Dissertation - Listening Step by Step

LISTENING STEP BY STEP
An innovative approach to finding market intelligence

in an era of social technologies
By
Martin Kuenzi
A DISSERTATION
Submitted to
The University of Liverpool
in partial fulfilment of the requirements

for the degree of
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
2009
Dissertation – Listening step by step
A Dissertation
entitled

By
Martin Kuenzi
We hereby certify that this Dissertation, submitted by Martin Kuenzi, conforms to

acceptable standards, and as such is fully adequate in scope and quality. It is
therefore approved as the fulfilment of the Dissertation requirements for the degree
of Master of Business Administration.
Approved:
Dissertation Advisor Date
The University of Liverpool

2009
Dissertation_20090828.doc ii © 2009MBA\mk
CERTIFICATION STATEMENT
I hereby certify that this paper constitutes my own product, that where the language
of others is set forth, quotation marks so indicate, and that appropriate credit is given
where I have used the language, ideas, expressions or writings of another.
Signed, Martin Kuenzi
Dissertation_20090828.doc iii © 2009MBA\mk

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank first Lisa Harris, my dissertation advisor, who supported this
ambitious project with impressive enthusiasm and encouragement from the outset.
She expertly guided me throughout the process but allowed me sufficient freedom to
learn my own lessons from it. One thing that I learned both from the dissertation and
from previous work is that combining academic research with innovative approaches
is a delicate balancing act.
I am also most grateful to Jérôme Brugger, Project Manager at Swiss Post, who
commented on my work as it progressed and critically reviewed the draft version. His
understanding of academic research and interest in social technologies made his
opinion invaluable. During the initial and final stages, Tanya Reid, a fellow student at
the University of Liverpool, also provided an outside perspective, enabling me to
more clearly focus the topic. Many thanks, Tanya! I am, further, indebted to Adrian
Locher, a successful entrepreneur in software development and relationship
marketing, who was excited about the topic of the dissertation and read the work in
its final stage. Again, many thanks, Adrian, for your help and feedback.
Finally, I must thank my dear wife Barbara for all her patience, support, and
encouragement throughout my studies and during the writing of this Master’s
dissertation. Without her understanding and forbearance, I would not have been able
to proceed to the degree of MBA at all.
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Abstract

By
Martin Kuenzi
This dissertation is a critical examination of the current state of the discipline of
market research. A comprehensive review of the relevant bibliographical and online
literature outlines the development of market research and describes the emergence
of social technologies. Classical market research has matured over decades, but in
recent years there has been growing criticism of the discipline’s shortcomings.
Innovative approaches employing not interrogation but, rather, a form of listening
focus on building long-term relationships through using social technologies. Owing to
a number of weaknesses, including survey errors, unstructured data and uneven
access to Web technology, the validity of such methods is still broadly questioned.
The empirical part of the dissertation applies complementarily an established
multilevel innovation process and a classical case-study approach with a view to
identifying an innovative way of accessing market intelligence through microblogs. A
13-step listening process using Twitter.com, the most popular microblogging service
today, is elaborated and refined. The process is an attempt to combine critical
elements of proven research methods with the requirements of instant and affordable
answers to market-related questions. The key elements of the technique are

Dissertation_20090828.doc v © 2009MBA\mk
exploring customers’ minds rather than drowning in excessive data analysis. The
multiple-case study indicates the limitations as well as advantages of the approach
but nevertheless leads to the conclusion that listening with social technologies is the
next step towards a holistic market-research approach. The empirical part shows that
innovative research is still in its early stages, not yet having attained perfection.
Finally, for commercial research, a more relaxed attitude to methodologies is
recommended, for instance by applying creative approaches incrementally.
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Table of Contents
Abstract ...................................................................................................................... v 
Table of Contents .................................................................................................... vii 
Table of Charts........................................................................................................... x 
1  Introduction........................................................................................................... 1 
1.1  Objectives............................................................................................................ 1 
1.2  Rationale ............................................................................................................. 1 
1.3  Structure .............................................................................................................. 3 
2  Review of the Literature....................................................................................... 4 
2.1  Market Research ................................................................................................. 4 

