figuring out what online research panel members really want…

figuring out what online research panel members really want…

For us it is a big deal. We do this kind of “new paradigm” marketing research. And this is the future of our industry. So getting it right is key. That’s why we wanted to explore these issues with our US and Canadian online consumer panel members.

Panel Motivational Overview First we thought about the kinds of things that motivate people in general to do things. The four quadrants in this chart show a range of kinds of motivations that could apply. Source: Chart adapted from Elisabeth C. Deutskens (2006) ‏

Participating in marketing research online… is it… interesting? for the money? to find out what others think? to help firms make better products and services? etc. We came up with a long list of reasons that tended to fit somewhere into our four quadrant scheme.

Participating in marketing research online… is it…

interesting?

for the money?

to find out what others think?

to help firms make better products and services?

etc.

We then tried to place all of the motivations on the “grid” where we thought they fit best.

And then we asked 700 of our online panel members about these specific motivations to engage in marketing research studies online.

Here is what they said.

Overall Highlights Cash is key. Cash or other cash-like incentives were seen almost universally as most important. Intangibles count. Other less “tangible” things matter too though. For example, large proportions of respondents like to participate because of pure interest, enjoyment, and curiosity. Also, lots of people also really like the fact that they play a role in helping organizations improve. Interaction plays a role. Some (albeit in smaller numbers) are also putting value on the interaction and more “virtual community interaction” aspects.

We created a chart to show how strong each of these motivations were overall .

Findings Highlights The “balloons” in the grid here show how much agreement panel members had with the kinds of motivations we asked them about. The bigger the balloon, the more important the motivation.

But we wanted to go more in-depth. Are all panel members motivated in the same ways and to similar extents? So we did a segmentation on their motivations.

We found that panel members tended to fall within one of four motivational segments . We would like to introduce you to each of these and tell you a bit about them.

Awesome… I gotta put this on YouTube! introducing segment 1: hyper-actives

the profile: 13% of online world unbridled enthusiasm skews younger and middle aged, more likely from larger households, more affluent heavier users of Internet segment 1: hyper-actives

the profile:

13% of online world

unbridled enthusiasm

skews younger and middle aged, more likely from larger households, more affluent

heavier users of Internet

Second Segment: Engaged Moderates This, that, and the other thing. I hear you. introducing segment 2: engaged moderates

Second Segment: Engaged Moderates

the profile: 34% of online world busy and bright skews slightly female, older, and less employed segment 2: engaged moderates

the profile:

34% of online world

busy and bright

skews slightly female, older, and less employed

Do you have this in blue? introducing segment 3: fair traders

the profile: 39% of online world mostly about the money, but other factors are also showing up as relevant older, more male, better educated segment 3: fair traders

the profile:

39% of online world

mostly about the money, but other factors are also showing up as relevant

older, more male, better educated

I bet I can buy anything with this stuff! introducing segment 4: show-me-the-moneys

segment 4: show-me-the-moneys the profile: 14% of online world money matters big time, other motivations way less important skews bimodal with respect to age, with bigger percentages of both younger and older groups, also more educated

the profile:

14% of online world

money matters big time, other motivations way less important

skews bimodal with respect to age, with bigger percentages of both younger and older groups, also more educated

Segmentation Highlight The overwhelming majority of online panel members are not in it just for the cash or some cash “equivalent”. Fully 86% of panel respondents are significantly motivated by largely intrinsic factors in addition to the monetary components.

But what does mean for those who manage online research consumer panels?

Study Implications A few thoughts about the implications of this research for consumer panel design and management… The more research appeals to a range of known motivators, the more online panel members will engage and participate more regularly in research. This will also lead to reduced panel member drop-out .

Study Implications Cost effectiveness argument In the context of panel management, extrinsic or monetary rewards “cost” more than intrinsic ones. This is because monetary costs are typically a driver of significant variable (i.e. per complete) costs for panel management. Intrinsic motivators, on the other hand, can be managed with largely fixed-cost investments (i.e. per panel, not panel member). So there is an enormous potential for economy of scale. Managers can think little or big .

Study Implications Think Little: Simple small things such as “thanking” respondents in innovative ways or in pro-actively letting them know about positive impacts of their feedback will enhance member satisfaction. Think Big : State-of-the-art panels can take advantage of innovative tools coming out of the Web 2.0 world that facilitate interaction and expression in their panels to even greater effect.

Whether one thinks little or big, now or later, all marketing research industry players have a vested interest in listening to what people are telling us. Much depends on doing research online “right” going forward.

We hope you enjoyed the show! Prophis eResearch For more information please contact Stuart Hemerling [email_address]