1) Go West (or South) Young Man: Jobs (and therefore, people) are quickly migrating South and West: Lower taxes and fewer unions continue to encourage economic growth in the South and West. Conversely, regulations in many northern states, such as New York, are less favorable for businesses. Compounding the problem (or the opportunity for the South and West) is the fact that entire families, not just the younger workers, are moving. MR questions: How does this shift effect the consumption of your products and services? Should you test new concepts that will play better in the South and West? Should you refine the allocation of your media spend and/or the messaging behind your marketing?

2) Multi-Cultural Nation: While white non-Hispanics still comprise two thirds of the US’s 300 million people, it is the slowest growing segment at only 2%. The Hispanic population has grown over 40% since 2000 which makes it the largest minority group in the US at 50 million people (or 16%). MR questions: Do you really understand Hispanic consumer preferences as they relate to your products and services? Really? Many people give it lip service but fail to really invest in understanding this population. Do your customer satisfaction and awareness and usage studies delve deeply into Hispanic preferences?

3) Women on the Move: In a 2009 report, the Census Bureau revealed that more women had graduated college than men for the first time in US history. While the deep recession in male-dominated industries like construction and manufacturing has contributed to this shift, the increased role of women in the economic engine is a trend that’s likely to continue (see a related blog post here about women and their increased earning and purchasing power). MR questions: Are you looking at women through an outdated lens? Does your research fully understand the unique preferences of the all-powerful female consumer?

4) Power to Pops: It is forecasted that there will be 70 million grandparents by 2010. That’s a massive increase when you consider there were just 47 million in 1990. In effect, the number of grandparents in the US grew five times faster than the overall population. More importantly, grandparents are living with their children, helping with unmarried mothers (their daughters), and making spending decisions for the household. The bottom line is this: American consumers who are 50+ years old now “control the vast majority of assets and show the most economic growth.” As a result, marketing research and advertising budgets should shift accordingly, from the current allocation of 10% on that demographic to as much as 40%. MR questions: How well do you market to the grandparent demographic? Does your marketing research properly account for the grandparent demographic? How can you improve your questionnaire design, sampling and analytics in order to better understand this critical segment of the US population?

5) Christmas Spending Cheer: The Ad Age report forecasts “a small but encouraging spike in consumer spending” for this Christmas season. Furthermore it predicts, as do many other economists, that the recession in real estate will end in the spring (and construction in the summer). States likely to see the earliest turnaround include Texas and Florida, owing mainly to their relatively young populations and healthy industries. MR questions: How can you tweak your pricing and messaging to gain the most from this modest spike, without compromising the equity of your brand? Is there pent up demand for your products and services that poised to release once the psychological savings thresholds are achieved? If so, what are those thresholds and how can you ready your offerings and messaging to take full advantage of a resurgent US consumer?

David Wilson
CEO
FGI Research

While some may question the accuracy of online research due to sample bias and the risks from “professional responders,” there’s no doubt that this tool has become a much quicker way to initially evaluate the marketplace and consumer reaction compared to the traditional methods alone.  But, some skeptics have a valid point in that online research alone isn’t always the best answer.  Better solutions can often be found by combining online surveys with online communities, social media mining, online focus groups and even telephone interviewing.

Ashton Smith
Social Media Intern
FGI Research

We polled a significant number of respondents who were nationally representative in terms of their demographics using our tested method, known as iGAGE.  Our study showed that 10.3% of married couples, with at least one working partner, were in long distance relationships.  Of these, 70.83% said that the separation was due to the U.S. economy.  Interestingly, respondents over the age of 30 were much more open to the idea of a long distance relationship than those ages 21-29.  Of those who said that they’d be willing to live apart, 86.4% were over age 30.  Exploring this further, we discovered that the majority (62.2%) of respondents would only be willing to maintain this type of relationship for less than 3 years.  Finally, although 50% women said that they would live in a long distance relationship for ‘as long as necessary’ only 19.6% of men agreed.