2.1.1  Definition of market research............................................................................ 4 
2.1.2  History and development.................................................................................. 5 
2.1.3  (R)evolution of market research ....................................................................... 5 
2.1.4  Challenges for classical market research......................................................... 7 
2.1.5  Discussion of innovative market-research approaches .................................... 8 
2.1.6  Academic versus commercial market research.............................................. 13 
2.2  Groundswell....................................................................................................... 14 
2.3  Social Technology ............................................................................................. 15 
2.3.1  Social technology and its necessary preconditions ........................................ 15 
2.3.2  Impact of social technology ............................................................................ 16 
2.3.3  Use of social technology in general................................................................ 17 
2.3.4  Use of social technology for business ............................................................ 18 
2.3.5  Implications of social technology for market research.................................... 19 
2.4  Microblogs ......................................................................................................... 21 
2.4.1  Introduction..................................................................................................... 21 
2.4.2  History of microblogs ...................................................................................... 22 
2.4.3  The potential of microblogs and outlook......................................................... 23 
2.4.4  User intentions in general............................................................................... 23 
2.4.5  Business use .................................................................................................. 24 
2.4.6  Various microblogging services...................................................................... 25 
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2.4.7  Twitter.com ..................................................................................................... 26 

2.4.8  Twitter tools .................................................................................................... 27 
2.5  Synthesis of the review of bibliographical and online literature ......................... 27 
3  Methodology ....................................................................................................... 30 
3.1  “Design thinking” innovation method ................................................................. 30 

3.1.1  Comments on the customized Ispiro process................................................. 31 
3.2  Multiple case study approach ............................................................................ 33 
3.2.1  The cases ....................................................................................................... 34 
3.3  Synthesis of methodology ................................................................................. 36 
4  Presentation of Results ..................................................................................... 37 
4.1  13-step listening with microblog Twitter.com..................................................... 37 

4.2  Systematic overview of the 13-step listening process ....................................... 38 
4.2.1  Preparation and process planning.................................................................. 38 
4.2.2  Phase 1: Screening phase (strategic listening) .............................................. 39 
4.2.3  Phase 2: Conversation phase (strategic relationship) .................................... 57 
4.3  Case study results ............................................................................................. 60 
4.3.1  Case 1 – Fundraising guide for the Salvation Army ....................................... 60 
4.3.2  Case 2 – Swiss Post Box ............................................................................... 63 
4.4  Conversation phase........................................................................................... 68 
4.5  Synthesis of results ........................................................................................... 68 
5  Discussion .......................................................................................................... 70 
5.1  The social in the media...................................................................................... 70 

5.2  Separating the wheat from the chaff.................................................................. 71 
5.2.1  Creating a prototype with scope for improvement .......................................... 71 
5.3  Multiple case studies revisited........................................................................... 73 
5.3.1  The cases ....................................................................................................... 73 
5.3.2  Appropriateness of Ispiro and the case-study approach ................................ 75 
5.4  Value added ...................................................................................................... 75 
5.5  Synthesis of the discussion ............................................................................... 77 
6  Conclusion and Recommendations ................................................................. 78 
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6.1  Market research – a transforming discipline...................................................... 78 

6.2  Listening step by step........................................................................................ 80 
6.3  Implications for professional practice and management ................................... 81 
6.4  Limitations and future research ......................................................................... 82 
6.5  Final comment ................................................................................................... 83 
References ............................................................................................................... 84 
Glossary ................................................................................................................... 93 
Appendices .............................................................................................................. 95 
Appendix 1 – Forrester Research’s User Profiles...................................................... 95 

