The concept and goals of market research panels are evolving due to the availability of expanding online technologies, and how these technologies aid in panelist recruitment, engagement and retention. Dynamic functionality is now often required in order to keep panelists regularly participating in various research initiatives, and in recent years the panel research community has become a primary tool for sustaining this engagement. Simultaneously, smartphones and tablets are becoming integral to the everyday lives of consumers.  Most researchers agree that research communities should allow for full mobile device interaction, but few communities actually do. Now is time – in fact it is past time – for all research communities to go mobile.

The evidence that respondents are using mobile devices to participate in market research is already substantial. At Kinesis, we now see more than 30% of our survey traffic coming from mobile devices, and other research software providers indicate that their mobile traffic is now anywhere between 10-20%, depending on the platform. Since research communities are often a vehicle for posting new research projects, as well as the landing pages for respondents once they have completed them, it is now imperative that all community functions be mobile-enabled.

Adding to the demand is the natural synergy between research communities and traditional social media websites. The leading social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc.) provide interactive functionality that is highly similar to the functionality of research communities – personalized member profiles, news/activity feeds, discussion forums, media sharing, quick polls, etc. are readily accessible from mobile devices for the leading social media sites, so users have come to expect that this support is available on all websites that they visit. Not providing these common features in a “device agnostic” fashion most certainly has a negative impact on community members’ engagement. Longer term, it will also cause significant non-response bias within the data collected via the community.

Active and thriving communities provide significant research data that cannot be obtained through surveys alone. Multiple research initiatives can be managed from a single community, with a dynamic balance of both quantitative and qualitative elements. Because community members typically must sign in to the community prior to any interactions, historical data and trends about each community member can be married to their feedback as well. Mobile device support only enhances these community benefits, by providing additional flexibility and a real-time data collection mechanism.

All companies that utilize communities as part of their market research initiatives must take immediate steps to support mobile device interaction. How to implement this support is a topic that Kinesis President Leslie Townsend will address as part of NewMR’s Research Communities virtual event being held March 15. She will discuss how community providers can go about introducing the necessary mobile features and functionality; topics include available technologies, recruitment modes, incentive models, support requirements, and use of social media and qualitative elements. Click here for more information and to register for this free event.

The North American Market Research in the Mobile World conference was a fast-paced event with numerous sessions covering mobile research topics of all varieties; it was much like its predecessor event in Europe, only on a bigger scale. The sold out conference provided an opportunity for many presenters to showcase their latest research tool, methodology, use case, and the like.

Kinesis President Leslie Townsend spoke about “The Mobile Impact on Market Research Panels” and offered practical recommendations as to how to expand existing enterprise panels to support multimode interaction.  To showcase effective implementation of multimode panels, Kinesis also sponsored MRMW’s multimode event Community, which demonstrates how community panel functionality can be delivered seamlessly and simultaneously to both desktop and mobile users.  As we did for the European MRMW event, Kinesis conducted a survey via the Community to understand how market researchers currently perceive the value of various mobile tools/technologies to the industry.  The results from the North American survey participants shown below were for the most part similar to those from the European participants, with only minor percentage variances (see previous results here) on most questions. But the results also clearly indicate that there is wide disparity among researchers’ views as to how mobile devices will impact the market research landscape on factors such as respondent recruitment, respondent engagement, and other issues.

While the debate rages on as to if, how, and when mobile will ultimately change the market research industry, this fact is indisputable: mobile device usage among research participants continues to increase (for a detailed breakdown of current mobile survey traffic statistics, check out Kinesis’ new whitepaper: Online Survey Statistics from the Mobile Future). Kinesis will be offering our position on the various mobile research implementation topics in future blog posts, so please stay tuned.

Last week’s CASRO Online Research event in Las Vegas included what is sure to be one of the most memorable industry conference sessions for quite some time. Toluna’s John Bremer moderated a panel discussion with actual MR panelists who shared their motivations, frustrations and expectations about participating in online research panels. The panelists were exceedingly candid; they revealed what keeps them engaged (naturally, financial incentives work best) and what causes significant frustration (a big complaint is regularly being invited to surveys for which they don’t actually qualify). Some admitted to belonging to the same panel under multiple accounts, to taking the same survey more than once – and even to generating enough incentives to pay the rent. While few of the panelists’ revelations were surprising, it was novel to hear this information straight from the mouths of respondents.

Market researchers are already aware that competition for panelists is at an all-time high and panel attrition is a serious issue.  We all know that the MR industry needs to ensure we are providing a satisfactory experience to respondents; not only because it affects engagement, but also because it influences data quality. Yet poor questionnaire design and usability errors continue to be serious problems.  Inadequate querying practices too often result in unrepresentative samples and the over-sending of survey invitations. Ineffective de-duplication processes permit individuals to complete the same survey multiple times. Our industry is well aware of these issues, and the panel of panelists at CASRO Online readily reinforced the message.

