MR training course from the MRS
Britain’s Market Research Society (MRS) has launched a new training course designed to broaden understanding of market research. Market Research – An Introduction has been developed to provide an understanding of the role of market and social research in society and business. The course is delivered entirely online, allowing registrants to complete it in their own time.
The new course is aimed at those with little or no experience of market research. It is particularly suited to support staff, those commissioning research for the first time, those wishing to carry out small-scale research to support their businesses, field workers and those seeking an understanding of market research.
Market Research – An Introduction is divided into three core segments to provide participants with a broad knowledge of social and market research. The three areas of study include: the basics of market research – an overview of research objectives, research design and content and an introduction to research methodologies; designing a research project – the tools of market research, including an introduction to qualitative and quantitative research, an overview of sampling and interviewing, and an introduction to questionnaire design; completing the market research process – how to turn data into findings, reporting and communicating findings, and professional development and the market research industry. The course is accessed via the MRS Web site (www.mrs.org.uk ), with a certificate issued once all of the course modules have been successfully completed.
Examine promotional efforts with Insight Zone
Wilton, Conn.-based Ryan Research & Marketing Insights (RRMI) has launched a proprietary research service called Insight Zone, designed to help deliver marketing solutions through improved consumer, customer and channel insights. Insight Zone features a three-step process for identifying, researching and deploying information and insights that can be applied towards promotional and direct marketing campaigns. These steps are: Insight Mining, Insight Exploration and Insight Evaluation.
The initial Insight Mining phase entails conducting secondary research and the use of syndicated research through sources such as Yankelovich, Simmons and MVI. Clients gain category, retail and brand intelligence based on their specific business objectives and strategies. Phase two, Insight Exploration, delves into secondary research findings, tackling questions and issues with customized research. Program concepts are tested and analyzed, using qualitative and quantitative research, such as Ryan’s ConsumerPOV promotion screening tool, mind probe interviews, insight groups, omnibus studies and other research tools. The final phase is Insight Exploration, in which RRMI provides customized analysis and evaluation of a program, post-execution. For more information visit www.ryanpartnership.com.
BET launches Black consumer research initiative
BET, in partnership with research firms NSightsWorldwide, LLC and TNS/NFO WorldGroup, is launching a consumer research initiative on the African-American marketplace. The objectives of the study are to raise the level of understanding among advertisers about African-American consumers, and to motivate advertisers to take greater advantage of African-American media outlets as a platform for reaching this segment of the population.
The initiative will involve a sampling of 2,500 African-American consumers between ages 12 and 49 spread regionally across the country, including a large percentage living in urban markets. Research tools will analyze a range of factors influential to Black consumer buying habits, including social-economic status, educational background, geographical location and sources of media consumption. NSightsWorld-wide and TNS/NFO WorldGroup will conduct the research project over an 11-week period.
Inquisite 6 now available
Austin, Texas-based Inquisite has released Inquisite 6, an automated Web survey system for enterprises across multiple industries and professional disciplines that deploy online surveys for high-volume data collection. This latest version of Inquisite is designed to offer survey managers greater flexibility via data pre-population capabilities, a new response editor, advanced data-sharing, and enhanced templates and styles.
Key features of Inquisite 6 include:
- Pre-population of data. Inquisite’s pre-population feature allows users to import data into a survey from an external data file (.csv, .txt) and map it to the survey content. This allows personalization of surveys and makes data, such as demographics, available for reporting without actually asking respondents for the information.
- Response editor. A database editor offers survey administrators the ability to more effectively manage data once responses have been received. Users can edit individual responses, batch updates for groups of respondents and delete respondents from the database.
- Advanced data-sharing. Inquisite’s data-sharing capabilities allow administrators to give others in an organization the ability to access survey data. The dataset also can be constrained by allowing the sharing of specific data with specific users.
- Enhanced styles and templates. Inquisite’s templates and styles allow a survey administrator to change the entire look of a survey instantly and consistently.
