Rock Research Blog http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog New Zealand's specialist market research blog Mon, 05 Sep 2011 05:15:54 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Rock Research Launches PublicVoice PublicVoiceHere at Rock Research we are pleased to annonce the new brand PublicVoice which better represents the work we do in public consultation. Over recent times we have started to work increalsy with New Zealand councils with more councils now using our Citizen's Panel product to better consult with their communitys. Click here to check out our new website ]]> http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2011/09/05/rock-research-launches-publicvoice/ NZ Post Survey Breaches Privacy Back in 2009 NZ Post came under some flak regarding a nationwide survey postal survey they conducted. The Privacy Commissioner looks set to release two reports this week which criticise the survey calling it a "systematic, large-scale breach" of privacy principles. The timing of these reports is auspicious as NZ Post launches the same survey again. NZ Post in a recent press release claims that it has learnt from it's mistakes in 2009 and a larger focus on privacy issues has been made with its 2011 survey. In addition this years survey will move away from the 'Census' look and feel it used in 2009 to avoid any possible confusion.]]> http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2011/06/20/nz-post-survey-breaches-privacy/ Tobacco Survey Prompts Legal Investigation In the NZ Herald article Apology follows tobacco survey it highlights the fine ethical line that researchers must tread when researching sensitive topics. Colmar Brunton (the research company) received a number of complaints for offering free cigarettes to research participants. The client British American Tobacco has said that the Colmar Brunton breached the agreed protocols and was taking responsibility for the incident.]]> http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2010/11/03/tobacco-survey-prompts-legal-investigation/ Dilbert on Online Surveys http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2010/09/03/dilbert-on-online-surveys/ Rock Research/Hutt Chamber Survey Rock Research has teamed up with the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce to present the "Rock Research/Hutt Chamber Survey".]]> http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2010/07/29/rock-researchhutt-chamber-survey/ Easy Online Surveys for Simple Projects Stuff website published the article "Easy Online Surveys" which highlights a couple of key players in the DIY online survey tool market. They are surveymonkey.com and surveygizmo.com Having reviewed by tools before I prefer surveygizmo.com over surveymonkey.com. Both products offer free plans but I found surveygizmo.com to have more flexibility.  Be warned though the free plans are a bit of a tease and are more than likely to leave you thirsting for the features and benefits of the paid (professional) plans. Off course the real challenge with market research is not in selecting the research mode (i.e. the survey delivery mechanism) but the questions you ask. DIY surveys are great for small research projects i.e. polling your teammates on uniform design more complicated research projects are best left to the professionals.]]> http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2010/03/23/easy-online-surveys-for-simple-projects/ How 1 Week Turns into 5 Months http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2010/03/10/how-1-week-turns-into-5-months/ Crowdsourcing and Market Research http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/10/15/crowdsourcing-and-market-research/ Why won?, Why lost?, Why missed?-Surveys for Greater Customer Insight Customer satisfaction surveys tend to dominate thinking when it comes to surveying customers. Yet, there are plenty of other ways to gain insights into your customer base by asking a few quick questions. 'Why won?', 'Why lost?' and 'Why missed?' surveys are just one example. And if you don't have any customers they are also quite useful for dating. 'Why won?', 'Why lost?' and 'Why missed?' surveys are a series of customer insight surveys that are practically guaranteed to give you the information and insights that any business requires in order to retain existing customers, win back old customers and win new business. I first came across 'Why won?', 'Why lost?' and 'Why missed?' surveys in my first job as a market researcher when I was straight out of university. I was immediately stuck by the simplicity of the concept but like most things often it is the simple ideas that are the best (excluding factor and conjoint analysis).

Why Won?

Gaining a new client may mean the popping of champagne corks and a flurry if high fives all around the office.]]> http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/09/29/why-won-why-lost-why-missed-surveys-for-greater-customer-insight/ When DIY Customer Satisfaction Surveys Go Horribly Wrong Customer satisfaction surveys are a great way to find out how you are performing in the eyes of your customers. With the benefits of customer surveys generally well understood, many organisations have employed market research companies to undertake the work for them while some opt for the DIY option. I imagine the DIY option is generally chosen because of the associated cost savings. I mean, why pay someone when you can do it yourself? That's why I mow my own lawns, it's not because I love lawn-mowing, it's because I prefer not to pay someone else when I can do it myself (not to mention the degree of discomfort I feel when watching TV while having the lawn-mowing man sweating outside - dam you lawn-mowing man for making me feel guilty!). Yet, there are sometimes when the professional touch is required, something which my experience below demonstrates.]]> http://www.rockresearch.co.nz/blog/2009/09/23/when-diy-customer-satisfaction-surveys-go-horribly-wrong/