figuring out what online research

panel members really

want…

For us it is a big deal. We do this kind of “new paradigm” marketing research. And this is the future of our industry. So getting it right is key.

That’s why we wanted to explore these issues with our US and Canadian online consumer panelmembers.

Panel Motivational Overview

First we thought about the kinds of things that motivate people in general to do things.

The four quadrants in this chart show a range of kinds of motivations that could apply.

Source: Chart adapted from Elisabeth C. Deutskens (2006)

Participating in marketing research online… is it…

interesting?

for the money?

to find out what others think?

to help firms make better products and services?

etc.

We came up with a long list of reasons that tended to fit

somewhere into our four quadrant

scheme.

We then tried to place all of the

motivations on the “grid” where we thought they fit

best.

And then we asked 700 of our online panel members

about these specific motivations to do research

online.

Here is what they said.

Overall Highlights

Cash is key. Cash or other cash-like incentives were seen almost universally as most important.

Intangibles count. Other less “tangible” things matter too though. For example, large proportions of respondents like to participate because of pure interest, enjoyment, and curiosity. Also, lots of people also really like the fact that they play a role in helping organizations improve.

Interaction plays a role. Some (albeit in smaller numbers) are also putting value on the interaction and more “virtual community interaction” aspects.

We created a chart to show how strong each of these motivations were overall.

Findings Highlights

InterestingChance at

Cash/PrizeEnjoyable

Curiosity

Cash Per

Survey

Reward

Community

Interact with

panel

members

Comparing

responses

Others value

my opinion

Asked to

participate

If I won't, no

one will

Help

organizations

improve

Make opinion

count

Support good

cause

INTRINSIC EXTRINSIC

OTH

ER SE

LF

The “balloons” in the grid here show how much agreement panel members had with the kinds of motivations we asked them about.

The bigger the balloon, the more important the motivation.

But we wanted to go more in-depth.

Are all panel members motivated in the same ways and to similar

extents?

So we did a segmentation on their motivations.

We found that panel members tended to fall within one of four

motivational segments.

We would like to introduce you to each of these and tell you a bit

about them.

Awesome…I gotta put

this on YouTube!

introducing segment 1: hyper-actives

the profile:

13% of online world

unbridled enthusiasm

skews younger and middle aged, more likely from larger households, more affluent

heavier users of Internet

InterestingChance at

Cash/PrizeEnjoyable

Curiosity

Cash Per

Survey

Reward

Community

Interact with

panel

members

Comparing

responses

Others value

my opinion

Asked to

participate

If I won't, no

one will

Help

organizations

improve

Make opinion

count

Support good

cause

INTRINSIC EXTRINSIC

OTH

ER SE

LF

segment 1: hyper-actives

• Second Segment: Engaged Moderates

This, that,

and the other thing.

I hear you.

introducing segment 2: engaged moderates

InterestingChance at

Cash/PrizeEnjoyable

Curiosity

Cash Per

Survey

Reward

Community

Interact with

panel

members

Comparing

responses

Others value

my opinion

Asked to

participate

If I won't, no

one will

Help

organizations

improve

Make opinion

count

Support good

cause

INTRINSIC EXTRINSIC

OTH

ER SE

LF

the profile:

34% of online world

busy and bright

skews slightly female, older, and less employed

segment 2: engaged moderates

Do you have

this in blue?

introducing segment 3: fair traders

InterestingChance at

Cash/PrizeEnjoyable

Curiosity

Cash Per

Survey

Reward

Community

Interact with

panel

members

Comparing

responses

Others value

my opinion

Asked to

participate

If I won't, no

one will

Help

organizations

improve

Make opinion

count

Support good

cause

INTRINSIC EXTRINSIC

OTH

ER SE

LF

the profile:

39% of online world

mostly about the money, but other factors are also showing up as relevant

older, more male, better educated

segment 3: fair traders

I bet I can buy

anything with this

stuff!

introducing segment 4: show-me-the-moneys

InterestingChance at

Cash/PrizeEnjoyable

Curiosity

Cash Per

Survey

Reward

Others value

my opinion

Asked to

participate

Help

organizations

improve

Make opinion

count

Support good

cause

INTRINSIC EXTRINSIC

OTH

ER SE

LF

segment 4: show-me-the-moneys

the profile:

14% of online world

money matters big time, other motivations way less important

skews bimodal with respect to age, with bigger percentages of both younger and older groups, also more educated

Segmentation Highlight

The overwhelming majority of online panel members are not in it just for the cash or some cash “equivalent”.

Fully 86% of panel respondents are significantly motivated by largely intrinsic factors in addition to the monetary components.

But what does mean for those who manage online research consumer

panels?

Study Implications

A few thoughts about the implications of this research for consumer panel design and management…

The more research appeals to a range of known motivators, the more online panel members will engage and participate more regularly in research. This will also lead to reduced panel member drop-out.

Study Implications

Cost effectiveness argument

In the context of panel management, extrinsic or monetary rewards “cost” more than intrinsic ones. This is because monetary costs are typically a driver of significant variable (i.e. per complete) costs for panel management.

Intrinsic motivators, on the other hand, can be managed with largely fixed-cost investments (i.e. per panel, not panel member). So there is an enormous potential for economy of scale. Managers can think little or big .

Study Implications

Think Little: Simple small things such as “thanking” respondents in innovative ways or in pro-actively letting them know about positive impacts of their feedback will enhance member satisfaction.

Think Big: State-of-the-art panels can take advantage of innovative tools coming out of the Web 2.0 world that facilitate interaction and expression in their panels to even greater effect.

Whether one thinks little or big, now or later, all marketing research industry players have a vested

interest in listening to what people are telling us.

Much depends on doing research online “right” going forward.

We hope you enjoyed the show!

Prophis eResearchFor more information please

contact Stuart Hemerling

shemerling@prophis.com