February 8, 2010
Malcolm Gladwell, in his much-celebrated book, Blink, advises people to go with their gut (which is based on experience) when deciding things quickly. As is often the case, a competing viewpoint (and book) has arrived to suggest another approach, at least in certain circumstances.
Michael Mauboussin, in his new book, Think Twice, advocates for a more measured approach to making certain decisions. He argues that we can put too much stock in our personal intuition and experience… and not enough in rigorous, fact-based, contemplative methods. Specifically, he calls us to engage the “wisdom of crowds,” which in the marketing research world means online communities and social media mining; statistical models, such as regression, conjoint, and MaxDiff; and best practices of data collection, which includes online surveys, custom online panels, RDD telephone data collection, and more.
October 27, 2009
While many may quibble about the methods and politics behind the decennial census, it still remains one of the best tools we have for understanding how the consumer landscape is changing and predicting future trends. So, what will the next census say about the great people of these United States? A recent white paper from Ad Age gives us a glimpse of some very important trends. I’ve added some corresponding marketing research questions for your consideration…
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.
October 15, 2009
As consumer research continues to migrate from traditional telephone calling and door-to-door surveys to online methods, the validity of online research continues to face the scrutiny of skeptics.
According to an article in the New York Times entitled “Big Advertisers Agree to Tests of Online Research,” eight major advertising companies who spend a combined total of $500 million a year on market research have agreed to take part in a test looking at the quality of online research.