Appendix 2 – Technographics Segmentation ............................................................ 97 
Appendix 3 – Twitter Tools ........................................................................................ 99 
Appendix 4 – Case Study Details ............................................................................ 105 
Appendix 5 – Easy to use Web technology ............................................................. 122 
Appendix 6 – Comcast, a cursory example ............................................................. 125 
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Table of Charts
Chart 1 – Difference between U.S. population and U.S. online population ............... 12 
Chart 2 – Difference between academic and commercial research approaches ...... 14 
Chart 3 – Social computing........................................................................................ 16 
Chart 4 – Social Computing requires a new marketing tool kit .................................. 19 
Chart 5 – Groundswell objectives, appropriate social technology and metrics.......... 20 
Chart 6 – Ispiro process adapted from SolutionSync (2008) ..................................... 31 
Chart 7 – Starting page of the Swiss Post Box service ............................................. 36 
Chart 8 – Overview datasheet ................................................................................... 39 
Chart 9 – Strategic Listening Phase 1 datasheet (Part 1 of 3) .................................. 40 
Chart 10 – Strategic Listening Phase 1 datasheet (Part 2 of 3) ................................ 40 
Chart 11 – Strategic Listening Phase 1 datasheet (Part 3 of 3) ................................ 41 
Chart 12 – Twitter search engine interface................................................................ 42 
Chart 13 – Twitter advanced search engine interface ............................................... 45 
Chart 14 – Twitter search engine operators .............................................................. 46 
Chart 15 – Insights datasheet (Part 1 of 4)................................................................ 48 
Chart 19 – Wrap-up datasheet (Part 1 of 2) .............................................................. 55 
Chart 20 – Wrap-up datasheet (Part 2 of 2) .............................................................. 55 
Chart 21 – Volume of talk based on quantitative data ............................................... 60 
Chart 22 – Sentiment and topic relation, based on qualitative data .......................... 61 
Chart 23 – Volume of talk, based on quantitative data .............................................. 64 
Chart 26 – Internet penetration around the world ...................................................... 95 
Chart 27 – Age distribution of Internet users ............................................................. 95 
Chart 28 – Online user profiles around the world ...................................................... 96 
Chart 29 – U.S. Technographics Segmentation ........................................................ 97 
Chart 30 – Global Technographics Segmentation..................................................... 98 
Chart 31 – CSV file for Case Study ........................................................................ 122 
Chart 32 – Yahoo Pipe for Case Study.................................................................... 123 
Chart 33 – List of results for Case Study ................................................................. 124
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1 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
This dissertation will seek to answer the following research question: To what extent
do microblogging services provide access to market intelligence, thus enabling
companies to identify market opportunities and threats in today’s connected,
interactive, marketing-savvy consumer landscape?
The dissertation will explore specifically online market-research innovations with a
clear focus on microblogging1 and provide a framework for business-oriented market
research. It does not aim to provide a complete overview of market research nor offer
a holistic understanding of the technology used in modern market research. But a
differentiation between classical and innovative market research shall be given, for it
is considered to be relevant for the development of the discipline.
1.2 Rationale
The Internet has changed dramatically in recent years. Participation and user-
generated media are the new characteristics of online content. Consumers rate
products, write their own news, and comment about the performance of companies.
Numerous social networking sites, blogs, wikis, microblogging services, social
bookmarking, etc., are the vehicles where people share their thoughts, experiences,
information, and bookmarks, linking their virtual identities with others online. Social
networking, therefore, has started to induce consumers and can have a powerful
influence on the perception of a brand, product, or service. This development on the
World Wide Web has begun to penetrate the discipline of market research, breaking
1
User-driven micro-messaging technologies on the Internet
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with traditional methods. A new dimension is emerging, which offers new
opportunities to find market intelligence. Now companies are in a position to access
this content online, in real-time, and free of charge.
By contrast, classical market research methods, i.e. questionnaires and focus
groups, are increasingly seen as slow in the context of shortening product life cycles,
as expensive, and, in the words of Brown (2005), as no longer trustworthy, when it
comes to understanding today’s fundamentally changing consumer behaviour. Most
companies have developed their market research initiatives without taking into
account what people have been talking about and have made their targets respond
to the organizations’ market-related questions.
If we look more closely at the market research discipline, it becomes apparent that
the discipline requires more careful examination. Because of the Internet and its
users – be they customers, employees or anybody else – companies must rethink
and reinvent their practices and routines across all disciplines, including marketing
and market research. Social technologies allow individuals to organize the masses.
Companies, in turn, can benefit from social technologies to effectively access market
intelligence online. However, whether such data are up to date, reliable and valid has
been broadly questioned.
Taking these occurrences as a basis, this dissertation will take a critical look at
traditional market research. Its classical methods will be challenged, and the latest
developments in the field of innovative approaches will be discussed. The
dissertation will maintain that social technology permits access to huge amounts of
information and that online conversations are a source of insight and innovation.
Companies have not yet been able to systematically tap into these sources and
incorporate them into their corporate strategy. The challenge for market researchers
will be to use an appropriate form of research to efficiently obtain answers about
what is happening in their target market – and beyond.
1.3 Structure
The dissertation is structured as follows. Chapter 2 provides a comprehensive review
of both the bibliographical and online literature on the development and
transformation of market research in general, and also describes the latest
developments in social technologies. It explores new forms of communication and
changing consumer behaviour. Chapter 3 is an attempt to define an innovative way
of accessing market intelligence. It features an established innovation process that
has enabled a method to be developed for using Twitter.com – the most popular
microblogging service – as a market research tool. A multiple case study approach is
outlined to verify and improve the method. Chapter 4 shows how data has been
retrieved and illustrates a prototype of the method elaborated for enabling companies
to use microblog Twitter.com for answering their own market-research questions. It
also presents the results of the case studies. Chapter 5 provides a discussion of the
results and their relation to the review of the literature. It also treats the answer to the
research question. Finally, Chapter 6 contains conclusions and recommendations for
contemporary and future market-research practices. The Appendices provide more
details about user’s and the technographics profiles and display the entire listening
processes of the case studies.
2 Review of the Literature
In this chapter, a comprehensive review of both the bibliographical and online
literature on the development and transformation of market research in general will
be made, and the latest developments in social technologies will be described. The
fact that social media, including microblogs (a form of multimedia blogging), are an
emerging trend will make it difficult to rely only on academic and evidence-based
material. Accordingly, and with a view to understanding the latest developments in
the field, the online resources of opinion leaders will also be considered.
The review of the bibliographical literature focuses on general classical market
research and considers the latest developments in marketing. It also considers the
topics social technology, social media (especially microblogs), user-generated
content, the democratization of marketing, strategic listening, customer relationship
management, consumer behaviour, web 2.0, etc.
2.1 Market Research
The treatment of market research in this chapter is designed to understand the
development of the discipline over time and to point out a transformation in the field
that has already begun due to changing consumer behaviour and the emergence of
new technologies.
2.1.1 Definition of market research

