Kantar's Profiles Blog

Our main goal in research is to better understand the audiences that impact our business decisions. And to do this, it's important to reach a representative group of engaged people. 

“You need to allow smartphone respondents into your survey!" Those of us in the business of survey design and panel management have been telling researchers this for years now, but we need to show you and not just tell you why.

In our latest Q&A, Chris Stevens, Chief Research Officer at Lightspeed, reviews some of the sticking points around this. 

We define a “mobile friendly survey” different from a “modern survey.” A modern survey involves more than a device agnostic design; all components of a modern survey are designed specifically with consumer’s time and experience in mind. Here are five tips for going modern: 

Today’s consumers already have a voice online; they publish opinions, build their own sites, post videos and share content. Technology is enabling an increase in mobile activity – allowing people to connect everywhere and at any time. Because of this, it stands to reason that that the way we’re interacting with respondents is shifting. Market researchers are now facing the challenge of being on the consumer’s terms and competing for time with them.

Change. It’s a concept that some professionals fear, while others embrace head on. It’s also inevitable, and in the marketing research space we must adapt to how consumer behavior and technology are forcing us to change the way we collect data from the modern respondent. First and foremost, they’re wanting to participate in research on mobile devices, but adapting survey research isn’t always easy or straightforward. We can’t ask a long list of questions we want answers to; we need to write questions that people want to answer. Gone are the data-entry centric, prescriptive question formats, and in are conversational question formats.

During the same sex marriage vote, we asked Australians about their voting intentions as well as surrounding feelings to the decision-making process. Not only was this an interesting comparison of the 'for' and 'against' camps, but the results of the survey matched the real voting outcome exactly, with 62% for and 38% against.

- Jamie Turner, 60SecondMarketer.com

How frequently do you use your smartphone or tablet throughout the day?

Every day, consumers are spending more and more time connected to their devices. This is where they live and this is where they work. As consumers increasingly live digitally with numerous connected devices, marketers have the opportunity to harness behavioral information in real time utilizing passive measurements. With use of mobile continually escalating world-wide, and in some markets surpassing desktop usage, there has never been a better time to program online surveys that are device agnostic, fully responsive and touchscreen optimized. 

One thing mobile has taught us beyond a doubt: consumers are in control. The information they need to make decisions is now at their fingertips. They are more loyal to their own needs than to any particular brand. And consumers want to move onto the ‘next thing’ seconds after engaging. Never has it been more difficult for marketers to target consumers. Mobile created and enables this behavior, but only one in five surveys is 100% mobile compatible today. To truly ‘meet them in the moment’ their survey “experience has to be fast and frictionless.”

Mixed Results across APAC; Australians Opt for a Hug & Kiss  

Before you stock up on flowers and chocolate, take note of what your significant other really wants this Valentine’s Day. Lightspeed GMI panelists across Asia Pacific revealed the majority of men want to forgo gift giving, instead opting for a hug and kiss. Results also revealed women in Singapore (34%) and Malaysia (31%) are hoping for a weekend getaway, while women in China (29%) and Hong Kong (21%) want jewelry.