data file. Then, select the current study. You can choose the entire study, a few questions or even select responses. When you are satisfied with your selections, save your data map, enter your email address, and the export file will arrive in your inbox in a few minutes.

So, as you can see, in only a few simple steps you can create a custom file which contains all of the information you need to perform detailed analysis within the data package of your choice. Consult your manual or call your Vision Critical representative to learn more about the new features in Panel+ 3.0.

Posted on January 15, 2005
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A New Era in Customer Driven Marketing - Part Three

Two Interrelated Panel Options...

Branded Panels:
The branded panel, as the name suggests, are those where the members/ respondents know the identity of the end client and have some affiliation with this entity because they buy their products or services, shop at their stores or - in the case of an association - are a member. The advantage of these panels is that they are generally inexpensive to recruit and have high levels of cooperation because respondents or members are anxious to share their views with a service or product provider that they use.

HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES:
A national retail chain in a "high involvement" category such as fashion, electronics or food sets up an internet panel of consumers using invitations either at point of purchase or (if they have a reward program) via direct mail. Panelists can be "rewarded" for their participation through coupons, contests or "points". Very large panels can be assembled for relatively little cost and used to track everything from store level satisfaction to attitudes towards new promotions and products.

A consumer electronics manufacturer adjusts its online warranty registration program to include a customer satisfaction questionnaire. In addition every 100th new customer is invited to join their ongoing customer advisory council. This panel grows over time and is used to longitudinally track Retailers - satisfaction with service and support, provide feedback on new products, and examine new advertising concepts. Panelists are rewarded with draws for products and through a coupon program.

Manufacturers - An association in a major disease category such as Diabetes builds a panel of members in order to gauge opinions on breaking issues and evaluate attitudes towards association communications. The association sells access to the panel to pharmaceutical companies active in the category thereby providing needed information and a revenue stream.

Associations - A national courier company creates a panel from a sample of its customer base in order to track levels of customer satisfaction and examine attitudes towards new product offerings and pricing plans.

Business Services - An international hotel chain catering to the lucrative but often hard to poll business travel market builds a panel of frequent stay customers and provides an incentive to join (and participate in individual surveys) via its reward/ loyalty program.

Human Resources - A fast food restaurant chain wants to better understand its employee base - most of whom are young and work part time. An internet panel is the optimal solution since it allows for a quick reading of employee sentiment (including reaction to HR communications).

Media - A prominent daily newspaper builds a panel from existing subscriber lists combined with website visitors into order to gauge reaction to major news stories, examine new editorial features and assist its sales department by providing panel access to key advertisers.

Total Market Panels: So called "blind panels" or "total market panels" (TMP) are constructed such that members/ respondents do not know the identity of the ultimate user. Typically they allow for successive snapshots of an entire market category rather than just the users of a particular product or service. Although typically more expensive to build and maintain on a per panelist basis, the TMP provides a wealth of ongoing information on the behaviour and attitudes of both a client's customers and those of its competition. These panels are usually significantly smaller in size than branded panels since much of the detailed location specific information needed in branded applications isn't necessary for most TMP applications.

Access to TMP type panels has been available from major market research companies for many years. Many buyers have complained however about the high cost of using these panels coupled with the uncertainty about what other surveys respondents may have participated in that could bias their responses. Prior to the development of the internet building most clients could not afford to build and maintain their own TMPs. But now that's changing.

TMPs can now be developed by end clients and their research suppliers in a wide range of high involvement categories. Some examples of TMPs include:

• Consumers involved in fitness
• Cat owners
• Retail level security investors
• Frequent Travelers
• Cruise Ship users
• Computer gaming fans
• Golfers
• Gardeners
• Cigar smokers

In fact it's possible to build a TMP for just about any area or market activity. Recruitment approaches vary widely, from the many opt in lists currently available through web companies, to partnership arrangements with publications and media outlets heavily involved in these categories. Indeed some of the Branded Panels discussed earlier become ideal TMPs for other users - often providing a separate revenue source for the Branded Panel owner.

THE ULTIMATE BENEFIT: PANEL OWNERSHIP
For all but the most sophisticated end users, market research has always been a tool that depends heavily on outside contractors who design surveys, carry them out using their extensive telephone facilities and issue voluminous reports of their findings. Indeed the fundamental business model of telephone based research heavily favours outsourcing; phone centers are expensive to operate and, like airlines and hotels, are most efficient when approaching peak capacity. And since this type of research is expensive, access to this resource is closely guarded with the number of surveys kept to a minimum and only used for the most critical issues.

But in the new world of internet research panels an entirely different equation emerges - one that lessens reliance on outside contractors and makes consumer and customer feedback a regular part of day to day operations. New software solutions now provide end clients with the tools to build their own panels, quickly deploy individual surveys and instantly analyze the results.

Consider the case of a beer company which decided to build its own TMP. In the old world weekly requests for marketplace feedback from brand managers, advertising agencies or public affairs were carefully aligned in relations to cost and timing considerations. At $20,000 plus and at least several weeks for implementation for an individual tactical study, marketing personnel would constantly be forced to deal with the cost/ reward balance. Major providers of these tools include GMI, MarketTools, and Vision Critical.

Today a beer company which invests $100,000 in a national beer oriented TMP (or even less in a branded panel) can have an in house asset which depending on study length can accommodate twelve to twenty studies per year. For the cost of five old world telephone studies the beer manufacturer can investigate its market on specific issues four times as often. The added benefit is that most of the beer companies customers would prefer this form of interaction and can react immediately to video and other images embedded in panel surveys. Also with most panel software it's not necessary to continue asking demographic and other background questions in each successive survey. Most good panel software systems "remember" every answer to every question.

Nowhere is the benefit of Internet research more apparent than for clients who choose to own their panels. Now clients can contract for help on questionnaire design or the analysis of their data only when the require it, while leaving the new software solutions and the power of the internet to do the expensive heavy lifting. In an age where getting "close to the customer" is the mantra of management gurus and business schools this value equation is difficult to ignore.

	TELEPHONE SURVEYS	INTERNET PANEL SURVEYS
RESPONDENT COMFORT	Low - must be at home/work deal with complete stranger	High - complete on own agenda, no need to re-ask demographic questions
ACCURACY	Increasingly problematic with 80% plus refusal rate	Rapidly improving with growing Internet penetration
SPEED	Slow - most surveys take three to four weeks	Fast - results usually available in a few days
FLEXIBILITY	Very limited - only the spoken word is communicated	Unlimited - pictures, video and simulated shopping
COST	$20 plus each to complete	Inexpensive - Internet panel survey cost as low as $1 each
ANALYSIS OPTIONS	Limited - crosstabs from current study	Extensive - time series and logitudinal analysis

Reprinted with permission from Angus Reid. Read the full article at http://angus-reid.com.

Posted on November 28, 2004
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