Finally, FGI Research discovered some interesting ways in which couples keep their lines of communication open during separation.  Social media has emerged as a viable way for married couples to keep up with each other.  Our survey showed that 52.2% of these married couples use social media to keep in touch with their spouse.  The most popular site for communication for this purpose is Facebook (40.4%), followed by MySpace (23.4%) and Twitter (8.5%).  Surprisingly 72.3% of these social media users are between ages 30-54.  This is an unexpected shift in usage by age for media outlets that were once almost exclusively dominated by the 18-24 year old group one year ago.

If the job market continues to decline, or fails to improve in the near future, will more couples start considering long distance relationships as a means to maintain financial stability?  FGI Research would like to hear what you think about the matter.

Of those who responded, 83.92% said they had qualified and used Financial Aid.  Respondents were asked to share all forms of financial aid that they received for their education.  The majority of this aid came from Stafford Loans (76.98%), followed by Perkins Loans (36.51%) and then private loans (29.37%). While most respondents were female, compared with male respondents there was an almost equal percentage of both genders who accepted Financial Aid. Also, respondents receiving financial aid were not confined to one ethnicity, gender, or age range, making it apparent that this trend has affected multiple demographics due to the country’s economic downturn.

The subject of student loans has also hit social media outlets.  Facebook users are creating various groups, notes, and blogs to discuss the issue with others.  Respondents also cited Youtube as being a commonly used source of information concerning student loans.  Of those who turned to social media as an educational tool to learn about financial aid, 34.27% of respondents cited Facebook and 23.08% used YouTube.  It’s not just students using social media to discuss the issues surrounding Financial Aid.  In June 2009, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi posted a note on Facebook with information to make students aware of the many benefits available to help them manage their student loans.

Approximately half of our respondents are currently still paying off student loans so, not surprisingly, 81.62% of them reported that having the loans has affected their standard of living.  According to the survey, 65.03% reported that student loans have affected small spending habits regarding leisure activities, food and household purchases; 39.86% said loans have prevented travel; and 31.47% said they have postponed major milestones such as marriage, starting a family, or purchasing a house. If the economic downturn is prolonged, the question remains as to how to reap the benefits of higher education without being negatively affected by the backlash of student loan payments in the future.

As market researchers, the onus is on us to help our clients find new and creative ways to get answers to their business problems, without sacrificing the best practices that make those answers actionable.  This could mean combining multiple modes of data collection to ensure we reach our target population where they “live” (web, phone, mail, mobile), finding new environments for clients to interact with their customer base (custom panels, communities, social networks) or investigating new technologies to get at information that might not be revealed using traditional research methods (social media monitoring).  The world is changing faster than ever before – we all need to be ready to move with the times.

Heather Woodward
Director, Online Research
FGI Research

This social media site also creates an excellent new source of customer feedback that can be combined with traditional methods such as focus groups or surveys.  New tools such as Tweetdeck now allow companies to follow competitors, track key words, or determine consumer opinion concerning their brand or product.  Our clients who have begun monitoring social media sites prior to product launches have gained great insight into consumer reaction, competitor response and the marketing tactics that should be used.   With Twitter expected to have close to 50 million users by the end of the year, it’s important to employ expert advice in social media mining and web monitoring.

Ashton Smith
Social Media Intern
FGI Research

If you’re not being discussed online, something’s up.  Whether it’s about your latest product, recently published research report, or company, or if it’s positive, neutral, or negative feedback you want to have your fair share of the social media pie.  If people are talking about you online then that means you can directly tap into what your customers (and potential customers) are saying about you – with no censorship.

This easy access to your customers’ opinions gives you an opportunity that businesses a generation ago didn’t have – the ability to respond almost immediately to questions, concerns, and responses to your business.  Whether the feedback is positive or negative you can respond accordingly and quickly.

So how do you dive into the social media pool?  Create accounts for your business – make a Facebook page, a Twitter account, Youtube videos, etc. and start publishing information about your business.  Invite clients and other business in your industries to be part of your networks.  Maintain dialogues (not monologues) with those people in your networks.  Respond quickly, succinctly, and efficiently to their feedback.

