MRIA VUE Magazine, September 2012

the magazine of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association

SEPTEM BER 2012

What Does More Freedom Buy? Student Self-Selection and Its Impact on the Topics Chosen in Marketing Course Projects Our Best and Brightest: Where Have They Gone?

Canadian Publications Mail Agreement #40033932

The Power of Education-Industry Collaboration Market Intelligence: Strategic Advantage or Strategic Luxury?

U CONTRAIRE A How Key Are Your Key Drivers?

Maximizing the Return on Your Training Investment

vue SEPTEMBER 2012

VUE MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY THE MARKETING RESEARCH AND INTELLIGENCE ASSOCIATION TEN TIMES A YEAR

In this month’s features: (L to R) Christian Mueller, Jeff Cole, Eleanor Austin, Chuck Chakrapani, Michele McMaster

FEATURES 6 WHAT DOES MORE FREEDOM BUY? STUDENT SELF-SELECTION AND ITS IMPACT ON THE TOPICS CHOSEN IN MARKETING COURSE PROJECTS

by Alison Yacyshyn, Yuanfang Lin, and Webb Dussome 10 OUR BEST AND BRIGHTEST: WHERE HAVE THEY GONE?

by Christian Mueller 12 THE POWER OF EDUCATION-INDUSTRY COLLABORATION

by Jeff Cole and Diane Mackie 16 MARKET INTELLIGENCE: STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE OR STRATEGIC LUXURY?

by Eleanor Austin 20 AU CONTRAIRE (2) HOW KEY ARE YOUR KEY DRIVERS?

by Chuck Chakrapani 24 MAXIMIZING THE RETURN ON YOUR TRAINING INVESTMENT

by Michele McMaster and Vanessa Bastos

COMMENTARY 4 Editor’s Vue

INDUSTRY NEWS 27 Research Registration System (RRS) 28 People and Companies in the News 31 Qualitative Research Registry (QRR)

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 33 Professional Development: An Investment or a Cost?

COLUMNISTS 36 TWO SOLITUDES 36 INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY 36 BRAVE NEW WORLD 37 QUALITAS 37 STANDARDS

MARK YOUR CALENDARS 2013 MRIA National Conference – June 2-4 in Niagara Falls, ON Conference Chair: Tim McCutcheon, Sr. VP, Market Probe Canada Look for the Calls for Volunteers, Speakers, Sponsors and Exhibitors!

Follow us on www.mria-arim.ca/Conference2013 next month!

ADDRESS The Marketing Research and Intelligence Association L’association de la recherche et de l’intelligence marketing

2600 Skymark Avenue, Bldg. 4, Unit 104 Mississauga, Ontario L4W 5B2 Tel: (905) 602-6854 Toll Free: 1-888-602-MRIA (6742) Fax: (905) 602-6855 Email: vue@mria-arim.ca Website: www.mria-arim.ca PRODUCTION: LAYOUT/DESIGN LS Graphics Tel: (905) 743-0402, Toll Free: 1-800-400-8253 Fax: (905) 728-3931 Email: info@lsgraphics.com CONTACTS CHAIR, PUBLICATIONS Stephen Popiel, PhD, CMRP Tel: (416) 271-8454 stephen.popiel@TD.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF David Hamburg, Hamburg Consulting (514) 972-0662 david.hamburg@sympatico.ca MANAGING EDITOR Anne Marie Gabriel, MRIA amgabriel@mria-arim.ca ASSOCIATE EDITOR Christian Mueller, PhD, CMRP (647) 855-5088 christianmuellerphd@gmail.com COPY EDITOR Siegfried Betterman Interested in joining the Vue editorial team?

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Publishing Date: September, 2012 © 2012.

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COMMEN TARY / CO MME NTAI R E

Editor’s Vue David Hamburg

It’s hard to believe that this will be the last editorial I will write for Vue; over the past two and a half years, this magazine has been a part of my life. It’s been a wonderful ride, working with great people, trying out new approaches, chasing down stories.

J’ai peine à croire que voici le dernier éditorial que j’écrirai pour Vue, ce magazine qui fait partie de ma vie depuis deux ans et demi. Ce fut une virée formidable qui m’a permis de travailler avec de superbes personnes, tentant de nouvelles approches en poursuivant des histoires.

I like to think that we’ve made a positive contribution toward the continuous development of the publication.

We tried to push the envelope on design and format; we introduced a digital edition; and we branched out in content to areas beyond the traditional marketing research space. As my term progressed, we received an increasing number of queries and submissions from experts in a wide range of fields. I’m confident that this trend will continue along with the quality of Vue’s content.

Je me permets de croire que nous avons apporté une contribution positive au progrès constant de notre publication.

Nous avons cherché à constamment améliorer sa conception et son format; nous avons lancé une édition numérique et étendu notre contenu au-delà de l’espace traditionnel de la recherche marketing. À mesure que mon mandat se déroulait, nous avons reçu de plus en plus de questions et de soumissions d’experts dans une vaste gamme de champs d’activités. J’ai confiance que cette tendance se poursuivra en même temps que la qualité du contenu de Vue.

Of course, the most satisfying part of my tenure as editorin-chief has been the opportunity to work and interact with a group of truly incredible people.

Il va sans dire que la partie la plus satisfaisante de mon mandat de rédacteur en chef a été d’avoir la chance de travailler avec un groupe de personnes vraiment incroyables.

Siegfried Betterman is a master copy editor, whose knowledge and command of the English language is worldclass.

Louise Maske has displayed cheerfulness, creativity and efficiency, which have paved the way for smooth sailing – month in, month out.

Christian Mueller, in his editorial support and resourcefulness, has facilitated the challenging quest for relevant content.

Stephen Popiel, to whom I am ever grateful for his vote of confidence in handing over the baton, has been committed and thoughtful in his support from the get-go.

Anne Marie Gabriel is the epitome of professionalism and an all-round pleasure to work with. As I’ve said, Stephen Harper would be lucky to have Anne Marie running the PMO. And finally, I give my best wishes to the incoming editor, Annie Pettit. I was blown away by Annie’s intellect and amiability from the first time I sat in on one of her presentations at a national conference. I have no doubt that she will take Vue to new heights of excellence.

It’s been a great journey, and I will miss it all.

Siegfried Betterman est un réviseur hors pair dont la connaissance et la maîtrise de la langue anglaise est de classe mondiale.

Louise Maske a toujours fait preuve de bonne humeur, de créativité et d’efficacité qui ont facilité la tâche – mois après mois.

Christian Mueller, dans son rôle de soutien à la rédaction et par son ingéniosité, a aidé à relever le défi que pose la nécessité de constamment trouver du contenu pertinent.

Stephen Popiel, à qui je serai éternellement reconnaissant de m’avoir fait confiance dans la direction de cet ensemble, m’a manifesté un appui engagé et réfléchi depuis le tout début.

Anne Marie Gabriel est la quintessence du professionnalisme avec qui c’est un plaisir absolu de travailler. Comme je l’ai dit, Stephen Harper aurait de la chance s’il avait Anne Marie à la barre du BPM. En terminant, j’offre mes meilleurs vœux à la nouvelle rédactrice en chef Annie Pettit. J’ai été renversé par l’intelligence et l’amabilité d’Annie dès l’instant où j’ai assisté à la présentation de ses exposés à une conférence nationale.

Je n’ai aucun doute qu’avec elle Vue atteindra de nouveaux sommets.

Ce fut un merveilleux parcours, et vous me manquerez tous.

David Hamburg, Market Research Consultant, Hamburg Consulting Editor-in-Chief, Vue / Rédacteur en chef, Vue • Email: david.hamburg@sympatico.ca • (514) 972-0662 • t david_hamburg 4

vue September 2012

What Does More Freedom

Buy?

Student Self-Selection and Its Impact on the Topics Chosen in Marketing Course Projects Alison Yacyshyn, Yuanfang Lin, and Webb Dussome, CMRP

Having students develop and execute projects in post-secondary business courses has long been important in experiential learning. Students gain first-hand experience in analysing, and making managerial recommendations for, issues concerning a company or organization. Given the use of project work in marketing courses, the main research objective of this article is to discuss the benefits versus the limitations of the “instructor control” issue associated with such experiential learning.

We find that allowing self-selection of topics leads to students’ choosing to work on issues more relevant to non-profit organizations or the realm of societal marketing.

Better student performance can be expected from working on self-selected topics. Furthermore, assessing students’ marketing research projects on self-chosen topics gives instructors the opportunity to learn about companies or organizations to which they have little prior connection.

Background

Working on projects involving a real company or organization as part of the undergraduate business course helps strengthen the link between the educational institution and business organizations in the community; and it provides potential 6

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partnership building, which is typically an important part of a university’s mission.

When students are instructed to use a class project as a means for the practical application of pedagogical knowledge acquired from lectures and textbooks, the gain is beyond course credit. For example, the experience of conducting a research project for a real company or organization can be highlighted in resumes1 for the purpose of pursuing graduate education or job-hunting. But having a course project (which usually takes an entire term to complete) in addition to textbook study likely results in an undergraduate business course that is not seen as an easy credit.

Indeed, a downside to having a project as part of course learning, from the students’ perspective,2 is that projects conducted for actual companies and organizations are typically more time-consuming and frustrating. Part of the frustration may be due to students’ inexperience with taking on the responsibility for their own project success.

This experience is particularly true for undergraduates who are early on in their program and have had very limited exposure to choice in their academic careers.

From the instructor’s perspective, choosing different activities for students to complete throughout the course

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has a direct implication on the degree of control that the instructor is able to maintain, given the associated time involvement.

The central theme of this article is the exploration of benefits versus costs to all parties involved in an undergraduate business course, as a result of power removed from the instructors or, equivalently, the devolution of more freedom to the students.

Research Hypotheses

We used an undergraduate marketing research course as the primary example in this research to formally address and analyse the effect on course learning (for both the instructor and students) when an instructor reduces control over which companies or organizations are to be used for group research projects.

The group project for this undergraduate marketing research class was designed to help overcome the limitations of learning bounded by the classroom. Rather than treating the students as mere recipients of in-class lecture delivery, the project would likely motivate students to learn more about the course subject through out-ofclassroom experiences, including the search of background information about the target company, collecting primary data for specific research questions, and forming their own conclusions via research findings.

The instructor was then obligated to assume the role of a consultant, providing general guidelines as opposed to acting as an assistant carrying out detailed functions (such as designing specific aspects of survey questionnaires). This approach would ensure that students were responsible for providing the desired course outputs.

Having a group project as part of the coursework often requires that the instructor perform certain specific tasks.3 One with the most immediacy is to decide which companies or organizations are suitable to the project. Two options generally exist: one is assigning companies or organizations with which the instructor has a pre-existing relationship; the other is self-selection by student groups.

Having students meet a company/organization contact already known by the instructor can bring the research topic to life,4 often resulting in students who feel more connected to the project at hand. As Goodall and Kraft5 point out, student projects for companies or organizations enhance the relationship between the business community and the university. Thus, the instructor can be viewed as having strong control when students are working on such pre-arranged topics for a group project. An additional benefit of the pre-arranged approach is that the instructor

can intercede quickly if the relationship between the project contact and the student group breaks down.6 Students need to learn that there are points of view, beyond the instructor’s, that are legitimate and worthy of consideration. So, in terms of a project topic, the instructor could also choose to relinquish control by allowing student groups to self-select the companies or organizations for their project. If students have more freedom to express their own opinions, they will be less constrained by the views of others, and may participate at higher levels in their learning experience.

