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1. Research War
Stories
In the popular War Stories column, which has run sporadically
in Quirk's since 1994, Art Shulman, president of Shulman
Research in Van Nuys, Calif., presents humorous tales of life in the
research trenches, based on his own experiences and those of researcher
friends and colleagues. Each month in our e-newsletter we feature a few
anecdotes from past War Stories columns. Art is always gathering
material for future War Stories installments so e-mail him at [log in to unmask] to
submit your own anecdotes for consideration.
Focus group moderator Gary Friedan recalls riding in a
limousine from the airport to a focus facility, along with a very important
client. The limo driver, a burly woman in her 50s, was tailgating, much to
Friedan's discomfort. So he asked her nicely not to stay so close behind
the car in front of them. She continued to tailgate, and again Friedan
nicely (at least he thought) asked her not to get so close. The woman
swerved to the shoulder, stopped, turned around and told Friedan, "If
you don't keep quiet you're out of this car right now! Understand?"
"Yes," Friedan replied meekly, wondering what his important
client thought of him now. He also thought, "There goes your tip,
lady."
Nancy Levine reports that in a ride-and-drive car study she conducted, a
respondent who was curious about trunk space unscrewed his artificial leg
and crawled into the trunk. Levine resisted the temptation to shut the
trunk on him.
Related tags: War Stories
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2. Busy Americans spend precious leisure time online
Evidently
the stock markets aren't the only indices declining recently. America's
leisure time is shrinking, and how we spend that time is changing, too,
according to research from Rochester, N.Y., research company Harris
Interactive. The median number of leisure hours available each week dropped
20 percent in 2008, from 20 hours in 2007 to an all-time low of only 16
hours this year.
The median amount of time spent working, including housekeeping and
studying, is now at 46 hours per week, up slightly from 45 hours in 2007.
By generation, Generation Xers (ages 32-43) are working the most hours (55
each week), followed by 50 hours each week for Echo Boomers (18-31) and
Baby Boomers (44-62).
In 2008, Americans increased their work week one hour yet claim to have
lost four hours of leisure time. Where did the rest of the time go?
Perhaps, as the American economic situation has worsened, people who were
worried about their jobs feel the need to spend more time "just
checking in" via computer or wireless device yet consider this time as
neither work nor leisure.
Study results from an international survey conducted by New York research
company TNS confirm that, on average, people are spending close to
one-third of their leisure time online, and it appears people want their 30
percent digital time regardless of how much free time is available.
Respondents with up to two hours leisure time each weekday spent the same
proportion of their leisure time online as respondents who had 7-8 hours of
leisure time on a weekday.
Related articles: demographic, generation X/Y, leisure
Related suppliers: demographic, generation X/Y, leisure
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3. Small businesses
sanguine about '09 outlook
Small business owners are cautiously optimistic going into
2009. More than a quarter of small business owners plan to spend more on
advertising, and another 60 percent plan to spend about the same as in
2008, according The Ad-ology Small Business Marketing Outlook survey
conducted by Ad-ology Research, Columbus, Ohio. While 25 percent stated
they are fearful about the current economic situation and 58 percent are
concerned, 83 percent expect 2009 sales to be up or about the same as 2008.
When broken down by media type, over half of small business advertisers
plan to spend the same or more on the following: online advertising
(69 percent), Yellow Pages (54 percent), newspapers (51 percent) and direct
mail (51 percent).
Other key findings include:
- 52 percent of small business owners
surveyed agree with the statement "You can gain market share by
marketing while your competitors are cutting back."
- 74 percent believe their company
"must be one of the first 2-3 that come to a customer's
mind" when they need what the small business owner is selling.
- More than half of respondents plan
to spend the same or more time and money on their Web sites and e-mail
marketing in 2009.
- The majority of small businesses are
not using other emerging media: 77 percent do not use online video, 83
percent do not podcast and 82 percent do not use mobile advertising.
- "Knows my company/line of
business" is the top attribute small business owners look for in
a media advertising sales rep. "Delivers what they promise"
is the second most desirable attribute.
Related articles: ad effectiveness, ad research
Related suppliers: ad effectiveness, ad research
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4. Mystery shopping: measurement alone
is not enough
The January Quirk's features a focus on mystery shopping. From our
archives, here is an excerpt from a past case history by Rachael Narsh that
details Maritz's approach to using its mystery shopping program to help
Walgreens improve customer service.
Beginning in 2006, St. Louis research company Maritz has helped Walgreens
facilitate its mystery shopping program to better measure, train and reward
customer service. According to Maritz Division Vice President Al Goldsmith,
understanding employee performance is a critical step in any location-level
improvement effort, but measurement alone is not enough.
Successful programs use mystery shopping as the foundation for an
integrated, closed-loop process of performance improvement. There are three
basic components that form the basis for the Maritz process:
- understanding how frontline
employees are delivering on the brand promise, through mystery
shopping;
- enabling them to deliver the brand
promise through continuous improvement tools, processes and coaching;
and
- motivating frontline employees to
embrace change with effective incentives and recognition programs
aligned with brand goals.
"Mystery shopping often gets a black eye when people
don't do anything with it," says Goldsmith. "Those that only do
mystery shopping ask 'Why do we still see a flat line?' If you don't do
anything with it, you're going to continue to see a flat line."
To learn more about how Walgreens used the three-part mystery shopping
method, go here.
"A prescription for continued growth," Quirk's
Marketing Research Review, January 2007
Related articles: case history, customer satisfaction, mystery shopping, pharmacies/drug stores
Related suppliers: customer satisfaction, mystery shopping, pharmacies/drug stores
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5. Upcoming research
events
AMA MPLANET 2009
January 26-28
Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, Fla.
CASRO PANEL RESEARCH CONFERENCE
February 2-3
The InterContinental in New Orleans
INTEGRATED COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE WORKSHOP
February 12
Boston
CMOR RESPONDENT COOPERATION WORKSHOP
March 2-4
The Miami Beach Resort and Spa in Miami Beach, Fla.
PMRG 2009 ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE
March 8-10
Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas
For more information and listings visit our online calendar.
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