The Mobile Future of Market Research

Mobile market research is not a single-track path. The mobile world is where the "digital natives" who have grown up with the Internet and mobile phones, feel at home. This is reason enough for a complete industry to focus on the opportunities for mobile market research.

 

The market research industry is currently divided into two camps: the "Early Adopters" who are sensing a great opportunity with mobile market research and the market researchers who predominantly see problems in the new survey methods. But in fact, Mobile Research is a further powerful means to an end and can contribute in many disciplines, not just as a competitor to the current methods but also as a member of the team.

The Market Research Institute, The Nielsen Company, is planning a comprehensive mobile research project for the summer Olympic Games 2012 in London. In order to deepen the understanding for the versatile new technologies, options such as geofencing, bread-crumbing, barcode scanners and videos should be deployed with this study. Nielsen had already carried out the first Mobile Research Project of this type at the Football World Cup 2010 in South Africa.

In order to verify the recognition value of advertising and brands, the media behaviour of recruited panel members was monitored by BlackBerry during the world cup finals. Very high response quotas were achieved during the overall field time. In addition, the panel members transmitted meaningful and significant photos and Nielsen was able to build up a gallery of approx. 60,000 images. Motivating spectators at sports or other large events to carry out market research using mobile devices - can that become a reality in the market research industry or is it just transient hype?

The importance of the mobile Internet both for society and the economy is growing at a pace. More and more users are surfing from mobile devices and freeing themselves from the stationary Web. According to a current study, "Mobile Web Watch 2011", numbers in Germany have already reached 14 million, almost five times as many as in 2008. This development has been accompanied by an ongoing strong penetration by the mobile telephone. The market research company Gartner, reported that in the 3rd quarter of 2011, 440.5 million mobile phones were sold globally.

 

The use of Smartphones is becoming a hobby

A good 25% of all mobile phones that are currently in use are Smartphones. In the coming year, low-price, entrylevel Smartphones are set to drive this growth even higher. As a result, Gartner predicts that simple mobile phones with less technological gismos will become more and more obsolete. It is expected that in 2015, 95% of the mobile phones sold in Western Europe will be Smartphones.

The market penetration of Smartphones appears to be unstoppable and not just amongst managers and company bosses. According to the result of the Ipsos Study, "Mobile Consumer Evolution 2011", there are currently 12 million private users of Smartphones over the age of 18 in Germany alone. They have a close attachment to their phones: 65% of them won't leave the house without their Smartphone. They are principally used as a way passing the time and as a source of information, in order to be able to call up data spontaneously and easily.

Having the "Internet in your pocket" has brought about massive changes in the worlds of work and commerce. Using Mobile Services through the Internet has become a firm part of many users' everyday life. They access social networks while on the move, they make purchases and navigate through their day using location-based services.

The mobile world is where the "digital natives" who have grown up with the Internet and mobile phones, feel at home. This is reason enough for a complete industry to focus on the opportunities for mobile market research.

 

Online versus mobile?

The "Market Research Software Survey Report 2011", published annually by the firm of management consultants meaning ltd., gives some insights into the value that the specialist industry places on mobile market research. For the first time in the seven-year history of the report, those surveyed did not nominate online as the most rapidly developing method. Self-completion using mobile devices took over this spot. Survey Manager Tim Macer sees the main reason for this as being the saturation levels reached by the method of online market research. "Studies that were suitable for switching from personal or telephone interviews to an online survey are on the way out," claims the British entrepreneur. The potential for growth in online market research is limited. The moving force behind online market research ten years ago is what is driving Mobile Research today.

If however, you consider the progressive development of continuous consumer presence on the Internet using all available devices - home PC, mobile phone or tablet device - it must be obvious for the market research industry that online and mobile surveys should not be seen as competitive methods. Mobile market research can certainly be seen as the sequel to online research. Thought must be given to "mobile usage" when considering the design of at least a part of online studies, because the creators of the studies do not know for sure what device might be used to open an e-mail that may be inviting the recipient to take part in a survey. This could well be on an iPhone or iPad. The online survey must be designed so that it can be carried out on a range of mobile devices such as Smartphones or tablet devices but also so that it will run on as many as possible of the "old devices" that are still out there.