So, as instructors give up some of the control in project topic selection, they are opening up possibilities for themselves to observe the threads of information that students tend to follow, which also provide them with valuable feedback when they consider potential changes in course delivery. Therefore, reduced instructor control of project topics will lead to more self-selection of project topics by student groups.

Hypothesis 1: Students prefer self-selecting their group project topics.

Another issue related to project topics (pre-arranged or self-selected) is the potential impact on topic categories and associated societal concern. The general pool of potential project topics typically consists of issues that are related to private (for-profit) companies, those that are related to non-profit organizations, and those that are closer to the university or local community. Clearly, monetary limitations will, to some extent, hinder the type of course project that can be conducted. Companies and organizations that can provide students with support for out-of-pocket costs are advantageous7 but are not necessarily preferred.

On the other hand, students may consider it appealing to complete projects that have been neglected due to budgetary constraints, or to work on projects for non-profit organizations with more visible issues, or to choose those that hold the potential for deeper social impact. When the project topic is self-chosen by the students, the level of social responsibility is left up to the student group, rather than dictated by the course instructor.

Hypothesis 2: With self-selection, student groups are more likely to choose project topics involving non-profit organizations or other topics with issues having greater societal impact.

Another issue addressed in this research is that of student group performance when the instructor’s control over the project topic is reduced. A common concern is that vue September 2012

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students might self-select project topics that are easy for implementation or that lack rigorous consideration when compared to instructor-suggested topics. An opposing view, however, holds that students tend to be more motivated when working on something they are truly interested in.8 Furthermore, when peer evaluation is required by the instructor, insufficient motivation or involvement will be punished if it results in a low-quality project.

Hypothesis 3: Group projects with self-selected topics tend to result in better grade performance.

Table 2: Output for Equation (1) DV = Pr (Group Choosing Non-profit Topics) Variable

Constant

Analysis

The data used for empirical analysis were collected by the authors, who collaboratively taught ten sections of an undergraduate marketing research course over the span of three consecutive school years (2007–2008, 2008–2009, and 2009–2010). In total, eighty projects were completed by 349 undergraduate students, in groups with between two and six students in each. For each class section, instructors provided an ample number of pre-specified project topics for students’ consideration. In addition, the instructors made it clear (as class policy) that student groups could self-select a topic for their project.

Table 1 presents and compares the distribution of project topics between the scenarios of “instructor-assigned” and “self-selected” topics. Within each scenario, there are group projects conducted for issues linked to private companies, to non-profit organizations, and to the university community. Private companies included sporting retailers, restaurants, and clothing boutiques. Non-profit organizations included the local YMCA as well as Big Brothers and Big Sisters. Finally, university-related organizations included the student union, the faculty of extension, and the university fitness centre. Table 1 indicates that the number of selfselected topics (N = 57) is more than twice as large as that of instructor-assigned topics (N = 23), a fact that provides primary support to our first hypothesis, that students prefer self-selecting their group project topics.

Control/Category Private Non-profit University Total

Company Company Organization

Instructor-assigned 9

4

10

23

Self-selected 27 12

18 57

Total

28 80

36 16

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Coefficient

Std. Error

T-stat.

-0.559

.550

-1.015

Self

1.406

.723

1.945*

Instructor

0.686

.652

1.053

(N = 80) * p-value < .05, two-tailed

For hypothesis 3 – that group projects with self-selected topics tend to result in better grade performance – a T-test was conducted to compare the average group project scores between self-selected and instructor-assigned project topics.

The test statistics and the associated p-value reported in table 3 suggest that hypothesis 3 is not supported with high statistical significance. Similarly, a multiple regression analysis with the average project score of each group as the dependent variable did not generate a significant coefficient for the self-selection variable. (We performed several additional regressions by including other variables controlling the project title category, group efficiency, etc. All have qualitatively similar results.)

Table 3: Output for T-test (Group Average Project Score by Self-Selection)

Obs Mean Std. Std.

Err. Dev.

[95% Conf.

Interval]

Instructor-assigned 23 41.60 .72 3.46 40.11

43.10

Self-selected

57

43.75

combined

80 42.43 .41 3.68 41.61

diff

Table 1: Distribution of Project Topics by Category and Instructor Control

8

Table 2 implies that student groups who self-select project topics have a significantly higher probability of working on topics that are of greater societal concern. This provides support for our second hypothesis, that student groups are more likely to choose project topics involving non-profit organizations or other topics with issues having greater societal impact.

42.76 .50

-1.16 .91 -2.96

diff = mean(0) – mean(1) H0 : diff = 0 Ha: diff < 0 Pr(T < t) = 0.10

3.74 41.77

43.25

0.65

t = -1.2786

df = 78 Ha: diff = 0

Pr(|T| > |t|) = 0.20

H a: diff > 0 Pr(T > t) = 0.90

Due to data limitations of the current research, more detailed investigation of hypothesis 3 will be necessary in future research.

F EATUR E

A potential cost of reducing instructor control in projectbased coursework is that the instructor will likely have little prior knowledge about those private companies and organizations that are self-chosen by students as project topics. Instructors may benefit from being exposed to some companies about which they have less prior knowledge.

However, such lack of exposure may also imply that the instructor can provide only limited advice to students on tasks such as collecting background information or searching for industry reports, which are important at the earlier stage of project work.

Another limitation may result in the students’ selection of topics regarding university-affiliated issues. That is, students may prefer to carry out their projects in the safe academic bubble, completing projects for those who are in the university realm and for those who understand the learning environment of undergraduate students.

Understanding that students tend to have multiple course commitments in the same semester, the instructors lowered the requirement of sample randomness in the project. They did so based on the understanding that students would try to collect a sample from pools that were as diversified (though still subjective) as possible. By limiting the sample to one of convenience, students’ ability to generalize the project findings and to generate managerial recommendations were further limited. However, it can be argued that such a cost is reasonable, given the instructors’ belief that the process of going through the marketing research procedure is most valuable for gaining appreciation of theoretical knowledge and analysis.9

choices within the latitude the instructor has provided.

Hence, these choices should result in higher levels of student engagement and motivation, as the students take responsibility for ensuring that the expectations they negotiated with their contacts are successfully met. After all, if the students have made their own personal promises to an organization, then they are personally obligated to ensure they deliver a satisfactory result.

In essence, instructors cannot force students to learn, but they can create a learning environment that more effectively facilitates learning. Relinquishing control over topic selection for course projects is indeed an effective way to provide students with a meaningful and respectful learning experience which, in turn, will also benefit instructors.

Conclusions

7. N.Y. Razzouk, V. Seitz, & E. Rizkallah. “Learning by Doing: Using Experiential Projects in the Undergraduate Marketing Strategy Course.”

Marketing Education Review, 2003: 13(22), 35-41.

In this research, we considered the benefits and limitations of the instructor control issue associated with student group projects, which are a common part of undergraduate business courses. Empirical analyses of data collected from an undergraduate marketing research course taught by the authors demonstrate the effect on course learning – for both instructor and students – when the instructor reduces the control exercised over which companies and organizations are to be studied in group research projects.

The main finding is that the majority of student groups will self-select their project topics for companies and organizations when given the freedom to do so. Allowing self-selection leads to students’ working on issues that are more relevant to non-profit organizations or the realm of societal marketing.

Sharing power in the classroom results, then, in students’ tendency to make self-directed (and personally relevant)

Endnotes 1. T.F. Barr & K.M. McNeilly. “The Value of Students’ Classroom Experiences from the Eyes of the Recruiter: Information, Implications and Recommendations for Marketing Educators.” Journal of Marketing Education, 2002: 24, 168-173.

2. A.L. Parsons & E. Lepkowska-White. “Group Projects Using Clients Versus Not Using Clients: Do Students Perceive Any Differences?”

Journal of Marketing Education, 2009: 31, 154-159.

3. Ibid.

4. T.B. Lopez & R.G. Lee. “Five Principles for Workable Client-Based Projects: Lessons from the Trenches.” Journal of Marketing Education, 2005: 27, 172-188.

5. P.W. Goodall & F.P. Kraft. “Issues on the Use of ‘Client’ Projects in Marketing Education.” Marketing Education Review, 1991: 44, 32-44.

6. L.C. Huff, J. Cooper, & W. Jones. “The Development and Consequences of Trust in Student Project Groups.” Journal of Marketing Education, 2002: 24, 24-34.

8. T. Flowerday & G. Schraw. “Teacher Beliefs about Instructional Choice: A Phenomenological Study.” Journal of Educational Psychology, 2000: 92, 634-645.

9. E. Bridges. “Experiential Learning and Customer Needs in the Undergraduate Marketing Research Course.” Journal of Marketing Education, 1999: 21, 51-59.

All three authors are at the Alberta School of Business, University of Alberta, where Alison Yacyshyn, PhD, is an adjunct professor.

She can be reached at Alison.Yacyshyn@ualberta.ca or (780) 492-5137.

Yuanfang Lin, PhD, is an assistant professor of marketing. He can be reached at yuanfang.lin@ualberta.ca or (780) 492-8123.

Webb Dussome, CMRP, is a lecturer. He can be reached at wdussome@ualberta.ca or (780) 492-0675. vue September 2012

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Christian Mueller, CMRP

Our Best and Brightest: Where Have They Gone?

Marketing research has traditionally been a profession that welcomed a variety of talented people, regardless of their particular educational background. The reasons for this “tradition” are as varied as the individuals themselves.

Whereas some of those who work in marketing research without any formal training do not wish to be tagged with an MR label, others are glad to be identified with the profession they practise despite a lack of relevant coursework.

If you identify yourself as a marketing researcher yet have never taken a course in MR, has it ever occurred to you what this instruction might have meant? how this learning might have affected your employment options? where you might 10

vue September 2012

have been today in your career had you taken even one such course of study?

I have asked myself these kinds of questions. In the interests of full disclosure, allow me to confess that I have been an MR professional for 28 years, without having taken a single MR course except Chuck Chakrapani’s “Advanced Techniques of Marketing Research and Data Analysis” in my very first year.

I have also asked myself if there is any empirical evidence to indicate whether an education that includes a proper introduction to marketing research determines one’s career path.

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After giving this issue some thought, I went to the MRIA website in search of clues and discovered that something disturbing has happened to more than a few of the students who have taken the introductory course on “Fundamentals of Marketing Research.” Quite a number seem to have vanished!

The Joseph Doyle Award

I am not referring to just any students who have taken this entry-level course. I am referring specifically to those who have done exceedingly well in it and been recognized for their exceptional performance with the Doyle Award.

Established in 1987 to honour our professional association’s founding president (our association was then known as the Professional Marketing Research Society, PMRS), this award was presented annually to the student achieving the highest mark in the fundamentals of MR course – until three years ago.

In 2009, the rules governing this award were changed, in conjunction with the arrival of the CMRP designation, so that the recipient is now anyone who achieves the highest mark on the Comprehensive Marketing Research Exam (CMRE). Since then, CMRP status has accompanied the award, a benefit that was not automatic in the case of preCMRE recipients.

