Essential Market Research Tips: Documenting Your Sampling Plan

For professional researchers, properly documenting your sampling plan is critical to ensuring a high-quality market research process. What is sampling and why is it important? If you are new to… Continue reading Essential Market Research Tips: Documenting Your Sampling Plan

Does Online Panel Quality S*ck?

A huge topic for Market Research & Insights professionals is data quality, and in most cases, a key component of survey research data quality is driven by sample quality. The… Continue reading Does Online Panel Quality S*ck?

Must Read for Survey Researchers from the Pew Research Center

Confused and dismayed by the recent articles about non-probability samples? Trying to understand, “How bad is it? Can I trust data from non-probability samples?” Then read this: The Pew Research… Continue reading Must Read for Survey Researchers from the Pew Research Center

3 Quick Tips for 2012 Market Research Success

December can be a nice, calm month for market researchers. Typically a month with little data collection, few presentations and no travel, it’s an ideal time to do a little 2012 planning. Here are three tips to keep in mind:

2 Questions You Must Ask Before Hiring a Market Research Agency

Planning to hire a market research agency to help with a project? Before you do, be sure to create a list of questions you will use to assess potential agencies for fit and qualifications. Some questions are obvious: experience with similar projects, years in business, company size, and so on. But here are two important questions are often overlooked:

1. Do you belong to any professional associations? The answer should start with…

Customer Survey or non-Customer Survey? Tips for Market Research Success

When conducting survey projects, should you survey your own customer base (people who actually by from your company), or non-customers? Or both?

After all, you may very well have a list of customers that would be convenient for you to use for your survey project. But is that a wise choice? Maybe, maybe not.

5 Things You Need to Know About Online Research Panels

Online surveys and research panels go together like…well, milk and cookies. If they are both high-quality, yummy snack. If either is poor quality, the experience is ruined.

These days, there is a lot of awareness of online panel quality issues. So what does a market research buyer need to know?

Here are 5 things you need to be aware of to find the best panel sources for your needs, and mitigate potential risks. Why is this so important? Because panel quality varies. A lot. You can’t assume all research panels are the same.

When Skimping on Market Research Fails: 5 Cheap Moves That Will Ruin Your Research

Never skimp on budget for:

* Quality sample. Having quality sample is critical. Avoid sources that can’t talk credibly about their recruitment tactics or list sources. You don’t want to bake a cake with spoiled eggs.
* Sufficient sample quantity. If you…

Snake Oil and Popcorn: Market Research Meets Social Media

The market researcher who clings to conventional surveys and focus groups like a life raft on a turbulent sea is going to drown. Those who judiciously add various social media and ethnographic-based methods along with some of the other fabulous new qualitative research tools out there will be able to navigate through the storm—and best help clients choose the methods (or mix) for their unique needs.