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What I’d like in my Christmas stocking

By | Published on 21st December 2009

I’m hoping that Santa is going to stuff my stocking with a case of champagne and one of those glittery, sequined dresses that are all over the shops this year.

Apart from that, I’m wondering if he has the power to make the following magically appear in my office over Christmas:

1000 names and email addresses

I’d like 1000 names and email addresses of senior market researchers from around the world.  At meaning we conduct an annual online survey about market research technology and every year it becomes a little bit harder to achieve our goal of 230 completes, which should not come as a complete surprise since as the survey has pointed out in both of the last two years that ‘falling response rates’ is the top challenge the industry faces.  This means that one of my personal top challenges is building en ever longer list of people to invite to take part in the survey.

In my gift-wrapped Christmas box of sample, I’d particularly like some from France because, even though we translate the questionnaire into French, for some reason, our response rate in France is far lower than everywhere else. In 2008, 7% of our French sample completed the questionnaire, whereas in other countries this figures was typically between 10 and 20%. And I’d also like to ask Santa for Japanese sample because we quite simply never get enough of it!

And why bother Santa with this awesome task, when we have panel  providers, I hear you cry. Aren’t they ideal for wheedling out those hard-to-find groups? Yes, but this is just too specific even for them.  The thing is, our survey is about trends and issues in the use of market research software, so while we are happy for the IT boss, the Research Director or even the CEO to complete the questionnaire, it is no use if the HR, Finance or Marketing Manager participates (since they have nothing or very little to do with MR technology issues). We have had some success with panel providers in the past, and believe me, they have certainly tried hard, but the number of completes they brought in, while extremely valuable, never quite matched their effort.

A new piece of tabulation and charting software that hasn’t yet been written

Talking of our annual technology survey, I don’t know if elves are good at programming, but I would really like a new piece of market research software that produces a few cross tabs and publication-ready charts without having to endure a week of blood, sweat and tears to create them.

Once we have finished the fieldwork, Tim Macer and I have an annual battle with Microsoft Excel, which we do always win, largely thanks to Tim’s superior level of skill with the aforementioned package.  We have tried some market research specific packages, but have always fallen back on Excel because that’s what we have to provide the charts in to the various publishers… To be honest, Excel is not setting the bar very high, so maybe Santa’s little helpers can come up trumps.

So, champagne, a sparkly dress, 1000 names and email addresses and some brand new software. I think that is a modest wish list.

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A final goodbye to Quantime

By | Published on 12th August 2009

quantime_newsletterI feel sad that IBM has swallowed up SPSS. It feels like the absolute total end of an era.

I used to work for SPSS, and before that for Quantime, which SPSS took over. Both companies had their different qualities: where Quantime was quirky and Bohemian with faded hippy edges, SPSS was organized, with clean-cut suits, but still pleasantly relaxed. SPSS did, in my view, do a good job of ironing out the less attractive wrinkles within Quantime, but with hindsight something intangible was lost, or possibly diluted.  Was it passion?

Quantime, the developer of Quantum and Quancept, was an amazingly successful organization both in terms of cornering the market and making a profit. Looking back, I think at least part of the reason for this was its quirky, slightly disorganized nature. It was the type of place were rules were for bending, where the parties were memorable and where customers who bought beer for the right developers got their favourite bugs fixed a bit faster. SPSS added a slicker system of management and brought new order to anything that was a little unpolished.   I do not have any personal knowledge of IBM, but I assume its culture is less relaxed than SPSS and pretty much at the opposite end of the spectrum from Quantime.

A certain amount of chaos obviously did Quantime no harm – the bottom line was good – although sometimes the quirkiness was hard to live with. That was especially true when we were trying to write its always well-received and much plagiarized newsletter (see an example above) into the wee small hours because of a spur-of-the-moment decision to get one out in a week. However, it is an amazing endorsement to the endeavours of everyone in the old company that, 30 years on, Quantum is still a market leading product in its class.

I really cannot imagine what such a monolith as IBM would want with such niche products as Quantum. Wouldn’t it be great if IBM could sell off SPSS’ market research software interests to a smaller organization that could reinvent a big chunk of Quantime’s passion, and perhaps a small dose of SPSS’ management acumen. Is there anyone out there who fits the bill? If so, please call IBM!

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Just be considerate… it’s good business

By | Published on 29th July 2009

girl_PC_outsideEver since the earliest days of laptops, computer manufacturers have produced idyllic images of business people working in beautiful outdoor locations, thanks to the freedom of battery power.  Even their marketing people, and I know because I used to be one of them, did not believe their own hype; we were all confined to our airless office from nine to five (or usually longer), where we slaved like androids over hot laptops.

Ridiculous, isn’t it!  However, disciplined we all are as individuals, nobody produces their best work in this kind of environment. It is like being in a straight jacket.  Some corporates do provide their workforce with womb-like dens to relax in, or gym membership, and they treat their clients to glamorous days out.  All this helps, but it costs thousands, and in the end it us, their customers, who foot the bill.

This is where meaning really scores highly in my book. It is one of the most hard-working, creative, yet relaxed companies I have ever known. Meaning does not spend thousands creating the right environment or the right impression, it just does it by treating people nicely. Simple!

This means that, in my case as a meaning associate, I am nearly always around to take my children to school and pick them up, plus I often fit in a run or a bike ride during normal working hours.   As I am busy doing other things during part of the daytime, it does mean that I often work at very non-traditional hours, like in the evenings or weekends. This is my choice. Sometimes this way of working is inconvenient to meaning, however it is often a huge benefit  –  I have on many occasions worked late into the evening to meet a deadline, or simply to communicate with customers in their own time zone.

In my corporate days I can remember occasionally sneaking out of the office to walk around the local park to try to free my mind enough to solve a problem.  I still do this kind of thing now, I just don’t have to do it secretly any more.  A few weeks ago, I wrote an article for this website on the train home. Later, the weather was so perfect that I went on a bike ride, and while I was pedalling, and breathing in the beautiful summer air, a new and better way to write the piece just entered my mind, as if by magic (although, of course it’s not magic, as any sports scientist would tell you, the better oxygenated brain works better!). As soon as I got home, I scribbled down all my ideas and, even though I say it myself, I did a rather good job, and I did it promptly.

Just because you are a bit different, it doesn’t mean that you don’t get to the end goal. In fact, it might even be the case that you get there more quickly or produce a better result. Meaning, long may you be open to and accepting of different ways of doing things. And please always remain so kind and considerate.

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