Gamification in research is an exciting idea, built upon the premise that more can be learned in research by creating engaging exercises than through other traditional means. While we in research have long known that respondent engagement is an important factor to consider, it tends to be lost through the conflicting other priorities of limited resources such as time and money.

However, as we look around us, we see that gamification is growing subtly each day. For example, one author has noted things like progress bars as inciting more and better response through things like LinkedIn.

http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2011/08/03/15-brand-examples-of-gamification/

In other words, gamification as a trend has been around longer than perhaps we may realize. Certainly back in the day (circa 2006) we used to use little minigames at the end of surveys to give respondents their survey points. That was fun and interesting for the respondent up to a point, but we didn't use these exercises to gather any information. These were strictly intended to be enjoyable, but not scientific in any way. But I'm seeing now that gamification spans more than that. It further includes more than just the concept of putting images in surveys or even designing a survey interface that is more visually appealing. While we've known for a while that a survey drag and drop exercise is more engaging than lengthy grids, we're just scratching the surface on what is possible. Essentially what is possible here is to think creatively, and in the process design ways in which to measure human interaction and response. For example, it is possible to design a minigame that has people choosing products, and measure the time taken to make a choice - or to measure the time taken to associate a brand with an idea.

I'm sure there are vast ethical and practical considerations here, but from my perspective, it is fascinating to explore what is possible. I am thinking about more than repackaging what was done before - I am thinking about how we can explore ideation and other areas through new research means.

Note: This piece first appeared in Quirk’s January 2012 issue. 

Over the past two decades there have been few paradigmatic changes in the world of customer satisfaction research. We seek to remedy this situation through the introduction of a new, broader construct that subsumes many elements of both customer satisfaction and brand measurement research.


Historically, customer satisfaction research has focused  on measuring service and product quality and relating these to attitudinal outcomes such as overall satisfaction and loyalty or more recently, economic outcomes such as market share and profitability.

Similarly, brand research has generally been oriented toward capturing consumer perceptions of brand imagery or performance and relating these to psychometric or econometric measures of brand equity and, ultimately, purchase behavior.

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* Article originally posted on The Green Light, a blog that focuses on the auto industry from a different viewpoint - Click here to visit the blog.

Interview: Doug Scott, Sr. Vice President, GfK Automotive

I recently had an interview with Doug Scott who is Sr. Vice President of GfK Automotive. He has more than 29 years of experience in the automotive and marketing research industries. He has also worked with automakers such as Toyota, Chrysler, and Subaru. Mr. Scott was a national research manager for Toyota Motor Sales before joining GfK.

GfK Automotive conducts research for the global automotive industry.

My interview with Doug Scott focused on the challenges that electric vehicles must overcome. Check out my interview below:



What are your thoughts on the sale figures of the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf?

The sales are disappointing thus far. Gas prices have declined which has changed the thoughts of many consumers. The Volt is a car that runs on electricity and gas but that comes with a premium you have to pay for. The Leaf is entirely electric but has the range anxiety issues. We found in our surveys, when you ask people whats the minimum acceptable range for a vehicle, they usually say between 150-175 miles. The fact is that the average commute that people drive is no more than 40 miles a day. Until someone comes out with other options or the Leaf boost it's range compacity past a 100 miles there will not be strong sales numbers. Americans don't want to give up their trucks or SUV's. The sale of trucks and SUV's have picked up again because of the market place. I think the issue is that 2011 was a disappointing year for the Volt and Leaf. The fact that regular conbustion cars, the Elantra's, Corolla's and Sentra's; you have the regulatory pressures on manufacturers that mandate fuel effeciency. This makes it extremely difficult to market the Volt and Leaf.


How do you think manufactures can overcome limited driving range?

There has to be a education program that needs to get out there. The current market conditions fight against alternative powertrains. It may be that Nissan and others have to get out there. Living in a southern city and just reassuring people that they can drive over the course of a day or so 70 some more miles. They have the flexibility of using their homes to charge their vehicles. It all comes down to educating the consumer. I was recently watching  television and the Nissan Leaf was quite prevalent in several commercials. But they are only available in select areas of the country. The manufactures need figure out ways to adapt these alternative powertrains for stop and go traffic and figure out ways to decrease the amount of energy that is used by the batteries. sucking down the energy of the system. There needs to be regulatory pressures for this to take place. Chevy recently said they were cutting back the production of the Chevy volt. Thats not what Chevy needs to do for the psychology of the car. But it is marketing, and its public relations that manufacturers are going to have to do and put their effort in.

What are your thoughts on plug-in hybrids i.e. Volvo Plug-in hybrid and Ford Fusion Plug-in hybrid?

