The Merrill Dubrow Blog

Note from Jennifer Davis, Jane’s daughter:

“…we lost my mom on Saturday August 9th. We were all in the room, telling stories of love and teaching. We will miss her more than words can express… Thank you for all of the wonderful postings, flowers and prayers.

Jennifer on behalf of Rob, Katy and Robbie”

The rest of Jennifer’s message and Jane’s obituary can be found with Jane’s comments below.

For the past 5+ years I have been on the Market Research Association (MRA) National board. During that time, I have had the opportunity to work with and be led by some great presidents.

Each year the association gets a new president, one with their own style, grace and goals. I can still remember the first board meeting with a very special president in 2005 and my desire to send a follow-up email right after it ended:

Jane,

I am sitting here at 30,000 feet and thinking about the MRA and can’t help but send you an email. I am truly impressed with your leadership qualities, communication skills and ability to work with any type of person.

Thank you for being the next President of the Association and leading us during another exciting time! I know everyone on the board is looking forward to working with you and exceeding all of our goals in the years to come.

Enjoy the weekend.

Merrill

This president that I am referring to is Jane Cook. She is much more than just a past president of the MRA. She is a daughter, wife, mother, business executive and friend. Jane is that one person you COULD always count on to be there for you. Jane listened to you when you were down and gave needed advice that usually was right on. She is one special lady who always had time for everyone. She is beautiful on the inside and out and has a smile that would always force you to say yes no matter what she asked. She is always even-keeled and has so many other special qualities it would take me hours to list each and every one of them.

Way back in the early 80’s my dad developed cancer. During that time he insisted on not only having the treatment before work so it didn’t get in his way, he also insisted that no one know. To me, that speaks to the heart of my dad, who he is and the passion and work ethic he has and still possesses. I never knew until two days ago that Jane did the exact same thing during her year as President of the MRA. Was she hurting? Yes. Was she tired? Yes. Did she ever complain? No. Did she ever tell anyone? No. Did she ever show it? No. That’s not Jane. She always knew what needed to be done and NEVER allowed anything to get in her way–not even her treatment for cancer.

In the past decade, Jane has battled cancer a number of times. Each time she has won. Unfortunately our beloved leader, mother, wife and friend has another round of this battle as she goes up against this disease once again. This time the doctors have told her it is terminal with not a lot of time left.

To her husband Rob, daughters Jennifer and Katy, and son Rob, please know that you aren’t the only people who love Jane. That love is shared by hundreds if not thousands who are in the research and business community and have been fortunate to know her.

At the present time Jane is not in a position to take calls. However, all comments that are posted here will be read to Jane as well as cards that are sent to her.

You may send cards to:

Jane Cook
222 Crescent St SE.
Cedar Rapids, IA 52403

Jane, our thoughts, prayers and love are with you and your family as you fight this battle again with the same positive attitude, energy and grace that you have each and every day.

I get a lot of emails some of which are very interesting and thought-provoking. One of the ones I received last week falls into this category. As we all know, the airline industry has been in the news a lot lately for a number of reasons–none of which are good. From fare increases to airlines charging for everything. Below is an email I received that talks about some of the issues in the airline industry and calls for a stop of oil speculation. The interesting thing for me wasn’t all about the message but rather who sent it. Or actually what group sent it. You will see that 12 airline CEOs all joined together and signed the letter.

Amazing that competitors most of the day and night can and will join forces to fight for a common cause.

Is this the first time you are seeing this email?

What do you think about this group having a unified front?

Now stop and think about how and what they did as it relates to the research industry. Most researchers would say that the research industry has an issue with respondent cooperation and panel quality–not sure many people would disagree with that.

How powerful and meaningful would it be if Larry Brownell and Jon Last (MRA), Diane Bowers (CASRO), Bob Lederer (RFL Communications) , Roger Green (PMRG), Bob Borocci (ARF), Richard A. (Dick) Kulka, PhD (AAPOR), Tom Kinnear (AMA), Véronique Jeannin (Esomor) and Linda Lawrie (PBIRG) and others collectively develop a letter and send it out to ALL the researchers across the world! How much would this group accomplish by working TOGETHER rather than each association trying to solve industry problems on their own?

I for one strongly believe that everyone should check their egos at the door and try to make this happen in 2009!