While the focus of this article is on those years when scholastic achievement per se was being rewarded, it is worth noting that award recipients post-CMRE have all maintained their MRIA membership, a trend that is not evident for the majority of pre-CMRE winners.

Note, too, that the Doyle Award now comes with a cash prize of $1,000 for the highest mark, up from $500 before the CMRE was instituted.

Focusing exclusively on those with the highest mark in the fundamentals course between the years 1988 and 2008 yields a total of 22 Doyle Award–winning students (one per year for each of 21 years, plus an extra winner sharing the award in 1990).

Cross-referencing the names of these star performers with the association’s membership directory, which is to be found on its website, reveals that only a handful of them – five to be exact – continue to be MRIA members.

This observation leads me to wonder: What has become of the other seventeen who are apparently “missing in action” at the present time?

The Missing Seventeen Award Winners

Despite the recognition bestowed upon them, not to mention their knowledge of the course content they mastered, 17 out of 22 Doyle Award winners appear to be unaccounted for at

this time, based upon the available MRIA membership records. Having, presumably, once belonged to the association, their memberships would have lapsed some time ago.

Do their lapsed memberships simply mean that they no longer work in marketing research? In an effort to answer this question, I searched LinkedIn accounts for all award winners who are not members of MRIA. Such accounts were located for eight of those missing in action, four of whom are still active marketing researchers.

That leaves nine award winners whose whereabouts are unknown. Judging by the fraction of MRIA non-members who have a LinkedIn account and are working in MR (four out of eight), the odds are fifty-fifty that those I could not locate are also in MR. This finding suggests that the total number of those “disappeared” from MRIA’s records is about evenly split between those who have abandoned the profession altogether and those who have not. The latter, though not having left the profession entirely, demonstrate a preference to do their work without attaching an MR tag to it or identifying themselves as MR professionals.

Perhaps it was to be expected that the best and brightest would have several alternatives they could choose from and consequently might not remain in marketing research for long. But why would those who have chosen to stay not want to join MRIA? One of those who has stayed in MR yet does not belong to MRIA nonetheless mentions on his LinkedIn page that he won the Doyle Award. Two of the five MRIA members who won the Doyle Award mention the fact on their respective LinkedIn pages. In addition, three pre-CMRE award-winning members of the association have achieved CMRP status.

In conclusion, I believe these results challenge our assumptions about what an education in MR ultimately means. For one thing, it does not necessarily mean that you go on to either work in MR or identify yourself as an MR professional.

Changes that have recently been made to MRIA’s core curriculum, including changes to the Doyle Award in conjunction with the CMRP designation, promise to raise the stature of the profession, thereby elevating its overall reputation and strengthening the long-term benefits of an MR education.

Christian Mueller, PhD, CMRP, has made a career of marketing research since 1984, most recently as chief methodologist at Fresh Intelligence Research Corp. Currently independent, he may be reached at christianmuellerphd@gmail.com or (647) 855-5088. vue September 2012

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The Power of Education-Industry Collaboration Jeff Cole and Diane Mackie, CMRP

Ontarioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s colleges play an important role in satisfying the demand for skilled employees in the Canadian marketing research and intelligence industry. New practitioners need a combination of theoretical knowledge, applied technical skills, business acumen, and creativity if they are to add value in firms whose imperative is to compete in a world of rapid technological change and increasing global competition.

At the intersection of higher education and the real world, Ontario College Graduate Certificate (OCGC) programs are particularly well-positioned to develop this talent mix.

The Research Analyst Program, established at Georgian College in 1991, enables postgraduate students to quickly develop the requisite knowledge and skills needed for successful entry into the marketing research and intelligence industry. One of the key ways in which the program ensures that its students gain real-world experience is by engaging in education-industry collaborations. Each year, the faculty 12

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organizes a number of education-industry collaborations, designed to generate benefits for students, industry partners, and the broader community.

Collaboration between education and industry partners combines the best assets of each to yield better results in terms of graduating students who have current, relevant knowledge and skills. By leveraging knowledge of industry practices with a thorough understanding of students and pedagogy, education-industry collaborations create a relevant, wellrounded learning experience for students, and also satisfy the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s demand for new employees who can hit the ground running.

Students enrolled in both the fall/winter and winter/ summer cohorts of the Research Analyst Program had the opportunity to participate in a number of education-industry collaborations during the 2011â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2012 academic year. In fact, more than thirty different collaborations were enacted,

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clarification and preparation of the study objectives. Students prepared and executed screening questionnaires, recruited and interviewed study participants, organized and observed focus groups, transcribed and interpreted data using NVivo software, and presented their findings to the client organizations.

The benefits to the participating industry collaborators are perhaps best expressed by Rick Gauthier, president and CEO of CADA, who wrote, “Not only did [the students] provide our association with valuable data to better understand the impact of social media on our industry, they presented it in an easily understandable and engaging way.” variously involving external marketing research professionals, client-side organizations, producers of research software and tools, as well as public and non-profit organizations. While providing a description of each collaboration would be beyond the scope of this article, two principal strategies that the program employs, with examples of each, are described here for illustrative purposes.

Conducting Real Research for Real Clients

Having students work with actual clients who have real research needs is one of the cornerstones of the teachinglearning philosophy within the Research Analyst Program at Georgian College. Through direct interaction with actual clients, and some expert guidance, students have the opportunity to gain realistic first-hand experience with a range of quantitative and qualitative research techniques.

This past year, students in the fall/winter cohort worked with YMCA Canada on a qualitative research project aimed at a better understanding of the broad concept of “health and wellness” among Canadians. Each student completed a literature review, conducted an in-depth interview with parents of school-aged children, and undertook the challenge of recruiting, organizing and conducting two focus groups on the same topic.

Similarly, students in the winter/summer cohort partnered with the Canadian Automobile Dealer’s Association (CADA) to examine consumers’ use of social media in the context of purchasing a new car (and whether or not dealers were meeting their growing expectations). For this project, students also completed a literature review and conducted face-to-face interviews with two populations: car-buying prospects and dealer-principals.

Actually conducting research, and not just reading about it in textbooks and academic papers, is an invaluable reinforcement of classroom learning. In both fall/winter and winter/summer endeavours, students worked in collaboration with representatives from the client organization (YMCA Canada or CADA) to ask the appropriate questions for

Hands-on Access to New Research Technologies

The rapid pace of technological change can present a significant challenge to learning institutions in terms of keeping up with the latest software and tools. Smartly designed education-industry collaborations offer a way for learning institutions to reduce overhead costs, as well as for producers of research software and tools to test and refine their products with highly engaged and well-trained users.

Social media, as an example of technological change, have dramatically impacted the news cycle, policy-making, and issues management in unprecedented ways. The world is smaller and faster, and organizations need to keep up with what is being said about them and their issues. Anyone who has read Annie Pettit’s The Listen Lady can come to terms with the potential impact that social media can have on a business, even a business as unassuming as a bake shop.

Environics Research Group, in collaboration with its sister company Nexalogy Environics, offers a suite of social media research tools for organizations that need to keep track of their issues in the social media space. Students in the winter/summer cohort used Nexalogy social media platforms (NexaLive and NexaMaster) to research one of four client case studies provided by Environics. Students gathered primary data from Twitter, Facebook and the blogosphere to form summary observations that answered the research questions posed by each client. Students reported on the results of their research by creating their own websites to describe the activity that took place in social media during a specific period, and to highlight the insights gained from their social media monitoring.

Students benefitted in being able to use cutting-edge tools to apply their knowledge of social media research in the context of a realistic case. Additionally, they received expert training and support from representatives from Environics and Research House (John Crockett, Jared Hildebrandt, and Sean Copeland). vue September 2012

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In return for access to its platform, Nexalogy Environics received student feedback through two online real-time focus groups (RTFGs), which were designed to elicit suggestions for additional features and further development. Incidentally, both RTFG forums were generously supported by iTracks, a supplier of tools for online qualitative research, through another collaborative agreement with the Research Analyst Program.

In a similar fashion, students in the fall/winter cohort had the opportunity to work with Vision Critical Surveys, an ad hoc online survey tool. In return for access to the platform and a chance to learn about online survey design, deployment and reporting with a robust web-based tool, students conducted a thorough analysis comparing VC Surveys with a dozen other online survey tools and presented a compilation of their findings to Vision Critical.

Following the students’ presentations, Monique Morden, executive vice-president of Products at Vision Critical, commented on the benefit of this collaborative agreement to her organization: “I was thoroughly impressed today. It was such great information for us, and I have already reached out to our product management team and IxD team to set up time to discuss all the great information. Thanks for designing a snappy, efficient process to get through the presentations, and thanks for the fact that we have copies of all those great student presentations.”

Summary

Facilitating opportunities to conduct real research with real clients and offering hands-on access to new research technologies are just two of the strategies that the Research Analyst Program at Georgian College has used to collaborate with industry partners. Further to these, demonstrations, guest speaker seminars, sponsorship opportunities, conference and networking events, field trip experiences, and advisory committee activities represent some of the numerous other ways in which education-industry collaborations are organized each year.

Each collaboration is a unique undertaking. Some are carefully orchestrated interactions that required several weeks of advance planning; others come together quickly as “in the right place at the right time” teachable moments.

Hopefully, this article has you thinking about contacting the Research Analyst Program at Georgian College with your own ideas for collaboration during the 2012–2013 academic year. If you are interested in getting exposure with a group of bright, enthusiastic and career-minded young professionals as they take part in eight months of comprehensive marketing research training, please get in touch. Our student base is diverse and includes students seeking internship and career 14

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opportunities in marketing research companies, client-side organizations, and public sector as well as non-profit agencies.

Jeff Cole has eighteen years of experience as a teacher and researcher. He holds a BSc and BEd from the University of Toronto, an Ontario College Graduate Certificate from Georgian College, and an MEd from Nipissing University.

Diane Mackie, CMRP, has over thirty years of experience in research, product development, and brand management, and is the principal researcher at Ideaspace Research. Both are professors in the Research Analyst Program at Georgian College.

Contact Information for the Research Analyst Program at Georgian College

Dan Phillips Coordinator, Georgian College Research Analyst Program Dan.Phillips@GeorgianCollege.ca (705) 728-1968 ext. 6213 Jeff Cole Professor, Georgian College Research Analyst Program Jeff.Cole@GeorgianCollege.ca (705) 728-1968 ext. 1869 Diane Mackie, CMRP Professor, Georgian College Research Analyst Program Diane.Mackie@GeorgianCollege.ca Pat Roberts Career Consultant, Centre for Co-operative Education, Internship and Career Services Pat.Roberts@GeorgianCollege.ca (705) 728-1968 ext. 1226 Website: www.georgiancollege.ca/research-analyst Facebook: facebook.com/ResearchAnalystProgram LinkedIn: Research Analyst Student and Alumni Group Twitter: @GeorgianRAP Georgian College Focus Group Facility One Georgian Drive, Barrie, ON L4M 3X9 For bookings, contact (705) 728-1968 ext. 6213

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Market Intelligence:

Strategic Advantage or Strategic Luxury?

Eleanor Austin

Every research project has a question to answer. One question I grappled with daily when working client-side was how to improve declining customer satisfaction scores.

A comprehensive primary research study provided a wealth of information, but it alone could not provide the required insight to design the total solution.

