The Competitive Advantage

March 29, 2016

Not doing Client Satisfaction surveys for yourself? Whuuuuut?!

8 Tips for Building Better Services with Surveys

In the perfect personification of ‘the cobbler’s’ children having no shoes,’ I am amazed at how many market research firms – that conduct studies for clients across the U.S. and around the world – don’t conduct any for themselves.

And the oddest one of those is the huge percentage of firms that don’t conduct a client satisfaction survey after each project. Why is that?

March 22, 2016

7 Tips for Successful In-Person Presentations

Last week, I had the privilege and pleasure (yes – it really was) of speaking to a room full of market researchers at the QRCA-Philadelphia Chapter’s monthly meeting.

It was one of the most enjoyable and successful (based on feedback from the participants) live speaking experiences I’ve had in several years. And as I look back at why it went so well, I think it boiled down to a handful of guidelines that all speakers should follow for in-person presentations…

March 15, 2016

How to Be Remarkable

In Seth Godin’s ground-breaking marketing book, Purple Cow, he espouses that all businesses should aspire to be ‘remarkable’… as a way to stand out from the crowd and build their brand.

On a recent trip to Dallas to visit my son, Alex, I got to experience something truly remarkable – something Godin, himself, would be proud of! My son took me to a place called Top Golf… ostensibly a driving range – but it was s-o-o-o-o much more! Top Golf combines the skill and sport of golf (they even provide the clubs) with the food and beverages of a fun sports bar (delivered to your ‘driving bay’) with the scorekeeping and competition of bowling (yup – it’s on the overhead screens here, too). It’s all very hi-tech/hi-touch… and it’s only $20/hour for all the balls you can hit, regardless of the number of people you’re with!

It not only redefines what a driving range is… it has created an entirely new category and made it a new kind of destination… ideal for fathers & sons, small groups, corporate outings and dates. A wait of more than 2 hours is not uncommon.

Top Golf is a great reminder that ‘remarkable’ is achievable…. that something truly different will capture people’s attention… and that a unique customer experience will create loyalists who come back again and again.

March 8, 2016

Networking at a Conference… 8 Ways to be Awesome!

There are a bunch of conferences in our industry – TMRE, ESOMAR, Quirk’s, CASRO, MRA and more… not to mention all of the industry-specific ones. And even when you’re attending for just the education (not exhibiting… not sponsoring), networking at a conference can still be a remarkable marketing & sales opportunity for you and your firm.

As you get ready to attend your next event, consider these ideas to maximize your time there…

February 29, 2016

The Sales Presentation: Stop Reading the PowerPoint Slides and Tell Your Story

5 Proven Tips to Improve your Sales Presentation Process

I get it. Not everyone – particularly in our industry – likes to stand in front of a group and deliver a sales presentation. It’s so much more comfortable to not look into the eyes of the audience, turn away from them and read the PowerPoint slides up on the screen. But that’s not very engaging.

And to exacerbate the situation… often the slides themselves are horrible. 6-7-8 (or more) bullet points on a slide, each with a long, complete sentence. And because you don’t want to miss any of that detail, while your back is turned (see paragraph 1 above), you just read the slides… one long sentence… after another… after another. Not very compelling, huh?

February 25, 2016

The Mobilization of Marketing… what’s the rush?

Along with topics like ‘inbound marketing,’ ‘growth hacking’ and ‘social media,’ the ‘mobilization of marketing’ has been one of the most written-about topics on most of the marketing blog sites and portals for some time.

So, with “everyone” accessing the internet for from their mobile devices, shouldn’t we be doing everything we can to move our marketing initiatives to align with that? Not so fast, my friend! (with props to Lee Corso of ESPN).

February 16, 2016

Your Clients Don’t Have Research Problems

I know, for most firms in the research industry, that statement seems a little counter-intuitive… but it’s true. That CPG firm you work with doesn’t really care about focus groups. The automotive company doesn’t get all that excited about conjoint analysis. And that healthcare firm… let’s just say that max-diff doesn’t keep them up at night.

The fact is, your clients don’t have research problems… they have business problems – that they need research to help solve.

February 9, 2016

Content Marketing? But I’m a lousy writer!

Content Marketing is a core marketing initiative for many – if not most – firms in the market research industry. A good Content Marketing program can position your firm in the markets you serve, build awareness, generate and nurture sales leads and so much more.

But the biggest [perceived] obstacle related to content marketing – particularly among the principals of small and mid-sized firms – is this, “But I’m a lousy writer!”

And while that may be what many MR professionals believe… honestly, it’s not that true. Based on our work with firms throughout our industry and across the country, here are 5 ideas to explode that myth and get you over the hurdle: