For his annual contribution to our international research issue, Quirk’sWest Coast ad rep/roving reporter Lane Weiss traveled to Turkey to speak with Cem Akyol, general manager of Bilesim International, an Istanbul research firm.
Lane Weiss: Tell us a bit about your company’s background.
Cem Akyol: Bilesim International Research and Consultancy Co. was founded in 1984. In 1999, it became the only Turkish research provider that has the ISO 9001 Quality Certificate. Currently, we enjoy serving our client companies with our expertise in consumer attitudes and habits, advertisements, company research, product tests and advertising expenditure studies.
What research methods are most commonly used in Turkey? For example, face-to-face research? Focus groups? Telephone interviewing?
Face-to-face type of interviews using pen and paper is the most commonly used research method in Turkey because its applicability and efficiency is higher than others. About 70 percent, as of 2006, of the interviews conducted in Turkey were face-to-face. The usage of telephone interviews shows an increase because telephone penetration has reached acceptable levels. I think telephone interviews will take over the position of face-to-face interviews in the near future. These two methods are followed by focus groups.
Is Internet research becoming more popular and more viable in Turkey?
Only 20 percent of the population in Turkey has Internet access, and the largest two groups of users are the youngsters and the people with a mid-higher education. So today, we have very low coverage, which makes it not feasible to do interviewing using the Internet. In five to 10 years the Internet penetration will become high enough in Turkey to make Internet research viable, but it will not replace the face-to-face or phone interview.
What are some of the ways you see the Internet affecting market research in Turkey and around the world?
Internet is going to be the biggest research method around the world, because it makes data collection easier, faster and of course much cheaper. It is cheaper, because you don’t need to pay anything for data entry or data gathering, and you don’t always pay respondents either. You don’t care if it rains or snows outside; you don’t need to rely on interviewers’ support. You can simply ask your respondents to do the interview when they have some free time, unlike face-to-face or phone interview, which require advance scheduling.
What are some of the problems facing marketing research in Turkey and around the globe?
I think the trickiest issue in marketing research is the trade-off between quality and other constraining variables such as time and money. On one hand, research users need the most reliable data possible on which to base their marketing decisions, and they have other concerns such as time pressure and economic constraints. In such cases, besides conducting top-quality research, the research provider has an additional responsibility to maintain the optimal conditions both for the research project itself and the company using it. This presents a serious challenge for marketing research in Turkey since it is still a young industry and we, as research providers, have both to establish trust among and provide consultancy to the business environment in addition to our core responsibilities.
Are there privacy laws in Turkey that make it difficult to conduct legitimate marketing research? Does telemarketing have a damaging effect on legitimate research, as it does in the U.S.?
Other than the ESOMAR codes and personal ethics, the research agencies in Turkey are not bound by any special law. Regarding telemarketing, we don’t have any solid data on the issue but it might have lowered response rates in telephone interviews.
How has consolidation affected the market research industry - in Turkey, Europe, the U.S. and around the world? Is consolidation helpful or harmful?
In the last decade, a lot of multinational market research companies have acquired local companies in Turkey. The consolidation is helpful in the sense of sharing information and knowledge, as well as constructing and obeying the ethical rules of research. Consolidation also helps research companies provide quicker service to their customers for regional and/or global studies. Here, there is an easier follow-up and control mechanism, fewer budgetary and other research source concerns for the research company. And the customer can deal with a single person or company within a regional/global study.
On the other hand, however, consolidation in the market research may cause research companies to lose flexibility in their activities and studies, etc. More consolidation, in a way, means fewer tailor-made studies.
Do you feel that your company’s clients have reasonable expectations about what they can learn by conducting marketing research? Do they make effective use of the information they obtain from research?
Most of our clients have reasonable expectations about what they can learn by conducting marketing research and most of them make use of the information they obtain from the research. However some of our clients do not exactly know what expectations they should have and how they should use the information obtained from the research. In this situation we assist our clients about research aim and methods, explain to them what they can obtain from the research and how they can examine and provide effective use of the information obtained from the research.Â
What things can marketing research companies do to help their clients use marketing research data more effectively?
Other than providing the most reliable data as possible, research providers should assist their client companies when interpreting the data. With that, I am not referring to consultancy service; rather, to a well-thought data interpretation as opposed to the mere presentation of the data at hand. Further steps towards action are the responsibility of the client company while our main duty is to clear the path for them in terms of information.
What trends do you see in the use of marketing research in Turkey? Are certain kinds of companies or industries doing more research or less research, or doing research for the first time?
In Turkey, more than half of the research is consumer research and clients are mostly from manufacturing industries, media, TV, and business and financial services.
In general, large multinational companies do more research than SMEs [small to medium enterprises] or local companies. Among our clients, there are companies, mostly multinational and large ones, who have done research for many years, companies who have done research from time to time and some companies who are doing research for the first time. The trend is however in the direction of conducting more market research compared to previous years.
Does marketing research seem to be respected by businesses in Turkey? Is conducting research seen as a worthwhile expenditure?
Marketing research seems to be respected more by businesses, and conducting research is seen as a worthwhile expenditure compared to previous years but still it is not at the expected level.
In Turkey the research sector does not have a large share among other sectors. Turkey is the 22nd largest economy in the world, however the total marketing research endorsement is only $50-60 million approximately. This amount is not very high in relation to the size of economy and population.
What things can research companies do to help improve the reputation of marketing research among Turkish businesspeople or businesspeople in general?
One of the things that research companies can do is to work together with academicians to develop new, more reliable and more multi-functional models. Investment in forming, developing and revising research models is needed and would, indeed, increase the respect of businesspeople since more reliable and functional models mean, at the end, more accurate and reliable sources for the critical decisions of businesspeople.
Investment in fieldwork and data areas would also receive higher respect among businesspeople. Fieldwork and data formation/organization constitute the core of the research. Without a proper, accurate and reliable fieldwork and data, the research study is a waste of time and money.
Research companies can also share their case studies and success stories. Sharing experience and success would help businesspeople to understand the importance of research in marketing, illuminate the road they should follow, and earn more respect for the research company/industry.
Last but not the least, research companies can bring businesses together via conferences, seminars and training courses. Such activities are rich sources for sharing information and experience, for gaining respect, and for activating the sector investments.
Are the research departments in the client companies in Turkey growing or shrinking?
In terms of size, I cannot say that they are growing but I can confidently say that they are growing in terms of knowledge and having their say within marketing teams. However, this too, is an issue related to the size of the client company as well as to its approach in research and its possible benefits. There are also several companies that are either in the process of establishing their research departments or allocating more people to research endeavors.
Do companies in Turkey view research providers as consultants in information management or merely just as data-gatherers?
Companies differ one from another on many levels including their approach to research in general and to research providers in particular. Another variable affecting companies’ view of research providers is the industry that they operate in and their ease in using research data. Companies with less experience with research tend to see research providers as data gatherers since they are not clear about what to expect from research. However, once their prejudices are broken with a balanced combination of accurate data and consultancy in interpreting it, they may become satisfied research users. At the other end of the spectrum, companies with extensive research experience are more realistic about what to expect; and view research providers as consultants also.
How has globalization of the world economy affected marketing research?
Globalization of the world economy has many effects on business life. The markets and the competition among companies have become international and at the same time harder. The companies, therefore, need to take solid and reliable steps in the market first to survive, then to have a considerable market share and compete with other companies. Marketing research, therefore, is becoming a vital tool for gathering information on consumer attitudes and behaviors and markets and thus is a vital need for companies to shape or re-shape their business actions and investments.
Globalization means also increased sharing and development of information and knowledge. Research methods and research models - more reliable, strong and multifunctional models - have been improved by the use of technology.
Are most of your clients based in Turkey or do you have some U.S.-based clients as well?
Although most of our clients are based in Turkey we also serve international clients either via their international research agencies or their local offices in Turkey.
Do you think more client companies will rely on a global marketing approach or will they tailor their marketing efforts - and also their marketing research efforts - to each country?
To answer this question, we should make a distinction between SMEs and large or multinational companies. Large or multinational companies will rely on a global marketing approach in order to survive and compete with other companies and to maintain a considerable market share globally. SMEs tend to direct their actions according to the domestic market since they do not have the capacity to compete internationally. In this case they rather prefer to tailor their marketing research efforts to each country first.
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