So what’s the answer? Utilization of effective survey software and panel management software goes a long way toward solving these problems. Today’s sophisticated survey and panel solutions provide tools – both automated and customizable – that enhance panel performance and keep respondents happy and engaged. In situations where outside sample and/or multiple sample sources are utilized, respondent authentication solutions such as TrueSample® are also beneficial to verify, de-dup and monitor survey participants. Kinesis proudly integrates to TrueSample, and readily provides many additional next-generation features (multimode community websites, advanced email delivery tools, panel health assessments, and more) to empower our clients and facilitate successful market research panels.

OnlineMR recently conducted an interview with Kinesis President Leslie Townsend. She offers up a valuable perspective on the current state of the market research industry, and also shares some history about Kinesis.

“We believed back then – which has certainly proven true since – that mobile technology would become vital within the MR industry for immediate, flexible and highly reliable feedback gathering.” — Leslie Townsend

Read the full interview here.

Today is the Main Stage segment of the second annual NewMR Virtual Festival, and many highly insightful sessions on various market research topics have occurred thus far. Since Kinesis recently introduced our new multi-mode online community solution, the presentations on this topic were of particular interest to us, and these sessions did not disappoint.

Due to a slight schedule shake up, Diane Hessan of Communispace presented “Online Communities: Mistakes, Misuses and Challenges” back-to-back with Felix Koch of Promise Communities, who presented “What’s Next? Five Predictions About the Future of Online Co-Creation.” This proved to be an ideal change because the two presentations offered a lot of synergy regarding how successful research communities operate today, and how they should evolve over the next few years.

During her presentation, Hessan shared some community best practice recommendations, as honed by Communispace’s extensive experience in running online communities for its clients. Some of her key takeaways were:

• Bigger is not always better – an ideal community size is 300-500 members, because as the number of members goes up, participation rates go down
• Communities should never be used simply as a means of delivering surveys – engagement is better sustained with multiple activities (an ideal split would be one third surveys / one third discussions / one third “other” activities)
• Researchers must remain focused on real listening instead of trying to create brand advocates – members want to feel invited to share their true opinions rather than be coerced into adopting ours, and they can always tell the difference (this argument could certainly apply beyond online communities to all research activities)

Next up, Koch offered his five predictions as to how online co-creation, which often occurs via research and social media communities, will change in the near future. He said co-creation will become more:

• Mobile – communities will have to support mobile interaction due to the escalation of mobile device use
• Engaging – competition for people’s online time will only get tougher and therefore communities must ensure they can attract and sustain attention
• Rewarding – as more participants become digitally literate and aware of the value they contribute, new incentive models will be constructed
• Playful – social games appeal to the online masses and are not limited to “gamers” anymore, therefore research gamification will continue to escalate
• Hybrid – communities will begin to combine both online and offline methods of communication to further enhance co-creation

The vast majority of the content from these two presentations aligns with Kinesis’ views as to the present and future of online research communities, and validates the future-proof functionality we built have into our new Kinesis Community™ solution. While market research online communities should not be utilized for all types of research, they do spur co-creation and provide insights that other research mediums cannot. Healthy and thriving communities are sustained by utilizing a community platform that is device-flexible, engaging, and highly advanced.

With tight budgets and shrinking revenues in the face of a weak economy, more market research firms and brands are electing to bring management of their panels in-house. Self-management can offer greater control over the panel’s processes, features and usage, and provide a means to monetize other assets, such as website visitors. The problem is that successful panel management is tougher than it looks. Smaller research companies and brands often lack some of the skill sets that are crucial for maintaining a thriving panel. Larger organizations may very well have all of the necessary skill sets to manage their panels internally, but those skill sets reside in many different employees across several departments, and thus significant collaboration is required to achieve success.

For any research company or brand that is attempting in-house panel management, a full assessment of the required skill sets and communication channels should occur. Does your business have the resources and defined processes in place to ensure value is realized? Here is a high-level summary to consider.

Like all customer-facing business initiatives, research panels require a project manager to provide the general direction, define recruitment and engagement practices, oversee all components of the panel, and drive its success. A technical person with a keen sense of aesthetics/design skills is needed to develop the panelist website, integrate all required functionality, and thoroughly test for usability. Like all websites, a panel website requires continual attention to ensure dynamic content and remain memorable to panelists.  A compliance manager is necessary to ensure that personal and financial data is adequately secured, and that privacy policies and terms of use statements are available and up-to-date. Additional resources may be needed to manage the panelist authentication process, and perform ongoing list management/conversion tasks such as email-to-address matching and de-duplication. Customer support personnel are required to address any panelist support issues in a timely fashion. Recruitment expertise may be necessary if river or social media sample is to be introduced, if customer lists are to be augmented with external sources, or if multiple sources and modes are being managed. If the panel website allows for any discussion forums and/or content upload, a moderator should also be in place to regularly review activity and keep discussions flowing. And naturally, employees with market research know-how are essential to develop the surveys, manage invitation design and delivery (effective invitation design and delivery is an art unto itself, requiring knowledge of spam scoring, email deliverability, and subject line writing), provide incentive fulfillment, and interpret the data to deliver meaningful insights.