Other advanced features include: the ability to randomize questions in tables; enhanced multi-select validation, which allows survey administrators to specify that a multi-select question is “required” and define a minimum and maximum number of choices that can be selected to pass validation; and the ability to schedule published reports, which allows the data behind a report to be refreshed at specified time intervals so people accessing reports can return regularly to obtain up-to-date results. For more information visit www.inquisite.com.
SPSS releases add-on module for Clementine and new version of Dimensions
SPSS Inc., Chicago, is now offering Web Mining for Clementine, an add-on module to its Clementine data mining workbench and addition to its predictive Web analytics offerings.
Web Mining for Clementine is designed to simplify the preparation of raw Web data - technical information that was not designed with analysis in mind - through a Web mining source node that is integrated within the Clementine visual workflow. The Web mining source node, which automatically transforms raw data into focused online business events, is driven by NetGenesis Web analytics technology.
The Web mining node processes only the data needed to create a business-focused view of online behavior. Accurate user identification, business event mapping, visit sessions and data cleansing help ensure that decision makers draw reliable conclusions about current conditions and future events.
Web Mining for Clementine enables online business decision makers to take more effective action by automatically discovering user segments; detecting pages significant to online business goals by making sense of the important chains of activity; understanding product and content affinities and predicting user propensity to convert, buy or churn.
Web Mining for Clementine includes an application template that implements best practice Web mining methods. This application template can be used both as a pre-packaged Web mining application, and as a reference source for analysts developing their own analysis. This template is provided in the form of Clementine streams, which means that analysts can examine the methods used and re-use them for new applications. The template includes several modules to address key online business problems, including search engine optimization, user and visit segmentation, Web site activity and user behavior analysis, home page activity, activity sequence analysis and propensity analysis.
SPSS Inc. is also offering the latest version of SPSS Dimensions, an integrated suite of tools for survey design, data collection, data management, analysis and publishing of market research results. This latest release includes updates and enhancements to mrInterview, which offers end-to-end online research tools and products; mrStudio, which manages survey research data with efficient scripting; and mrTables, which builds, shares and enables interaction with tables using a Web browser.
The latest version of mrInterview (mrInterview 2.0) now features a completely integrated Web environment for setting up and running projects - from designing and writing the questionnaire, through activation and testing, to analyzing and exporting data. MrStudio 2.0 offers enhanced data processing and project management capabilities. MrTables 2.0 moves its operation from the desktop to a Web browser and adds new features that enable users to create many new variables, run more statistical tests, apply global options and export the results and charts to desktop Microsoft Office applications (e.g. Excel, PowerPoint). For more information visit www.spss.com.
Forecasting service targets pharma and biotech companies
Martin Hamblin GFK Global HealthCare has launched a new service for the biotech industry and pharmaceutical companies, to determine the likely market success of a new compound in development. Entitled 1st Forecast, this research tool combines management insight, secondary market and disease data and primary data to produce an independent forecast. 1st Forecast is the conclusion of a five-step process. Its output covers: potential market share or size of the opportunity, including a SWOT analysis; clinical end points to optimize market entry and provide guidance for Phase III studies; a description of the existing treatment landscape; a broad identification of patient segments; the existing treatment algorithm, by defined patient segment; the predilection to prescribe, if appropriate. For more information visit www.martinhamblin-gfk.com.
New invitation management system from WebSurveyor
WebSurveyor Corporation, Herndon, Va., has added a new service, WebSurveyor PRO PLUS, to its online survey hosting service. The new service enables organizations to utilize a survey invitation management system to improve the online survey process while using WebSurveyor’s features.
The new WebSurveyor PRO PLUS option allows survey administrators to send survey invitations, thank-you notes and reminders via personalized e-mails. The service preserves respondent anonymity while tracking click-throughs and survey submissions. An extension of a standard PRO account, the PLUS option allows users to personalize survey invitation e-mails by inserting up to 20 user-definable fields. These fields can be passed directly into a survey, allowing survey administrators to incorporate data from an existing database or CRM system. This capability enhances the survey experience for respondents while giving survey administrators the data they need.