Market research is defined as the “systematic design, collection, analysis, and
reporting of data relevant to a specific marketing situation facing an organization”
(Kotler & Gary, 2004, p. 147). Its results are used for marketing decision-making and
communication to management (McDaniel & Gates, 2007). According to McDaniel
and Gates (2007), market research has two key roles. First, it is part of the marketing
intelligence feedback process that reflects the effectiveness of the current marketing
mix and points out necessary changes. Second, it helps identify market opportunities.
2.1.2 History and development

McDaniel and Gates (2007) provide an overview of the history of market research.
The first market research activities were recorded in the 19th century. Mass
production and industrialization at the beginning of 20th century fostered increased
understanding of consumer habits and attitudes. Survey research started to spread
across the marketplace. By the end of the 1930s, social scientists provided evidence
for grouping people in terms of demographic characteristics. Step by step, uniform
methods and tools were applied, leading in the 1940s to the development of focus
groups and consumer tests of products. Sampling techniques and polling procedures
also advanced. After World War II, increasing competition shifted markets from
sellers to buyers. As a result, marketing research transformed into a marketing
intelligence tool. Market segmentation and motivation analysis were needed. The
1960s saw the development of mathematical models for describing markets and
predicting customer behaviour as well as the gradual introduction of computer-aided
research. Electronic methods and the impact of the Internet “turned the world of
marketing research upside down” (McDaniel & Gates 2007, p. 13). If the following
thirty years primarily saw the professionalization of electronic research, the 1990s
were marked by the start of a further fundamental transformation. Most recent
developments are treated in the following paragraphs.
2.1.3 (R)evolution of market research

Through analysing 12 case studies, Grant (2000) identifies four different factors that
have brought about new rules in marketing. First, a creative renaissance has driven
companies to find innovative business models. Second, a new generation of
marketers has arisen with a mindset, which Grant describes, that is inclined to
question and reinvent. Third, there has been, he argues, a changing culture in
management, which strives wherever it can for reinvention and transformation. And,
fourth, there has been, Grant supposes, a societal shift, in which people’s behaviour
and attitudes no longer match the rigid and predictable types of previous decades,
when easy targeting was possible. Similarly, but five years before Grant, Stephen
Brown, Professor of Marketing Research, criticized traditional market research “due
to the implosion of the social into the media” (Brown 1995, p. 172). Further, in an
article in the journal “Marketing Research”, Brown appraises the overdue
transformation in marketing and market research as follows: “Fifty years after
Drucker brought marketing to life, the profession is suffering from analysis paralysis,
focus-group fatigue, 4Ps-induced flatulence, imagination deficit disorder, and
customer-centricity eccentricity” (Brown 2008, p. 13). Even if an increasing number of
professionals have carefully argued for a critical attitude towards traditional methods,
empirical social and market research has not yet been questioned in general. Even in
online research, many research projects still rely on classical methods that have
been developed and refined over decades, and which reputedly provide a high level
of reliability and validity. The argument in favour of such methods focuses on their
widely accepted structure and methodology, which allow precise analysis of data.
The Internet, by contrast, is understood as an efficiency tool, and for the most part no
differentiation between pure academic theoretical research and market-related
research is made (Welker et al. 2005). The Internet was (and still is) seen as an
opportunity “to reach more consumers in less time” (Wittes Schlack & Jennings 2006,
p. 1). But consumers’ behaviour is changing, and their willingness to assist
companies with reliable information is decreasing (Berkman, 2008). This is why a
revolution of market research is taking place.
2.1.4 Challenges for classical market research

