Future-proof mobile research: successful survey and panel strategies for the mobile revolution

Future-Proof Mobile Research

Successful survey and panel strategies for the mobile revolution

Leslie Townsend President & Co-Founder Kinesis Survey Technologies

Merlien Institute – Market Research in the Mobile World 2011

The Mobile Expansion Q: Will we recognize the market research industry in 5 years? A: Yes. And no.

© Kinesis Survey Technologies, 2011

YES

• Existing methodologies will continue to be utilized (modifications will be necessary)

• Both robust researcher solutions and DIY solutions will continue to have their place

• Social media and app growth is levelling off

NO

• Respondent experience will be MORE important than data collection method

• Mobile research will be equally prominent (if not more prominent) than PC research

• Traditional panels will continue to decline

• Feature phones will be nearly obsolete

Market Research in the Mobile World 2011

The Mobile Expansion The Mobile World: where are we right now?

© Kinesis Survey Technologies, 2011

• 77% of the world population are mobile subscribers

• 50% of Americans will own a smartphone by year’s end

• M-commerce continues to grow

• You can no longer control the device chosen for accessing the web and email

• Mobile technology is moving quickly - it is challenging for solution development to keep pace

• The industry has yet to establish recognized best practices for mobile research

• Non-response bias, due to the lack of mobile device support, is a growing problem

Market Research in the Mobile World 2011

Consumers LOVE their mobile devices.

© Kinesis Survey Technologies, 2011

12.59%

20.43%

84.09%

30.40%

iPad/other tablet

Netbook

Smartphone

Feature Phone

Source: Kinesis/StartSampling, data collected Apr 2011

Types of Mobile Devices Used by Research Respondents

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

90.00%

Feature Phones Smartphones

Mobile Activities Performed By Research Respondents

Phone Calls

Texts

Web Access

Apps

Market Research in the Mobile World 2011

Therefore the market research industry should love mobile devices too.

© Kinesis Survey Technologies, 2011

• “Anytime, anywhere” data collection has the power to move research to the point of sale/consumption: MORE IMMEDIATE and MORE RELIABLE data

• Mobile web access will surpass PC web access in 2013, and the number of mobile-only web users is growing

• Younger demographics are difficult to recruit to traditional online panels, more receptive to mobile

• Many more options for recruitment and survey invitation delivery/reminders are available

• There is potentially higher engagement on the mobile device because of 24/7 interaction

Market Research in the Mobile World 2011

24.9%

22.1%

43.5%

38.7%

14.7%

18.3% 19.0%

12.6%

25.7%

13.5% 11.6%

12.8%

6.2%

11.4%

8.8% 6.7% 5.9%

3.8% 4.5% 5.7%

38.5% 40.1%

34.0%

19.7%

57.2%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

Compare Products/Prices Read Product Reviews Get Input from Social Media Locate Retailer/GetDirections

Purchase Product

Within the Past Week Within the Past Month Within Past 6 Months Six Months or Longer Never

Product Research Conducted By Consumers on Smartphones

© Kinesis Survey Technologies, 2011

Source: Kinesis/StartSampling, data collected Apr 2011

Market Research in the Mobile World 2011

© Kinesis Survey Technologies, 2011

Several emerging mobile technologies are very well-suited for market research.

• QR Codes/Short Codes: Launch mobile surveys and recruit new panelists anytime and from anywhere

• Geo-location: Trigger survey invitations/ reminders automatically based on the respondent’s location

• Speech to Text: Quickly and easily capture qualitative, experiential feedback in real-time

• Custom Research Apps: All research functionality incorporated into one solution; great for long-term panels and diary research

Market Research in the Mobile World 2011

© Kinesis Survey Technologies, 2011

Mobile adoption dictates that research methodologies must evolve.

Survey Strategies

• Design surveys with fewer questions per respondent, presented randomly, to support mobile interaction

• Choose invitation method based on sample (email, SMS, geolocation, etc.)

• Include more pass-through data fields

• Keep validation (error messaging) to a minimum

• Avoid unnecessary images and branding

• Avoid extensive use of open ends

PC Surveys Mobile Surveys

Average # of Data Points 312.4 17.2

Average # of open Ends 25.4 2.4

Average Completion Time 9.4 minutes 5.0 minutes

Source: Kinesis, data collected Jul-Dec 2010

Survey Design Comparison

Market Research in the Mobile World 2011

© Kinesis Survey Technologies, 2011

Mobile adoption dictates that research methodologies must evolve.

Panel Strategies

• Expand recruitment channels to optimally target mobile users (mobile websites, social media, QR code/short code linkage)

• Authenticate participants as the mobile panel is built (rather than during the survey process)

• Offer a mobile version of MROC websites - panelists will come to expect this

• Carefully plan and schedule panelist communications - do not over send

Market Research in the Mobile World 2011

© Kinesis Survey Technologies, 2011

Best practices for mobile research implementation.

• Do not try to render the same participant experience for every respondent (although uniform delivery is the goal, differing mobile device capabilities will prevent total standardization in the near term)

• Regularly monitor the mobile device types used by your respondents to gain better insight as to the technical capabilities/limitations of your research delivery

• Multimode (PC/mobile) surveys and MROC websites should be implemented whenever possible to reach a broader sample and offer the greatest device flexibility to participants

Source: Kinesis, data collected Jul-Dec 2010

Apple iOS 22%

Android 27%

Symbian 8%

Blackberry 4%

Other (Windows

Mobile, Palm, Feature Phones)

39%

Mobile Device Type Used to Take Surveys

Market Research in the Mobile World 2011

© Kinesis Survey Technologies, 2011

Industry To-Do List:

• Get mobile experience now! All researchers must make a plan to begin building mobile and multimode research expertise

• Launch a PR campaign to remind brands that market research is critical for honing mobile marketing strategies – it’s a new frontier for ad spending

• Provide a more integrated experience throughout all components of the value chain – from ad exposure to shopping/decision making to usage/consumption

• Develop all projects based on the respondents’ perspective: create a seamless end-to-end participation experience (recruitment, registration/profiling, invitation system, survey participation, incentive management, etc.) for both mobile and PC interaction

• Expand recruitment practices to obtain a larger sample - recruit from traditional websites, mobile sites, social media, and general intercept

Market Research in the Mobile World 2011

THANK YOU!

Questions?

Phone: +1 512.372.8218 Email: [email protected] Web: www.kinesissurvey.com

Leslie Townsend, Kinesis President

Market Research in the Mobile World | © Kinesis Survey Technologies, 2011

Market Research in the Mobile World 2011

Presented at:

Market Research in the Mobile World 2nd International Conference | July 19 & 20, 2011 Atlanta

Organized by: Thank you to sponsors:

LinkedIn Group: Mobile MR

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