1 in 3 Research Firms Fly Blind with Mobile
Last week we wrote about social media and market research, and suggested that industry experts agree it is not yet shaking the foundations of how we do research. So what about the other gigantic Internet development of the last decade—mobile technology?
It should be shaking the foundations of how we do research. Current estimates are that at least 16% of online survey respondents attempt to take surveys with mobile devices. This lines up exactly with what we’re seeing in our surveys.
But a recent global survey of 240 market research companies sponsored by Confirmit reports that one-third of companies do not even know how many of their respondents are attempting to take online surveys with mobile devices.
Not even knowing is shocking to me. It means that many in our industry are collecting survey data without understanding the fundamentals of their sample base and where their data come from. And it makes me wonder what else they’re missing. Are they using survey tools that optimize for phones and tablets? Are they pretesting on multiple devices and multiple platforms? Are they making unique decisions for each survey about which devices and platforms to allow? Probably not.
All of these best practices for mobile are now crucial. For example, in our most recent survey of physicians and hospital pharmacy directors, knowing which devices our respondents typically use required important modifications. We optimized for desktops and tablets, but deliberately decided that smartphones would impede reliable data given the complexity of information we needed to present. So we blocked those devices, and explained that to our respondents.
At Versta Research, mobile technology is definitely shaking up how we do research. If it’s not shaking up yours, give us a call and we’re happy to advise.