Absolutely!, what you eliminate is range anxiety. Your stuck with the premium price and that's what you have to work on. You have to bring down the cost of your comparable vehicle with a smaller displacement engine. The diesel in the U.S. has a history of smelly and fuels. Most services which had a diesel pump gave it up. They are there to gas up your car. Toyota came up with a hybrid to take up that space. This was the transition of hybrid vehicles. I believe that plug-in hybrids will surpass electric cars because of their extended range. Hybrids are your gap filler as long as the price is down. Hydrogen cars and electric cars are a long way off before they both take a portion of automotive sales.

Are electric vehicles safe?

That's a 64 dollar question. I think what we have found is that they seem to be inherently safe but when their in an accident something has to be deactivated in order to be able to get to the person. I don't think we're seeing hybrid cars with batteries going up in flames. But I think what is happening is that during an accident or something of that nature we are seeing issues. Manufactures, such as Chevy has gotten out of their fast with their mechanical issues.

What do you think is more important to a person who is buying an electric vehicle: savings cost or emissions?

I think emmissions is way down on the list. Think of the population being segmented who are very green. You have a narrow band of people at 15% who want to reduce emissions. Then there are others who would purchase an electric vehicle if it didn't cost so much. I think the other issues of a pocket book nature, is does this save me any money in either maintenance? When gas prices keep going down the monetizing begins to look difficult to look at.

In the long run, does it make financial sense to purchase an electric car instead of a gas-powered vehicle?

The answer is only when the price gap is significantly reduced. You have a catch 22 there. But only when the regulatory pressure is put on the manufactures. Then there are people who don't want regulatory pressures. It's good to have regulatory rules by 2025 54 miles a gallon. There isn't the urgency of fuel resources and pollution on the other. Many people feel I can't afford 6 or 7 thousand dollars more for a vehicle. If later in the year we have another $5 a gallon for gas, there will be more Hyundai Elantras and Honda Civics bought. There's a catch twenty, two issues which are long range regulations, and the price of fuel.



I want to thank Tania Fonovic for putting this interview together. I also want to thank Doug Scott for taking out the time to answer my questions.

Click the Image above to Begin the Test!

GfK’s report on UX and loyalty in the digital ecosystem was undertaken across nine countries – Brazil, China, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Spain, UK and the US – and examined consumers’ barriers to switching smartphone types and the impact of their attitudes towards the overall user experience. 

Loyalty to smartphone brand increases with number of apps used.

ROME (AP) — An AP-GfK poll shows that 93 percent of Italians consider cutting the country’s huge public debt a top priority but few are willing to make personal sacrifices to do so.

The poll released Tuesday shows only about a quarter of Italians favor reforming labor laws to make it easier to fire workers or approve of raising the retirement age to 67. Those reforms are considered critical to curbing Italy’s public spending and boosting its economic growth.

The poll shows that most Italians retain a favorable view of the European Union and 76 percent think Italy should stay in the 17-nation eurozone.

Branding and advertising aside, is there a generational effect when it comes to customer loyalty and satisfaction? How do Baby Boomers compare with Gen Y in terms of their level of loyalty to a brand? Do Traditionals and Gen Xers have the same drivers of delight and dissatisfaction? The same expectations? And what about Generation Z, the first generational cohort baptized in an e-world?

Where do people get their pets? A new AP-Petside.com poll found that the most common way people acquire a pet is as a gift, followed by taking in a stray.

About four in 10 pet owners say at least one of their current pets was given to them by friends or family, while a third say they have a pet that showed up on their doorstep as a stray.

Shelters and breeders are next on the list as sources for pets. Thirty percent of those polled say they adopted through a shelter, 31 percent got a pet from a breeder and 14 percent bought an animal at a pet store.

Just over half of American pet owners will buy gifts for their pets this holiday season, and they’ll spend an average of $46 on their animals, with toys and treats topping the list, according to a new AP-Petside.com poll.

Sixty-eight percent of pets getting gifts can look forward to a toy, 45 percent to food or another treat, 8 percent new bedding, 6 percent clothing, 3 percent a leash, collar or harness and 3 percent new grooming products, the poll showed. (Some pets will get more than one gift.)

The recent HBR Management Tip (“Don’t Bother Wowing Your Customers,” October 20, 2011) and the larger article on which it is based (“Stop trying to Delight Your Customers,” HBR, July/Aug 2010, Dixon, Freeman and Toman) is both eye catching and thought provoking – and totally misleading.

But a systematic study of innovation patterns and dynamics over the past 35 years across 300 categories has taught us some important lessons:

While the faltering economy, bankruptcies and product safety issues have taken a toll on brand loyalty, these aren’t the reasons consumers do not replace one brand with the same brand.

According to the survey, Generation X (born 1965 – 1980) and Generation Y (1981 – 1994), have yet to demonstrate anywhere near the loyalty of their older counterparts. Consequently, their ever-increasing presence in the automotive marketplace will continue to pull overall brand loyalty downward assuming current allegiance levels remain the same.