Often research companies and brands believe they can save money and maintain better control of the panel if it is managed in-house, and in many cases they are right.  But sometimes companies utilizing in-house management ignore ongoing development and personnel costs, and/or the cost of panel atrophy, which can occur from lack of adequate panel attention.  A panel should be thought of as a core business asset and should be monitored for performance on a regular basis.  While some companies find success, many others fail because they press on with in-house management when they lack the necessary skill sets and resources, and/or because critical cross-department collaboration does not occur.

Research panels provide immeasurable valuable when implemented and fostered correctly. Each organization must evaluate its capabilities with an honest assessment, and for those that lack any of the crucial panel management components, outsourcing can save not only time and money, but ensure panel health as well. An additional route to consider is a hybrid solution in which the research firm or brand maintains responsibility for certain aspects of panel management, while outsourcing others that require more specialized skills and knowledge. Many vendors, including Kinesis, allow for panel management services to be customized, and can even assist in the evaluation process of your internal resource capabilities.

Launching and sustaining a thriving market research online community (MROC) website is a critical component of panel-based research, yet doing so can be a significant challenge even in the best of circumstances. With the vast number of websites and social media tools competing for panelists’ online time, researchers need to ensure that our MROCs offer compelling content, desirable incentives, and ease of use so that panelists remain engaged.

Another component of MROC success – and one often overlooked – is device compatibility. So often we as researchers look only to fulfill our research objectives, but communities, in order to be successful, must also fulfill the objectives of its members. Today one of the quickest ways to frustrate (and potentially lose) panelists is by not supporting a mobile version of your MROC website. With the extremely faced-paced growth of smartphone and tablet sales, all applications should now be designed to support users regardless of the device that they choose to utilize, and research panels and communities are no different. A Compuware study published in July indicated that consumers are increasingly growing impatient with websites that do not provide a satisfactory mobile experience. Some of the study’s key findings included:

• Mobile users’ expectations for mobile website speed continue to increase. 71% of global mobile web users expect websites to load as quickly, almost as quickly or faster on their mobile phone compared to the computer they use at home — up from 58% in 2009.
• More than 80% of mobile web users would access websites more often from their phone if the experience was as fast and reliable.
• A bad experience on a mobile website leaves mobile web users much less likely to return to, or recommend, a particular website. Nearly half of mobile web users are unlikely to return to a website that they had trouble accessing from their phone, and 57% are unlikely to recommend the site.

Given these consumer expectations, and knowing that researchers are increasingly competing for panelists, does it make any sense to have MROCs that support only certain types of browsers? Unequivocally, no. Furthermore, mobile users seem to be a group of potential panelists that are especially ideal for MROC recruitment. Statistics from some of the largest online communities indicate that a significant percentage of their members already engage with these communities via mobile devices. Consider that one third of Facebook’s 750 million users regularly access the application from their mobile phone, and 43% of Twitter users do. This means that a large segment of individuals who participate in online communities desire to do so using a mobile device.

Researchers who plan to launch a new MROC, and also those whose existing MROC is currently limited to computer browser interaction, need to immediately take steps to ensure mobile device compatibility. Failure to do so seriously undermines the potential of the MROC, and ultimately the quality of your research.

Earlier this year Kinesis unveiled QR code support for Kinesis Survey™ so that clients could automatically generate a QR code for any mobile or multimode survey. Just last month we introduced the most advanced MROC portal, Kinesis Community™, which also can utilize QR codes as a means to drive recruitment of new panelists. While QR code implementation is not yet a widespread practice among our clients, nor among the greater market research industry, Kinesis is certainly ready when they are. Considering some recently released QR code usage statistics, it looks as if consumers – particularly those in younger demographics – are ready as well. Last week Comscore reported that 14 million Americans scanned a QR code using their mobile phones in June (representing 6.2 percent of the total mobile audience and 53.4 percent of users ages 18-34). In July, Mobio indicated that QR code scanning grew 9,840 percent in North America in Q2 2011 on a year-over-year basis.

What does this mean for market research? It means that there is a significant opportunity for the industry to get ahead of this mobile technology’s rapid adoption and capitalize on the benefits it affords our projects and clients. It means there is a less expensive and just-as-easy-to-use alternative to SMS short codes for general intercept research.  While short codes are currently the most commonly utilized method for recruiting respondents to provide feedback at retail stores, restaurants and other consumer-targeted locations, they are an expensive invitation delivery option. The client must incur a fee every time a potential respondent submits the short code – or worse – the respondent is charged for initiating the text. Here is the big “in” for QR codes – free for both parties!

QR codes can be displayed on promotional media just like SMS short codes, yet there is virtually no cost associated with their use.  While photographing a QR code first requires that a QR code reader application (app) is installed on the mobile device, several free and nominal cost apps are available for download on a variety of mobile devices. Additionally, as QR code usage continues to grow and becomes commonplace among mobile users, it is highly likely that smartphone OS providers will begin including QR code functionality as part of the standard mobile operating system, and thus eliminate the need for users to search for and download an app on their own.