I needed convincing evidence to incite action. I needed to demonstrate to the marketing and customer service departments that by focusing on x, y would happen. Focusing on one aspect of customer service, for example, could strengthen market positioning, resulting in increased revenues.

Also, in a time of strict budgetary scrutiny, something else that marketing researchers constantly need to do is prove their value. The complementary benefit for researchers who clearly define a path for a company’s successful achievement of its business objectives is increased credibility. This “arrival” is when researchers become business partners – and when invitations to the decision-making table begin to happen – a goal long held by marketing researchers who strive to provide strategic value rather than settle for being seen as research order-takers.

One way for researchers to show greater value is to do what former General Electric CEO Jack Welch advises: “Change before you have to.” Change can mean providing a 360 view of the marketplace by incorporating the disciplines of market intelligence into your story.

What Is Market Intelligence Anyway?

How is market intelligence, or MI, different than marketing research, MR? Is it just another name for competitive intelligence, CI? Is it the same as business intelligence, BI? 16

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If you’re asking these questions, you are in the esteemed company of the smartest, not only within our national association but within our industry worldwide.

After posting a question to the LinkedIn Market Intelligence Group asking how MI is defined, the MIG founder responded by saying that addressing this question is among the most important discussions the MIG could have.

Many in the group weighed in with their own definitions, examples of MI, and practical experiences; and while the group couldn’t be satisfied, all sought to bring clarity and meaning to MI. Although the similarities were greater than the differences, more than a year later, the post continues to be active, demonstrating the desire for international clarity.

Market intelligence within MRIA had its genesis in the lead-up to a December 2005 national conference on business intelligence, organized by Roger Griffin and Gail Tibbo (Carla Gail Tibbo of Incisive Marketing developed MRIA’s first core course in MI).

The change to MI since then was meant to shift the focus from BI’s technical software solutions to the strategic integration of relevant information using various information sources to aid critical business decision-making.

As no universal definition of MI exists, MRIA developed its own definition. MI is a process for professionally gathering, processing, analysing and disseminating decision-making information relevant to an organization. It involves collecting, filtering, analysing and prioritizing data from various sources, including data mining from customer records, databases and other internal sources; marketing research; competitive intelligence; and industry resources.

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MI stands on its own as a discipline yet, as the MRIA definition indicates, it incorporates strategic information through the use of marketing research (primary and secondary); competitive intelligence; client-side data analytics, information, strategy, and insight; and information from the business environment, including economic indicators, industry trends, technology developments, and even social media conversations.

As figure 1 suggests, MI can be categorized into the three C’s, which source information from (1) customers and the environmental context by using primary and secondary research, (2) competitors, and (3) internal company data.

If marketing research seeks to answer a central question, MI wraps the answer in a 360 solution. MI’s purpose is to provide relevant context, enabling greater insight for confident decisions by providing information gained through an understanding of the competitive landscape, scanning of the environment, discoveries made using primary marketing Figure 1

Do You Already Practice MI and Think of It as Just ‘Doing Your Job’?

Integrating more than a single source of information into a business solution is just the way some businesses already operate, whether they call it MI or not.

Each year, MRIA awards an excellence in research prize for “best integration,” a prize that Kraft Canada has won three times in the past ten years. In a conversation with Janine Keogh, vicepresident of Consumer Insight and Strategy at Kraft Canada, she reiterated what she said in a 2010 Vue article: “To be insightful, you have to be able to integrate information into a story. And you can’t tell a story if you don’t know the context …. It requires a broad market perspective and ability to integrate an increasing array of otherwise disparate information sources, synthesizing them.”

Keogh just expects marketing researchers to integrate various information sources into their stories and presentations. Doing so shows that the question has been thoroughly researched and the possible scenarios considered.

It enables confident decisions. But where do you begin?

Integrate Internal and External Information Sources

Internal data. To become more valuable to your company (or to your client if you’re supplier-side), understand what internal information is valued, trusted and used in corporate decision-making.

What information do senior executives and managers use and trust?

Use it. Integrate it into your story.

Using our customer satisfaction question as an example, mine internal data. Typically, you’d look at product sales, usage, customer losses and acquisitions. Find out what data have credibility in senior management decision-making. Find a way to get it, and figure out how to match the data to your research.

research, and insight gained from internal client data (e.g., sales and revenue history, customer losses or acquisitions).

MI gives us a framework to connect the dots – the dots of relevant information that lead us to see the bigger picture.

It provides context to achieve greater confidence in making decisions to affect change in the marketplace.

Primary market research. Ask what has changed. If you’re examining customer satisfaction, what are your customers saying today compared to the past? What do relevant trends teach us?

Is this a seasonal reaction? Is there a particular customer segment that is driving scores downward?

Competitive landscape. What is happening competitively?

Have competitors’ offers changed? What key messages vue September 2012

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are being advertised? Do you face a direct or indirect competitor? Might your customers be gaining a different perspective on your company because of access to similar products online yet outside your primary market?

External data/environmental scan. Ask: What are your customers thinking? What’s happening in the economy that could be impacting their perception of price or value?

Is customer satisfaction in your industry declining or improving nationally? Internationally? What technological advances appear to make your product or service yesterday’s news? Is your situation typical or unique? What online conversations impact your industry or your brand?

Best-in-class. If you want to practise best-in-class research, consider what a recent research study of 800 executives determined a best-in-class insight team to be. Such a team delivers an “integrated, forward-looking corporate strategy including insight, economics, competitive landscaping, megatrends and scenarios.” The MI model, illustrated in figure 2, creates a framework to enable this best-in-class practice. The figure shows the MI drivers, inputs and impacts in the delivery of best-in-class insight.

Figure 2

Access to relevant information for comprehensive MI is enhanced in a company with a large library, a research budget, and a flexible database. However, what’s as important is the process of asking the questions that encourage us to think strategically and to design forward-looking business solutions.

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Let’s use the model to ask: What are the environmental conditions impacting my customers? What specific competitor pressures exist? What am I learning through consistent marketing research studies? What relevant internal information can I bring to bear?

For instance with the challenge of moving the customer satisfaction needle in a positive direction, we used the model to examine the entire addressable market. After investigating customer segments and geographic areas where scores declined or increased, we determined specific areas to focus on and worked the model from left to right. We probed economic climate and consumer confidence; new competitive offers; yearly and quarterly customer satisfaction trends, market share trends, relevant qualitative insight; and analyzed our internal sales and customer experience data. By integrating our sources of information, it led us to a more complete understanding of the issue and enabled us to create a program to address the challenge externally and internally to improve our relationship with customers, setting the stage for increased profitability.

Do You Use MI for Every Research Question?

Before spending money on any research project, for efficient use of time and money, use the MI model to ask the appropriate questions. Doing so will direct your path in terms of discovering sources and information that will help narrow the focus of your research spend, while providing the holistic framework to enable the macro view. You will vary the degree to which you incorporate the elements of the model into your overall report – and you will do so with the knowledge that you have explored the depth and breadth of the business question, armed with the confidence to move forward with strategic recommendations to satisfy the business question, senior management, and the requirements for a seat at the decision-making table.

Discourse is healthy. So let’s use this opportunity to launch the MI conversation within MRIA. What questions do you have about MI?

Eleanor Austin instructs MRIA’s core course in market intelligence (MI) and chairs the Market Intelligence Committee.

Two MI classes are scheduled for 2013: one in Toronto on February 12, and another in Edmonton on April 26.

If MI piques your interest, contact Eleanor at Eleanor.a.austin@gmail.com

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AU CONTRAIRE (2)

How Key Are Your Key Drivers?

Chuck Chakrapani, CMRP, FMRIA Identifying the key drivers that will maximize customer “No, no, you’re not satisfaction, loyalty, new product thinking; you’re just performance, or some such being logical.” critical measure is a common – Niels Bohr pursuit of marketers. The idea (physicist, Nobel laureate) behind it is straightforward.

Consumers use our brand for specific reasons. If we can quantify the effect of each reason on customer satisfaction, we can provide, or claim to provide, more of what consumers are looking for.

So any company that measures customer satisfaction (practically all major companies) also tries to identify key drivers of satisfaction. Correlation-based techniques such as regression analysis, Shapley value regression, path analysis, and structural equation modeling (SEM) provide ways of identifying the effect of each attribute on customer satisfaction.

So far, so good. But does it work in practice? Not necessarily.

Not if generalized attitudinal variables are used to predict satisfaction, or some such variable. There are reasons for this.

You will note that for “overall evaluation,” “well-designed” and “functions well,” the average user ratings are very similar for all four brands. This pattern can be found for almost any commonly used product, especially if the brands compared have similar market shares or are equally well-known.

The price rating shows a greater variation, from a low of 6.8 for Mac to 7.9 for Dell. This pattern is also a common one.

When something is objectively visible (such as the higher price of Mac), users of the brand are aware of it. It is generally held that Apple’s Mac computer is distinct from PC brands such as HP or Dell. And yet the users of these brands believe the same things about their brand as Mac users believe about theirs.

The above pattern holds for brands of comparable market share. When the brands have dissimilar market shares, smaller brands tend to get lower ratings across the board compared to larger brands. This pattern continues to hold, irrespective of geography and time period, as confirmed by hundreds of studies. You can verify this pattern for yourself by looking at the data you may have on hand.

Most Brands Are Seen to Be Similar by Their Users

What Coke Is to You, Pepsi Is to Me

Much as we would like to think that consumers use our brand because our brand has some unique feature, the reality is quite different. Users of any brand rate their brand in a way that is similar to the way users of other brands rate theirs. Exhibit 1 shows an example illustrating this point.

Benefits that are provided by brand A as perceived by its customers are the same as the benefits provided by brand B as perceived by its customers. Most brands are not anywhere near as differentiated as the marketers would like to think.

Coke is distinct from Pepsi (making it easy for consumers to ask for Coke rather than Pepsi, or the other way around), but the two brands are not really differentiated in terms of the benefits as seen by their respective users. What the Big Mac is to McDonalds patrons, the Whopper is to Burger King patrons. What an HP computer is to HP users, a Dell computer is to Dell users. What Coke is to Coke drinkers, Pepsi is to Pepsi drinkers.

Exhibit 1: Average Ratings of Computers (10-point scale)

by Their Users

HP Dell Lenovo Mac

Overall evaluation

8.5

Well-designed

7.2 7.1 7.3 7.4

Functions well

8.1

8.2

8.3

8.2

Reasonably priced

7.7

7.9

7.5

6.8

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8.3

8.4

8.6

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People who drink Coke are likely to rate it high on “tastes nice,” “refreshing,” “for people like me,” and so on. People who drink Pepsi or Dr. Pepper would say the same things about their brand. If “tastes nice” turns out to be the “most important key driver,” a Dr. Pepper ad that emphasizes “tastes nice” is unlikely to convert Coke or Pepsi drinkers, because they believe they are already getting that benefit from their brand.

When consumers attribute such generalized characteristics to their brand, they are really expressing the fact that they use and like the brand. Generalized attributes like “tastes nice,” “refreshing,” and “for people like me” can be seen as proxies for usage and liking.

Therefore, providing or emphasizing common benefits, whether perceived or real, will not induce consumers to switch brands. This statement is particularly true of generalized product experiences such as “tastes good,” “for someone like me,” “well-designed,” “attractive,” and so on.

