Search Blog
Amplified experience: What is it and does it occur in focus groups?
A common concern with focus groups is group think. In most cases what appears to be groupthink is actually poor moderation – the moderator fails to control dominating personalities and elicit comments from the quiet ones. Beyond being strong moderators to further combat the possibility of group think Isurus includes individual exercises in most focus groups. This ensures we collect feedback from everyone and provides the more timid participants with a stick in the ground they can stand by when aggressive participants try to sell their point of view.
Read MoreMeta surveys vs. detailed explorations: When to use each
An organizational chart of trust has made its way around LinkedIn and Twitter. It’s a great reminder that many elements contribute to feelings of trust. We can use it to ask ourselves how well we and our organizations perform in these areas. It also provides a framework for thinking about other measures such as quality. But should organizations use frameworks like this to formally measure attributes such as trust, quality, loyalty, etc?
Read MoreUsing research for content marketing
A recent Content Marketing Institute study found that 44% of B2B marketers use research reports in their content marketing strategy. Isurus regularly conducts custom studies to provide data for content marketing initiatives; the sponsoring client leverages the results to create reports, webinars, infographics, whitepapers, microsites, and a range of social and email marketing to promote and share the content.
Read MoreRevolutions in Data Analytics
The Independence Day holiday is a good time to talk about revolutions. We are all inundated with stories about big data and analytics revolutionizing how companies use data to run their businesses. As useful and powerful as these tools are turning out to be, the biggest data analysis revolution of all time arguably took place in 1786 when Scottish Engineer William Playfair invented the bar, line and pie chart That is not a typo: We have been using the same tools to visualize data for over 200 years.
Read MoreBias lives in the execution, not the approach
Sometimes in the buzz over new research tools the practitioners and media are overzealous in identifying insights that the new tool provides that old tools miss. In reality the problem typically isn’t with the old tools, it is with how they are used. But it’s always easier and more interesting to grab onto the next new thing than it is to address the misuse of existing tools and process.
Read MoreSocial media monitoring in B2B markets
Social media monitoring and engagement tracking has joined surveys, focus groups, ethnography and eye tracking as a standard tool in the market researcher’s tool box. As with other tools and approaches there are literally dozens of firms and services to pick from. A simple Google search of “social media moderating” brings back pages vendors, comparison sites, and reviews. In general the social monitoring vendors compete with each other on three broad dimensions.
Read MoreSelf-service survey guidance
As a research firm we believe the best research is designed and executed by research professionals; the same way the best marketing communications are created by marketing professionals. Still, there are times when a DIY approach makes sense and SurveyMonkey and its kin have a place in your tool box. With that in mind here are some guidelines to follow when creating and executing an online survey for your company.
Read MoreThe value of NPS in B2B enterprise markets
A client recently asked our opinion of the value of the Net Promoter Score. As with all flavor-of-the-month management technique we followed the pattern of curiosity, skepticism, and finally came to a set of beliefs regarding where NPS provides the most value – and where it does not. Our beliefs are based on our experience helping B2B enterprise clients implement and interpret NPS results.
Read MoreWhat do mayors and market research have in common?
Political theorist Benjamin Barber’s talk at TEDGlobal 2013,“Why Mayors Should Rule the World” holds a lesson about our political institutions but is also surprisingly relevant for the effective use of market research. Barber contends that mayors have an extremely influential role in shaping the world because they are much more effective at actually getting things done than other parts of government (e.g., Congress, Executive Office, etc.). Mayors can’t stay mired in ideological debate; if potholes don’t get filled the mayor loses her job.
Read MoreCloud adoption follows old patterns
The hype and backlash surrounding cloud applications shares many similarities with the market dynamics that occurred when organizations shifted from homegrown solutions to third-party commercial applications. As Mark Twain said, “History does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” Cloud applications are an evolution, not a revolution. They continue ongoing trends and are an inevitable part of the future IT infrastructure for most organizations. This post outlines the parallels in the adoption of these two technologies and identifies some implications for software firms, whether they offer cloud-based solutions today or not.
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