Jane Sheppard says she likes a challenge. Well, I think she's facing a good one. Sheppard was recently named director of respondent cooperation for The Council for Marketing and Opinion Research (CMOR), an industry-supported association that, in addition to lobbying against legislation that may restrict the research process, works to boost respondent cooperation.
Declining cooperation rates aren't keeping me up at night, but I do worry that the industry is facing a Sisyphean task in trying to surmount the many obstacles between the researcher and the respondent (such as Caller ID and other screening devices; consumers' justifiable right to privacy; telemarketers who sell under the guise of research: federal and state laws that lump legitimate researchers with the aforementioned unscrupulous telemarketers).
In her new position, Sheppard is charged with leading "industry-wide efforts for addressing declining respondent cooperation, protecting respondent rights, and establishing guidelines for interviewing," according to the CMOR press release.
She certainly seems well-qualified. Having spent time on the research company side with stints at Arbitron, Westat, and Birch Radio Research, and on the client side during the past 14 years at Goodyear Tire & Rubber, she knows the research business. She has also been active with local and national Marketing Research Association chapters and with the American Marketing Association.
She will maintain two offices, one at CMOR headquarters in Port Jefferson, N.Y., and one close to her home in the Cleveland area, which is where I reached her by phone in Apri1.
What are the biggest hurdles facing the industry in increasing respondent cooperation?
Sheppard: "An obvious one is legislation that restricts our ability to speak with respondents, restricts who we can talk to and when. There is a fundamental link between respondent cooperation and government affairs. Those lawmakers and their constituents could be potential respondents so it's important to help shape their attitudes toward research through some of the activities on the legislative end. I think it's critical that the respondent cooperation activities continue to focus on the value of research and the importance of respondent participation in that process.
"In addition, there are a lot of things in terms of technology that will affect cooperation, things like Caller ID. We have to not only be aware of those technologies but also understand who the refusers are and why they refuse. The more we understand who they are the better we can take steps to reach them through some kind of public education programs.
"And the industry must rally behind CMOR and understand that we need to speak with one voice. I keep hearing that term and I think people do have to rally together to define and measure the problem. With the different research methodologies, people approach cooperation rates differently, which is understandable but I think it makes it that much harder to define and measure."
Can exposing people to research via on-line surveys, for example, help show consumers that research can be fun and that it also has value?
"There is an educational quality to some on-line surveying. Providing that there is sufficient information in the survey that talks about the value of the research and what happens to the information and encourages them to participate again. What a consumer needs to know is that there are various ways of collecting data. Yes it's fun get on the Net and do a survey, but there are so many other methodologies that may be appropriate. I could see where on-line surveys may be even more helpful with a younger age group in helping them start understanding what the research process is."
How can the client companies, the research buyers, help to improve cooperation?
"It's one thing to educate the research providers - we can do that fairly well because we have the inroads and the mechanisms. But we're also going to have to work with clients on survey design issues, the things that really interfere with cooperation, the length of interviews, the introductions, the closings, etc.
"Sometimes I think the clients are focused on getting as much data as possible and the researchers have to educate them on the trade-off between getting more data and what it's doing to hurt the relationship with the potential respondent pool. Clients truly need to be more aware of the issues and understand the issues and their implications. I think they need to be open to allowing the research providers to guide them toward what is best in the industry.
"CMOR has put together a list of recommended industry guidelines to improve cooperation and one of the big initiatives is to get the founding associations to support it and disseminate it to client companies and to the research companies, to show that these are the best practices that will help respondent cooperation.
"It's very difficult to get the industry to agree on what should be included in a survey introduction, or in a closing statement, but the guidelines provide a framework based on research we have done into cooperation. We also need to be able to track the guidelines and make sure they continue to be appropriate.
"Clients know the importance of treating their customers with respect and dignity. I think you can take those same key principles and apply them to respondents as well."