As Andrew Ehrenberg observed, “An estimated 55% of the customers of the brand leader Colgate thought that the brand promoted ‘strong healthy teeth,’ and a very similar 57% of the eighth biggest brand Ultrabrite thought that about their brand – despite Ultrabrite’s radically different positioning based on whiteness.”

Colgate is not going to entice Ultrabrite customers by emphasizing its delivery of strong, healthy teeth if Ultrabrite users think that their brand already delivers that benefit.

Secondly, even if the promise of strong, healthy teeth would induce consumers to switch, since all brands will be emphasizing the same key drivers, there could be no competitive gain. Therefore, in general, using attitudinal key drivers to influence sales is essentially an exercise in futility.

Do We Use It Because We Like It, or Do We Like It Because We Use It?

We generally assume that consumers use a brand because they rate the brand higher on many desirable attributes. But if I rate my brand in a way that is very similar to the way you rate your brand, is it not likely that we rate our brands similarly because of our usage? Could it be that the commonly assumed relationship of positive brand perceptions leading to brand usage, as given below, Positive brand perceptions (lead to) → Brand usage actually works the other way around – brand usage leads to positive brand perceptions?

Brand usage (leads to) → Positive brand perceptions

Our positive rating of a brand may very well be the result of our positive experience with the product. As an example, iPhone users in general do not complain about its price (even though it is high compared to other smartphones), because they are satisfied with the product. So it is not price satisfaction that led to brand satisfaction, but it is brand satisfaction that led to price satisfaction.

If indeed it is the usage that leads consumers to say nice things* about their brands, attempting to increase positive perceptions of our brand is unlikely to influence users of other brands to switch to our brand.

Key Drivers Can Be Unstable

In a 2001 article entitled “Why Some New Products Are More Successful Than Others,” David H. Henard and David M. Szymanski reviewed 41 studies dealing with new product performance. These studies correlated different key variables with new product performance. Exhibit 2 shows the correlation ranges.

Exhibit 2: Key Drivers and Product Performance (Range of Correlations in 41 Studies)

Product advantage Product innovativeness Technological synergy Likelihood of competitive response Competitive response intensity Dedicated resources Customer input Senior management support

Low High –0.31 +0.81 –0.62 +0.81 –0.73 +0.68 –0.60 +0.05 –0.72 +0.63 –0.19 +1.00 –0.21 +0.81 –0.07 +0.46

Source: David H. Henard & David M. Szymanski. “Why Some New Products Are More Successful Than Others.” Journal of Marketing Research, 2001: 38(3), 362–375.

Strange as this may sound, what exhibit 2 actually reveals is that every key driver can have a positive or a negative relationship to new product performance! If you have a product advantage, it can affect the overall evaluation positively (correlation of +0.81) or negatively (correlation of –0.31). So if we measure our key variable (say, better quality) and we get a correlation of 0.8 with customer satisfaction, how much can we depend on this measure? Can we conclude from this correlation that, in general, better quality leads to customer satisfaction?

Exhibit 2’s summary of 41 “When a fact appears to different studies shows that we be opposed to a long train cannot make any such inference. of deductions, it invariably The fact that we cannot make proves to be capable any generalizations even when of bearing some other correlations are strong contradicts interpretation.” common sense and calls for – Sherlock Holmes a better understanding of the (Arthur Conan Doyle) underlying dynamics of how consumers buy. vue September 2012

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And Then There Are Non-compensatory Items

So Does Key Driver Analysis Really Work?

The current models of key drivers also assume that if our brand is deficient in one attribute, our strength in other attributes would make up for it. If a car is not the most comfortable, its lower price would compensate for it. If a hotel is less conveniently located, its larger rooms and better service would make up for it.

But such compensation is not always the case. Some items are non-compensatory. For example, when airline customers were asked why they preferred the airlines that they did, the usual suspects such as service, price and reputation figured prominently:

There are at least four reasons why run-of-the-mill key driver analysis is likely to be an exercise in futility.

Efficient service 33% Reasonably priced 32 Well-respected 31

When airline passengers evaluated specific airlines, this is how two airlines, Air Canada and Porter, fared on a sevenpoint scale (7 is the positive end):

Air Canada Porter Efficient customer service 3.9 5.3 Reasonably priced 3.2 4.6

Well-respected

3.7 4.9

Given that Porter has consistently outdone Air Canada on the three most important key measures by a wide margin, we would expect that Porter would be the preferred airline.

Yet, when asked which one was their preferred airline, approximately three out of four passengers preferred Air Canada. How so?

Air Canada is a national airline with frequent flights to several destinations and Porter is a regional airline with fewer flights, in general. When they want to fly, many passengers consider timely availability as a non-negotiable requirement.

Excellence in other variables cannot compensate for deficiency in this variable (“I’d rather fly at 5:00 p.m. after a business meeting than at 7:00 p.m., no matter how superior the other airline is on things I said mattered to me”).

The problem with many non-negotiable attributes is that “There is nothing more their importance is difficult to deceptive than an identify by ratings questions obvious fact.” that are typically used in key – Sherlock Holmes driver analyses. In our example, (Arthur Conan Doyle) “flight schedule/flight frequency” came up a distant fourth in importance, and yet the airline that did well on that attribute became the preferred airline, even though it did poorly on all top three key attributes. When we ask customers what is important to them, they think of attributes that contribute to their evaluation positively by being present and not necessarily of attributes that will contribute negatively by being absent.

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1. While brands may be distinct, they are not really differentiated to the extent a marketer would like to believe. Consumers drink, drive cars, and use airlines for pretty much the same reasons, irrespective of the brand they prefer. If the key drivers are not unique to your brand, there is no great competitive advantage in emphasizing them.

2. Consumers may rate a brand better because they use it, rather than the other way around. If this relationship holds (and there are reasons to believe that it does), then influencing attitudes will not lead to sales.

3. Key drivers are unstable. Key drivers in one study may not be key drivers in another.

4. There may be a non-compensatory (non-negotiable) variable that can negate the “key drivers.” Key drivers do not always identify variables that may be crucial to a consumer. When they do not, spending resources on strengthening the “key variables” is likely to be a waste of a company’s limited resources.

Although it is not my purpose to state categorically that key driver analysis cannot possibly work, it is obvious that naïve key driver analysis is likely to mislead a firm into thinking that its marketing resources are being spent wisely when they, in fact, are being wasted.

Identifying drivers that would make a real difference requires an understanding of the product category and the many ways one could go wrong using statistical analysis for this type of problem. What you see may not be what you get.

Statistical analysis of data often provides a false sense of security. The reality is that run-of-the-mill key driver analysis is likely to do more harm than good.

Endnote

* There are, in fact, several reasons for believing that usage leads consumers to say nice things about their brand. We will likely return to this topic in a later article to explore it further.

Dr. Chuck Chakrapani is the chief knowledge officer of Leger, The Research Intelligence Group. He is also a distinguished visiting professor at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University, editor of the American Marketing Association’s Marketing Research, and a member of the board of directors of the Marketing Research Institute International which, in collaboration with the University of Georgia, offers the online course “Principles of Marketing Research.” He is a fellow of the Royal Statistical Society as well as of MRIA and has authored over a dozen books and 500 articles on various subjects.

vue Be Heard Be Seen Be Vue’d

2012/2013 EDITORIAL

CALENDAR

Thank you for the support you have shown for Vue magazine over the years and we look forward to counting you among our print and digital advertisers in 2012 and 2013. We welcome inquiries from advertisers, authors, students and the business community.

Month

Editorial

Submission Deadline

October 2012

GOVERNMENT AND DIVERSITY

September 3, 2012

November 2012

BRANDING AND ADVERTISING

October 3, 2012

December 2012

THE FUTURE – LOOKING AHEAD

November 2, 2012

January / February 2013

ETHICS / PRIVACY / STANDARDS

January 8, 2013

March 2013

MOBILE RESEARCH

February 1, 2013

April 2013

CHARITY PRO BONO RESEARCH AND CLIENTS

March 1, 2013

May 2013

THE CONFERENCE ISSUE – Niagara Falls, Ontario

April 1, 2013

June 2013

SOCIAL MEDIA RESEARCH

May 3, 2013

July / August 2013

CANADIANA

June 3, 2013

September 2013

VIEW FROM COLLEGE

August 2, 2013

October 2013

QUALITATIVE

September 2, 2013

November 2013

CLIENT-SIDE RESEARCHERS

October 4, 2013

December 2013

CRYSTAL BALL – Neuroscience, Gaming

November 1, 2013

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Maximizing the Return on Your Training Investment Start Today to Create a Culture of Employee Engagement for Tomorrow’s Organization

By Michele McMaster and Vanessa Bastos

The holy grail of organizational development is a culture of “employee engagement” – achieved when engagement survey results track strongly upward over a three- or fouryear period, particularly for questions focused on satisfaction with learning and growth opportunities, and on willingness to put extra effort into helping the organization achieve its results.

It is axiomatic that, in today’s fast-changing workplace world, corporations need to operate a strong training 24

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program to ensure that they have the mix of professional competencies and skills they need. Forward-looking companies are also training today in anticipation of tomorrow’s needs, for both the hard skills and the soft skills such as leadership and collaboration. The big bonus for those forward-looking companies is that training can be a wonderful tool to enhance employee engagement.

A comprehensive suite of training programs does not, however, automatically guarantee a bump to employee

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engagement scores. Not only does the training program have to be well-designed and well-implemented, but it must also be supported through a comprehensive employee engagement communications strategy.

Creating a Culture of Engagement

Certainly, a corporate culture that fosters employee engagement will involve many tools, but savvy companies will also recognize that their training investment can be leveraged to strengthen the fabric of their organization.

Words like fabric and culture are difficult to quantify, despite the best efforts of the researchers designing those engagement surveys. Qualitative researchers tease out evidence of corporate culture through the anecdotes and reactions shared in groups. Both modalities corroborate the definition of culture applied by corporate communicators and human resource practitioners: a culture is a system of shared values, beliefs and rituals.

Perhaps the most fascinating thing about corporate culture is that, while the C-suite can decide to measure it and they can put conditions in place to manage it, they can’t control it. It is the employees – ticking the box on the engagement survey or sharing their feelings in a focus group – who are both the ultimate consumers and the cocreators of corporate culture.

They are consumers insofar as they confer legitimacy on leaders’ promises: Do they “buy” those lofty corporate values and vision statements? Do they believe that leaders walk the talk?

Credibility is the sine qua non of corporate culture. An effective employee communications program demonstrates the way a company lives its values, by sharing the stories of how values and policies play out in the work done by employees, and by explaining the link between the various corporate initiatives and the business objectives and values those initiatives support.

For example, employee communications can make obvious the link between HR’s training program and the corporate value which holds that employees matter. A comprehensive employee communications program will make the point in many ways, through many channels – newsletter, emails, videos, and even the creative way in which the training initiative itself is branded.

To maximize the value derived from investment in training, organizations can adopt the following guiding principles, which signal their commitment to the long-term development of their talent, a key indicator often measured in employee engagement surveys.

Develop a training strategy that is clearly linked to your vision.

Organizations should ensure that they align their training strategy with the vision and the operational priorities of the organization. According to a Conference Board of Canada report (Learning and Development Outlook 2011: Are Organizations Ready for Learning 2.0?), “The connection between strategic planning and learning culture is evident in the fact that 77 per cent of organizations with strong learning cultures had a strategic learning plan in place, compared with only 52 per cent of organizations with moderate learning cultures and 29 per cent with weak learning cultures.”

