I recently attended a webinar where Linda West, Director of Digital Marketing at Act-On Software, discussed five common digital marketing mistakes. After hearing what Linda had to say about the five common mistakes, it got me thinking about what we, as Marketing Researchers, can learn from digital marketing. While digital marketing strategies are laser focused on creating value for the consumer, we should have that same focus on our panelists. Panelists are a core part of what we do in the Marketing Research industry, and our panelists are people. These people’s voices and opinions are front and center in how we interact with them.  

So, how are those five common mistakes relevant to Marketing Research?

1. Uncovering missed opportunities for testing and optimization. Avoid making assumptions about how people will respond. Don’t delay, test out your innovative questionnaire design, gamification, quizzes, etc. at your next opportunity.
2. Curse of unrealistic expectations in testing and optimization. Allow time for your test to mature and be realistic about how soon to expect results. It will only waste time by ending without conclusive results. See it through to the end!
3. Chasing shiny objects – focusing on the new and hot vs. the best for your research. Doesn’t mean that you should abandon everything, but may be a good idea to explore. Keep doing what works for your research, even if it is not what’s trending. A part of your budget should be reserved for experiments (10%), and accept that a percentage of them to fail. As with anything, introduce change in small doses. You want to find the right balance of old standbys and new hot techniques.
4. Thinking mobile is just for B2C. It is increasingly important to know your audience. Every interaction you have with people should be optimized for the device that they are the most comfortable using. Test, test, test! People should be able to easily interact with things like surveys from a mobile device.
5. Neglecting content quality. By offering something unique, getting personal with your interactions, and taking a data-driven approach will help you stand out. Good research begins with a good understanding of the people you’d like to hear from.