Irrespective of whether online or mobile, there is no more economical way of recruiting people to take part in a survey than addressing them with an invitation by e-mail, SMS, QR code or through (mobile) websites. Essentially, with online and mobile surveys, it is more the methodological considerations that need to be taken into account. Should those being surveyed or panel members actually be able to respond from anywhere when they are on the move or should certain surveys be addressed more calmly and in a more considered way? Are the random samples representative? Which distortions might be anticipated as a result of the selected surveying medium? Winfried Hagenhoff, Managing Director at TNS Infratest believes that methodological effects - not necessarily disadvantageous ones - must be assumed and cites an example: "If in an online survey, a question is constructed as a grid and then because of the screen size on a mobile device is shown as five individual questions, this can result in a different response behaviour as the stimulus will not necessarily have the same effect with each person surveyed." On the other hand, there is also random scattering as a result of the methodmix, which, together with the improved overall returns from a random sample, can result in higher quality. On the whole however, there is an increasing acceptance of Mobile Research, as the broader accessibility to people to participate in a survey within a short time is becoming a central factor, according to Winfried Hagenhoff.

 

Classical surveys enriched by the addition of mobile

Mobile market research can also support classical survey methods, e.g. paper & pencil, in a contemporary way. Even here, there are interesting developments on the so-called CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interview) market. According to meaning ltd., mobile CAPI is becoming an important part of the offerings made by market research institutes. In 2010, 16% of all companies offered this method. Tim Macer is convinced that, "Mobile Research can underpin classical methods and close off some loopholes". The deployment of mobile devices in market research has made it possible to be far more precise when defining the random sampling and when recording the survey data. For example, the GPS function allows location-relevant information to be recorded and localised precisely.

In the area of face-to-face surveys, mobile devices enable a manifestly higher level of usability as compared to the situation some years ago. Using tablet devices instead of Smartphones with their smaller displays, allows the use of larger fonts and more complex question formats, such as matrices. The golden rule to "Keep it simple" still remains true in market research, if you want to avoid low response quotas and a lack of commitment by those being surveyed, irrespective of whether the survey is being done in person, on the telephone, online or using a mobile device.

When used with current devices, 'mobile' offers a whole range of new possibilities particularly with face-to-face interviews, mystery shopping and diary surveys, whether this involves the integration of videos in the surveys or the opportunity to collect qualitative aspects such as photographs or original voice recordings of the responses given. In particular, the wide range of media playback options offered by the use of mobile devices opens a multitude of additional options in comparison to classical paper & pencil surveys.

Simulations, alternative ad spots, sounds or similar can be presented directly to those taking part in the survey. In the past, this was only possible through a laptop. Using the enhanced technical capabilities of modern devices offers the change to increase the commitment and interest of those being surveyed and/or to hold these at a higher level.

Especially with diary studies, mobile devices equipped with a pre-programmed reminder function enable the participants to keep strictly to the times defined for recording data. This avoids a possible distortion of the results through the Recall effect. In addition, the device records each input and also checks the timeframe. A function whereby the device "speaks" the questions, which, for example is used with studies involving children from the age of 6, makes it possible to carry out surveys that would not have been possible, were it not for these devices. In 2009, the diary study "MindSetKids" made it possible for the first time to investigate how the lives of the youngest media and consumer target group are affected by the many different influences on them from family, school and leisure activities.

 

Technical hurdles to be overcome

The dependence on technical infrastructure for Mobile Research varies according to the study design and the desired focus. It might be tempting for market researchers, that survey participants always have a Smartphone in their pocket and are "always on".

Designing the implementation however, often proves to be more difficult than originally thought. Very different technical conditions have to be considered for surveys using a rapid tool like SMS than for exhibition surveys that are carried out using tablet devices.

With mobile surveys, the major differentiation factor is whether the survey is being carried out online or offline (see table). There are different technical implementations for both versions and they differ in terms of the options they offer.

In the case of online surveys using mobile devices, the participants call up the questionnaire on the device's browser directly from a link in the invitation mail or SMS. The different browsers (Safari, Opera, browsers specific to the device, etc.) play a significant role in the way the questionnaire is displayed and in the further functional scope of the survey. Thanks to Smartphones, the days of the mini-browser are expected to come to an end soon, but they still have to be taken into consideration. Implementation can be complicated if the survey is to be carried out on different devices. Not every standard software offers the functionality of automatic adjustment to suit different display sizes.

Another thing that has to be considered is that devices may not be Internet-enabled, either because they have not been technically configured for it or because no corresponding tariff has been set-up. All participants who fall into this category are excluded from the start. A further point is that additional costs, which are not always completely transparent, that are incurred by someone taking part in a mobile survey, e.g. Internet tariff, roaming, can also negatively impact on the response rate or be a cause of irritation Also, an Internet connection always has to be guaranteed while the survey is being completed. If the survey is being completed while travelling on a train for example, it is very possible that there might be breaks in communication, if there is poor network coverage. With surveys carried out through a browser, the limited application option of sensors has to be taken into consideration. The usage of camera, video and audio recordings is either not possible at all or at best with restrictions.

