• Response rates are declining and reaching a representative sample is becoming harder.  The number of households with no landline telephone may finally cross a threshold in ‘09 leading to greater biases if not accounted for correctly.
• To account for lower response rates, researchers will try new approaches to research, and multimode surveys (utilizing multiple types of surveys to reach different audiences) will become more commonplace.
• Quicker, more instantaneous, research will be gathered in ‘09.  The convergence of technologies will create ample opportunity to gain insight from consumers.  The convergence of GPS (only survey the people in certain locations), mobile phones (reach people who can no longer be reached on landlines or even online), digital cameras (include photo collages in surveys), the mobile web (online surveys - anywhere), and an explosion of widgets (online panels/communities gone mobile) will allow for surveying closer to the point of interaction (with whatever it is you’re interested in) which will not only allow the respondent to have better recall, but more options for how to respond.
• Of course, no 2009 predictions would be complete without a mention of the economy.  Yeah, it will likely be a rough year according to most forecasts, but there is a silver lining - at the other end companies will be more efficient, relevant, and primed for growth.  In the mean time, organizations who perform research will have a greater focus on cost.  Lower cost will likely mean more online research and a willingness to try new approaches.  See our earlier post as well on the importance of market research in a down economy.
• With cost being a greater concern, there will be more low-cost entrants to the marketplace.  With cheap online tools, anyone can “conduct” research now.  Greater pressure will be placed on established firms to demonstrate their value.
• As consumers and companies embrace Feedback 3.0 in the coming year, the impacts will flow down to many business sectors.  While I have mentioned transparency before in terms of client feedback, there are many other aspects such as feedback from research participants and visible policies on data collection and usage.  What if respondents could rate the survey they just took AND other potential respondents could see their ranking as well as how long it took them?
• Finally, a topic that I’ve been interested in for years - the green movement.  It didn’t crescendo in 2008.  There are too many opportunities still out there, too much at risk, and too much momentum to stop.  See an earlier post on the subject here.

What do you think?  As fellow researchers or clients?

• Needs of the blind or visually impaired
• Craft beer drinkers
• Visitors (and non-visitors) of State Parks
• Strategic planning for Flobots.org
• Opinions on the value of tracing meat sources
• Ways to increase BAR exam passage rates
• Scents and packaging of lip balm
• Roller derby attendees
• Native Americans who smoke
• Public opinions about issues concerning gays and lesbians
• Prospective Colorado tourists
• Potential new markets for a school of theology
• A new transportation product (sorry we can’t be more specific on this one!)

I don’t think any of us here one year ago could have imagined the variety of projects we would work on in 2008.  We can’t wait to see what challenges ‘09 brings our way…

Have a great holiday and our blog will return with fresh insights in the New Year.

Hopefully Santa will be a little quicker this Christmas eve in getting to your house thanks to the optimization model we created for his flight path.  Check it out in our holiday newsletter here.

Promising those kinds of incentives can’t be good for the survey industry.  Although, if criminals get wind of the method, we may be less likely to end up with criminals in our studies…

It may seem easier to pursue a few large corporations for bigger sums that a cadre of small businesses for smaller amounts of money. After all, in a community like ours there’s a limited number of large corporations and they typically have staff dedicated to philanthropy.

However, most of the companies in Colorado and metro Denver have fewer than 100 employees, with a large majority employing under 50. When I say most I mean over 90 percent. As such, I maintain that metro Denver nonprofits are losing out by not developing relationships with small businesses.

A recent survey by The Chronicle of Philanthropy confirmed the importance of developing this strategy. The Chronicle found that small businesses do give to charity and are generous. The survey of 750 business leaders of companies with fewer than 100 employees was conducted in partnership with American Express. The survey found that:

• Three-quarters of small-business owners donate a percentage of their profits to nonprofits.
• On average, small companies contribute 6 percent of their profits to charity.
• Female business owners tend to give more than men.

Here’s a call to action to Denver-area nonprofits. We’re here and we care about our communities. We are open to learning about your causes and see how they align with our passions and company missions. And I’m not suggesting that a cold-call end-of-year appeal letter is going to do the trick. Connect with me - and engage me - and I’ll support you. So will other small business owners. Let’s get started.

While we may know many of you, there are many more we wish we did.  So, please take a second and let us know what you like or don’t like, what you wish we would address, or any other feedback you’d like to give us.  We’re all ears.

To leave us feedback, you can post a comment below or email us directly at david (at) coronaresearch. com.

So, here is my question: how does this impact our ability to survey?  Are people becoming numb to surveys? Perhaps more importantly, how do we cut through the clutter to get noticed and to get people to participate?

Sending surveys to a larger sample and/or offering larger incentives certainly seems to be the trend, but both of these are self defeating.  The more surveys you send, the more people receive them, and the more numb they’ll become.  Offering larger incentives, only causes you to offer yet higher incentives the next time.

