Sentient Services (Ubiquity Marketing Un Summit 2009) V1

© 2009 Sentient Services, LP

Ubiquity Marketing unSummit

Is Market Research Dead in a 2.0 world?09.03.09


What we will talk about

• Sentient• Is research dead – in a 2.0 world?

– Inc. article and response– Why research?

• Ways for entrepreneurs to leverage • Best practices – stuff you can leave with


Who We Are

• Sentient Services is a Knowledge Studio® - the amalgamation of market research, user experience and information design practices. We leverage these core competencies for our clients in product development, interactive, sales, marketing, advertising and branding.

• Sentient provides the knowledge to lead and the tools to connect with customers

through research, customer innovation and technology.

• We work with startups and F500 clients around the globe

• We specialize in technology and companies that leverage technology and the internet in their products, marketing and sales

• Accolades as a good company to work with and for:– 2008 Inc. 5000 list– 2007 and 2008 Fast 50 – Named one of the fastest growing privately held companies in

Central Texas– 2007 and 2008 Top 15 agency in Austin, Texas by the Austin Business Journal– 2007 Best Places to Work in Central Texas


What We Do

Customer insights through advanced quantitative and qualitative methodologies.

Full-service worldwide quantitative and qualitative research. We cover branding, customer engagement, market analysis (segmentation, sizing, pricing), product development and usability.

Focus groups | In-depth-interviews | Usability & Eye tracking | Online groups |Web-based surveys | Phone-based surveys | Custom panel development

Information design providing the right information, in the right place, at the right time.

Our Information Design practice provides an unparalleled scientific and customer research driven information platform

Content strategy | Information architecture | Heuristic design|Interaction layers & dependencies | Wireframes

Usability services for web, software, product and creative with state-of-the-art lab.

We conduct concise, measurable and actionable usability research, covering a range of different media including websites, software, email, packaging, interactive, print and television.

Business definition | Contextual assessment | Heuristic evaluation | Personas |Task analysis | Usability analytics | Reporting (IA, content, wireframe)







“The Customer Is the Company”

• In June of 2008 Inc. published an article about Threadless entitled “The Customer Is the Company”. MIT’s Eric von Hippel implied that their business model spelled the end of traditional market research and large R&D departments.

–You see, they get all their designs and input on what to sell from their customers via their website. Welcome to a web2.0 company.

• So, is the market research industry out of business?

http://www.inc.com/magazine/20080601/the-customer-is-the-company.html


Market Research – current state

• On the surface, some major shifts.• Web2.0 “Threadless” effect• Response rates are declining, development cycles are shortening, costs are

increasing…• Free survey software is out there and you can now use Facebook,

LinkedIn… (all actually good resources given the right task)• Just because it worked 50 years ago does not mean it works today

–Non-response bias, large internet samples lead to false stats…

• There is still a place for market sizing and large scale quant segmentation studies

–However, these are few and far between• Biggest value in market research for emergent sectors and companies lies

in

–developing the right product/service (usability, UI, lead user and observational design)

–clearly communicating emerging and technical concepts with associated value propositions

• … all targeted to the right person at the right time via engaging and salient media (what the other fine folks are here to talk about, so I will skip this)


What is changing, what is not.

• So, I wrote back to Inc.

–“You can call it crowdsourcing or customer-driven design, but what Threadless does is essentially market research. I think of Threadless's user base as one large consumer panel. Threadless's business model immediately implements the findings from this market intelligence. What traditional market research does is similar. It provides the framework, methodology, and discipline to solicit feedback from customers. The rise of Threadless does not mean the end of market research but a transformation in the way companies implement it. That's what's changing.”

• Knowledge by itself is not power, knowing what to do with it is. Call it what you want, but the basis of needing to understand customers and cut through questioning biases, sampling issues, analysis and then turning data into bite-sized business intelligence has not changed. Oh, and that is called market research.


Why Market Research?

• Two main reasons: Product Development + Branding. Why these two?

Product Development• If you want to keep your

customers, if you want to know why you are losing business, if you want to know how to make your product/service better – just ask

• Observational design and lead-user development are key and cost-effective tools to avoid extremely costly mistakes AND to develop additional breakthroughs that internal teams simply couldn’t have imagined – “forest and trees”

Branding• Rapidly changing paradigms make

today’s bleeding edge old tomorrow – you can get leapfrogged much too easily

• Minimum ownership of means of production – the true knowledge economy

• As quickly as tech is emerging many sectors are becoming “commodities” where good enough covers end-user needs







Research is important, but it costs $

• Yes and yes – but here are a few ways to get around that• There are many great FREE web survey tools out there (

www.zoomerang.com is one of my favorite, and it has discounted non-profit pricing)

• And, since the best research you can do is with current customers, typically the sample costs you nothing

• Most research does not have to be complicated! Keep It Simple. If you don’t, you will spend more time convincing others that the analysis is correct than actually taking action on it

• You can easily create basic online groups or forums to get feedback using LinkedIn. Facebook, Ning and other platforms

• There is a ton of research already done – look at SEC filings, press releases, lobbying firms for your industry do a ton of research, local Chamber of Commerce…the list goes on

http://www.zoomerang.com/


What will still cost you

• Time – if you want your research done on time, typically you will need to dedicate resources or hire an outside firm

• Advanced analytics – segmentation, conjoint…• Nuanced survey writing – internal and external validity• Professional research management (replicates, non-responses analysis, normalizing

data…)• In-person with facilities, one-way mirror, eye tracking• Prospect survey or focus group respondents







Market Research

• What is it?– Understanding why you are in business

• When to use it?– When you don’t know, really

• When not to use it?– When you can’t do anything with the answers

• What can you do with it?– Make better products, say the right thing to the right person at the right

time – spend your money wiser!• What it is not? Why are budgets hard to get sometimes?