Too often, organizations are quick to adopt the latest fad in training without fully assessing whether the training strategy is consistent with how the organization is likely to evolve. Think, for instance, of an organization that encourages employees to hone their innovation capabilities while, in practice, placing increasing importance on compliance. This type of disconnect between a company’s training strategy and its operational priorities creates confusion and frustrates employees, particularly if those employees have invested considerable time developing skills that are not perceived as relevant to the present or future corporate direction.

Reward employees’ commitment to lifelong learning. The key to engaging well-trained employees is to reward them visibly, via promotion, monetary rewards, role expansion, the ability to transfer learning on the job, or active participation in the decision-making process. Telling their stories in employee publications can magnify the engagement value of training by reinforcing, among the broader employee population, the organization’s deep investment in the success of people who are committed to learning.

Tailor your training strategy to a diverse workforce. Today, most businesses have various subcultures that happily coexist in their midst. These subcultures are based on attributes such as gender, location, education and expertise.

Organizations concerned with sustaining a high level of employee engagement are acutely aware of the need to address the demands of this fragmented workforce in all facets of their operations. Training is no exception in this regard: the needs of new hires, for instance, are different than those of experienced professionals seeking to enhance their cross-functional knowledge.

Organizations can create communities of learning that allow employees to meet and exchange information and knowledge, either face-to-face or on collaborative vue September 2012

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websites. These groups can help the organic and informal dissemination of innovations and new ways of thinking, without incurring the sometimes prohibitive costs associated with formal training. Leveraging social networks as tools to foster collaboration among colleagues enhances the individual’s sense of connection to the organization and ultimately improves engagement levels.

Foster multi-skilling. The new buzzword in HR circles is multi-skilling, which is used to describe the policy of training employees in several different areas. Employers who pursue a strategy of multi-skilling their workforce are typically more nimble in responding to changes to their business environment. They commonly find innovative ways of helping their employees reinvent themselves professionally, providing timely opportunities for employees to redeploy their skills in new areas of the business.

If employees can’t be redeployed in a downturn, or in response to a shifting marketplace, companies have to rely on staffing reductions as a primary solution to the mismatch between their people and their business strategy.

Actively committing to retraining and multi-skilling employees reinforces an employer’s credibility and trustworthiness in the eyes of its employees, a strategy that can in turn help renew employees’ commitment to the psychological contract they have with the employer – the linchpin of engagement.

Champion learning. In order to enhance employee engagement through training, it is important to highlight training’s vital importance to organizational success. One easy way to achieve this objective is to give training increased visibility by periodically highlighting organizational and individual achievements in this area – through the company’s internal communication channels, its operational performance reports, and the embedding of concrete objectives in employees’ development plans.

Equally important is the notion of assigning a highprofile and credible leader as a champion for organizational learning and development. This champion will be an active promoter of lifelong learning who seeks to influence other leaders and staff to embrace the training vision and strategy advocated by the organization. This person will also be accountable for ensuring that the training priorities are given the attention they deserve at the operational and leadership levels, to ensure that there is a direct connection between the

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organization’s discourse on training and its actions (i.e., investments in time and resources).

Conclusion

We suggest, both for their business needs and for the engagement of employees, that organizations adopt a more flexible view of training – one that involves a clear connection to business strategy; acknowledges the need to tailor training to diverse employee groups; rewards employee commitment to learning; and recognizes the importance of diversifying the delivery channels to embed training in the psyche of the organization.

It is also key to make training a more participative organizational activity, one that is both actively promoted by leaders and anchored in the notion of employees as cocreators of learning and culture.

Employees are cocreators of corporate culture through the way they treat all the people with whom they come into contact under the auspices of the organization, including fellow employees, clients, and members of the general public.

Certainly, not all leadership comes from the top of the organization. When an organization is described as having a “strong fabric,” it means that the interpersonal connections and the sharing of information, knowledge and, indeed, values traverse the warp and weft of the organization.

In five years from now, when you have strong employee engagement scores, you will also attract the employees you want to have; the costs of recruitment will be manageable; and you will be making the best use of the staff you already have.

Most important from the employees’ perspective: if it turns out that their skills no longer fit the company’s requirements, they will be grateful for the new knowledge they are able to take with them, and they will always look back positively at the time they spent in your organization.

Vanessa Bastos and Michele McMaster manage, respectively, the human resources and the communications and marketing functions in the Ontario Region of Canada Mortgage and Housing (CMHC).

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IN D USTRY N E W S

RRS

RESEARCH REGISTRATION SYSTEM Since 1994, the RRS has allowed respondents to verify the legitimacy of a research project; helped legislators and regulators differentiate between legitimate survey researchers and unscrupulous telemarketers, phishers and scammers; and protected the industry from unnecessary and unwanted regulation.

RRS

MRIA’s Research Registration System (RRS) has long been a cornerstone self-regulatory mechanism for the marketing, survey and public opinion research and market intelligence industry in Canada.

Combined with other self-regulatory initiatives such as our Code of Conduct and Good Practice and our Charter of Respondent Rights, the RRS has paid huge dividends in protecting the industry’s positive reputation and good name with Canadians.

All Gold Seal and Basic Corporate Research Agency members of the Association are obligated to register all of their research projects with the RRS, and ClientSide Corporate members are encouraged to require their agency suppliers to do so.

MRIA’s Research Agency Council provides strategic, policy-level oversight of the Research Registration System, and receives aggregate data-only on the System’s performance.

Questions about the Research Registration System should be addressed to Sylvie Corbeil-Peloquin, Manager, Member Services, at 1-888-602-6742 or 905-602-6854, ext. 8726 or scorbeil@mria-arim.ca or, in her absence, Executive Director Brendan Wycks at ext. 8724 or bwycks@mria-arim.ca.

Rules of Conduct and Good Practice For Members of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (2007):

Section A (5) Members must uphold the MRIA Charter of Respondent Rights.

Charter of Respondent Rights, Article 2 You can verify that the research you have been invited to participate in is legitimate in one of two ways. You can either obtain a registration number and the MRIA’s toll-free telephone number for any research registered in the MRIA’s Research Registration System or you can obtain the contact information of the research director who is conducting the study.

THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES HAVE REGISTERED RESEARCH PROJECTS WITH THE RESEARCH REGISTRATION SYSTEM DURING MAY 2012: Gold Seal Corporate Research Agencies Advanis Inc. Advitek Inc. BBM Analytics Blue Ocean Contact Centers Canadian Viewpoint Inc. CIDO Research Consumer Vision Corsential ULC Harris/Decima Inc. Hotspex Inc. Ipsos Reid Maritz Research Canada Market Probe Canada MBA Recherche MD Analytics Inc. Millward Brown MQO Research Mustel Research Group Ltd. Nanos Research NRG Research Group Opinion Search POLLARA R.A. Malatest & Associates Ltd. Research Dimensions Research House Research Now Tann Research Services Inc. Tele-Surveys Plus / Télé-Sondages Plus The Logit Group Inc. TNS Canadian Facts Trend Research Inc. Basic Corporate Research Agencies Ideaspace Research Illumina Research Partners Network Research Field Services Inc Nexus Market Research Inc. Panoptika Inc. INDIVIDUAL MEMBER ORGANIZATION Burak Jacobson Research Partners Inc.

www.mria-arim.ca/RRS

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PEOPLE AND COMPANIES IN THE NEWS • To read more news online, or to submit your “People and Companies in the News”, s imply fill out our online form at www.mria-arim.ca/PEOPLE/People.asp.

• The Vue editorial team reserves the right to select and edit your submission for appearance in Vue.

• MRIA is neither responsible for the accuracy of this information nor liable for any false information.

Ipsos Reid and TrojanOne Study Identify Drivers behind Consumer Connection to Sponsorship Properties. The research highlighted seven key drivers that make a property valuable to Canadians and identified the Canadian Cancer Society and its signature fundraising event, Relay For Life, as Canada’s “MVP.” To measure the ability of a sponsorship property to create an emotional connection between Canadians and the property’s sponsors, the Most Valuable Property study evaluated 100 properties through a survey of 1,016 Canadian consumers. In the context of the MVP study, a property is defined as the sponsorship rights holder, i.e., the entity that seeks sponsorship. A detailed MVP Report will be available for purchase by contacting Jordan Levitin, Ipsos Reid (416-572-4455, jordan.levitin@ ipsos.com) or Norm O’Reilly, TrojanOne (613-240-7577, norm.oreilly@trojanone.com).

The 8th Confirmit Annual MR Software Survey Highlights ‘Shocking Complacency’ for Mobile Surveys The most shocking result was that relatively few MR companies are taking an active approach to cater for survey takers using smartphones or tablets for surveys.

62 per cent of respondents either do not have a policy for web surveys that land on mobile screens or they don’t modify surveys to be seen on small screens.

With 7 per cent of the sample excluding mobile respondents completely, only 1 in 7 respondents actually adjust their online surveys to make them more appropriate for mobile devices. Top level findings of the survey show that the use of new

technology other than mobile is also evolving across the MR industry. Visit www.confirmit.com for more information.

Frank Kleinert has joined the management team of leading global consumer insights and technology solutions firm Vision Critical® in Germany. In his new role, Kleinert will be responsible for defining local strategies and ultimately build the business in the DACH region. Before joining Vision Critical, Frank spent more than a decade leading the sales and marketing efforts of Globalpark (now QuestBack) as Chief Sales Officer. www.visioncritical.com NADbank Inc. 2012 Board of Directors Jean Durocher, Media Consultant, La Presse Ltée, and Chair of the NADbank Board of Directors is retiring from the Board. Bill MacDonald, President and Publisher of Metro English Canada will replace Mr. Durocher. Mr. MacDonald has spent more than 20 years in the media industry. For the past 15 years, he has held leadership positions with several magazines and newspapers. The other two key officers of NADbank’s Board of Directors remain unchanged. Andrew Saunders, Vice President, Advertising Sales of The Globe and Mail continues as Vice-Chair. Veronica Engelberts, President of Vector Media continues as Treasurer. acrassweller@nadbank.com

After working with Probe Research in Winnipeg since 2004, the University of Manitoba recently announced that Christopher Adams has been appointed Rector of St. Paul’s College for a fiveyear term period from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2017. Chris will continue to serve in an informal capacity as a senior advisor on specific projects for Probe Research. www.umanitoba.ca/stpauls Research Now Launches its Research Now Mobile™ Platform, Helping to Deliver Mobile Surveys to Consumers via Apps and Web Apps. Research Now, the leading global online sampling and data collection company, announced the launch of its Research Now Mobile™ platform, offering full survey functionality suited for customary quantitative research studies as well as qualitative surveys. The launch follows shortly after the acquisition of the business of iPinion, LLC. www.researchnow.com Greenlight Comment: BBC’s ‘VirtualBagel’ Experiment Does Not Prove Facebook Advertising Effective The effectiveness of advertising on Facebook is being called into question following revelations from the BBC that its “VirtualBagel” experiment, an imaginary business which it started in a bid to test it, received 1,600 “likes” in just 24 hours despite the fact that the “VirtualBagel” page offered no products or interesting content. According to the BBC, almost all “likers” came from India, Egypt, Indonesia and the Philippines. What was most notable was the almost virtual absence of

People and Companies in the News sponsored by:

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the U.S. or U.K. – two of the most valuable markets for advertisers. Moreover, some of those liking the page did not appear to be who they said they were. krishna.rao@greenlightdigital.com Confirmit Launches Voice of the Customer Engagement Model.

