Market Research

4/7/09
Variation in focus group styles
Saw this post and video (from a UK researcher) about how US focus groups were different from UK focus groups. The author pointed out interesting aspects of a US group, but did not mention what UK groups were like in contrast. Which led me to pose the question, what makes UK groups unique? The post’s […]
By David KennedyRead More

3/30/09
Timeliness of surveys
I was going through my mail last night and discovered a survey from the manufacturer of my car. Since survey research is a major part of my work, I figured it would be good Karma to take it. I happily started the survey and realized it was supposed to be about my most recent visit […]
By David KennedyRead More

3/12/09
An interview with a professional respondent II
We recently posted a satirical video of an interview with a professional focus group respondent. Today I ran across this article written by another professional respondent. While somewhat old, I believe it still rings true nearly five years later. For reasons that are probably apparent from watching the video and reading the article, the current […]
By David KennedyRead More

3/2/09
Fostering customer loyalty in grocery stores
Those of you who know me, know I have strong interests in retail, customer service, and loyalty. This probably stems from my years of retail experience before my shift into research. As such, every time I shop (online or at a brick and mortar store) I have ideas that I think could increase satisfaction, improve […]
By David KennedyRead More

2/26/09
A great graph or a horrible graph?
We love our graphs here at Corona. Analysts have gotten into brawls over them (ok, not really). The other day, someone showed me this graph out of an advertisement for, what else, but using a specific direct mail service for advertising. At first, we made fun of the graph. It looked utterly useless, had no […]
By David KennedyRead More

2/20/09
An interview with a professional respondent
Has she been in one of your focus groups? This video reminds me of why we only custom recruit for our focus groups. We use no panel and do not accept opt-in participants. Instead, we custom-recruit for each project ensuring few if any “regular” focus group participants are in the group and that the group […]
By David KennedyRead More

2/18/09
Seth’s five tips for better online surveys
How to improve online surveys? Ask anyone that creates or takes surveys and you’ll probably get an opinion. We’ve even chimed in on the topic in the past. (And on another Seth post.) Seth Godin recently posted Five tips for better online surveys, and, as usual, we have our own two cents to contribute. 1. Every […]
By David KennedyRead More

2/10/09
Ski surveys
We’ve talked plenty about good survey methodology, sampling, and making sure you’re getting the right information, and here is another excellent example: I was up in the mountains this past week skiing and decided to demo (i.e. try out) some new skis. So, I went to the shop at the resort and tried several different […]
By David KennedyRead More

1/29/09
Observation rooms … they’re not just for focus groups
My wife is a fourth year veterinary student at Colorado State University, and on a recent visit to the veterinary teaching hospital I noticed they had several focus group rooms – sort of. I recognized the rooms immediately – two-way glass, audio and video recording, etc. Instead of group discussions though, they use the rooms […]
By David KennedyRead More

1/27/09
What are we weighting for?
Let’s say that you just conducted a public survey of your community for a community needs assessment. In your community, 29% of residents are between age 18 and 34, and 29% are age 55 or older. Yet among your survey respondents, 8% are aged 18-34, while 52% are aged 55 or older (this is a […]
By Beth MulliganRead More