New IVR survey software from TeleSage

TeleSage, Inc., Seattle, Wash., has introduced its new SmartQuest interactive voice response (IVR) software that can help companies automate market research functions such as screening focus group participants, implementing satisfaction surveys, and monitoring in-store merchandising
activities.

The software automatically provides and captures spoken or numeric information, using a company’s computer and telephone lines. Using point-and-click technology, users can design and edit their own surveys, making them as sophisticated or simple as desired.

The software can run up to 99 surveys simultaneously, in any language, and the system has the ability to branch to different questions, surveys or telephone numbers based on callers’ responses. It automatically scores surveys as they are completed and stores all results in Microsoft Access or other standard databases.

Omnibus targets small businesses

ICR/International Communications Research, Media, Pa., has introduced SmallBizEXCEL, an omnibus research service targeting businesses with fewer than 100 employees. With an omnibus survey, multiple clients insert questions, but only pay for their questions. The costs of sampling and screening, etc., are shared with other clients, thus reducing the overall cost to each. ICR will conduct 500 telephone interviews per month with owners or managers of small businesses, enabling clients to address a number of information needs, including advertising tracking, evaluating new product concepts, image and awareness, attitudes and usage, name evaluation, and market share evaluation.

Process links behavior with retail purchases

Catalina Marketing Corporation, St. Petersburg, Fla., and its research division, Alliance Research, Inc., have developed a process called Behavior Activated Research (BAR) that links consumer attitudinal behavior with actual purchase behavior.

Catalina Marketing works with supermarket retailers to maintain a database of consumer purchase behavior. This behavior, tracked by UPC code or frequent-shopper number, can be used to initiate surveys or other research efforts to determine consumer attitudes about products they have purchased, their likes and dislikes, and even about products they might buy in the future. The BAR program can reach consumers in a targeted manner, eliminating the need for random phone calls or pre-recruited panels.

Firm opens auto clinic, teardown division

Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Providata Automotive, a management consulting and market intelligence firm, has formed a new division called Competitive Teardown/Clinic Services (CTCS). The division will incorporate both automotive component teardown capabilities and consumer clinic capabilities within the company’s full-service package to vehicle manufacturers and automotive suppliers. As part of the CTCS operations, Providata Automotive offers its new ClinicTech product line: ClinicTech Consumer Product Focus Group Clinics; ClinicTech Consumer Technology Clinics; ClinicTech Consumer Attitude Clinics; and ClinicTech Ride & Drive Focus Group Clinics.

ACNielsen releases PRICEMAN

ACNielsen U.S., an operating unit of ACNielsen, has released PRICEMAN 3.0, an enhanced version of its strategic pricing software. The newest version of PRICEMAN, which helps retailers manage their many product pricing decisions, includes over 30 upgrades. New features include a true 32-bit Windowsbased environment and the flexibility to use PRICEMAN as a standalone product or to network it on a client’s server.

Other PRICEMAN upgrades include 20 viewable pricing zones, up from six in the previous version. This allows users to make pricing decisions based on a comparison to a greater number of competitive stores covering a wider geography. The new product’s rule-based pricing models also give users more power. For example, clients can write rules into the program to set prices that are within a certain amount of a competitor’s prices but never below the client’s product costs. With the upgraded version of PRICEMAN, reports can now be automatically exported into an Excel format as well.

Apparel industry site from NPD

As part of a planned series of industry-specific sites, the NPD Group, Inc., a Port Washington, N.Y., marketing information firm, has debuted NPDFashionworld, offering secure access to apparel industry data and analysis, along with the ability to query and view hundreds of specialized data sets. The site offers users access to informarion from NPD’s online consumer panel and retail point-of-sale tracking. NPDFashionworld combines information on behavioral trends with insight on consumer attitudes from the same consumers, delivered via the Internet on an ongoing basis. The site can be customized to address the particular business issues of each user.