The model is built around a six-stage process: define, design, implement, analyze, act and review. It helps organizations to develop clear objectives and design a tailored VoC program mapped to the customer journey. At its heart is the Confirmit Horizons™ platform which provides multi-channel data collection, including web, mobile, telephone and paper, as well as analysis and reporting tools that deliver actionable insight across the business. Visit www.confirmit.com News from Matrix Research We want to let you know about some very exciting news at Matrix Research.

The company has been acquired by Cido Research, a major international market research services firm.

The reason for this transition is simply that the founders and original owners of Matrix (Alec and Tanya Svoboda and Karel Ferus) are retiring. Since we have worked with Cido in the past, and our organizations are very similar in culture and in the markets we serve, everyone believes that this is a natural and strategic fit for both organizations.

We want to assure you that everything will be “business as usual.”

The management and operations teams here at Matrix are staying on, and we all remain as committed as ever to serving your business requirements. If anything, our ability to meet your needs has expanded because of Cido’s substantial infrastructure. www.cidoresearch.com www.matrixonline.ca Citizen Optimum Releases New Study Designed to Reveal What Really Makes Mom Tick. Mom is a complex individual, inspiring role model and highly influential consumer, but don’t call her Superwoman – she doesn’t want it. Sure, we celebrate her strength, but the Superwoman ideal suggests mom can’t fail. According to Citizen Mom, a new study commissioned

by Citizen Optimum and powered by AskingCanadians, this kind of expectation doesn’t reflect mom’s reality nor her selfopinion.

Nicole.brightling@citizenrelations.com

Ruth Corbin has been engaged by Osgoode Hall Professional Development to co-direct Canada’s first certificate program on intellectual property management for corporate executives and Boards of Directors. Instructors include Canadian leaders in IP thinking, from government, law firms and corporations.

The program is very well-priced and offers an opportunity to network with corporate attendees who have a direct stake in knowledge development for their companies. The link to the program appears below. Please call Ruth at 416413-7600 if you want more information to decide whether this is a right opportunity for you. www.osgoodepd.ca/cle/20122013Fiscal/2012_IP_certificate/index.html uSamp Announces New Head of North American Sales to Oversee Growing Sales Force. George Llorens has been promoted to Head of North American Sales for uSamp. Llorens was most recently the regional vice president of Survey Solutions for uSamp. Previously, Llorens had been responsible for uSamp’s Eastern United States sales region.

His extensive sales and management experience brought him to uSamp in 2010 from mPoint Inc., where he served as senior vice president of global sales.

Additionally, Susan Hwang Nanzer, senior vice president of Survey Solutions for uSamp will also be taking on a new strategic role within the sales department.

Global technology – based research solutions firm Vision Critical announced the hiring of industry veteran Bruce Friend as President of its Media and Entertainment division. Friend brings more than three decades of global experience in multimedia and entertainment brand research and strategic planning. His career has included leadership positions at some of the biggest media enterprises in the world including Sony Pictures Entertainment, MTV, HBO and Telemundo. In 2003, Friend joined OTX where he played a key role in piloting the organization’s Media and Entertainment Insights practice from a start-up to a global leader. Following the acquisition of OTX by Ipsos in 2010, he was named President of Ipsos OTX MediaCT. Read more: http://visioncritical.com/news/ friend-joins-vision-critical-lead-media-andentertainment-division vue September 2012

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MRIA PUBLICATIONS

TIMELESS PAPERLESS

VIRTUALLY MEDIA KIT AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD AT WWW.MRIA-ARIM.CA/ADVERTISING/PDF/VUE-ADGUIDEENG.PDF

With Vue magazine, now available both in print and online versions, you have more options and greater flexibility to read those articles that matter most to your business and to your career. View a sample of eVue (www.mria-arim. ca/PUBLICATIONS/VUE-May2012.asp) and opt out of the print version on MRIA’s Portal www.mriaportal-arimportail.ca

2012-13 RESEARCH BUYER’S GUIDE The only one of its kind in all of Canada, this definitive guide is a must-have for all buyers of marketing research. Production will begin in August and check your emails for proofs of your previous listings, or follow list and advertising instructions at www.mria-arim.ca/PUBLICATIONS/RBGOrder.asp

IN D USTRY N E W S

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH REGISTRY (QRR) In accordance with federal privacy laws, MRIA’s Qualitative Research Registry (QRR), or Registre de la recherche qualitative (RRQ) in French, was created to provide an ongoing, user-friendly vehicle for tracking those who do not want to be contacted or should not be contacted for qualitative research studies.

QRR is a comprehensive do not call list of those who have recently participated in qualitative research studies, those who have asked not to be contacted further, and those felt by recruiters and moderators to be best served by not being contacted.

These respondents are marked as “do not call” in accordance with established MRIA Standards.

All field and full-service companies are encouraged to submit a list of their qualitative respondents for entry into the QRR system each month, including those who do not wish to be contacted.

Participating firms will receive monthly updates of respondents to be screened from qualitative recruitment samples. QRR works effectively to increase the quality and integrity of the qualitative research process, by serving as a control to ensure respondents are not contacted more frequently than is necessary.

However, the ability of the system to function effectively is directly related to the co-operation received from firms who provide recruitment services.

If you are a full service research firm or field supplier that is currently participating in the Qualitative Research Registry program – thank you very much and keep up the good work!

If you are not currently participating, please get involved! If you are interested in submitting to QRR, please visit the MRIA website at www.mria-arim.ca/ QRD/QualResearchRegistry.asp for further explanation and guidance on how to submit qualitative research participants’ names, along with the required electronic forms.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH REGISTRY SUBMIS­SIONS SHOULD BE SENT TO: QRRQ@MRIA-ARIM.CA

THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES HAVE SUBMITTED NAMES TO QUALITATIVE RESEARCH REGISTRY FOR MAY 2012 ONTARIO Barbara C. Campbell Recruiting Consumer Vision CRC Research Dawn Smith Field Management Services Inc. Head Count I & S Recruiting Ideaspace Ipsos Reid Nexus Research Quality Response Research House Inc.

QUEBEC CRC Research Ipsos Reid MBA Recherche

WEST CRC Research Ipsos Reid SmartPoint Research Inc. Trend Research

Submission templates and payment forms can be found at www.mria-arim.ca/QRD/QualResearchRegistryForms.asp

Rules of Conduct and Good Practice for Members of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (2007), Section C Rules Specific to the Conduct of Qualitative Research: 20. R ecruiters should provide accurate data to the Qualitative Research Registry, where such exists, on a consistent basis and check all respondents against the Registry.

21. M oderators buying recruiting services should give primary consideration to recruiting agencies which submit to the Qualitative Research Registry, where such a service exists, on a regular and ongoing basis.

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P rofessional Development

Professional Development: An Investment or a Cost?

Fania Borok Recently, I was browsing the Canadian Society of Association Executive’s educational offerings and came across a white paper titled Professional Development: An Investment Rather Than a Cost.

With their permission, I thought it would be fitting to share parts of it in this Education issue of Vue. The paper focuses on the association and not-for-profit sector; however it equally applies to any industry and profession!

“Professional development is a competitive management tool that Chief Elected Officer: ensures organizations have the What could be worse than talent and competencies needed spending time and money not only to achieve, but also to on employees to pursue exceed, organizational goals. professional and career In good times, organizations development opportunities can’t afford the costs and only to lose them? missed opportunities created by lacklustre employee engagement, Chief Elected Officer: low morale and high turnover.

And when times are more Not doing so and keeping challenging, the last thing an them! organization needs is to lose its key people. This not only results in the loss of intellectual capital, decreased productivity and increased hiring and training costs, but also carries with it the negative impacts on member, donor and stakeholder relationships and service.

A key factor in employee motivation and retention is providing the opportunities employees want (and expect) to continue to grow and develop their job and career enhancing skills. In fact, this opportunity to grow and develop is one of today’s most important factors in employee motivation. In addition, younger employees now arrive at organizations with different expectations than their parents. Raised during an era marked by rapid technological change and instant access to data, they respond best to work that is more meaningful, permits them to learn cutting-edge skills, and lets them discover their own ways of accomplishing tasks.

Tangible rewards – pay raises, bonuses and extended benefits – played a dominant role in earlier eras when work was generally more routine and bureaucratic, and when such rewards were often the only motivational tools available to organizations. Pay remains an important consideration for most employees, of course, and low or uncompetitive compensation can be a powerful demotivator. After accepting a position and resolving remuneration issues, however, such issues become less important than many senior managers may think. And day-to-day motivation, whether

we accept it or not, is often more strongly driven by less tangible, or intrinsic, rewards.

Intrinsic rewards, such as the availability of professional development opportunities, are also strong predictors of employee retention. This is the ‘right’ kind of retention: retaining those employees who are highly competent, self-motivated and selfmanaging rather than those employees who can’t afford to leave.

Those employees who are provided with professional development opportunities continually enhance their skills and bolster their self-confidence. These people face less chance of burnout, since they experience more positive than negative feelings while on the job. And since their job satisfaction is higher, they’re less likely to report stress symptoms, practise habitual absenteeism, and are far more likely to feel they are developing professionally and making a meaningful contribution to the organization’s well-being.

Professional development creates a strong win/win scenario for employees and organizations alike. It’s a scenario that suits the times. It’s based on the shared desire that employees’ work makes – and will continue to grow and make – an effective contribution to an organization’s goals and other meaningful purposes. In other words, it’s performance driven. It also embodies the selfmanagement and professional development demanded by today’s younger workers.

The good news is that professional development no longer depends on large outlays of money to generate that extra effort.

Local face-to-face opportunities and an ever-expanding host of online professional development opportunities make it feasible even when funds may be tight.”

It is clear from the paper how important professional development and continuing education is in today’s work environment, and that in fact it is an investment.

We, at the MRIA Institute for Professional Development (MRIA-IPD) understand the different needs and do our best to meet them by offering an array of in-class and online courses, core (fundamental concepts) and professional development (advanced or niche concepts) alongside webinars and corporate training programs.

Corporate training programs were introduced in January 2011 and best meet the needs of companies who would like to train ten or more employees.

Whichever way suits your needs best, we are here to help you with making smart investments in your human capital.

For more information please contact Fania Borok, Manager Professional Development and Certification fborok@mria-arim.ca or 905-602-6854 ext. 8730. vue September 2012

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P rofessional D evelopment

MRIA INSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INSTITUT DE DÉVELOPPEMENT PROFESSIONNEL DE L’ARIM

Congratulations to the New CMRPs of 2012!

Félicitations aux nouveaux PARM de 2012!

