Like the early days of online research, opportunities exist as questions persist

Editor’s note: Tim Snaith is research director of U.K.-based OnePoint Surveys.

The speed of development of communications technologies is such that while online is still growing, the mobile phone has rapidly emerged as the preferred tool of communication for many consumers. Capabilities previously only available over the Internet are now available on mobile phones, a fact that is not lost on researchers. Where once the mobile phone was thought to offer a minor supporting role in research, it has evolved, as have the research solutions that leverage its capabilities, making it a richer environment than the simple two-way text message.

Mobile phones share the same characteristics as the four main traditional quantitative methodologies (face-to-face, postal, telephone and online), but add location and immediacy of results to the mix. Further, if the success of online was due to global penetration of Web connections, it is key to note that there are already three times as many mobile phone subscriptions as Internet connections, with 3.5 billion handsets, representing a 40 percent global penetration rate (90 percent in the developed world) (Netsize Guide, 2008, Informa Telecoms and Media, 2008).

As the modern communication method of choice, the mobile phone is well-supported, with a global network infrastructure that can deliver massive volumes of traffic seamlessly - for example, 6.3 billion SMS messages and 17.3 million WAP users per month in the U.K. alone (Text.it, 2008).

The conditions are clearly in place to support mobile phone-based interviewing as the fifth research methodology.

Pervasive impact

Given that mobile research is just out of the starting blocks, is there any evidence in other markets of the pervasive impact of the mobile handset revolution? Well, mobile marketing is forecast to mirror and then surpass online marketing growth due to that same immediacy of contact with consumers in a buying environment where the shopping mall, Internet and mobile telecommunications converge.

A look at online advertising and marketing’s growth and the increasing momentum of the mobile channel in this area gives a good indication of the emerging scenario for mobile research. In 2005, global advertising revenues reached £188.7 billion (MediaGuardian), with Internet spending seeing a 20.4 percent growth to $17.2 billion. The U.K. online advertising spend in 2006 was £2.02 billion (IAB in partnership with PwC and WARC), showing 41 percent growth. So what are the forecasts for mobile advertising and marketing? According to Analysys (2007) mobile advertising will represent 3 percent of the global advertising market by 2012 and ABI Research (2007) forecasts that the world market for mobile marketing and advertising will reach $19 billion by 2011.

According to Airwide Solutions (2006), by 2010, 52 percent of the brands surveyed expect to be spending between 5 percent and 25 percent of their total marketing budget on mobile marketing.

All of this evidence demonstrates that the global market for delivering mobile marketing campaigns is rapidly expanding. As it does, commentary indicates that probably the biggest challenge for the industry lies in the ability to provide effective campaign metrics that include consumer evaluation and behavioral insight. It is here where the fifth methodology will grow to be an equal contributor to global market research, advertising and marketing revenues.

Willingness to engage

When it first became obvious that global populations were choosing to communicate via the mobile phone, some visionary research was conducted by Joel Down (Mori, 2000) to trial respondents’ willingness to engage over the mobile channel. This research, while at first positive, appears to have had the effect of classifying mobile research as merely “a viable research method for short, simple surveys that are popular among users of mobile Internet technology.”

This assumption, along with the following ones, has made it necessary to reintroduce marketers to the concept of mobile phone-based research and reeducate them on its potential:

•  Only young people use their mobile phones for other than voice calls.

•  People are so concerned about the cost of messaging, because of the proliferation of premium reverse-billed services, spam and high-profile TV and radio shows that have been found to be misrepresenting services, that they won’t engage.

•   The mobile phone is too personal and therefore people are protective of giving permission to contact them.

•  Data security in a hosted service is an issue.

All of these beliefs have a sense of déjà vu and remind us of some of the caveats that were raised in the early days of online research - most of which, as evidenced by its widespread global revenues, have largely been overcome.

What can the fifth methodology deliver? Well, we know that it can deliver an SMS message and most marketers also know that it can deliver a WAP survey providing an online-like experience on the mobile phone’s Internet browser. But did you know that the questions you can ask and the answers you receive can include the following?

•  the sending and receiving of pictures and videos as questions and answers;

•  open text, rating and multiple-choice questions;

•  time and date stamps to identify when each question is answered;

•  GPS, so that the location of the respondent who has given their permission can be engaged;

•  routing and personalization, so that each person’s survey experience demonstrates an understanding of them and their preferences;

•  anonymity options, so that people can choose to hide their personal data in the results database;

•  choice, so that the survey respondent can choose WAP or SMS according to their preference and technological capability rather than the assumed capability of their phone;

•  quotas that don’t just switch the survey off when you hit your desired number of respondents but that send a thank-you message to notify the survey recipient about what is happening;

•  reminders that can be set on each question to politely prompt the recipient that they have not yet completed their short survey;

•  communication with the survey administrator of start, end and response rates in live surveys so they know what’s happening even when not logged into the solution.

Increases the options

All of this means that the applications of mobile phone research are limited only by the imagination of the researcher. When combined in multimode approach with the other four methodologies, mobile increases the options for all five approaches.

Some applications include:

•  point-of-sale/service customer satisfaction and loyalty surveys;

•  event feedback - before, during and after;

•  brand and advertising trackers - where did they experience the brand and what did they think?

•  diary trackers - when did they experience the brand, event, usage instance?

•  employee motivation - pulse-check the key drivers rather than wait for the annual results in order to identify issues and maintain motivation;

•  live product concept testing - present the survey trigger in the form of a keyword and number in the shopping environment (plasma screen, on the packaging, poster, cash register receipt).

Principles of good research apply

Because this is a rapidly emerging methodology, there is not a consolidated body of evidence to guarantee effectiveness. Our firm has seen that the principles of good research apply here as elsewhere. Indeed where the recipients are engaged correctly around giving their permission and receiving appropriate reward for their time and effort, the results are compelling:

•  a 35 percent response rate in a school’s parental consultation, where before it was less than 1 percent using paper-based surveys;

•  a 71 percent response rate with 58 percent completion rate in two hours for a 1,000-person panel study;

•  in the U.K., an 85 percent response rate in 10 minutes for pub-based brand feedback during halftime of sporting events;

•  a youth diary tracker garnered 2,000 pieces of feedback over one week from 200 participants;

•  a product field test netted 1,600 pieces of feedback over a three-week period from 150 participants.

Time is right

The time is right to be involved in the mobile research revolution. Indeed it has the feeling of a welcome opportunity for individuals to champion and own a piece of the method as it emerges, and for businesses to demonstrate that they are on the cutting edge of innovation - delivering new insights for clients and documenting findings to consolidate the knowledge base of what the fifth methodology adds to the research world.