For now, Kinesis recommends that all researchers who utilize short codes as an invitation delivery method also provide a QR code option. Using both in tandem provides potential respondents with greater flexibility and offers a choice that is free of charge. In the future, as QR code knowledge and usage continues to grow among consumers, QR codes will very likely supplant SMS short codes, unless the fee structure of SMS usage is radically changed.

The market research industry has an opportunity to lead mobile marketers to greater QR code adoption and assist them to reduce the research costs for many general intercept projects. Won’t you join us?

You have probably seen one of the Esurance commercials with this tagline: “Technology when you need it. People when you don’t™.” This line does a good job of communicating what today’s consumers want out of customer service. Sometimes we want the speed and anonymity that technology provides us – no human interaction needed or desired. Other times only a discussion with a live person will do. And although this tagline is technically inaccurate (communicating with another person sans technology is not possible unless you are standing face-to-face), the intended meaning is clear: customer service requires a thoughtful balance of intrapersonal technology and interpersonal communication to be most effective. The same is true for online panels.

“Technology when you need it,” certainly applies to panelist portal websites. Portals are highly desirable to panelists because of the functionality offered via technology. Members can easily login to see what new surveys are available, view a history of completed surveys, check and redeem rewards, update user information, and more – independently and on-demand. It is fast, easy and convenient, and goes a long way toward keeping panelists happy and engaged.  But “People when you don’t” is applicable too. Of course there are circumstances in which panelists need human assistance, and not having a fast, easy and convenient means of reaching the panel provider can quickly alienate members.

To maximize portal effectiveness, ensure that the utilized technologies provide autonomy for panelists, yet still offer mechanisms for personal communication. The ability to post and/or email messages that are responded to in a timely manner, or even online chat functionality, gives members a clear and satisfying method of interacting with the panel provider when it is desired. Taking interpersonal communication a step further, many portals also offer aspects of social media to create an integrated community. Enabling members to communicate with each other via discussion boards and direct messaging fosters an inclusive and friendly atmosphere that can result in higher panelist engagement.

There are certainly plenty of panels out there, and a major key to success and differentiation is finding the appropriate technology/people balance. Too many panels, particularly smaller ones, suffer from inattention and not having someone who regularly evaluates the functionality and communication vehicles available. If you are self-managing your panel, keep in mind that everything you do (and don’t do) with your portal reflects on your brand.  Make sure that proper resources are allocated for its management, and ensure that survey invitations and provided content are appropriate for the panelists.

Finding and maintaining this technology/people balance is not without its challenges – particularly as mobile web usage accelerates and portals morph into multimode to support mobile interaction. But the tagline will remain applicable in all circumstances – ensure your portal stays technologically advanced while not minimizing the importance of human interaction.

In our previous blog, Kinesis detailed the essential considerations for mobile survey design. The development of effective, engaging and succinct mobile surveys is crucial as the industry moves to adopt mobile research, and hopefully you found our best practices recommendations useful.

Now let’s turn the attention to mobile panels – an equally critical factor in the expansion to mobile MR. Panels have been instrumental in market research since the industry went online more than a decade ago. Now, as we move into the next decade, their value will either grow or atrophy depending on whether or not researchers succeed in offering panelists a rich and engaging mobile experience.

Panelists now receive email, and thus survey invitations, on their mobile devices, and they may already be accessing surveys intended for PC interaction from their phones. The missing puzzle piece is to bring their panelist websites to their mobile devices as well. Kinesis President Leslie Townsend provided an informative and forward-thinking article in
Quirk’s magazine that addresses the issues surrounding mobile panel adoption. She believes, and the rest of us at Kinesis agree, that the expansion to mobile (or even better – multimode) panelist websites is essential to the progression of market research.

For in this multimode world, mobile device users increasingly expect that the websites they visit via their PCs will also be highly functional via their mobile phones, and panelist portals are no different. However, due to technology and device size limitations, it is unrealistic to expect that all online portal functionality can be easily replicated in the mobile environment. Therefore, below are some essential considerations for implementing mobile or multimode panels.

First, a decision must be made regarding what types of mobile devices to support. Obviously smartphones provide much deeper functionality than feature phones (although feature phones are currently being utilized quite effectively in mobile market research). Then there are the tablets and Netbooks that blur the distinction between PC and mobile device. Many believe it to be advantageous to optimize panelist websites for smartphones, since these represent the preponderance of mobile browsers and offer panelists a highly dynamic and engaging experience. However, our own analysis of mobile traffic indicates that there are still a significant number of survey-takers using feature phones, and the region and type of panel will often dictate the requirements around device type.

Second, it is critical to identify the features most commonly used on the panelist websites and confirm that those can be replicated for the mobile portal. Functionality for registration with double opt-in, lost password retrieval, and the ability to check and redeem incentives are probably must-haves. Panelists who use both their PC and mobile device to interact on the portal will likely find the mobile site frustrating if it does not offer the features that they use most frequently — and frustration can quickly turn into disengagement.