So what else can we do to keep people participating?  A few ideas include…

1. Break out of the mold. Make surveys people want to do.  Create surveys that look interesting.  Write questions that are different.  And, of course, make surveys look short and simple.
2. Make survey modes novel. People pay attention when something is new or different.  New survey modes like mobile phone research are currently receiving high cooperation rates, as is technology that allows researchers to intercept online survey takers in real time to follow up with additional questions (iModerate).  Of course, once the novelty wears off, you’re back to the drawing board.
3. Use the human touch. Add humans back to the equation.  While some cases dictate a person not be involved to ensure honest response or even cooperation, in many cases dealing with a human can be refreshing in our technological age.  Perhaps we’ll return to more intercept surveys to gain cooperation, or more phone interviewers instead of interactive voice response technology.
4. Show that you care. How many times have you filled out a survey, pretty sure that nothing would change as a result of your feedback?  Customers don’t just want to give feeback, they want to be listened to.  Show - don’t tell - that you value their input.
5. Use other metrics. Maybe surveying a certain population is just too hard, or maybe you don’t feel you’re getting accurate feedback.  Luckily, there is a lot of digital communication out there, and you can monitor those conversations (through online monitoring of forums, etc) for many uses.

How many surveys do you have an opportunity to respond to in a week?  What else do you think can be done to keep people engaged?

But this amazing analysis of how Obama’s victory was created by the sea level and sedimentaton pattern of the late Cretaceous Period (85 Million years ago!) just blew my mind.

It started, as most good things do, with some maps.  The sublime Strange Maps blog posted maps by biologist Allen Gathman showing a general correlation between those areas of the South that in 1860 produced cotton (black dots) and those areas of the South that voted for Obama in 2008 (blue shaded counties).

Then Christian Neal McNeil, at his blog The Vigourous North, produced a tour de force followup, linking 2008 to 85 million B.C. (seriously–go read the post.  It is splendiferous, and I’m only going to give it a quick gloss here).

In the late Cretaceous, most of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, and costal Carolina were underwater (85 million B.C. is on the right, 115 million B.C. is on the left).  These shallow seas were full of marine life, which lived, and died, and drifted to the sea floor, creatiging lush soil deposits in the shallows of these transient seas.  That soil was well suited for cotton cultivation, which relied on slavery, leadign to ares of the south where African Americans outnumbered Caucasians.  And this demographic pattern has continued in many of these areas to the present day, contributing to the socio-demographic conditions that created the South’s particular vote pattern.

So in a way, the results of this election have been a looooooooooooooooong time coming.

It reminds me of a mini-episode of James Burke’s TV Show Connections, where historical facts careen against each other creating reality from the gestalt.  I always get a  rush of creative energy reading something like this!  What other amazing correlations have you come across?

A few interesting findings, included:

• Nearly all Coloradans surveyed believe nonprofits play a major role in making our communities better places to live.  Furthermore, most Coloradans believe that all businesses should support charitable causes.
• The top three reasons people select the charities they support are as follows: they believe the organization is trustworthy (98 percent), they believe the organization is well-managed and effective (96 percent), and they believe the organization supports a cause they believe in (96 percent).
• Other than their spouse or significant other, few residents consult others when making their decisions about charitable giving. Forty-three percent consult a spouse or significant other;  another 38 percent don’t consult with anyone.
• The typical volunteer provides upwards of 20 hours per month to their cause(s).
• Forty-six percent said they would give less due to the current economy.
• The most common means of contact that compels a person to donate (time or money) is being asked to do so by a person they know.

Click here for the full report (pdf).

Clínica Tepeyac, a Denver-based nonprofit that provides health care and preventive health services, won the El Pomar Award of Excellence in the area of self-sufficiency last week.  This award, by one of Colorado’s private foundations, recognizes nonprofits and community leaders in 11 different categories.  The process is competitive and the award much sought after as a symbol of excellence.

I’ve been providing strategy consulting services to Clínica since 2001 with a focused effort since 2007 through the Rose Community Foundation’s BOOST Initiative.  We’ve worked hard to complete a thorough self-assessment and a really strong strategic business plan.  I’m very proud of the work we have done together.  It begins with a fundamentally strong organization that focuses on meeting an important community need.  Clínica is clear about its mission, core values and distinctive competence.  It has a track record of solid growth exemplified by significant increases year over year in the number of patients served.   Clínica has a committed group of staff, volunteers, board members, partners and funders. (To see an example of one of Corona assessments, click here (pdf).)

As David Lack, Executive Director, noted “I believe this award is an affirmation that we have an important mission and that we stay focused on it.”  The award includes $15,000 in unrestricted funding.

Keep up the great work!!  I can’t wait to see what 2009 brings.