• Do you think this is a good idea?
   
• Do you think this great industry needs for this to happen?
   
• Who will be the first to step up?

I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD SAY THIS, BUT MY HOPE IS WHY CAN’T THE RESEARCH INDUSTRY BE LIKE THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY! 

I look forward to reading your comments.

Our country is facing a possible sharp economic downturn because of skyrocketing oil and fuel prices, but by pulling together, we can all do something to help now. For airlines, ultra-expensive fuel means thousands of lost jobs and severe reductions in air service to both large and small communities. To the broader economy, oil prices mean slower activity and widespread economic pain. This pain can be alleviated, and that is why we are taking the extraordinary step of writing this joint letter to our customers. Since high oil prices are partly a response to normal market forces, the nation needs to focus on increased energy supplies and conservation. However, there is another side to this story because normal market forces are being dangerously amplified by poorly regulated market speculation. Twenty years ago, 21 percent of oil contracts were purchased by speculators who trade oil on paper with no intention of ever taking delivery. Today, oil speculators purchase 66 percent of all oil futures contracts, and that reflects just the transactions that are known. Speculators buy up large amounts of oil and then sell it to each other again and again. A barrel of oil may trade 20-plus times before it is delivered and used; the price goes up with each trade and consumers pick up the final tab. Some market experts estimate that current prices reflect as much as $30 to $60 per barrel in unnecessary speculative costs. Over seventy years ago, Congress established regulations to control excessive, largely unchecked market speculation and manipulation. However, over the past two decades, these regulatory limits have been weakened or removed. We believe that restoring and enforcing these limits, along with several other modest measures, will provide more disclosure, transparency and sound market oversight. Together, these reforms will help cool the over-heated oil market and permit the economy to prosper. The nation needs to pull together to reform the oil markets and solve this growing problem. We need your help. Get more information and contact Congress by visiting www.StopOilSpeculationNow.com. Richard Anderson CEO Delta Air Lines, Inc. Gerard J. Arpey Chairman, President and CEO American Airlines, Inc. Bill Ayer Chairman, President and CEO Alaska Airlines, Inc.   Dave Barger CEO JetBlue Airways Corporation   Mark B. Dunkerley President and CEO Hawaiian Airlines, Inc.   Robert Fornaro Chairman, President and CEO AirTran Airways   Timothy E. Hoeksema Chairman, President and CEO Midwest Airlines   Lawrence W. Kellner Chairman and CEO Continental Airlines, Inc.   Gary Kelly Chairman and CEO Southwest Airlines Co.   Douglas Parker Chairman and CEO US Airways Group, Inc.   Douglas M. Steenland President and CEO Northwest Airlines, Inc.   Glenn F. Tilton Chairman, President and CEO United Airlines, Inc.

[Note: While this article focuses primarily on quantitative research, the basic points also apply to qualitative research]

Whenever anyone talks to me about Respondent Cooperation, I invariably tell them that we should place more emphasis on Respondent Satisfaction. I say this because I believe that if we continue to focus on the former and ignore the latter, we risk losing our audience (our respondents).

Let’s face it: completing the average survey is about as exciting as filling out a loan application. Most surveys are visually unappealing and unexciting.

Respondent Cooperation rates have dropped for a number of reasons, but a major one is that completing a survey is too much like taking a test… not an experience most enjoy. Sure, there are other factors affecting Respondent Cooperation, but we tend to ignore that participating in most surveys is just not much fun.

This is primarily the result of a lack of imagination and creativity.

The lack of imagination and creativity in the research process is the result of numerous factors. I will pinpoint a few:

1. Most researchers are nerds. After all, who but a nerd enjoys studying human opinions and behavior? The clinical approach we take in our work may get us the answers we are looking for, but uses a process and techniques that simply aren’t very entertaining.
2. We write/ask questions in an unbiased manner which will get the answers required, not in ways which will amuse or engage the respondents.
3. We tend to hire only researchers–not creative people–to assist us.
4. We are too often restricted by budgets and timelines which prevent us from doing something “different.”
5. We are creatures of habit. Most research companies have a style, and have developed a catalog of standard questions. It is very easy to throw together a survey from an inventory of questions which aren’t very interesting.

Let’s look at some methodologies.

