FIRM updates Confirmit
FIRM, Inc., New York, has released Confirmit 7.0, an updated version of its Web survey and feedback application. Built on Microsoft’s .NET technology, Confirmit 7.0 uses XML Web services, allowing it to integrate with almost any enterprise system, and allowing Confirmit operations to be performed from remote applications.
Accessible from any computing device, platform, or application, Confirmit 7.0 can be configured to provide customized functionality. Features include the ability to: automate realtime feedback triggered by customer or employee behavior, acting as an alert system for potential dissatisfaction so that specific action can be taken immediately; and automate continuous and ongoing research projects, as well as report delivery. Additionally, the product includes a new survey wizard through which users can create questionnaires and reports in four steps, and a new respondent interface that includes several new features allowing users to create customized Web surveys.
Cust sat system for telecom firms
Corvallis, Ore.-based CAMO and Telemark, a U.K. telecommunications consulting company, have formed a partnership to offer a customer satisfaction and competitive intelligence system to telecommunications firms. The Telemark-CAMO system provides network operators and equipment providers access to analysis of client opinion, from their desktop, as compared against independent industry standards of performance and the Telemark Gold Standard.
Telemark plans to offer the system to compare regional and country satisfaction data against both local and global benchmarks and the industry standard of performance. These benchmarks help telecommunications enterprises assess whether they are perceived as best-in-class and/or world-class in any particular country, region, sector or segment of the market they chose to examine in detail. The decision support environment can be customized to a telecommunications company’s particular requirements.
Nationally projectable online poll launched
Leflein Associates, a Fort Lee, N.J., market research firm, has launched the National Survey Institute (NSI) Poll, an online poll projectable to the entire U.S. population. The national omnibus of 1,000 adults, taken weekly, combines the resources of Knowledge Networks and Leflein Associates.
The NSI Poll uses the Knowledge Networks’ panel, which is comprised of a random sample of all Americans, including non-Internet households. Panelists receive a custom-designed MSN TV so that anyone with a telephone can be represented.
Additionally, the NSI Poll has the ability to show respondents multimedia effects (print, audio, video) with uniform broadcast quality. Because respondents are provided with an MSN TV, these consistent images are viewed in the respondent’s home setting.
Acxiom debuts segmentation system
Little Rock, Ark.-based Acxiom Corporation has released Personicx, a household-level segmentation system that places each U.S. household into one of 70 life stage segments, based on its specific consumer and demographic characteristics, allowing a greater precision of targeted marketing and true accuracy of segmentation. Personicx builds its segmentation approach on life stages based on the principle that households’ consumer behaviors are reflected in their shared life stage and similar socio-economic characteristics.
Information is updated at least twice each quarter. Personicx is applied at the household level and not at a block group or larger, so it is designed to provide a higher level of precision for the user.
Personicx is applied to a company’s customer data for analysis. The analysis provides a common framework to view customers across a company’s product mix and its organization. Personicx connects to syndicated survey data such as the Simmons National Consumer Survey, giving marketers information on everything from shopping and media preferences to financial products and other services.
Receive mystery shopping reports via the Web
Ann Arbor, Mich., mystery shopping firm Second To None has launched Catapult, a Web-based client reporting solution that gives clients real time access to customer feedback. Catapult recognizes each user and displays a personalized dashboard highlighting their personal and most frequently run reports. Users may select a report from a menu of choices, customize it to their unique criteria, and view it in HTML, PDF, a chart, or directly download the results to Excel or other data analysis programs on their desktop. Users too busy to be bothered by running reports can select a subscription service in which results are compiled and emailed to them.
New online survey product from RDD
Research Data Design, Inc. (RDD), Portland, Ore., is now offering RDD Online, an online survey product. RDD has access to multiple sample sources, including Greenfield Online’s panel of 1.2 million households and Greenfield Online’s sampling relationship with the Microsoft Network. Each panel member participates voluntarily and completes more than 70 fields of demographic information. MSN visitors are invited to participate in online surveys via integrated links across all MSN channels, and are screened at the time of survey execution.
Common Knowledge adopts Web survey monitoring system
Dallas-based Common Knowledge Research Services has adopted Surveyguardian, an online interviewing service developed by Westem Wats Center, Inc. Common Knowledge is the first online interviewing service bureau to offer this service to customers conducting Web surveys. The service is available for customer-supplied lists as well as those using Common Knowledge’s Your2cents.com online opinion panel. Surveyguardian enables live interviewers to administer and monitor Web surveys being completed by respondents in real-time. Powered by a chat engine process integrated with the measurement metrics of the Common Knowledge survey engine, Surveyguardian allows live interviewers to verify respondent identity, probe and clarify open-ended responses, and offer in-survey respondent support.
New auto-dialer for SmartQuest IVR software
Seattle-based research software firm TeleSage, Inc. has released DialQuest, a new auto-dialer add-on feature for its SmartQuest IVR survey software. DialQuest can supplement SmartQuest survey software with outbound dialing on each survey port. Users can import a list of phone numbers and choose which phone lines SmartQuest uses to conduct the outbound calling. Other features allow users to include data specific to each phone number, such as due dates, account numbers or balances, outstanding quantities or items, zip codes or other location information. SmartQuest can use this information to customize the survey presentation for each person. The new DialQuest includes the following features: customizable auto-retry for busy numbers and numbers that are not answered; answering machine detection; daily dialing schedule; quotas (stops dialing when customized completion criteria are met); and call transfer capabilities.
