One question I have been hearing a lot lately when speaking with both current and potential clients is, “What is the average lifespan for an online market research community member?” While we typically like to add fresh blood into a community at a minimum of once a year, this is not a simple answer as …
Read MoreI have friends starting businesses all the time and since they are subject matter experts rather than marketers, they often ask me if they need market research. While I believe in them and am open to the possibility that they, like Steve Jobs, will be just fine without it (although that famous claim has recently …
Read More“Selfish,” “spoiled,” and “egotistical” are commonly used to describe Millennials. As a Millennial myself, I find these words harsh. It’s difficult to compare generations, when each cohort has different circumstances to face. As we all know, times have changed drastically, including, most notably, the recession that has left the majority of Americans struggling to make …
Read MoreEvery company wants to have the next great product or service. Some of the most disruptive ones lately have come out of the sharing economy—think Uber or Airbnb. The vast majority of these ideas have come from independent individuals who build companies around an idea rather than ideas within the framework of a company. In …
Read MoreHave you ever had a brilliant product idea or modification for your favorite brand? Did you ever try to communicate your idea to the company? Perhaps you didn’t know where to begin, and if you did, you probably didn’t get far. There are an infinite amount of mediums where people can voice their opinions, but …
Read MoreI’ve been asked to write this month’s blog for KL Communications. Typically, I have no problem finding things to say – just ask my co-workers who get to listen to me every day – but for some reason, when I sat down to write this blog, I couldn’t think of anything interesting to write. So…. …
Read MoreThe holiday season ushers in the New Year. Out with the old, in with the new… In today’s networked, hyper-informed economy, customers are no longer mere buyers. Consumers are successfully helping design and innovate products and services. If you continue to treat your customers as mere sources of revenue, you’re missing the boat – and, …
Read MoreRecently, I read an article on Quirks.com called “What happens when community participants start acting like researchers?” The authors discussed a few new approaches to positively incorporate members into the moderating process within online communities. The authors share feedback and examples from three case studies to show how they suggest engaging members to this new …
Read MoreI recently was catching up with an old colleague of mine who asked me what it was that we really do at KL Communications. I gave him my typical response of “we are a research agency that specializes in customer co-creation.” To that, my colleague replied, “Who isn’t doing that these days?” This response really …
Read MoreRecently I participated in a webinar in which Google Consumers Surveys sparked the latest conversation that an industry transformation is not as far off as some might think. The transition on the horizon (or more realistically already here) is that there are faster, cheaper, and bigger means to data and sample. While other companies may …
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