Another consideration is how mobile device usage affects profiler design. Profilers deemed short and easy to complete in terms of PC interaction may still be too long or difficult to complete via a mobile phone. Functionality that isn’t commonly supported by mobile devices (Flash, JavaScript, tables, etc.) should be avoided as well.

Device detection technology is highly recommended. You may have some projects that simply do not render to a majority of mobile devices (such as a card sorting exercise, or a survey that requires large amounts of text input). In these instances it will be necessary to restrict access to these the surveys from the mobile portal.  This can be achieved by utilizing automated device detection for incoming respondents, so ensure your portal platform offers this functionality.

Panelist recruitment is also a key consideration. If you are building a mobile panel, or recruiting new panelists to an existing online panel via their mobile phones, they could possibly arrive from a variety of sources. Consider all of the forwarded emails, mobile websites and mobile social networking apps available as potential access points – and also the new geo-location technologies that are gaining ground. A single authentication process is highly desirable for both mobile and PC respondents, but may not be possible. Note that usage of geo-location has additional implications, as laws vary by region and have to be thoroughly researched. A separate opt-in may be required.

The adoption of mobile panels is clearly wrought with new considerations and challenges, but their potential to advance market research is immense. With more and more panelists using their mobile phones to access email and the web, mobile panelist websites will quickly morph from ancillary to necessity. And just as we mentioned in the Essential Considerations for Mobile Survey Design post, selecting a panel management solution provider that possesses the software functionality and delivery experience necessary to help you achieve success is, hands down, the number one best practice recommendation.

Throughout the past 20 years, the market research industry has seen a dramatic shift in the way research is collected, analyzed, and reported. Researchers are no longer merely collecting and processing data for individual paper or CATI research projects; they are now integrating information across multiple studies, collecting information from any and all electronic devices available, and interpreting results for business impact on an entirely new level.

While attending the 35^th annual CASRO conference in San Diego, Kinesis attended several sessions providing key insights about various trends in the evolving market research industry. Simon Chadwick’s presentation titled “Client-driven Change Redux: Where Next for Market Research?” in particular provided a solid summarization and closure to the conference.

Chadwick’s session focused on several prominent factors contributing to this disruption of market research: new data collection methodologies, the advent of web analytics, more powerful CRM, and modernized data aggregators. Some of these factors are a result of changes in technology; others are a result of the past five years of economic turmoil. Over these past five years, market researchers have been forced to do more with less on a scale never seen before. Chadwick proceeded to reveal some startling numbers: 80% of research department budgets have been slashed over the past two years. Global spending across the entire industry was down 4.6% in 2009, so the industry has responded by redefining traditional research methodologies, offshoring and extending teams, reassessing critical components of research, and shifting to a DIY research model. Many of these tactics are not new, but their resurgence can be characterized by a few major transitions. For example, offshore market research companies are no longer just programming shops; full-service bureaus overseas offering high-end analytics is becoming more and more popular.

The expansion into the DIY research model in particular has exploded over the past five years due to software tools’ increased ease-of-use and broadening feature sets. Tools allowing you to program, host, and analyze data for extremely complex web surveys fielded on any number of electronic devices is now a standard offering. Likewise, the ability to manage custom research panels and communities by using tools like Kinesis Panel™ and Kinesis Community Portal™ has revolutionized tasks previously requiring entire research teams.

These adaptations are all but critical given how research practices have evolved from the traditional quantitative/qualitative/syndicated research done in the 1990’s to the advanced web of research collection of today: web and mobile analytics, data mining from social media and other sources, desktop and mobile quant/qual surveys, cell-phone ethnographies, and online communities.

As Chadwick concluded in his presentation at CASRO, the flow of knowledge and our collection abilities will continue to expand over the coming years, and there will be a fundamental shift in how we approach business decision making. We at Kinesis agree with this assertion whole-heartedly, and continue to expand our platform in response to changes in market research. Stay tuned…

AUSTIN, TX (October 8, 2010) - Kinesis Survey Technologies LLC (Kinesis), the industry leader for robust and scalable survey software and panel management software solutions, will exhibit at two upcoming market research industry events, the Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO) Annual Conference and the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR) Online Research 2010 Conference.

Kinesis will showcase its premiere market research product suite at both events. Featured solutions include: the recently-released Kinesis Panel™ version 3.0, a robust and flexible panel management solution;  Kinesis Survey™, the leading multi-mode (web/mobile) survey solution; and Kinesis Community Portal™, an interactive, multi-mode solution that enables the creation of panelist community websites.

“Kinesis continually enhances our software solutions to ensure that they remain at the forefront of market research technology,” said Leslie Townsend, Kinesis President. “Kinesis has recently introduced many new features and capabilities, and we are eager to share them with the CASRO and ESOMAR participants.”