Phone. Telephone research is effectively on its deathbed. Participating in a survey over the phone is as exciting as listening to a talk radio show in a language you don’t understand. Interviewers ask questions in an unbiased manner and don’t emphasize words or use intonation which will bias a response. Phone surveys are thus not very engaging, which in turn contributes to low cooperation rates.

Phone surveys are also frequently way too long. We live in the age of sound bites and text messaging (limited to 160 characters), not in an age of 20-30 minute questionnaires. As a result, phone research is dying , and will probably never work again as a great method for research.

Paper. Paper surveys all too often are really like a test with all the baggage and negative feeling attached. Paper surveys are, for the most part, badly designed, poorly laid out, and are usually printed in black ink on white paper. Talk about DULL! What’s the problem with using color or incorporating graphics? We should at least attempt to engage people.

Online. This is the medium with the most potential to engage respondents. Unfortunately most online surveys are too much like paper. They simply are not very engaging. This is because the tools used to program the surveys were developed to meet the needs of the researchers not amuse the respondents. What we have to keep in mind is that while we don’t currently have tools that let us design entertaining and fun surveys, these features certainly can be incorporated into existing software. All we have to do is ask for it. Any technique that you see being used on a Web page or an online advertisement could be incorporated into a Web survey. We need to make better use of movement, sound and color. It is time to start thinking of an online survey more like a good Powerpoint presentation.

The Bottom Line.

Researchers need to hire some/more creative people to assist them, and we need to start to make surveys more fun. Otherwise, we stand the risk of having no participants.

Those are a few of my thoughts.

• Do you agree with me?
• What are your thoughts?

I look forward to hearing from you!

###

Peter Van Brunt, PRC

Mr. Van Brunt has been involved with doing quantitative marketing research since 1974. In 1982 he started his own research company, ReData, Inc. Over the years, Mr. Van Brunt has been an active volunteer in the Marketing Research Association. He was one of the founding members of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the MRA, served as the second Chapter President, and remained active on the Chapter Board for a number of years. At the National level, he has served on numerous Councils, Committees, and Task Forces. He served on the National Board of Directors as a Director at Large, and was elected national President of the Marketing Research Association for the year 2002-2003. He was instrumental in MRA starting Professional Research Certification, and he currently chairs the Review Committee for Researcher Certification. He is PRC certified at the Expert Level. In 2006 he was presented with MRA’s Honorary Lifetime Membership Award.

He holds a BS in Mathematics from Bucknell University.

I get a lot of calls in my office to do surveys. All of the initial calls come in during the day and I always respond the same way: if you would like me to do a survey, please call me around 7:00am. I tend to get in early and would gladly make some time available to help out this great industry. About a year ago, this interviewer called me to do a survey and of course I gave her my standard answer. Her name was Abby and she was very pleasant. The study involved CEO’s and paid an incentive of $100.00. At the end of the survey, I asked Abbey how long it would take before they would send out the incentive. She responded less than two weeks and gave me a number and some type of code that would help me if there was an issue down the road.

A month goes by and no incentive. Five weeks go by and no incentive. I figured it was time to call the number and use the code that Abby gave me. When I did, much to my surprise, it was a company I knew very well. At first I was a little taken aback that it was a company that I knew and that the incentive was not already sent out.

After a little back and forth with the company (SORRY BUT UNFORTUNATELY I WILL NOT SAY WHO IT WAS) I become more and more frustrated.

The data collection company’s position was that their client didn’t pay them the incentive so they can’t and won’t pay the respondents the incentive. They are not a bank and can’t afford to outlay thousands of dollars for incentives for respondents.

I was confused and upset about a number of things:

First and foremost that respondents are being treated like this. Respondent cooperation is the number one problem in the research industry and situations like this hurt us all. Isn’t it their responsibility to follow through with a commitment that Abby the interviewer made?

• The real question is where does the responsibility lie?
   
• Is it with the execution company?
   
• Is it with the client?
   
• How does your company handle incentives?

At M/A/R/C, regardless if we have collected the money, we pay the incentive within the timeframe stated.

I look forward to hearing your comments.

P.S. The end result was that after sending them two very stern emails, I finally received the incentive check.