While I know it is chic to talk about “The Experience Economy,” I think it is critical to appreciate the differences between being in the Experience business (capital “E”) and designing the customer experience (small “e”) as a means for pleasing customers and facilitating the sales of goods and services. Are you actually selling Experiences – or is the customer experience a more mundane (or not so mundane) enabler for the sale of traditional goods and services?

Of course, she was exactly right. Smartphones are essentially mini-computers. They are capable of so much more than the desktops of a decade ago. Emails, web surfing, reading the news, ordering dinner, buying a sweater from the Gap - these are all not only possible, but simple and intuitive via most smartphones. Some have even been known to be used for making phone calls.

The point is, smartphones are incredibly powerful and mobile. They are always with us, and this has serious implications for the market research industry, particularly with respect to where and how we deliver surveys.

The number of angry people is growing as deep reservoirs of resentment grip the country, according to the latest Associated Press-GfK poll.

A sizable majority — more than 7 in 10 — believe the country is headed in the wrong direction and, in a new high, 43 percent describe the nation’s economy as “very poor,” according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. Among those surveyed, less than 40 percent say Obama’s proposed remedies for high unemployment would increase jobs significantly.

The sobering report issued today by GfK indicates that this season may be one of the more challenging in memory as 84 percent of consumers intend to spend less or the same amount while shopping as compared to last year. Breaking down the data, GfK reports that a stunning 40 percent of American households will spend less this year, while 44 percent will mirror their spending from 2010. Only 11 percent plan to spend more.

Among Republicans, the desire to oust Obama is clear, according to a new AP-GfK poll. But it has not resolved divisions over the choice of a nominee. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is reasonably popular, but he has not pulled away from the field.

The survey highlights the need for the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and reveals that a majority of Americans agree that federal oversight of the consumer finance industry is urgently needed. Forty three percent of Americans strongly agree that consumers need an agency such as the CFPB to oversee the practices of banks and other financial institutions and 39 percent moderately agree, even after told of concerns that planned policies could derail economic growth, increase fees and tighten consumer credit. Instead,about two thirds of Americans feel that planned financial reform would help the economy and nearly the same proportion feel it would aid their own personal financial health.

RACINE, Wis., Oct. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Today, SC Johnson and GfK Roper Consulting released survey findings on American consumer green attitudes and behaviors, painting a compelling picture of the evolution of consumer interests and actions over the last two decades. The SC Johnson proprietary survey, which is part of the 20th Anniversary Green Gauge® survey, examines how American consumers' environmental knowledge affects their actions and behaviors. The results found that 75 percent of American consumers say they feel good when they take steps to help the environment, a positive sentiment that is reflected by their increased environmental actions.

Stay with me,
You’re all I see.
Did I say that I need you?
Did I say that I want you?
-Pearl Jam, ‘Just Breathe’

Not to get lost in a seemingly philosophical debate, but what is (or should or can be) the central purpose of modern business? While this might seem like a navel-gazing exercise, the answer provides the core principle around which to organize the firm and galvanize its resources. All four stakeholder groups are important, but it is impossible to maximize on four fronts simultaneously. Without a focal point there can be no criteria for setting priorities and making informed decisions. So which one should be primary?

The GfK Green Gauge US Report has been examining environmental attitudes and behaviors of global consumers since 1992, and the 2011 report found that 41 percent of Americans say “first comes economic security then we can worry about environmental problems.” This dramatic 13 percentage point increase from the pre-recession levels of 2007, when just 28 percent would put economic considerations ahead of the environment, clearly reflects today’s low levels of consumer confidence and increased personal worry about the nation’s current economic malaise.

In addition, while most think concern about the environment is at least somewhat serious, fewer are saying that concern about the environment is “very serious and should be a priority for everyone” (33% in 2011 vs. 46% in 2007).
 

GfK is proud to present the first annual Next Generation Market Research Competition to be hosted in conjunction with the 76th Annual ARF RE:Think Conference in March 2012. In the ever-changing, fast-paced corporate world, marketing researchers must be able to think on their feet and bring innovative ideas to address emerging business problems. This competition is designed to give student researchers a chance to test their marketing knowledge by creating a marketing research project that addresses a critical issue weighing on marketers’ minds daily.

About two in 10 Americans, who are less optimistic than Australians but more optimistic than Britons about becoming wealthy in the next ten years, according to a new AP-CNBC poll.

In all three countries, more than seven in 10 of those surveyed said they were unlikely to become millionaires in the next decade.

Reflecting the psychic toll of the global economic doldrums, solid majorities of Americans — 61 percent — and Britons — 63 percent — say it's extremely or very difficult for their countrymen to become millionaires today.

"We love them to death, and we love them without being judgmental," the 62-year-old Chandler, Ariz., retiree said. "But the actual marriage I cannot agree with."