Oh Christmas tree, oh ersatz Christmas tree
In a survey conducted before Christmas last year, 86 percent of respondents to a survey by Maritz Marketing Research, St. Louis, said they planned to have a Christmas tree in their house. The sad news is, nearly half of those folks chose an artificial tree. Among Americans who put up trees, the synthetic type was most popular with older folks. Sixty-three percent of those 45 and over chose artificial trees; 61 percent under age 45 still planned to choose the real thing. People enjoyed Christmas decorations on the outsides of their homes as well. Fifty-seven percent of all Americans put up exterior decorations for the holidays. Those with incomes of $35,000 or more were most likely to dress up their exteriors (70 percent vs. 49 percent of those earning less than $35,000).
Most Americans - 77 percent typically attend at least one holiday party each year. Nearly one-third (32 percent) said they attend three or more. Younger people are more likely to party during the holidays. Eighty-eight percent of adults 18-44 years old attend at least one party, versus 64 percent of those 45 and up.
Not surprisingly, 72 percent of Americans planned to travel for Christmas, with younger people more likely to hit the road. Eighty-one percent of those 18-44 travel for the holidays, compared to 62 percent of Americans over 45.
Women's entrepreneurism grows worldwide
Women around the world are diving into entrepreneurial endeavors in increasing numbers, partially because significant opportunities draw them into the game and partially because poor economies and musty thinking in already-established companies deny them chances to succeed. Sixteen women, each an executive officer in Les Femmes Chefs d'Entreprises Mondiales (the World Association of Women Entrepreneurs), participated in a study sponsored by Avon Products Inc., New York, and conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide, New York. Each of the 16 reported on the state of distaff entrepreneurism in her country and offered her opinion on directions things are likely to take in the future.
Based on what local observers say, Portugal, Canada and the United States have shown the sharpest increases in the number of women launching ventures, though women in Eastern European countries, likely because of tremendous economic stress, are also employing themselves at increasing rates. In France, 28 percent of new businesses are started by women. In Guinea, Cameroon and Tunisia, the number of women-owned businesses remains small, but its recent 20-25 percent growth is outpacing the country's population growth rates. European women, in particular, tend to start businesses to ensure opportunity for their kids, which makes sense, since five out of eight European women inherited the family business.
Most often, women open retail businesses. Business and professional services are the second most frequently launched endeavors, followed by manufacturing and personal care businesses. The archetypal female entrepreneur is a middle-class wife and mother between 34 and 45 who has a secondary or technical education. Women in the U.S. are prone to starting businesses because they can't shatter the glass ceilings installed in many corporations, while elsewhere women start businesses because there are no jobs or they can't get the jobs that are available.
Not too surprisingly, lack of capital is the principle deterrent women face. But they don't often go to government for help; they find a way to fund ventures themselves. Around the world, women cited independence from their husbands and families as a significant benefit of business ownership.
Jackson's a hit
Marketing researchers are a fickle sort. Proof lies in a report on the most-often surveyed cities in a recent issue of "The Frame," a newsletter issued by Survey Sampling Inc., Fairfield, Conn. Compiled every two years, top 25 lists of the most heavily canvassed metro areas show remarkable variation; only Cincinnati and Kansas City appear in each of the 1990, '92 and '94 lists. The 1994 top 10 areas, in order, were Jackson, Mich.; Boise, Idaho; Sioux Falls, S.D.; San Diego, Calif.; Akron, Ohio; Rochester, Minn.; South Bend, Ind.; San Francisco; Miami; Charleston, W.V. Boise is the only city that appears in both the 1992 and 1994 top 10s. 1992's No.1, Midland, Texas, did not even make the 1994 top 25.
Top dog Jackson was crawling with researchers because its median age of 34.0 and median "effective buying income" of $32,752 are, not surprisingly, quite close to the U.S. median age of 33.4 and EBI of $33,178. The Jackson area has a population of roughly 152,000 in some 55,000 households.
Meanwhile, "The Frame" also notes that personal interviewing and mail surveys are expected to gain popularity among researchers in coming years. In consumer research, the use of mall surveys should continue to grow. On the flip side, Survey Sampling's poll discovered that researchers believe that international research and telephone surveying will take hits in the near term. What's more, small research firms (with fewer than five people) are getting smaller, while larger firms (especially those with between 4 and 20 employees) are adding staff.
Firms define drug policies
Research conducted by Lakewood Research and Training magazine, Minneapolis, indicates that in the past six years, more companies have adopted well-defined drug policies for workers. In 1988, 16 percent of the 821 firms responding to Lakewood's queries tested job applicants for drugs; in 1994, 36 percent of 1,194 respondents did so. The percentage that had formal substance abuse policies increased from 60 to 83. Unfortunately, only 28 percent of 1994 respondents said they regularly conduct or sponsor substance abuse training and 56 percent offer assistance to employees trying to deal with substance abuse. Both percentages had increased from the '88 survey, and it's logical to assume that as more companies define policies they will follow up with help for employees who need it.
Why they buy
If you want to sell to folks in charge of MIS at the local corporation, best put yourself in their shoes. While they'd probably like to buy the neatest, fastest, best new hardware and software available, what they really need is the stuff that's going to get the job done right, cheap. Here in the '90s, everybody's tense about job security, and MIS staff are no different: According to a survey conducted by the Connecticut Research Group Inc., Westport, Conn., what MIS decision makers most want outside vendors and service firms to do is help them do their jobs. The survey of 600 executives at small, medium-sized and large firms found that personal concerns weighed just as heavily as technical considerations in MIS purchase decisions.
To a significant degree, MIS managers' shift in priorities - a 1990 survey by CRG found that technological superiority, minimum downtime and the availability and quality of broad support activities were most important to purchasers of MIS needs - can be chalked up to the parity of products on the market and the uniform service standard demanded from all providers. On the MIS front these days, management above all else wants systems, networks and work stations up and running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and a high level of user productivity, which requires everybody to have access to all of the information and equipment they need all the time. Now that MIS managers know that information can be handled in a variety of ways they want their suppliers to ensure that their systems matches their requirements perfectly - and makes them look good.