For his annual contribution to our international research issue, our former West Coast ad rep/roving reporter Lane Weiss traveled to Portugal to speak with Brigida Chaves, managing director of Lisbon-based research firm Cemase.

Lane Weiss: Tell us a bit about your company’s background. For example, how long have you been in business?

Brigida Chaves: Cemase was founded in March 1980 and is, at present, the oldest full-service market research company operating in Portugal. We are a private independent company, working both with quantitative and qualitative methodologies.

Consumer research, B2B, product testing and retail audits are some of the most common types of research. The industries we serve include the food and beverage sector, telecommunications, distribution, financial and transports, among others.

What research methods are most commonly used in Portugal?

The quantitative methodology, with face-to-face and paper-and-pencil interviewing approaches, is still the most commonly used in Portugal. It is quite effective in the way that it allows reaching and interacting with the entire Portuguese population. Furthermore, CATI is increasingly requested in Portugal, with good cost effectiveness playing a considerable part in the global turnover for the quantitative methodology. Internet surveys are growing and earning client trust, specifically among media and large companies.

Concerning qualitative methodologies such as focus groups and in-depth interviews, though they account for less of the turnover of market research in Portugal, they have a respected place in our industry and are requested mainly by large national and international companies.

Is Internet research becoming more popular and more viable in Portugal?

Over 1.5 million households, about 40 percent, have an Internet connection in Portugal, so yes, it is becoming more popular and viable but within certain limits: the Internet penetration is much higher among younger and high and medium social classes. Large companies already recognize the Internet as a valuable research tool and thus the marketing research industry must adopt, develop and reinvent this solution.

What are some of the ways you see the Internet affecting market research in Portugal and around the world?

Internet surveys will represent a higher percentage of the quantitative worldwide market research turnover in the future. Specifically in Portugal, it will be a slow process because of the amount of people with access to the Internet is still growing.

What are some of the problems facing marketing research in Portugal and around the globe?

The reliability and applicability of data should be the primary concern for marketing research users, but other variables, such as price and timing, seem to be granted greater importance. This may cause problems for research agencies in Portugal and around the world. However I must say that it is still possible to compete in Portugal on a fair, professional and quality basis. Another problem facing data collection firms is the public distrust toward phone-based research that comes mostly because of telemarketing.

Are there privacy laws in Portugal 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.?

We follow the codes of APODEMO [the Portuguese market research association] and ESOMAR. There are no privacy laws that make it difficult to conduct legitimate marketing research in Portugal. Concerning telemarketing, it affects mainly the fieldwork force. There are still companies that try to sell products in a non-legitimate way by announcing themselves as a market research company but there is specific legislation for telemarketing activity and problems are tending to decrease in Portugal.

How has the consolidation in the market research industry - in Portugal, Europe, the U.S. and around the world - affected the industry? Is consolidation helpful or harmful?

We’ve been watching the mergers of some market research companies that work as a global network. This certainly gets to scale economies, larger geographic coverage and access to new methodologies and techniques, which improves their response capacity both in terms of study dimension and analytical tools. Nevertheless, these merged companies may tend to forget the local or regional research market.

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?

One of the big issues in the industry is the use that the clients make of the information obtained. If the market research agencies do not follow up with the client and give assistance with using the information, the client may not get the full benefit from the data. It is our job to create reasonable expectations with the client. It is also our job to offer new ways to get the maximum advantage from the information. That is full service.

What things can marketing research companies do to help their clients use marketing research data more effectively?

Assist them at the moment of using it. The staff involved on a specific project knows the potential of the information collected. Specifically at the moment of the data collection, the researcher can get a feel for the consumer and hear the unasked questions. Yet at the same time, they have the necessary distance to offer perspective and analyze the relevance and potential of the data.

What trends do you see in the use of marketing research in Portugal? Are certain kinds of companies or industries doing more research or less research, or doing research for the first time?

Naturally, fast-moving consumer goods channels, the food and beverage industry, media, telecommunications, automotive and financial sector are those that use the most market research services. However it is not possible to establish a single pattern regarding the evolution in the Portuguese market. Businesspeople, willing to get in new markets or to get in a market for the first time, are increasingly searching for market research.

Does marketing research seem to be respected by businesses in Portugal? Is conducting research seen as a worthwhile expenditure?

Yes, marketing research activity is respected by businesses in Portugal but no, it is not always seen as a truly worthwhile expenditure. Put another way, our clients respect the market research activity and recognize how valuable it might be under certain circumstances. However, market research is often seen as an expenditure when, in fact, it is an investment.

What things can research companies do to help improve the reputation of marketing research among Portuguese businesspeople or businesspeople in general?

Not only among Portuguese researchers but also worldwide, research companies must not compete based solely on cost. They must improve data reliability and use creativity in the analysis process and in the tools they use, while adhering to high-quality work standards.

Are the research departments in the client companies in Portugal growing or shrinking?

In the large and multinational companies the research departments are growing mostly in terms of marketing professionals who get specialized in market research but not in terms of their fieldwork forces. These companies’ departments are increasingly aware of market research and have higher analytical know-how.

Do companies in Portugal view research providers as consultants in information management or merely as data-gatherers?

The companies that use market research services do not see the provider as a data gatherer, unless they have a well-prepared research department or are looking just for a fieldwork force. On the other hand research providers cannot be seen as consultants either since we often do not participate in the primary identification of the threats and opportunities of the client company and have no involvement in evaluating the implementation of actions based on market research. Nonetheless, we researchers are making efforts and are increasingly seen more as consultants in information management.

How has globalization of the world economy affected marketing research?

It has affected market research positively, mostly in terms of information and know-how. The access to new technologies and analytical tools as well as to creative methodologies and data collection techniques has brought market research around the world a stronger presence in the business world. Furthermore, to succeed and be able to compete within globalization, a market research company must now have team expertise, to see the market outside-to-inside, be creative and genuinely concerned with the clients’ needs.

Are most of your clients based in Portugal or do you have some U.S.-based clients as well?

Our clients are both national and European, mainly from Spain, the U.K., Belgium, Italy, France, Netherlands and Switzerland. We’ve had the opportunity to cooperate with companies from other continents as well, though it has been sporadic.

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?

We must distinguish marketing efforts from marketing research efforts. Large and multinational companies will keep trying, in order to survive, to have a global approach toward methodology design in market research. However, regarding the marketing efforts, large and particularly multinational companies recognize the relevance of tailoring their marketing efforts to a specific market due to cultural issues. 

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