"It's a people business, not a numbers business!"

I don't think we're consciously trying to "diss" our customers and prospects. But do we say we're going to collect insight from our target audience? No, we say we're hitting the field, as if we were bombing a cow pasture.

Larger Is Not Better
Some quant jocks (not the ones who actually understand statistics) champion large samples. "Large samples are projectable, they allow you to perform multivariate analyses and significance testing," they claim. NOT ALWAYS. A large sample means you talked to a lot of people. It doesn't say you spoke to the right people.

Respondent Abuse / Stop The Madness
Not enough attention or respect is given to the respondent. We tend to write complex surveys that are frequently misinterpreted. We promise the respondent the survey will only take a few minutes and then keep them on the phone for 20 minutes. And we wonder why the quality of responses and respondents keeps declining.

Part of the problem is the tendency for questionnaire design by committee. Since no one is particularly sure what the core question is, they figure a huge net is the best way to make sure it's covered. Hence, surveys keep getting longer and longer. Apparently, the thinking is a long survey represents better value. At KLC, we believe collecting meaningful information in a customer-friendly fashion provides the best value.

KLC Collection Philosophy
The KLC data collection methods are designed to be respondent friendly. We foster ongoing relationships (online panels) with our respondents when possible. Now some folks may say that sounds like a "professional respondent". Hey, if you can get someone to take the time to seriously answer your survey, then I would call them a professional respondent too. Also, we respect respondent privacy, and are in compliance with all anti-spam legislation. Again, we go back to quality over quantity.

If getting intelligent feedback and careful thought on your core issues is the crux, then by all means give KLC a try. If you're looking to ask a ton of questions in case one of them proves insightful, well there are hundreds of other research companies out there.

Custom Panels
Web Surveys
ConsumerDirections.com
Focus Groups: Traditional and Web Groups
Conference/Trade Show
Kiosk Surveys

Go to Communicating Insight

Custom Panels QUESTION: Why switch to online panels? ANSWER: Research quality & value for your budget