The CASRO Annual Conference entitled Beyond the Horizon: Charting the Future of Research will take place October 11-14 at the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort in San Diego. More information is available at http://casro.org/techform/2010-annualconf.cfm.  The ESOMAR Online Research Conference entitled E-Universe: The Power of Listening will be held October 17-19 at the Hotel Andels in Berlin. Details are available at: http://www.esomar.org/index.php/online-research-2010-hotel-and-venue.html.

Market researchers and other parties not in attendance at these conferences may contact the Kinesis sales team: sales@kinesissurvey.com to learn more about all Kinesis product offerings.

About Kinesis Survey Technologies
Kinesis Survey Technologies, LLC provides a comprehensive survey and panel management product suite to advance innovation in both mobile and web-based market research. Delivering intuitive, state-of-the-art applications, Kinesis software products can be effectively utilized without deep programming knowledge yet are robust enough to perform the most complex of survey and panel functions. Headquartered in Austin, TX, Kinesis offers product versions for both the market research industry and enterprise business organizations, and proudly supports next generation research applications worldwide.

AUSTIN, TX (September 20, 2010) - Kinesis Survey Technologies LLC (Kinesis), the industry leader for robust and scalable survey software and panel management software solutions, today announced the release of version 3.0 of its highly successful Kinesis Panel™ solution.

Kinesis Panel™ is a robust panel management platform for market research panels of all sizes. With the version 3.0 release, it now includes new and augmented functionality such as a versatile campaign manager interface, expanded querying options, the ability to append project-specific data to samples, an advanced email SPAM scoring system, dynamic multilingual execution options, and much more. In addition, new APIs are available for expanded system integration and the creation of custom panelist websites.

“Kinesis utilizes the valuable input of our customers and prospective customers to ensure that Kinesis Panel™ remains on the cutting-edge of panel management functionality,” said Kinesis CTO Juha Vehnia. “Version 3.0 includes several new and enhanced features that will enable Kinesis clients to further optimize their panel management tasks, and benefit from technologies that are not available in any competitive solution.”

Kinesis Panel™ offers market researchers a highly advanced panel management software solution that includes:

• A robust infrastructure to support communities of all sizes with unlimited growth in the number of panelists
• Support for multiple panels from a single installation
• Multimode (simultaneous online, wireless and/or mobile) panel execution
• A highly flexible query tool that can retrieve any type of data and requires no database scripting
• Powerful distribution management functionality to continuously optimize sample
• Cutting-edge email delivery and tracking tools to ensure the highest possible response rates
• Customizable, real-time reporting tools for comprehensive report generation and analysis
• Access to Kinesis Community Portal™, a multimode portal solution that enables the creation of both online and mobile community websites where panelists can access surveys, redeem incentives, manage account settings, and more

Kinesis Panel™ can be integrated with several leading survey applications, but it is optimally suited for use with Kinesis’ own multimode survey software solution, Kinesis Survey™. For more information about Kinesis Panel™, click here.

About Kinesis Survey Technologies
Kinesis Survey Technologies, LLC provides a comprehensive survey and panel management product suite to advance innovation in both mobile and web-based market research. Delivering intuitive, state-of-the-art applications, Kinesis software products can be effectively utilized without deep programming knowledge yet are robust enough to perform the most complex of survey and panel functions. Headquartered in Austin, TX, Kinesis offers product versions for both the market research industry and enterprise business organizations, and proudly supports next generation research applications worldwide.

One of the most powerful tools in modern market research is the online community portal. It enables one-stop access to all community information for panelists, and provides a comprehensive method for soliciting and collecting feedback for researchers. But while creating an online community is fairly easy, maintaining a successful online community often proves challenging.

In order for any online community to grow and thrive, it must meet the needs and expectations of its members. The highly prolific social media sites – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn – are perfect examples of how to do it right; each keeps its membership loyal and growing by meeting the users’ needs. And while the purpose of market research communities is largely different from that of social media sites, the factors that determine their success are largely the same. Three key issues often cause the failure of online communities: Engagement, Personalization and Flexibility. So if your community isn’t thriving, consider how effective your portal website is relative to these factors.

Engagement. Panel members have way too many alternatives that are just a click away. Your portal has to be engaging, or you risk your members going elsewhere. How do you engage panelists? By keeping your portal fresh, informative and dynamic. Update your pages regularly so panelists aren’t always looking at the same old, tired content. Use a critical eye when determining what content to include – ensure everything there is informative and valuable to the community. And who says research has to be boring? There are many dynamic tools available to keep your portal pages (and surveys) exciting. Interactive media, Flash imagery, plug-ins, contests, games, etc. give your portal some added “wow” factor.

Personalization. Every panel member wants to feel valued. This entails ensuring that each member feels they are both part of the collective group, and also unique within the community. Clearly display active surveys, incentives, and panel information to all members, and include a discussion forum for group interaction. But also enable panelists to log in and access a personalized space. Examples of personalized content include lists of available surveys and past survey participation (history), the ability to track incentive points and redeem rewards, and options to update user information, passwords, etc.