WebSurveyor has created the WebSurveyor PRO PLUS account featuring the e-mail service as an extension of its WebSurveyor PRO survey hosting account in response to feedback from customers. For more information visit www.websurveyor.com.
New model of consumer behavior
Two San Francisco area firms have announced a new service for marketers – an analytical model of consumer behavior which will allow them to measure, develop and track a consumer’s relationship with their product. Robin Cobbey of Cobbey & Associates and JoNel Mundt of Oasis Consulting LLC formed a strategic alliance to study the consumer experience and the consumer-product relationship. The new model is the result of that study. The authors use the model to assess a client’s current market environment, identify opportunities and develop relationship-building strategies. This often includes conducting primary research and implementing tracking studies that focus on the total consumer experience, from prepurchase, through purchase, post-purchase, use and disposal. This work is designed to help marketers raise customer satisfaction, increase market penetration, and strengthen consumer relationships. For more information visit www.cobbey.com.
Planners Package allows data comparison across years
GeoLytics is now offering its Planners Package, designed for researchers who need to compare the demographics of what has been and what is to what will be. Historically this sort of forecasting and planning has been hindered by the problem of changing geographic boundaries over time. With the Planners Package, all of the data is converted to the 2000 boundaries. Users can see the 1990, 2000, 2003 and 2008 data all in the same boundary definitions - the same tract IDs, the same ZIP codes. The package includes three products: 1990 Long Form in 2000 Boundaries; 2000 Long Form; and 2003 Estimates & 2008 Projections (and Consumer Expenditures). All three come with built-in mapping capabilities. With a few keystrokes users can generate maps or tables. Data can be extracted as dbf, ASCII, shape or mid/mif files and used as input files for other programs, e.g., statistical (SAS, SPSS), database (Access, Oracle), spreadsheet (Excel, 1-2-3), and mapping (Arc View, MapInfo). For more information visit www.geolytics.com.
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Philadelphia-based Focus Pointe has opened a new focus group facility, Focus Pointe Chicago, on North Michigan Avenue. For more information visit www.focuspointeonline.com.
Schlesinger Associates, Edison, N.J., has opened a focus group facility in Dallas. It features four focus suites and is located in the Galleria area, offering amenities for clients and access to medical, consumer and B2B recruiting. Nancy Ashmore has been appointed facility director and Lesley Hansen will oversee project management and recruiting. For more information visit www.schlesingerassociates.com.
Mobile Memoir and panel partner Common Knowledge are offering a free white paper providing statistics on a newly created mobile panel. The panel, developed as an adjunct to Common Knowledge’s existing Your2Cents online opinion panel, consists of individuals who are both willing and able to take surveys and complete diaries and mystery shopping tasks using wireless-enabled devices, including cell phones and PDAs. Together the two companies are providing an offering for conducting market research using the wireless Web and SMS (short messaging service) as data collection tools in North America. A free copy of the white paper is available at www.mobilememoir.com.
The Phoenix Marketing Intern-ational - Travel Research Group has launched its Airport Research and Consulting Practice, a new unit that will deliver customized marketing research solutions to airports nationwide. For more information visit www.phoenixmi.com.
South Norwalk, Conn., research firm The Westport Company has added quantitative techniques to augment its qualitative research and consulting services.
A new Web site, www.netlinksurveys.com, is now offering companies the ability to create customizable surveys.
Retail research firm Bernard Sands has announced a new line of financial and consumer marketing research products created in collaboration with market intelligence firm BIGresearch, LLC, Worthington, Ohio. The products, which range from Bernard Sands Gold Key Strategy Reports to specialized consulting services, are designed to allow companies to target today’s fragmented consumer base and make informed decisions about retailer capabilities. For more information visit www.bernardsands.com.
SurveyWriter, a Web-based survey application provider, has completed the implementation of a data download to SPSS’s multimode research platform, SurveyCraft. The new Data Download programs remove a conversion step that was previously necessary. SurveyWriter is an online data collection and reporting tool that includes a survey engine, presentation-ready charting and custom crosstab capabilities. For more information visit www.surveywriter.com.