– Production, sales staff, advertising…not historically tangible or integrated

• Why spend money on market research?– Because it makes the list above infinitely and measurably better


Scoping a Project

• What to do in-house?– Understand your business and where you have questions – don’t pay

someone to do basic homework.• What to outsource?

– Survey writing and analysis at a minimum – these are where the adage

“Forest and the trees” can bite you.• How to choose a methodology?

– Quant. – when you need to size, project, track and otherwise measure– Qual. – when you need to understand, develop, “speak” and interact

• How to choose a vendor?– Varies by your internal expertise and need for output and implementation


Steps

WEB-001 Sentient

Task Date Revised Date

Final Date Notes

Deliver proposal wk1Project awarded wk1Project kick-off call wk2Draft 1 of survey to client wk2Order sample wk2Final survey wk3Sample received wk3Setup email address for web services wk3Program and test wk4Begin fieldwork wk5Tab plan to client wk5Finish fieldwork wk6Tab plan finalized wk6Coding and data cleaning wk7Tabs delivered wk7Rough draft wk8Final presentation wk9In-person presentation TBD


Survey Writing

• Tone – don’t speak down, assume limited time and attention (respondents will skim), but don’t make too techy

• Scales – huge debate here but some general guidelines:– Allow a Don’t Know/Refuse option– If the survey is short anchor all points– Avoid a mid-point (unless you can make a strong argument)– Create positively skewed response scales

• Design and layout– Just because the web is “easy” does not mean that design can

be ignored– Same basic principals that go into mail surveys apply here

• Eye movement (columns, scrolling, etc.)• Column widths, number of pages vs. scrolling etc.


Fielding and Project Management

• Invitations and reminders– Subject line is important

• “Need your feedback”• Check for common words that will get caught by SPAM filters

– Have a call to action and how they benefit – “This is your chance to provide direct feedback on the products you use and to help make them better.”

• Timing– Launch Tuesday-Thursday 10-2pm CST – for US– Majority of responses will come back within 48 hours– Send reminders out 3-5 business days later, no more than 2 reminders at most

• SPAM and customer service– Stay in compliance (physical address, opt-out links, etc.)

• Quality control– Check responses – do numbers make sense, it if looks wrong it probably is– Check for response outliers and remove if needed– Ensure that survey fielding period is long enough to get hard to reach

respondents – replicates– Non-response bias– Sub-par response rate– Panels vs. RDD


Turning Data into Insight and Action

• Don’t walk…. Run – don’t let the results gather dust• Do share the results – don’t worry about knowledge ownership

– But, ensure that implications and application of the data is clear in presentation/ briefing

• But, don’t rush – one insignificant (there is not such thing) wrong number will call the entire study into doubt

• Don’t overcomplicate the data or the results– Avoid weighting if at all possible– If you can’t summarize the key points on one page, try and try

again


Market Research – Core Competency

• Our Market Research practice helps clients take the first step in interacting with customers, building better products and communicating – LISTENING

• We combine our proven research principles with a depth of experience in sociology, psychology, economics, statistics and marketing. Key business areas we provide research intelligence for include:–Branding–Customer Engagement–Market Analysis (segments, sizing, pricing)–Product Development–Usability– Interactive–Social Media


Market Research – Goals + Methodologies

METHODOLOGY

QUALITATIVEQUANTITATIVE USER EXPERIENCE

RESEARCH GOAL

•Brand awareness/Brand equity•Market size •Customer profile•Customer experience•Product/Service development•Marcom testing/development

• Understand the motivations underlying customer behavior• Develop, design, refine • Observe, brainstorm, ideate • Develop survey content• Marcom testing/development

•Understand how users interact with product, software, or website

•Pinpoint deficient or difficult-to use areas

•Identify ways to improve the user experience

•Increase interaction and sales

SENTIENT TOOL KIT

• Web/Telephone surveys• Brand concept mapping• Market segmentation• Advanced modeling• Conjoint analysis• Text analysis• Data mining/Segmentation

•In-person/Web-based groups•In-person/Web/Phone interviews•Language analysis•Facial and behavioral coding •Observational fielding•Group ideation•Projective techniques

• In-depth interviewing• Usability testing• Contextual inquiry• Eye-tracking analysis• Facial and behavioral coding• Language analysis• Experimental design


Market Research – Messaging Research Platform

IMAGERY & CREATIVE

POSITION:WHO ARE YOU? What is the one idea or thought that will resonate with

customers above all else, match their needs and set you apart from the crowd?