MRIA extends hearty congratulations to the following members who have earned the coveted Certified Marketing Research Professional (CMRP) designation by writing and passing this year’s summer sitting of the Comprehensive Marketing Research Exam (CMRE) / L’ARIM félicite chaleureusement les membres suivants qui ont reçu la désignation convoitée de professionnel agréé en recherche marketing (PARM) après avoir réussi l’examen écrit d’accréditation en recherche marketing (EARM) lors de la séance cette année :

Joel Anderson

Project Manager, Online Services

Research House

Toronto

Snejana Comenov

Support Associate

Self-­Help Alliance of Waterloo-­Wellington

Waterloo

Geana Demone

Principal

Insight & Innovation CMI

Toronto

Christina Lai

Marketing Specialist, Marketing Research

Telus Communications

Scarborough

Joe Lee

Product Manager -­‐Market Research Analyst

MediResource Inc.

Scarborough

Andrea Ward

Knowledge and Insights Manager

Coca-­Cola

Toronto

Peter Weddel

Research & Operations Manager

Stratus Agri Marketing Inc.

Binbrook

For more information on attaining the CMRP designation and for a complete list of all MRIA CMRPs, visit www.mria-arim.ca/EDUCATION/Certification.asp Pour obtenir plus de renseignements sur la désignation de PARM et pour obtenir une liste complète de tous les PARM de l’ARIM, visitez le site www.mria-arim.ca/EDUCATION/Certification.asp

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P rofessional Development

Canada’s leading provider of marketing research education for professionals

LAST CHANCE! LAST CALL!!

GET ‘EM BEFORE THEY’RE GONE!!!

This is your FINAL chance to register for these courses before the cutoff! Don’t delay, act today!!

Final Registration Deadline: September 6, 2012 MCP Location: Toronto 20

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101-Introduction to Marketing Research Course Date: September 20, 2012 Measuring Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty & Retention Course Date: September 28, 2012

September 19, 2012 MCP Location: Saskatoon 60

Moderator Training: Basic Course Date: October 3-5, 2012

September 20, 2012 MCP Location: Saskatoon 20

Market Segmentation Research Course Date: October 4, 2012

September 27, 2012 MCP 20 Location: Toronto

102-Ethical Issues and Privacy in Marketing Research Course Date: October 11, 2012

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AND SAVES $100!!!

Be proactive and save $100 off the regular price! The course stays the same but the price does not!

Early Bird Cutoff September 18, 2012 MCP 20 Location: Toronto

202-Questionnaire Design Course Date: October 16, 2012

September 19, 2012 Location: Winnipeg

MCP 20

201-Marketing Research Design: An Applied Course Course Date: October 17, 2012

September 19, 2012 Location: Toronto

MCP 40

303-Marketing Management for Researchers Course Date: October 17-18, 2012

September 21, 2012 Location: Toronto

MCP 20

201-Marketing Research Design: An Applied Course Course Date: October 19, 2012

September 25, 2012 Location: Toronto

MCP 20

Gamification: Making Marketing Research Fun and Exciting Course Date: October 23, 2012

October 8, 2012 Location: Ottawa

MCP 40

203-Marketing Research Statistics & Data Analysis Course Date: November 5-6, 2012

October 9, 2012 Location: Calgary

MCP 20

301-Competitive Intelligence, Competitor Benchmarking and Mystery Shopping Course Date: November 6, 2012

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Professional Development

Institut de développement professionnel de l’ARIM

Brand New for 2012!

For more details or to register, visit our website at www.mria-arim.ca/EDUCATION/default.asp vue September 2012

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COLUMNISTS TWO SOLITUDES An Example of the Importance of Contextualization Isabelle Landreville Sylvestre Marketing

As you know, each month we set out to discuss and explore Canada’s Two Solitudes and have a little fun doing it. Well, a recent project allowed me to gain some perspective and to reconfirm my suspicions: Quebec and Ontario are only the tip of the iceberg. Context is everything! Especially when it comes to qualitative research. As any qual expert will tell you, you learn as much from what is said, as when, how and by whom. Doing research in Canada means embracing both its multiculturalism and its vast territory, leading to cultures and beliefs that are vastly different from coast to coast. Insights must be contextualized.

We’ve just completed a Canada-wide project where the core consumer insights were relevant across Canada; yet the way they needed to be brought to life and the means by which to deliver them with credibility differed exponentially between markets. Given the nature of this project and the importance of identifying the core emotions, individual respondent contexts became equally important. It was key for us not to enter the focus groups blind. We had respondents complete a two-day self-ethnography homework assignment using a BBFG platform. This helped us build rapport with respondents prior to meeting them at the facility and allowed us to challenge, build and truly understand their reactions in the groups. It gave us context! Their answers allowed them to be prepared and allowed us to adapt our moderating approach and discussion flow to each market.

Market differences between English Canadian markets can be as revealing as those identified in the Two Solitudes. Next time you do research, I encourage you to consider the context: Be market-wise, respondent-wise and culture-wise. Through this triangulation, you can identify if a seeming market-difference is truly a consumer insight, or merely an expression of cultural context.

Innovation and Creativity Bold or Reckless?

Margaret Imai-Compton, CMRP Principal, Imai-Compton Consulting Inc.

It’s a common belief that innovations are often the result of disruptive and bold thinking; that conventional processes and problem solving behaviours don’t always generate the required spark that leads to innovation.

In creative problem solving, it’s important to discriminate between a bold attitude, which is the ability to take risks with 36

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confidence and courage versus a reckless attitude, which is acting without thinking or caring about the consequences.

In the creative process, sometimes the only way to break out of a “stuck” situation is to act with boldness. It might not be the first choice at cracking a problem but it definitely should be part of your creative toolbox.

A bold attitude will consider the problem at hand on many dimensions; perhaps it’s necessary to look at the bigger picture instead of fixating on the direct problem at hand (“Is it really about improving our product or have consumer needs evolved in another direction?”). Perhaps it’s about changing the design and structure of your organization instead of designing a clever new communications campaign. Boldness supports the notion of stepping out of our comfort zones as we proceed with confidence and courage in our decisions.

A reckless attitude, in contrast, might be novel, fresh and exciting but it’s ultimately pointless as there’s no meaningful link to the eventual outcome. It’s like participating in a brainstorming session for the sake of doing something different and original, but it lacks constructive follow-through.

Boldness challenges the status quo because it turns “stuck” into “action”, whereas recklessness is non-productive and pointless. So the next time you are considering creative disruption to crack a problem, see where you can inject boldness into your decisions and actions.

BRAVE NEW WORLD Total Recall or Forgotten Insights?

Corrine Sandler Fresh Intelligence Research Corp.

In this day and age there is very little information that we have to retain in our memories to be able to carry on with our daily lives, as the answer to any of our questions is a simple Google search away. Faster internet speeds, rising mobile web usage and improved search functionality free us from having to clutter our memory with mundane details that can easily be stored virtually and enable us to develop deeper cognitive skills. Total Recall: our tendency to rely on a mouse as opposed to our minds when required to recall information is one of the many global emerging trends we track at Fresh Intelligence.

Already, intelligent technology has changed the type of information we store in our memory. Take Google’s latest invention, Google Goggles for example. This product has the ability to use augmented reality to place relevant information in front of your eyes just by following a simple voice request.

Walking to a friend’s house? Just follow the augmented reality map to get there.

But what does this modern means of recall mean for the way we retrieve, process and digest information? One theory

COLUMN I STS

could perhaps suggest that our minds are capable of even greater learning and cognitive development now that immediate inforetrieval from the digital space can liberate our memory from unwanted clutter.

As our brains become reliant on external devices to search and store information, it becomes even more important to capture the way humans think, feel and behave while in the moment. This is where mobile research can play a major role for the marketing research industry.

Smartphones are smarter than we think. We now have the ability to capture emotions at the precise moment that consumers are exposed to a product or service. In an era of information overload, recalling an experience after the fact has proven to be a less accurate read. This is why leading marketing research companies are continuing to invest in evolving their mobile research experience.

There are lots of people who mistake their imagination for their memory. We as marketing researchers need to capture reality and nothing else.

I’m not arguing that we stop screening respondents on articulateness criteria; in most instances the benefits no doubt outweigh the costs. However, we should always be aware that a tradeoff is being made.

QUALITAS

EphMRA European Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Association (EphMRA) has released an updated Code of Conduct specific to pharmaceutical and health care industry. These updated guidelines address some of the critical issues affecting the industry and incorporates that growing importance of respondent privacy and the use of online data collection tools. (July 2012)

Qualitative – The Ivory Tower of Research Ken LeClair Ipsos Reid UU

Qualitative research is most often conducted with respondents who skew high on education. Sometimes this is because the segments our clients are interested in are highly educated, but much of the time it is because we want articulate respondents who can easily perform in the realm of abstract ideas. This often makes for stimulating groups, but I sometimes worry about the drawbacks.

Before I go any further, I should be clear that education, articulateness and abstract thought do not always tightly co-vary.

Nevertheless education does tend to train us in communication and thinking skills that are valued in qualitative research.

So what are the downsides? By teaching communication and thinking skills education also provides us with filters through which we experience things. Those filters mediate between individual non-rational responses and communication about them to others. In the context of qualitative research, the filters may make the conversation easier but they can also get in the way of a more immediate exposure to the gut feelings of respondents – the very stuff we’re often really trying to get at!

For example, a more educated person who understands marketing and the associated jargon is going to talk about advertising with those frameworks in place. It is less work for a moderator because the linkages between data and the concepts are already made – but they are made by the respondent, and in doing so they layer on their own intellectual understanding on how marketing affects them at an emotional level. They’ve attached meaning to the data before it is even handed off to the researcher.

Standards Recent Marketing Research Standards and Related Updates Donald Williams NADbank

ESOMAR ESOMAR has launched the “Practical Guide on Cookies” to help researchers comply with the recently introduced EU cookie law relating to the capture of online visitor information.

This guide is important to all marketing researchers conducting research using online tools and provides practical guidelines to help members comply with the new EU cookie law. (July 2012)

AMSRO The Association of Market and Social Research Organisations (AMSRO), an Australian based association, has commenced an independent review of its Market and Social Research Privacy Code, which includes consultation with relevant privacy and research stakeholders and a call for public submissions. (July 2012) ARF In March of 2012, the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) sought the backing of research providers and buyers for a follow-up to its 2009 Foundations of Quality study on online research, this time looking at the way respondents are selected, weighted, verified and rewarded. (March 2012) AAPOR American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) has completed a document, Standard Definitions Final Dispositions of Case Codes and Outcome Rates for Surveys that provides basic definitions for survey research practitioners. These definitions are available for RDD Telephone Surveys, In-Person Household Surveys, Mail Surveys of Specifically Named Persons and Internet Surveys of Specifically Named Persons. vue September 2012

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The Executive Learning Retreat has been designed to incorporate advanced, thought-provoking training and activities that cover all of the pillars: from economic trends, Institute for Professional Development MRIA Institute for de développement professionnel Professional Development to staff selection, communication, building lastingInstitut business relationships, weathering the expected / unexpected challenges that are bound to arise and more.

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SELECT RETREAT HIGHLIGHTS • Andrew Duguay on Upcoming (global and Canadian) economic cycles and forecasts; and what they mean for the Canadian marketing research industry • Jan van der Hoop on Hiring smart for the future; why the talent required for future success in the marketing research industry will have backgrounds “outside the perceived norm” • Adrian Davis on Forming strategic alliances; and how they will enable organizations to achieve and surpass sales goals • Wendy Bircher on Effectively communicating with different personality types; and the impact that changing your communication style can have on staff output

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