Salu adds online research panel
Granite Bay, Calif.-based medical information firm Salu, Inc. has created an online market research panel to help pharmaceutical partners measure and tailor their education programs for physician-specialists enrolled in Salu’s services. Salu began development of the market research panel with a sampling of its Dermdex (serving dermatologists and plastic surgeons) and NeuroHub (serving neurologists) members. One hundred physicians were randomly selected to complete the eight-week survey, with an overall response rate of 75 percent.
Salu plans to expand its market research panel to include more physicians and to integrate the panel with Salu’s other offerings to pharmaceutical partners. The research panel will be used to determine physician satisfaction of pharmaceutical programs, alongside Salu’s proprietary CRM system, which tracks the results of both online and offline sales and marketing initiatives.
SmartViewer Web Server 3.3 now shipping
Chicago-based SPSS Inc. has released SmartViewer Web Server 3.3, which enables organizations to deliver interactive SPSS analytical reports to audiences through a Web browser. The new personalization features in SmartViewer Web Server 3.3 give report viewers direct access to information without having to navigate to another page. Viewers can create their own version of a report home page by adding personalized content and links and reorganizing the position of objects on the page. Report viewers can also customize the look and feel of the home page by modifying default styles and colors. Personalization features geared to site administrators enable them to customize the Web template, style sheets and related configuration files, and control the level of personalization available to end users. In addition to SPSS Base, SmartViewer Web Server can also deliver reports generated from Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word and other report software. Enhanced security is another benefit of SmartViewer Web Server 3.3. Document and category settings can now be applied to individual users as well as groups. The administrator can grant a group or user publishing rights to a category without granting rights to the parent category. The new security features of SmartViewer Web Server 3.3 also enable individual users to create new categories for their published documents (in previous releases only the administrator could create public categories).
Book features researchbased ad principles for non-profits
New York research firm RoperASW has launched a new book to help public interest advertisers create more effective ads. Written by Andy Goodman, Why Bad Ads Happen to Good Causes contains seven "print ad principles" based on a recently completed study of public interest advertising conducted by RoperASW, as well as eight decades of advertising research by the firm.
The book comprises 10 years of data (1990-2000) from RoperASW’s print-ad database and evaluates the ability of ads from nonprofit organizations to capture and hold the attention of magazine and newspaper readers. Why Bad Ads Happen to Good Causes reports that many non-profitorganizations are spending a greatdeal of money on print advertisements that are not attracting reader attention. The book’s principles are designed to help these organizations create more effective print advertising.
These seven principles are:
- capture the reader’s attention like a stop sign and direct it like a road map;
- make an emotional connection before attempting to convey information;
- write headlines that offer a reason to read more;
- use pictures to attract and convince;
- if you want people to read your text, make it readable;
- test before, measure afterward; and
- when everyone zigs, it’s time to zag.
In addition to explaining the principles, the book features 20 ads along with their scores, based on RoperASW’s measure: "Noted," the percentage of readers who remember seeing the ad; "Associated," the percentage of readers who recalled the name of the advertiser or campaign; and "Read Most," the percentage of readers who read half or more of the written material in the ad.
Results of Canadian media and consumer study available
BBM Canada (BBM), a non-profit tripartite industry organization providing ratings information for both radio and television to broadcasters, advertisers, and their agencies, has released results from RTS Canada, a study of the media and consumer preferences of Canadians.
RTS Canada data is based on a sample of more than 52,000 respondents. The study provides consumer purchase behavior data for a variety of goods and services categories integrated with media usage and lifestyle information. The study also includes detail at the regional and local levels
in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, London, Kitchener, Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, and Halifax.
Marketers and strategic business planners can mine the RTS Canada data for consumer statistics and preferences that are meaningful to their industry. Industries covered include: automotive, high-tech, financial, travel, telecom, retail, restaurants, home improvement, and sports and leisure.
Briefly...
Executive Solutions, a Syosset, N.Y. research firm, is offering a free 12-week e-mail course about how to create an effective and enjoyable back room experience for focus groups and individual interviews. The course is delivered in segments, one per week.
U.K. research software firm Syclick Ltd. has launched a support Web site for SySurvey, its Web-based research tool. At www.sysurvey.com, users can find a regularly-updated library of research tips and white papers, written by practitioners, academics, and students.
Research Triangle Park, N.C., research firm Johnston, Zabor, McManus, Inc. (JZM) has identified an initial set of discrete tactics that directly influence a pharmaceutical brand Web site’s key value delivery drivers. The tactics are comprised of physical Web site design, navigation, and presentation elements that positively and negatively impact the 21 Value Dimension Drivers used to derive a pharmaceutical Web site’s Visitor Value Index (VVI) - JZM’s indicator of the value a Web site delivers to all visitors.
ACNielsen U.S. has launched Homescan RX/OTC Consumer Panel, a new research service that measures consumer purchases and use of prescription and over-the-counter medicines. The service uses ACNielsen’s nationally representative Homescan consumer panel to track the types of ailments people suffer, the remedies they purchase, and the remedies they actually use. The service also measures patient adherence to prescribed regimens and analyzes why consumers choose various treatment options.