Flexibility. Web access is no longer limited to computers, and your portal shouldn’t be either. When a new survey is posted to the portal, typically an email notification is sent to members. With the rise of smartphones, many members receive their email on a mobile device, and will want to access the portal directly from their phone. While it may not be possible to make every aspect of the portal functional from a mobile phone, the most commonly utilized features should work regardless of the device type. Not providing this functionality will frustrate your panelists, and may cost you their membership. Consider having a multimode portal, or a distinct mobile version of your portal, to maximize flexibility.

Panelist communities are a valuable research tool, and will continue to gain in popularity along with all of the other types of online communities as users enjoy the social aspects of participation. In fact, in many cases individuals who would not join a typical survey-based research panel will join when the community approach is utilized, thus enabling you to recruit panelists across a wider demographic. And by maximizing your community portal’s engagement, personalization and flexibility, you can keep a good portal from going bad.

AUSTIN, TX (August 31, 2010) – Kinesis Survey Technologies LLC (Kinesis), the industry leader for robust and scalable survey software and panel management software solutions, today announces the release of a new case study featuring its client Research Concepts and their utilization of the Kinesis Panel™ solution.

Research Concepts is a full-service market research company that specializes in custom research projects. After using another panel management solution for several years, Research Concepts elected to search for a new product that could better support its research objectives.  Following an intensive evaluation of eight vendors’ panel management solutions, Research Concepts chose Kinesis Panel™. The case study focuses on Research Concepts’ selection criteria, and why Kinesis best fulfills its panel needs.

“Kinesis Panel™ provides all of the advanced functionality we desired, packaged with a very user-friendly interface, and at a highly competitive price,” said Ann MacKay, Managing Partner at Research Concepts. “It offers the best value, and is ultimately the best overall solution.”

In addition to Kinesis Panel™, Research Concepts also utilizes the Kinesis Survey™ and Kinesis Community Portal™ solutions to maximize its research capabilities and panelist communications. The Kinesis product suite provides a fully integrated platform for developing, executing and analyzing research projects of all sizes.  The case study details how Research Concepts utilizes each Kinesis solution to achieve its research objectives.

“Research Concepts is highly skilled at executing complex research projects for a wide array of clients,” said Jason Ehler-James, VP of Client Services at Kinesis. “We are delighted that Kinesis Panel™ is enabling Research Concepts to realize its panel management goals, and we look forward to a continued collaboration.”

Read the full Research Concepts Case Study

About Kinesis Survey Technologies
Kinesis Survey Technologies, LLC provides a comprehensive survey and panel management product suite to advance innovation in both wireless and web-based market research. Delivering easy-to-use, intuitive applications, Kinesis software products can be effectively utilized without deep programming knowledge yet are robust enough to perform the most complex of survey and panel functions. Headquartered in Austin, TX, Kinesis offers product versions for both the market research industry and enterprise business organizations, and proudly supports next generation research applications worldwide.

About Research Concepts
Research Concepts, LLC is a full-service market research company that specializes in custom research projects. With more than fifteen years of experience, Research Concepts conducts both quantitative and qualitative research for clients from a variety of industries. Utilizing innovative research methodologies to develop customized projects, Research Concepts skillfully assists its client achieve their research objectives. For more information visit www.research-concepts.com.

One of the hottest industry topics this year has been the adoption of mobile research. There is consensus that the impact of mobile will be substantial, and that a major shift is already well underway. The industry continues to expound on the possibilities of this new frontier, and fret about the problems posed by wide scale implementation.

A significant issue is how to best support the wide array of cell phones (with greatly differing capabilities) that are used by mobile respondents. Providing surveys that are visually compelling on smartphones, yet straightforward enough to display on feature phones, can certainly be a challenge.

An even greater challenge is ensuring that the entire mobile experience is a positive one for panelists. Mobile research encompasses more than simply rendering surveys on cell phones – unless panelists can also access a mobile portal (to keep track of their available and completed surveys, update user information, redeem incentives, etc.), the likelihood of frustration is high. For instance, if a panelist receives a survey invitation while checking email on their cell phone and takes the survey, but then attempts to redeem incentives by accessing a website that is not optimized for mobile, their frustration will be even greater than if they had not been able to access the mobile survey at all. Researchers must offer a complete mobile experience, and ensure that their surveys and panels are optimized for any and every phone that a panelist might use.

The shift toward smartphones is happening fast. According to Nielsen, smartphones accounted for 14% of U.S. mobile devices at the end of 2008, and it predicts that smartphone penetration will exceed 50% by the end of 2011. Unquestionably this is impressive growth. Still, these numbers also indicate that feature phones will continue to have a prominent place in the mobile market for the foreseeable future.

While several vendors have launched new mobile solutions in the last couple of years, their predominant focus has been on smartphones, and many lack the technology for successful implementation on feature phones. Issues including device detection, scaling abilities (to fit the various screen sizes) and color configuration need to be addressed.

