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Tag: MRA

2010 Market Research Conferences: Do In-Person Events Still Matter?

The US 2010 Market Research conference season will be starting soon. Luckily, this year they are a bit more spread out than last year.

The MRA’s big conference will be in Boston in June.

The AMA’s annual Market Research Conference will be in Atlanta in September.

And IIR’s The Market Research Event will be in San Diego in November.

I can hear the sighs of anticipated exhaustion already. Travel, sessions, expense reports. And the dreaded, overflowing inbox that faces you upon returning to work the next week.

Besides, we have to ask ourselves: do in-person events matter anymore? Look, I am in the business of online training—I LOVE online content. But I do believe that there is still a place for in-person events as well. And here is why:

Grading Market Research Agency Websites

Do these websites matter? Aren’t they just electronic billboards?

I think they do matter. A lot of people who buy and use market research visit agency websites. And frankly, they are more likely to visit an agency site than that of a professional association (such as the MRA or CASRO) or of a trade publication (such as Quirk’s or Research Magazine). So these agency websites are, intentionally or not, a key source of client education.

Market Research Agencies and Their Websites: Finding the Good Ones

Websites are the virtual storefronts of market research agencies. It’s where you often get your first impression of a potential research supplier. You peek in the window and see if the goods are narrow or diverse, dated or current. You get an impression about personality and culture. You may even get a sense of trustworthiness.

But if you have ever looked at more than 2 or 3 agency web sites, you will see that the quality and content vary dramatically. Almost dismayingly so.

So how to compare them?…