In the world of social media, no news is bad news – start a conversation today!

Emily Varney
Social Media Intern
FGI Research

Of people who do DIY projects regularly, 28.29% report doing more DIY projects now than they did 12 months ago.  The frequency of people doing DIY projects is not only increasing because of the educational opportunities on the internet, but also because of the downturn in the economy.  In fact, 32.95% of DIYers said that they do more DIY projects specifically because of the down economy.  Furthermore, 57.75% of people who do DIY regularly said that the main reason why is that it is less expensive than hiring a professional.

Our analysts also looked at some differences in DIY preferences in terms of gender.  The majority of respondents who reported to do ‘light DIY’ projects were women (69%); as opposed to those who said they do ‘medium and heavy’ levels of DIY, which were almost twice as frequently male.  Furthermore, women, most frequently performed 1-2 DIY projects in the past 12 months, but a majority of males reported doing 3-4 and 5+ projects in that time.  In addition, the reasons why our respondents do DIY projects differ between the genders.  24.6% of those who said that ‘completing DIY projects gives me a sense of satisfaction’ were male.  Overwhelmingly, of those who said their main reason was that it was ‘less expensive than hiring a professional’ and that they ‘enjoy learning how to do DIY projects’, were women.

It is important to note the differences in appeal to both men and women when thinking about the DIY market.  The main motivation behind why a woman purchases DIY products may be to save money or learn a new skill; whereas a male consumer may simply be motivated by the sense of satisfaction he gets with a job well done.  In both cases the trend is the same: as long as the economy stays down, people will be motivated to use social media, and learn to ‘do it themselves.’

• They will spend more for goods and services of higher quality (65% food, 57% clothing, 56% facial skin care)
• They demand products that deliver: time savings, fulfilling experiences, and emotional benefits
• They give examples of brands that consistently meet their needs: Coach, Crème de la Mer, Adidas, Apple and Nike

Our advice: keep your research sharply focused on the wants and needs of women as they related to your specific products and services. Otherwise, you may find yourself on the outside looking in on the very people who control the majority of every dollar that is spent.

David Wilson
CEO
FGI Research

Traditionally, surveys are designed to present price options on a basic scale, without methodological regard to the order in which the price deltas are presented to the respondents.  In this survey, a random half of the respondents were presented the pricing variation choices from low-to-high (i.e. 30% less to 30% more), and the other half were presented the price variations in the opposite order (30% more to 30% less).

Data from the “low-to-high” respondents skewed toward paying less for the product, while data from the “high to low” respondents skewed toward paying more for the products.  The same number said “about the same” in both cases; “about the same” was the midpoint of each scale. This finding reflects  a classic example of order bias.

Dino Fire
Customer Relationship Manager
FGI Research

The impact of this news on social media was huge; FGI Research noticed a sizeable spike in blog traffic surrounding this subject and Google Trends rated the term ‘Cash for Clunkers’ ‘Volcanic’ as it earned a number one spot on their most frequently searched list.  Although this trend is spreading rapidly on the internet, the question for automakers is:  Is this social media trend as ‘volcanic’ for all consumers, or is there a difference, in awareness when consumer demographics are considered?

FGI Research conducted an independent study this week on the impact of “Cash for Clunkers” on the purchasing habits of nationally representative consumers.  Our results were quite surprising.  82% of respondents said that they had heard of the government program.  We also found that the awareness of this program was impacted slightly by some demographic factors; for example, 70% of Hispanics said they had heard of this program, as opposed to 84% for non Hispanics.  There was also a significant drop in the awareness of people ages 31-34 (57%) when compared to the average respondent awareness (87%).  The highest two age groups in terms of awareness are 35-44 and 65+.