NPD’s "My Dashboard" puts users in the driver’s seat by highlighting topline, current industry trend information via six customizable graphs. Clients designate sets of sales, marketing or attitudinal information most relevant to their business, and can change the sets anytime. NPD’s Solution Folders feature access to charts, organized around business issues such as brand performance, pricing, customer satisfaction and other key topics.

Additionally, the site includes "ClientCenter," an electronic library of information encompassing access to full NPD reports and presentations. Other features of the site include industry news, an archive of topical NPD articles and white papers, special industry reports, a calendar of events and content from other sources in the industry.

System determines need for health care services

East Peoria, Ill.-based Customer Potential Management (CPM) Corporation, a customer relationship management (CRM) firm, has introduced a new system to help health care organizations determine who might get sick and need certain services. The identification of such individuals allows providers to help their patients receive the most appropriate services to improve wellness, approach disease more proactively, or to lessen the physical and financial burden of chronic illness.

The three levels of CPM’s Consumer Healthcare Utilization Index (CHUI) are designed to help organizations determine who is the best audience for their programs and products. CHUI, unlike other segmentation systems, is based on health need and health variables rather than geography, attitudes and other nonhealth variables.

CHUI was developed using data mining techniques, actual behavior and individual demographics, providing precise bits of data to forecast health care needs. Information from more than 20 million encounters using over 50 input variables were used to construct the three CHUI levels. When a planner or health cge strategist takes a CHUI level and applies it to the organization’s customer database, it gives each individual a score from 1-999, rating the person’s likelihood to utilize a particular service. The higher the CHUI score, the greater the need for services.

The three CHUI categories are:

  • CHUI I-Scores for each of the broad 25 major diagnostic categories (MDC) for inpatient hospital encounters such as digestive system, pregnancy and childbirth and the circulatory system.
  • CHUI II-Scores for the ICD-9 code categories as well as other approximately 120 top diseases and procedures of the 21st century such as diabetes, weight management and cardiovascular disease.
  • CHUI I-Scores for the 29 diagnostic related groups (DRG) or medical service areas defined around hospital business lines such as cardiovascular medicine, endocrinology and urology.

Competitive Strength Inventory available for licensing

Competitive Benchmarking Associates (CBA), The Woodlands, Texas, is offering its Competitive Strength Inventory (CSI) for licensing to research firms throughout North America and Europe. The CSI benchmarks the performance of all companies providing a product/service to a defined target market on three factors: 1) acceptance and utilization; 2) entrenchment with the target customer base; 3) marketing effectiveness. The CSI’s focus on comparative performance ratings make it a useful tool for both multi-client (syndicated) and single-client benchmarking studies. Along with rights to use the CSI, CBA will provide training and consulting to licensees.

SigmaPlot from SPSS

SPSS Inc., Chicago, has released Sig-maPlot 2001, the latest version of its scientific graphing software. With SigmaPlot 2001, users can export graphs as dynamic Web objects to be posted on a Web site or an intranet page instead of simple GIF or JPEG files. SigmaPlot’s WebViewer enables anyone - whether or not they have SigmaPlot - to explore the data used to create the graph and to zoom, pan or print the image at full resolution directly from a Web browser window. Optional security settings restrict data access to authorized users only.

The WebViewer, a free Internet Explorer plug-in, is automatically downloaded when the browser first encounters a SigmaPlot 2001 graph. If for any reason the Viewer plug-in is not installed, the browser will display a screen resolution JPEG image.

Additional new features in SigmaPlot 2001 include:

  • Equation solver - Solve equations or functions containing a single independent variable and any number of parameters.
  • Graph style gallery - Users can save templates of their favorite graphs for reuse, saving the time and effort of recreating complex plots.
  • Area plots - Researchers can shade areas below or between curves, calling attention to regions of particular interest.
  • True color EPS export - Images can be exported as full color vector EPS files, the preferred format for illustration and page layout programs.