Last week I was at a promotions conference In Las Vegas. Having never been to the conference I was looking forward to the speakers, networking and of course the gifts that you receive at a conference. This conference didn’t have an exhibit hall so most of the gifts or "chotchke" were in the conference bag that I received when I checked in.

Yes there were mints in there, an eight ball that you roll and will tell your mood, a wallet and a number of other promotion items that had company names on them.

The question is what do you like and what is a total waste of time?

For me, save your money I don’t want a highlighter, calculator or pen. Those items just don’t work for me! I like something a little more creative, something that catches my eye. Something that stands out a little more than others. Maybe a small travel game like connect four or a small picture frame that I could use in my office–something that has a company logo on it but is small enough so it doesn’t stand out.

• Are you a stress ball person?
   
• Do you want a stuffed animal with a bow and logo on it?
   
• Do you want some mints or M&M’s? Selfishly, I love candy so this also works for me but does it really promote the company?
   
• How about a flash drive? Does that work for you?
   
• What are your favorite gifts that you like to bring home to the kids?

I look forward to your comments and suggestions.

Over the years I have attended lots of MRA board meetings. The first week of June was no different for me. I went to the annual conference and attended the MRA board meeting prior to the conference.

Watching someone in action at a board meeting is fascinating to me. Whether it is their body language, how they control the room of volunteers, how they keep the meeting on point and frankly how they keep the meeting on time. The goal is to make sure you engage everyone and balance that with not having a few people dominate the conversation. Believe me this can happen when so many people (including myself) are very long-winded.

This can be a challenge for most if not all leaders. Rarely does someone have the grace, intelligence and respect of people to do everything that I describe here. This board meeting was probably the best of the last four that I have attended. The conversation was strategic in nature and attendees all voiced their opinions. Most discussions had a nice debate with everyone respectfully giving their opinion. It was poetry in motion. The board meeting was a Broadway hit in my mind. The star of the show, the leader of the pack, the person who was in charge to control the room was MRA Past President Colleen Moore Mezler.

Before I was on the MRA board, I really didn’t know Colleen. I knew who she was and admired her from afar. Over the past few years I am happy to say that has changed. I have gotten to know her very well. With each conversation I have with her I respect her even more. The conversations are always fresh and full of new ideas and passion. She is a terrific person and leader and the research community is much better off with her involvement and leadership in the industry.

Over the past few years I have seen firsthand what a great leader can accomplish. Colleen made things happen during her year of presidency and should be very proud of what she accomplished in the last 365 days.

Colleen’s passion doesn’t start and end with the MRA. She is a second generation researcher, wife, mother and business executive as well. From where I sit, she is successful in every aspect of her life. Last week I was honored with a national award from the MRA. One of the FIRST emails I got to congratulate me was from Anthony. Oh I forget to mention Anthony’s last name — Mezler. Yes Anthony is Colleen’s son.

Peggy, Richard, Frank and Anthony, I can only imagine how proud you are of your daughter, wife and mother. Believe me when I say you are not alone because myself and THOUSANDS of researchers are as proud of her as you are.

I hope others will share comments or stories about Colleen.

It appears to me that there is a shortage of good researchers in our industry. The MMR and MSMR Programs in the United States graduate less than 100 people every year with each graduate getting multiple offers.

When someone leaves your company unexpectedly what do you do?

For M/A/R/C we will do a number of things that breakdown into four buckets:

1. Use referrals from our current staff. This makes up about 15% of our new hires. People want to work with their friends and contacts especially if they are happy. We do have a referral bonus program in place that seems to work pretty well.
    
2. Pay attention at conferences — You can pick up some really good leads there. This makes up about 20% of our new hires. Once I get the attendee list, I will review the list a few times looking for clients, prospects and potential new hires. This has worked very well in the past. If you aren’t doing this you might want to try it.
    
3. I tend to use industry contacts. If I call someone a friend, I put a very, very, very high value on our friendships. We can ask each other for favors and bounce things off each other knowing that the person asking the question will get a candid response — not necessarily the response they are looking for. I always rely on industry contacts for potential new hires and references. This has probably made up 50% of all of our new hires.
    
4. The other bucket is a miscellaneous one that contains ads, search consultants, advisory boards, presenting at colleges, conferences and makes up 15% of our new hires. Some of these things you need to do just to keep the buzz about your company fresh. For me, there hasn’t been an immediate return with staff, but there have been some pleasant surprises like this blog recruiting a person whom I had lost touch with 15+ years ago.

