Casting a wider net

Editor’s note: Joseph Marinelli is president of Chicago-based SPSS MR.

A growing company faces just as many obstacles as opportunities. Covington, Ky.-based market research provider ACNielsen BASES turned an obstacle into an opportunity when it set out to meet the demands of its increasing customer base. The challenge was to create a cost-efficient way to conduct more surveys in a shorter period of time without compromising forecast accuracy.

BASES found its solution on the Web. Using SPSS MR’s Quancept Web to support interactive Internet surveys, it created BASES e-Panel, a supplement to its traditional data collection methodology. E-Panel uses a dedicated group of consumers to execute studies on-line, which means an increased survey base and response rate. Since e-Panel respondents are balanced to match the respondent samples in BASES’s mall-intercept studies, the firm was also able to maintain its forecast accuracy. As an added bonus, the e-Panel helped the firm boost productivity and save money by centralizing data collection.

Cast a wider net on the Web

ACNielsen BASES provides forecasting and database comparisons for domestic consumer packaged goods marketers. Clients such as Campbell’s Soups, Procter & Gamble, and Pfizer use data from BASES studies to estimate the likely sales volume of initiatives before market entry, and to improve the sales and profit potential of their efforts.

BASES conducts nearly 300,000 surveys each year. This volume of survey data comprises a comprehensive database of consumer reactions and in-market data available. And it allows BASES to offer its clients a forecast accuracy of 91 percent.

High-quality survey data is central to BASES’s forecasting abilities. So naturally, a critical factor in deciding how to increase field capacity was the ability to replicate the traditional results. Each available technology had its pros and cons. "We were trying to determine how we could re-create the survey sample. We looked at several alternatives but the results just weren’t the same," says Mark Thatcher, director, RP/CRT for ACNielsen BASES. Because those methods required more time and effort from participants they produced fewer completed surveys.

BASES had previously looked into the Web as a possible solution, and now it looked like the best solution. "The Web was more viable because people are more comfortable with the technology," says Thatcher. Once the company decided to use the Internet to collect survey data, a whole new set of challenges presented themselves. The first was to find software that could support large-scale Web surveys as well as meet BASES’s standards. And of course the software would have to integrate with the data collection and analysis procedures already in place.

This technology also presented an opportunity for Thatcher and other market researchers to influence development of the product for their industry. Thatcher and several of his peers formed a users group and worked with SPSS’s product development team to add features that make Quancept more useful for their specific needs. Several features were also added to tailor Quancept Web to BASES specifications.

Build a panel

With the Internet interviewing tools in place, the next challenge was to build a survey panel whose demographics paralleled those of the mall intercept surveys. Thatcher knew that e-Panel’s success depended on the consistency of the survey panel.

BASES identified survey participants with the appropriate demographics and solicited them to become part of an e-Panel. Over the next six months it conducted more than 20,000 on-line interviews for 50 initiatives. As hoped, results of the parallel testing were highly correlated with BASES’s traditional collection methods.

On-line data collection has given BASES and its clients a number of additional benefits. They have complete control over production. And password protection ensures that respondents complete only one survey.

BASES analysts can begin processing survey results immediately, even before the interviewing is completed. Survey results are automatically linked to the firm’s data analysis departments for tabulating and coding. Since the actual data is collected in one place, there’s little handling required, which expedites the timing and saves on shipping costs.

For clients, Internet surveys offer an alternative to traditional data collection methods. They will also provide a way for them to access narrower incidence groups, such as mothers of teen-age children, for more focused research efforts.

For respondents, on-line surveys offer convenience. "Respondents can complete the survey at night, when the kids are in bed, or start it and complete it at another time," Thatcher says. Participants can also quit the survey and re-enter later right where they left off. Convenience is a major factor behind the increased participation and response times.

Never replace

Although Internet surveys have proven successful as an alternative methodology, they will never replace traditional data collection. BASES does plan to double its e-Panel size over the next year in order to meet customer demands. This will also give BASES an opportunity to explore the full potential of on-line data collection.