Versta Research Post

Why You Need a Partisan Pollster

In an op-ed column two days ago, Stuart Rothenberg, a prominent political (and non-partisan) commentator argued that partisan pollsters (those who work directly for either Democratic or Republican candidates) do a better job than presumably objective third party pollsters.  Why?  Because they have to get it right.  Their campaign strategies depend on it.  Quoting Mr.…

Versta Research Post

Bad Decisions with Better Graphics

Does data displayed in charts and graphs, rather than tables, lead to better decisions?  Not according to the latest research reported in this month’s Journal of Marketing Research. The authors looked at various types of biases that creep into business managers’ decisions when based on data presented to them.  They did this by conducting experiments…

Versta Research Post

Social Media and Customer Satisfaction Research

This past Monday I moderated a panel of thought leaders in market research to ponder the question: “How Will Social Media Change Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty Research?” The event was sponsored by the American Marketing Association, and included participants from GfK, Maritz, MARC, SAS, Market Tools, and Versta Research. One of the fascinating insights to…

Versta Research Post

Using Mobile Technologies in Research

One critical trend that is transforming the research industry is the rapid adoption of mobile technologies, especially smartphones.  It transforms research in multiple ways.  It means that people disconnect their landlines, so we have to adjust our methods for phone polling.  But more importantly, it means people are accessible in multiple ways (text, phone, email)…