• Where do you look for new talent?
   
• Have you had success putting ads in research publications or online sites?

I look forward to hearing your comments.

Recently I was reading a chart with US Public Market Research Companies and their 2007 results vs. their 2006 performance.  Here are the results:

See a trend? Of the sixteen companies, six had an increase from 2006. Only two of those companies had double digit increase in their stock price. Of the ten companies whose stock price went down in 2007, eight of them lost over 10%. That to me was pretty amazing. Based on this graph there are lots of questions:

• What is going on?
   
• Will this trend continue?
   
• Once you get to a certain level, can you really grow the company to have success year over year?
   
• Is this an opportunity to buy a stock at a good value?

What do you think? What does this graph tell you about our industry?

I look forward to reading your comments.

Okay, I will admit it.  There are some things that I buy that I will bargain shop. No, I won’t drive all over town, but I tend to buy a lot of DVDs and will go to Target, Circuit City or Best Buy depending on price. Like I said I won’t drive 20 miles to do this, but all of those stores are within two miles of where I live so it isn’t a big deal. I am sure a number of people (if not most) go through the newspaper every Sunday looking for deals or items on sale that they either need or are too good to pass up.  In essence they love a discount, yes love a discount. The reality is where does it stop?  Does everything we do or buy need to have a discount? Yes I will buy some things based on sale items like paper towels, mulch for our yard and bottled water for sure. Clearly I view those items as a commodity. But where does it stop?

Not a week goes by where I don’t receive an email from a market research company not only highlighting their services but highlighting their discount. "Try us now and receive 20% off." "Use our services before the end of the month and receive a discount."

• I realize that business is challenging these days, but isn’t there another way to promote their services?
   
• Doesn’t it commoditize our industry and cheapen the value of research?

If I need a lawyer, am I going to go to them because they send me a 25% off coupon? What about going to a new dentist because I can save $10 on my next cleaning? The answer for me is NO, NO and once again No!. I consider those types of services professional and would never choose one because of price. I have never and will never choose a hospital because a surgery might be $400 less than another hospital. Don’t we all choose those services based on reputation, quality of service and location?

Isn’t the market research industry the same thing? Aren’t we all professionals? Don’t we want clients to use our services based on our service, quality and insight?  NOT because of price! NOT BECAUSE OF A DISCOUNT. AND I WOULD NEVER USE A COMPANY FOR THE FIRST TIME BECAUSE A COMPANY SENT ME A DISCOUNT.

• Would you?
   
• How do you feel when you get one of these discount opportunities?
   
• If your company does it (clearly your choice) what is your position and strategy?

I realize this might be a controversial posting but I really look forward to reading your comments and point of view.

Since I am on the advisory boards for the University of Texas at Arlington, the University of Georgia, the University of Wisconsin, and Southern Illinois University and mentor lots of students, I get asked this question very often.

Client or supplier: which way should I go?

• Is it better to start in one direction or the other?
   
• Which part of the industry is more enjoyable?
   
• Where can I learn more?

And of course the really brave students will ask…

• Where will I make more money?

For me this is a real difficult question because I have NEVER worked on the client side but definitely have an opinion. (There’s a shock! Of course I have an opinion! I’m from Boston!)

First of all I am not sure you can go wrong with either choice. As someone who truly loves the industry, I am just excited that the person is choosing to be part of it. When I think about what I enjoyed and looked for in a job way back when I graduated from Hofstra University it was:

• Learning new things
   
• Working in different industries
   
• Being exposed to seeing new products and services
   
• Being challenged during the day

Because of that, I truly believe someone graduating and wanting to start in this great profession, should start with a supplier. I believe the learning in year one can be much greater at a supplier because of the mix of projects, industries and different methodologies that you are exposed to in your first few years. By doing this it will become a platform for growing as a professional down the road and give you many options.

There are many benefits for going the client way. You are much closer to the ultimate decision process and yes, you probably will make more money starting out.

Let the debate begin.

I would really like to hear from both clients and suppliers about the benefits of going in either direction.

• What did you do and why?
   
• Have you worked for both types of companies?
   
• What were the challenges?
   
• What is your recommendation: client or supplier?

I really look forward to your comments.