The shift to mobile is accelerating as Americans continue to abandon desktops and laptops for Internet access through mobile devices. This means traditional online research projects that fail to account for the growing "mobile only" demographic are relying on an increasing increasingly skewed universe.
The difficulty for many research firms is that they've invested thousands, if not millions, of dollars into custom online platforms, making the shift to mobile seem daunting.
MFour Mobile Research can help. Our Surveys on the Go® (SOTG) panel includes more than 400,000 mobile-only U.S. consumers, and includes some of the most hard-to-reach online panelists - such as teens, 18- to 34-year-olds and minorities.
Online research platforms optimized for mobile can now filter directly into the SOTG system and panel so that SOTG panelists can complete surveys directly on your platform. All of the SOTG panelists were recruited on and participate via mobile devices, so you can be sure your sample reaches where traditional online can't.
The SOTG system also provides you with access to the power of smartphones, such as location-based survey research as well as picture, video and audio capture.
Finally, as mobile experts, we can provide consultation support on the art of designing surveys for mobile screen real estate to ensure you are delivering a survey design that works.
If you would like to know how you can get your platform accessing the Surveys on the Go® mobile panel, please contact Rick Wilson at 714.754.1234 or rwilson@mfour.com.
For more about MFour Mobile Research and an in-depth look at the app solution, visit us at mfour.com.
Showing posts with label mobile survey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mobile survey. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Going Mobile? "Optimized" is Not a Solution!
In May I was at the Orlando MRA conference where I listened intently to a large panel company representative explaining why they got into mobile. The answer was that "we had to...because 25% of the responses were coming in via mobile anyway."
As tepid as that response was, one thing was clear...the need to be "mobile" is finally dawning upon panel providers and so they all claim to have a mobile solution. But what is their "solution?" To "optimize" website-based surveys for smartphones and tablets.
The fact is mobile-web based "optimized" solutions merely squeeze a platform built for desktop computers onto a mobile device - benefiting the survey platform provider, not the on-the-go consumer. And that is not a good way to start your data collection.
Mobile "optimized" solutions rely on fleeting Wi-Fi connections and notoriously overburdened cell phone carriers, leaving the respondent with a frustratingly slow and inconsistent survey experience.
If researchers truly want to interview the modern consumer, they must do so using tools that work for on-the-go consumer, meaning native smartphone applications. The respondent can focus on the survey questions and answers; push notification invitations that gain immediate attention; and a custom questionnaire layout that fits the uniqueness of their device.
Let's compare the statistics regarding panelist engagement between online "optimized" and a native app solution:
In fact, the completion rate for native app respondents is 98% - meaning 98 out of every 100 respondents complete the survey once they start. This stat holds with survey lengths of up to 15 minutes.
When you put the two methods side-by-side it becomes clear - a native app offers a faster, more robust experience for respondents, leading to more representative completes and quality data. In addition, the native app unlocks the power of the smartphone to bring researchers the ability to show and capture audio, video, images, as well as scan barcodes, and harness the power of GPS technology.
We are a mobile only, app based solution...and with more than 300,000 active respondents with their GPS "on", we can field surveys better, faster and more efficiently.
For more of an in-depth look at the app solution, visit us at mfour.com.
As tepid as that response was, one thing was clear...the need to be "mobile" is finally dawning upon panel providers and so they all claim to have a mobile solution. But what is their "solution?" To "optimize" website-based surveys for smartphones and tablets.
The fact is mobile-web based "optimized" solutions merely squeeze a platform built for desktop computers onto a mobile device - benefiting the survey platform provider, not the on-the-go consumer. And that is not a good way to start your data collection.
Mobile "optimized" solutions rely on fleeting Wi-Fi connections and notoriously overburdened cell phone carriers, leaving the respondent with a frustratingly slow and inconsistent survey experience.
If researchers truly want to interview the modern consumer, they must do so using tools that work for on-the-go consumer, meaning native smartphone applications. The respondent can focus on the survey questions and answers; push notification invitations that gain immediate attention; and a custom questionnaire layout that fits the uniqueness of their device.
Let's compare the statistics regarding panelist engagement between online "optimized" and a native app solution:
In fact, the completion rate for native app respondents is 98% - meaning 98 out of every 100 respondents complete the survey once they start. This stat holds with survey lengths of up to 15 minutes.
When you put the two methods side-by-side it becomes clear - a native app offers a faster, more robust experience for respondents, leading to more representative completes and quality data. In addition, the native app unlocks the power of the smartphone to bring researchers the ability to show and capture audio, video, images, as well as scan barcodes, and harness the power of GPS technology.
We are a mobile only, app based solution...and with more than 300,000 active respondents with their GPS "on", we can field surveys better, faster and more efficiently.
For more of an in-depth look at the app solution, visit us at mfour.com.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
5 Questions You Should Ask Before Launching Your Next Mobile Survey
As a researcher you're likely following the shift from computers to mobile. You're probably also aware that in the fourth quarter of 2012, mobile device sales outpaced computer sales for the first time ever. And here's one more statistic: more than five billion smart phones are going to be sold over the next five years.
These massive shifts in the way people learn, inquire, communicate and access information are creating an enormous shift in the market research industry. Online panels are disappearing and it's becoming more difficult to get accurate data from the increasingly shrinking pool of online respondents.
But with every paradigm shift comes opportunity and that applies to MR as well; mobile research allows us to conduct "in the moment" research in ways not possible just a few years ago.
Quantitatively accurate, "in the moment" technology is exciting. But as the methodology develops we think that it's critical to establish fundamental ground rules.
To that end, throughout 2013 we'll be speaking around the country, publishing a series of thought papers and guidelines with the goal of creating a best practices industry manual as we begin to fully realize the power of mobile in the research world.
Consider these questions next time you're thinking about including a mobile component to your next study:
These massive shifts in the way people learn, inquire, communicate and access information are creating an enormous shift in the market research industry. Online panels are disappearing and it's becoming more difficult to get accurate data from the increasingly shrinking pool of online respondents.
But with every paradigm shift comes opportunity and that applies to MR as well; mobile research allows us to conduct "in the moment" research in ways not possible just a few years ago.
Quantitatively accurate, "in the moment" technology is exciting. But as the methodology develops we think that it's critical to establish fundamental ground rules.
To that end, throughout 2013 we'll be speaking around the country, publishing a series of thought papers and guidelines with the goal of creating a best practices industry manual as we begin to fully realize the power of mobile in the research world.
Consider these questions next time you're thinking about including a mobile component to your next study:
- What do you mean by "Geo-fencing?" Geo-fencing, GPS and image capture are all interesting terms but panel company sales teams use those words without defining them. There are vastly different levels of sophistication of technology.
- How many panelists do you have and how were they obtained? Make sure to understand how many panelists the provider has and how they go about recruiting their panelists. Many companies simply try to convert a tired and overused online panel with limited success.
- Is this a mobile web or native app? "Web optimizing" existing platforms as mobile-friendly is not a solution. Make sure to ask how much of their platform is native to the app as that will help you determine how feasible the study really is for mobile.
- How are you solving screen real estate issues? It's obvious that smart phone screens are smaller. But there are ways to mitigate screen real estate issues when questions are long or have multiple answers. Ask to see examples.
- How long can the survey be? Many in the industry claim that mobile surveys can only include a few questions. That's not our experience. Ask what data they have supporting any premise that surveys can only be a few minutes.
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