A separate App has to be developed for each operating system and installed on the devices as a pre-requisite for mobile surveys that are carried out offline. With "self completion" surveys, this can well be an obstacle that prevents participation in the survey. In the App environment however, all the device's sensors can be fully utilised. In this way, interviews can be designed in a more diversified way with media support or the data collected can be enriched by the addition of qualitatively valuable aspects such as photos.

In some situations, the strong recommendation would be to use offline surveys. Particularly with event or exhibition surveys, overloaded mobile phone networks or overlaid WLANs do not have to be taken into consideration. With security-critical studies such as "car clinics" for example, a security risk can be excluded by using an offline solution. The data is collected on the device and then synchronised later through a USB connection.

 

HTML5 is the choice for developers

Developers of native mobile (market research) Apps are confronted by a plethora of operating systems (Apple's iOS, Google's Android, Microsoft's Phone 7, RIM's Blackberry, Nokia's Symbian, etc.). As these platforms have in part, fundamental differences when it comes to the programming, e.g. the programming language, a dedicated App for each target platform has to be programmed. This has a multiplier effect on the programming effort and the subsequent maintenance and the costs involved, the result of which is often that only some of the operating systems can be supported.

A solution for the multi-platform problem that is attracting a lot of interest and on which a lot of hopes are riding, is HTML5 as the successor to HTML4, the current standard for websites. HTML5 is said to offer versatile new functionalities in respect of improved display options, such as the playback and recording of video and audio, local storage and geolocation. A lot of this has not been supported directly by HTML4 up to now, so that additional plugins such as Adobe Flash had to be used. HTML5 is currently under development and the specification is still a long way off from being finalised. However, current browsers already support some of the functions from the upcoming standard. HTML5 should give the possibility of making an application available for several platforms without a lot of effort, thereby reducing development and maintenance costs.

 

Hold back or climb aboard?

In terms of revenues, Mobile Research is currently a rapidly growing, but still quite small segment. The majority of the industry is adopting a wait-and-see policy towards Mobile Research and is not treating it as a matter of strategic importance. Tim Macer however, is aware of a lot of commercial market researchers who are actively driving the discussion forward. Launching studies using mobile devices is the next logical step, particularly for industrial and retail companies with strong branding. They already have a high presence in the mobile area through their Social Media activities or through Apps for online ordering and the execution of consumer surveys, according to Tim Macer.

These large organisations have access to the necessary resources to support several methods and to test new ideas. In addition, the institutes are falling back on specialised suppliers for Mobile Research projects. These days, there are many specialists in the area of mobile market research. They make use of many different methods to get feedback, from survey Apps to in-App feedback channels and on-device monitoring. Winfried Hagenhoff advises market research companies to establish in-house specialists as well, who are in a position to be able to select the optimum combination of platforms and softwares for a project, depending on the specific requirements. "As the Mobile Research segment is growing very rapidly, it will become impossible to maintain an overview of the number of solutions that are available on the market. There will be a call for the expertise to make the right, requirement-related selection until such time as individual solutions have achieved a high degree of maturity." In Hagenhoff's opinion, the market also still needs time to develop standards that will be accepted and that will generate correspondingly high revenue volumes. And that is exactly the situation where specialised suppliers can cash in.

 

Summary

Mobile market research is not a single-track path. It is a multi-functional channel with its own particular validity and justification. This method supports "self-completion", interview-supported, quantitative and qualitative, visual, textual, verbal, pictorial, passive or observational surveys. At the same time, mobile market research adds the additional dimension of location- and time-based data. The scope and the possibilities offered by mobile market research are changing very rapidly and are undergoing constant further development. The future will show that Mobile Research is here to stay.

 

About cluetec

cluetec GmbH is an IT specialist for mobile software solutions. The company was founded in 2000 with headquarters in Karlsruhe and currently employs 30 staff. cluetec develops and distributes mQuest®, the leading mobile survey software for market and opinion research and traffic research. Since 2011 the catalogueapp, an application for displaying digital product catalogues on tablet devices, complements the product portfolio of cluetec. In addition, the company offers custom software development for mobile solutions, Java EE and Web 2.0 for market research and industry. Customers of cluetec include established companies from the automotive industry such as ZF Friedrichshafen, Peugeot and Volkswagen, as well as leading market research institutes such as GfK and TNS Infratest.

 

This article was provided by cluetec GmbH. Visit their website at http://www.mQuest.eu. Reprinted with permission of planung & analyse, Fachzeitschrift für Marktforschung.