Obtaining Accurate Data in a Skeptical World

Wendy Godfrey, Senior Analyst

All of us are becoming a bit more skeptical about who might be on the other end when our phone rings … particularly around the dinner hour. Telemarketers bombard us with intrusive sales calls from 8:00 in the morning until 9:00 at night. Did you know the average household gets over 20 telemarketing calls each week? That means over 1000 telemarketing calls a year!

The tremendous increase in these calls during the past few years has resulted in skeptical or even negative attitudes toward any unexpected telephone call, which, of course, affects people’s willingness to participate in opinion surveys. While the majority of the population is still willing to give their opinions when they receive a legitimate research call, their patience is wearing thin.

A recent poll done in California found that telemarketers irked people more than sitting in traffic, doing their taxes or waiting in line at the DMV! Compounded with the increasing
use of answering machines and Caller ID to screen unwanted calls, the issue of how to achieve a representative sample must be addressed.

At WestGroup, we have several initiatives in place to maintain effective cooperation rates and provide our clients with the most accurate and representative data available.

What are we doing? We feel strongly that we need to educate the public on the importance and value of marketing research to business, industry and governmental organizations. The message we’re conveying is “Your Opinion Counts.” We want to remind consumers that their voice — heard through market research — prompts organizations to
improve service, create new products and services, make pricing and policy decisions, and overall, be more responsive to consumers’ needs and wants.

We also feel responsibile for educating the public on the difference between telemarketing and opinion/marketing research. We want people to know that a researcher simply wants to ask their opinions, while telemarketers want to sell them something. To that end, WestGroup is working to educate consumers to remember the following list of questions to help them differentiate between a telemarketing call and a research call.

• Are you selling anything?
• Are you giving something away?
• What is your product?
• How will this information (my opinions) be used?
• Will my name, phone number or other personal information be passed on or sold to any other company or organization other than the marketing research company?

WestGroup sets high standards for hiring and training interviewers, and we have recently implemented a pilot program focused on aggressively recruiting “professional
interviewers.” These are people with more advanced education who are interested in marketing research as a career. Increased professionalism has a positive impact on the willingness of businesses and consumers to participate in survey research.

Additionally, we are developing a panel of small businesses and consumers. Samples drawn from a panel of respondents, who have agreed to cooperate, result in improved response rates. This methodology will be combined with a focus on Internet research. We believe that integrating these two research methodologies will provide response rates
that will rival those obtained through telephone research and may be less expensive.

While some of these are long-term projects, WestGroup believes in committing the necessary resources to them to ensure that all of our clients receive the most representative
and accurate data possible.

What can you do? Cooperative respondents mean accuracy in sampling and keep research costs lower. We encourage all our clients and friends to do whatever they can to help
educate consumers about the value of research and how to distinguish a legitimate research study from a sales call. We hope you will use bill stuffers, statement messages, special mailings, or any other form of communication to get the word out.

Almost 72 million Americans per year are interviewed in ppinion and marketing research studies. Research supported by the Market Research Association (MRA) shows that 85% of the consumers who participated in marketing and opinion research believed it led to better products and services. These are exciting and changing times. How products and services change is up to public participation in surveys. Remember to participate the next time an opinion and marketing researcher calls you at home — it’s your opportunity to be heard! Your opinion counts!

Recommended Resources for Related Information
• Market Research Association (MRA) www.mra-net.org

• Council for Marketing and Opinion Research (CMOR) www.cmor.org

• CMOR hotline for information about the survey industry 800- 887-2667

• Direct Marketing Association(DMA) www.the-dma.org

How to Reduce the Number of Telemarketing Calls You Receive
• Under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act or TCPA, telemarketers are required to comply with your do-not-call requests. You can avoid future telemarketing calls by clearly stating that you want to be added to the caller’s Do-Not-Call list. You should also contact your state attorney general’s office to find out if there are any do-not- call laws in your state.

• Another way to reduce the number of telemarketing calls you receive is to add your name to the Direct Marketing
Association’s Do-Not-Call List. You can contact the Direct Marketing Association at 212-768-7277, or visit their web site at www.the-dma.org. Once your name is added to this list, telemarketers that are members of DMA are no longer allowed to call you.