The best way to guarantee comprehensive device support is to select a mobile platform that is both proven and advanced. With CAMI®, Kinesis offers the best of both worlds. It provides one of the most robust device detection libraries with built-in support for over 2500 mobile devices in over 8000 different configurations, thereby ensuring that information will display correctly regardless of the phone type. It also offers the most advanced smartphone capabilities including revolutionary touchscreen support to optimize visibility and interaction on the newest and most dynamic phones. Plus, Kinesis has been developing and refining its mobile technology for much longer than the competition, having launched its first mobile market research platform in 2003.

Mobile offers a wealth of new possibilities for the market research industry, but only if the execution doesn’t alienate respondents. Utilizing a solution that is both cutting-edge and highly flexible is the key to success.

Most in the market research industry are aware of Gartner’s report from earlier this year that predicts that mobile phones will surpass PCs as the most commonly used web access device in 2013. Even if this prediction proves inaccurate, no one disputes that mobile browsing is growing year after year at an unprecedented rate, and that this shift must be addressed to reach and engage survey respondents who prefer using their phones over their computers.

Many survey solution providers have reacted to the ever-expanding mobile landscape by offering a wireless version of their survey software. Customers can elect to run a survey via online mode or wireless mode.  This approach provides options, but not flexibility. We at Kinesis have long argued that the real answer is not an either/or but a both solution. The reality is that most people access the web using a PC when they are at home or at work, and using a mobile device when they are anywhere else. Where will they be when they have the time or inclination to complete a survey?

Who knows. Market researchers cannot control which type of device a respondent will use when taking a survey, and therefore the only viable, effective answer is a multimode survey solution that can be executed seamlessly via both device types. A true multimode solution is vital so that respondents do not encounter problems such as access error messages, formatting issues, slow page load times, etc. simply because they utilized the “wrong” device type to access the survey. A true multimode solution also has to support the myriad of types and brands of wireless devices that are on the market: types such as smartphones, feature phones, tablet PCs, and PDAs, and then brands such as Apple, Google, Blackberry, Palm – providing this support a substantial, but critical task.

Mobile web access is growing, but online access isn’t going away anytime soon. Multimode surveys are more than just desirable, they are essential to the future of market research.

• Learn more about Kinesis Survey™
• Learn more about Kinesis Panel™
• Learn more about Kinesis Community Portal™

Contact sales@kinesissurvey.com to get started.

Hello there! Kinesis Survey Technologies has started this blog to keep readers informed about all topics related to our company, products and services, and the market research industry.  Kinesis provides the most advanced survey software and panel management software in the world.

Kinesis Survey™ is the leading multi-mode (web, mobile and wireless), multilingual survey solution. It supports a wide array of features, and offers an intuitive user interface and robust real-time reporting tools.

Kinesis Panel™ is a highly scalable panel software solution that effectively manages panelist communities of all sizes. It offers a powerful query, distribution and invitation management system that optimizes panel performance.

The product suite also includes Kinesis Community Portal™, which is a flexible and interactive community website solution that includes advanced customization and administration tools.

All Kinesis products integrate seamlessly to offer the most comprehensive market research software product suite available in the industry.

We look forward to sharing ideas with you, and we welcome your interest and participation!

Austin, TX (May 24, 2010) – Kinesis Survey Technologies LLC (Kinesis), the industry leader for robust and scalable survey software and panel management software solutions, today announced its reseller partnership with Online Market Intelligence LLC (OMI), a leading online market research company based in Russia.

Under the terms of the partnership agreement OMI will have exclusive software and hosting reseller rights to all Kinesis products in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus.

“Kinesis is pleased to partner with the premiere online market research company in Russia,” said Kinesis President Leslie Townsend. “OMI has an outstanding reputation in the region and will be able to market and support the Kinesis product suite with a local presence and Russian language support.”

OMI provides data collection and management services to market research firms, advertising agencies and enterprise clients from a variety of industries. Kinesis offers its Kinesis Survey™, Kinesis Panel™ and Kinesis Community Portal™ solutions to provide a comprehensive multimode (web/wireless) market research product suite.

“Kinesis’ survey and panel management software is best of breed and its capabilities are highly desirable to our clients,” said OMI Chief Executive Dr. Alexander Shashkin. “OMI is excited to incorporate Kinesis solutions into our market research offerings.”

Kinesis Survey Technologies, LLC provides a comprehensive survey and panel management product suite to advance innovation in both wireless and web-based market research. Delivering easy-to-use, intuitive applications, Kinesis software products can be effectively utilized without deep programming knowledge yet are robust enough to perform the most complex of survey and panel functions.  Headquartered in Austin, TX, Kinesis offers product versions for both the market research industry and enterprise business organizations, and proudly supports next generation research applications worldwide.

Online Market Intelligence LLC (OMI) is a leading Russian company providing integrated solutions for online market research used by research organizations, advertising agencies and marketing departments of Fortune Global 500 companies. These solutions include online survey programming, data collection through our own online panels in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus and the Baltic states, and real time data visualization. OMI offers convenient and cost-effective solutions to receive feedback from customers, partners and employees. For more information, visit www.omirussia.ru/en.