The future looks brighter for the auto industry this year as a result of “Cash for Clunkers”.  Only 12% of respondents said that they had bought a car in the past six months, but 23% of respondents said that they planned to buy a car in the next six months.  Of respondents who had not bought a car in the past six months, and had not heard of “Cash for Clunkers” before taking the survey, 17% said that they were more likely to buy a new car after learning of the program.  It’s simple to see what a tremendous impact this government program has had on the American consumer in terms of new car purchases.  The chart below highlights the sentiment of our respondents on the subject of “Cash for Clunkers.”

In our experience, custom panels and other marketing research tools are maximized when experts are in the trenches helping clients put them to use. Many companies experience frustration and failure when they put too much faith in tools alone to power their research. For example, custom panels are powerful tools, but only when best practice sampling methods are applied. Without proper sampling, custom panel studies may yield the desired number of completed surveys, but with data that is totally unreliable for downstream decision making.

Similarly, social media mining is a powerful, must-have research tool. However, unless key social media trends are properly validated using proven quantitative methods, errant conclusions can be drawn and huge mistakes can be made by decision makers. The point is this: the proliferation of marketing research tools and methods puts an even greater premium on the need for expert help execute all the critical details and make it all work.

David Wilson
CEO
FGI Research

When innovative new research methods and tools are used, you must insist on the highest levels of quality control and the use of best practices at every step in the process. Custom panels, online communities, social media mining, “quali-quant” methods and other innovative approaches must all be used with proven processes and the steady hands of research experts. Here’s the good news: when innovation meets best practices, the result is cutting edge market research solutions that you can trust for your most important decisions.

David Wilson
CEO
FGI Research

• 156,000,000 The average number of Tweets per year on Twitter
• 200,000,000 The number of active Facebook users
• 133,000,000 The number of active blogs
• 346,000,000 The number of people who read blogs

As I think we can all agree, today’s market research toolbox must include some type of social media monitoring solution, including sentiment mining and the ability to quantitatively validate key social media trends.

David Wilson
CEO
FGI Research

Customers are comfortable meeting in online communities to share their thoughts and ideas. Unlike quantitative studies, participants are free to share ideas and insights that go beyond the highly structured questionnaires used in online surveys. Unlike traditional focus groups (in person or online), participants have more freedom to express their opinions without being dominated by groupthink or strong personalities.

Used correctly, and smartly integrated with other methods, private online communities can unlock needs, ideas and insights that simply are not possible via traditional means (quant or qual) and even newer methods such as social media mining. As a result, online communities deserve to have a prominent seat at the market research table.

David Wilson
CEO
FGI Research

In many respects, the custom panel should form the foundation of today’s market research. It provides a trusted source of sample that can be readily tapped to unlock critical opinions and ideas. The custom panel can be enriched with transactional data, segmentation scores and other behavioral and attitudinal information. Unlike third party sample sources, custom panels give companies immediate access to the voice of their customers.

Once established, the custom panel serves as a trusted platform from which to launch a host of compelling research methods, including quantitative surveys, quick polls, online communities and focus groups, trackers and social media validation studies. For companies with active market research efforts and a sufficient number of customers, custom panels have quickly become a must-have solution.

David Wilson
CEO
FGI Research

The technology drivers include Internet communications, custom panel tools, community platforms, and new survey methods. In turn, customers are rapidly adopting new methods of communicating with each other and the companies they trust for goods and services.
New technologies and customer behaviors have formed the perfect recipe for a revolution in market research. Going forward, market research must fully embrace these new technologies and behaviors in order to continuously understand and appropriately serve today’s customers.

Custom online panels are fueling the market research revolution and FGI Research is a recognized pioneer and leader in custom panel technology and managed services.

But panels are only the tip of the revolution. As more and more consumers flock to the Internet to communicate, learn and share ideas, market research is expanding into online communities and social media mining. These are rich new sources of valuable and real-time market intelligence that are unlike anything we’ve seen before in the market research industry.

Companies that fail to embrace these new tools and methods (custom panels, online communities, and social media mining) will quickly find themselves out of touch with customers and their broader target markets. Let’s briefly consider the case for each new market research tool.

David Wilson
CEO
FGI Research

In the midst of these multiple layers of continuous change, you must use every means possible to stay connected with your customers. In order to keep pace, you quickly move beyond the status quo of market research. At the same time, you must keep pace with such rapid flux in customer thinking, As you will see below, this includes the use of both new and traditional channels and methods. And, it includes both passive listening and active collaboration with your customers.

So here’s our strong advice and point-of-view about the future of successful market research: 1) embrace the new innovations today, 2) blend the new and the traditional, and 3) don’t go it alone.

David Wilson
CEO
FGI Research

FGI Research has concluded that: 51% of Americans believe that Social Media sites, like Twitter, affect the news. National news networks like CNN or FOX news use Twitter regularly to report how the country feels about different topics. This extremely interactive forum for generating immediate feedback is a quick and easy barometer for the media to interpret the sentiment of a large sample of Americans. 28.6% of all respondents said that they use social media sites, like Twitter, to follow the news; and of those, 45.8% said that they find the same amount or more news on social media sites than they did last year.

It’s not a stretch to say that the increased attention in the national news has boosted Twitter’s membership. According to our study, Twitter is growing: 17% of respondents, who are not currently account holders, say that they plan on creating an account within the next 6 months. This means that, according to our data, Twitter is growing faster than MySpace, YouTube, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, and Flicker. In fact, microblogging is becoming a break out form for reaching large audiences in an inexpensive way to make updates in real time. It’s easy to see why some companies have invested in full time monitoring of their brand in social media.

FGI Research programmed and hosted an independent study this week to explore how much influence these conferences, and other marketing strategies used by Apple, have on the brand awareness and purchasing behavior surrounding the iPhone. Over 90% of all respondents said that they were familiar with the iPhone brand and 24% of people who had purchased a smart phone in the past 6 months, bought an iPhone. It is no surprise that younger people and people with higher income have higher brand awareness when it comes to the iPhone. For respondents, ages18-24 and ages 25-44, awareness is near 94%, compared to respondents ages 45-65+ where awareness drops off to 87%. In the past 6 months, respondents ages 23-44 purchased three times as many more iPhones than the 45-65+ age group. Likewise, respondents who earn less than 50k have an 87% awareness of the iPhone brand, as opposed to 93% awareness from those who earn more. Respondents who earn more than 50k have purchased 2.5 times the number of iPhones in the past six months than those who earn less.

Apple’s social media marketing efforts have been put to good use to gain the most viewership for their ideal audience. Apple has a strong presence on the web, including but not limited to personal networking sites like Facebook and Myspace, blogs, and YouTube where they post tutorial videos. Young professionals, with a taste for new technology, respond well to this kind of corporate communication. With targeted marketing efforts like this, it’s easy to see why Apple is dominating the SmartPhone market in just over two years after releasing their first phone.

In an effort to gauge the level of concern the average American has about his or her retirement, FGI Research conducted an independent survey entitled, “Consumers in Crisis.” The survey was designed to identify and measure how American consumers are reacting to changes in the economy. We asked 1500 respondents, with demographic qualities that reflect the 2000 census data, for their opinions. A clear majority of the seniors, whom we contacted, voiced concerns about their financial futures. In fact, the study revealed that 56.3% of seniors (aged 65+) are worried about having enough money on which to retire. As noted in the 60 Minutes report, “Many [seniors] fear they will never get to retire.”

Seniors today aren’t the only ones interpreting ill omens. When asked about their personal finances, 49.7% of all respondents said that their financial situation has ‘gotten worse than it was a year ago.’ So, what is the answer for those Americans who are struggling to weather the financial storm? 62.9% of those surveyed are resolved to save more money in the next twelve months. Reflecting recent events, 53.2% believe that a government-insured savings account is the safest place for their investments, highlighting perceptions of economic instability. Indeed, the public is worried and looking for a safe investment. Companies competing for business in today’s economy would do well to address this issue in an effort to reassure consumers. Establishing, or in some cases, re-establishing, trust is a significant step along the path toward brighter futures.