In early October, I attended a half-day conference hosted by the Minnesota Upper Midwest Chapter of the Marketing Research Association near the QMRR offices in Minneapolis. The topic was "Ethics in Marketing and Opinion Research: Critical Issues, Implications and Solutions." As usual, it was a pleasure to get out of the office and talk to folks in the Twin Cities research community, but I came away from the proceedings a bit unnerved, though ultimately hopeful.

Based on what I heard at the conference, I’m worried about the future of the research profession. In order to survive, we need to improve communication with our peers, clients, and vendors - and with the public on whose cooperation we so desperately depend.

The day began with an overview of some of the troubles facing the industry, as outlined by Diane Bowers, executive director of the Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO), and president of the Council for Marketing and Opinion Research (CMOR). We’re under siege from a host of sources, but two of the biggest are sugging (selling under the guise of research) and frugging (fund-raising under the guise of research), which poison the respondent pool for legitimate research by linking the words "I’m conducting a survey" with "I’m really after your money" in the public’s mind.

In addition, consumer frustration with the intrusion of telemarketers and concern over privacy issues has caused government leaders, in an uncharacteristic bit of responsiveness, to propose a host of regulations that could severely curtail legitimate marketing research. And then there are the issues of Caller ID, answering machines, and other contributors to declining response rates.

Fortunately, CMOR and other research industry organizations are doing a fantastic job of monitoring legislation at the state and federal level which could hamper research efforts. In almost every case they’ve been able to lobby successfully to have the regulations rewritten to remove sections that could have damaging effects on research.

But the fight is far from over. CMOR gets by on a miniscule budget made up of contributions from member companies, most of which goes to lobbying efforts. If it’s ever to undertake other ambitious and much-needed efforts, like a nationwide campaign to educate the public on the value of research (and teach them how to spot the sugging fruggers), it’s going to require a lot more funding. The simplest and most painless way is a proposed tiny tax on research expenditures. But it’s open to question whether already cost-conscious researchers would agree to a tax like the one CMOR has in mind, no matter how small.

Though the early portion of the conference made me nervous, the discussion on ethics left me proud of the industry. Panelists included representatives of research and client companies, including George Creel, vice president/director, research and account planning, Martin-Williams Advertising; Herman Milligan Jr., senior market research analyst, Norwest Corp.; Roger Mayland, president, Northstar Interviewing; Roberta Rosenberg, vice president, Winona Research; and Joanne DiNapoli, senior account executive, Survey Sampling, Inc. Larry Mock, vice president, marketing research worldwide for Procter & Gamble, and national co-chair of CMOR, who also gave a brief talk on the role of research at P&G, joined the panel.

In their responses to moderator Stuart Rosen’s questions, which covered a range of ethical issues, the panelists implicitly and explicitly stressed the value of clientresearch provider communication. They talked about an ethical issue that had arisen on the job and how they handled it. To a person, they exhibited resourcefulness and a strong urge to do the right thing.

One consensus was that an industry-wide set of ethical standards would be welcome. Many organizations and companies already have their own guidelines, but it would be helpful for all concerned if there were one set of standards recognized and upheld by all.

The key to staying on top of the issues facing us? Communication. As Northstar’s Roger Mayland pointed out, it’s only by taking a proactive approach and discussing issues now, with clients and suppliers at industry luncheons, trade shows and conferences, that we can determine how to overcome the obstacles ahead.