IDENTITY:What do you do?

DIFFERENTIATION:How are you better?

SIGNIFICANCE:Why customers should care?

Very specifically & very simply – who

are you?

True & meaningful differences. This is

why you exist.

What is in it for the customer? Why do

your differences matter to them?

MESSAGING SUPPORT:Attributes, features and benefits

EMOTIONAL:Emotional derivatives of brand interaction

1

2

3

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User Experience – Core Competency

• We conduct concise, measurable and actionable usability research, covering a range of different media including websites, software, email, packaging, interactive, print and television. Our User Experience group works across the board from product development to creative optimization to increase business success through user-centered design.

– Business Definition– Contextual Assessment– Heuristic Evaluation– Persona Development– Task Analysis– Usability Analytics– Reporting (IA, content, wireframe)– Consulting (see Information Design section)


User Experience – Lab

• Sentient owns and operates a singularly dedicated, state-of-the-art usability lab and focus group facility. The lab has the latest technology, including eye tracking, huge HD viewing screen, remote web viewing, and studio-quality video and sound.

• We conduct:– Eye Tracking for web, software,

packaging and advertising – Usability sessions– Focus groups– In-depth-interviews

• Our usability setup (including eye tracking) can roll mobile to any location globally


User Experience – Why Eye Tracking?

• Eye tracking complements traditional behavioral and self-reported measures of user experience with physical measures of eye movements, showing us what users pay attention to and how they process the information they see

• Eye tracking sheds light on the why underlying the what of user behavior:– Assess decision-making processes

• What elements of the medium do users consider before finally selecting one - all available options or only a few?

– Search strategies and efficiency• How do users look for relevant information? Where do they expect it to be? Do they quickly recognize a

relevant link/action signifier or do they need to read over it several times before taking action? How does messaging and copy interplay with the design and user experience?

– Evaluate the match between visual design and business objectives• Which elements are users immediately drawn to during those critical first seconds of impression formation?

Are the impressions formed from these images consistent with business objectives?

• When eye tracking is added to the usability arsenal, we learn not only if design weaknesses exist, but also where they lie, why they fail and how to fix them

• Eye tracking allows for meaningful benchmarking and measurable usability tracking – Heatmaps and gaze timelines allow for easy and accurate comparison between sites, ads and

other visual stimuli (e.g., does it take 8 views to find vs. 5, is X viewed more than Y?).


Heatmaps – What Do They Tell Us?

• A heatmap is an aggregate image representing the eye gaze data of all users viewing a given page - the warmer colors at specific points on the page indicate where people’s viewing patterns converge, and thus show us which items or region draw the most attention from the group

– A heatmap image provides a single-glance depiction of information viewing and patterns of usage

– Even more importantly, it shows those areas that users never see at all – and if they didn’t see it, they can’t use it or choose it

• Heatmaps provide a powerful visual tool that is driven by user behavior and allows clients to quickly spot design gaps, capitalize on usage patterns and communicate design direction easily to teams


Heatmap – Example

Warmer colors indicate the areas that are viewed the most

Symbols indicate

where each user clicked to navigate away from the page


Gaze Timelines – What Do They Tell Us?

• A gaze timeline is an individual image that indicates the path of one user’s eye gaze for the duration of each page, view or visual stimulus. Each circle indicates a fixation, and larger circles indicate longer fixations

– Analyzing gaze timelines allows us to answer fine-grained questions such as:• What element(s) are viewed first, second and so on for a given task or

impression?• Did users have trouble comprehending the information or design before

taking action?• Did users see and then choose to skip over an area or simply not see it at

all?


Gaze Timeline – Example

This site is well-designed for Search Task A

Relatively few fixation points and short scanpaths (lines between the fixation circles) indicate an efficient search

This site is not well-designed for Search Task B

Numerous fixation points and long scanpaths indicate an inefficient search


Gaze Timeline – Print Ad Example

• In the first 5 seconds a viewer looks at faces first

• Prices are not noticed in the first 5 seconds

• Words in bubbles get read before standard text

• Colored text and shapes draw attention to offers on the right, but not to pricing

• Bottom left corner is a “dead” spot

5 Seconds


Information Design– Core Competency

• Our Information Design practice provides an unparalleled scientific and customer research driven information platform

• Sentient Service’s Information Design group creates a user experience that delivers the right information in the right place at the right time

– Content Strategy – Information Architecture– Heuristic Design– Interaction layers and dependencies– Wireframes


Information Design – Approach

Understand who is using, their intent and motivations for

interaction

• Our approach is user driven:

Understand why they are using it this particular time

Understand what information and activity is important in the

dialogue

WHO WHY WHAT

• From here we follow these rules that drive your success:

Reduce the interaction layers and communications layers to

their essence – smart is simple

The tools for smart design – market research, user

experience/eye tracking, interactive expertise

Increase click rates, brand interaction, stickiness and sales through an improved

user experience

REDUCE SMART INCREASE


Contact Information

512.288.1706www.sentientservices.com [email protected]

Paul Janowitz, CEO & [email protected]