Wittingly or unwittingly, new forms of marketing research are emerging. To give one
example, Amazon both continuously analyses its customers’ online and buying
behaviour and also composes offers for them in real time, thus increasing its sales
(Scott, 2009). Another example of interactive marketing research is beta testing in
the computer software industry where the product is made available to users and
programmers in an early stage of development to receive feedback and qualified
suggestions for improvement. The key point is that such innovative forms of research
respect customers’ changing behaviour and focus on the topics and product
categories that they are willing to talk about. Wittes Schlack and Jennings (2006),
introduce the community aspect in their article “From research to relationship”. Their
approach can easily be understood in that they compare the research process to a
cocktail party. Obviously, participating in a conversation at such a party with unknown
people starts with listening. However, classical market research does not listen but
instead poses a series of questions to unknown respondents. The above authors’
article, therefore, highlights an ability of the Internet that “has done more than enable
conventional research via new delivery channels” (Wittes Schlack & Jennings 2006,
p. 2). People are connecting in social networks and sharing their insights and profile
information on blogs, message boards, instant messaging clients, wikis, etc. This
information is available online and free of charge (Berkman 2008).
The book “The art of strategic listening” by Berkman (2008) paints a holistic picture of
the online world for researchers and marketers. Identifying fresh challenges, it also
substantiates why new forms of market research are needed:
- Due to standardized procedures, traditional surveys and off-the-shelf reports
reflect the market situation of several months previously. In an environment of
rapidly developing technologies, their results are outdated as soon as they are
published.
- Classical surveys only answer the questions that the researcher assumes to be
the most important. Thus a topic is always biased on account of such surveys’
unilaterally developed questions.
- There are influential people on the market who are able to spread the word online
about companies, products and services. Scientifically representative samples,
however, are made to extrapolate answers to the larger target market but do not
pay attention to consumer conversations among these people and their audience.
Berkman (2008) and Brown (2008) likewise explain that times have changed since
the 1950s, when market research was developed. Due to their methodological and
statistical accuracy, traditional methods are still reliable and valid, but today’s
consumers have lost their willingness to serve companies in responding to their
business surveys. The authors argue that people no longer trust surveys even if the
surveys are conducted in a scientifically correct manner. They also point to people’s
concerns over personal data privacy, to their feeling of information overload, and to
the fact that they feel too busy for respond to surveys.
2.1.5 Discussion of innovative market-research approaches

Blake Cahill, senior vice-president of a leading provider of social media monitoring
and engagement solutions, points out that companies still broadly neglect vital
product and business feedback found in social media (Cahill 2008). Researchers
(Beer 2008, Cahill 2008) see the reason for this in the missing structure of such data
and in the difficulty of extracting and integrating it into the corporate business
intelligence body. Innovative market research, therefore, must be different from
traditional research.
2.1.5.1 Critics
In an interview, Bill Neal (2006), a well-known and respected market researcher,
expressed his doubts about interpreting consumer-generated media for market-
research purposes. He criticizes the fact that these media do not appear to represent
a defined population of buyers and are, thus, not representative. Nevertheless, he
supports the practice of monitoring and tracking blogs, boards and other social media
formats but suggests that the information gathered should be considered as “one of
many, albeit smaller, gauges on the marketer’s product dashboard” (Neal 2006). In a
paper, David Beer, Lecturer in Sociology at the University of York, publishes a
critique of the use of Web 2.0 for research purposes (2008). He concedes that
investigations have shown the difficulty of attracting willing participants for traditional
social research, which to some extent makes such participants appear insignificant,
but is nevertheless critical of consumer-generated content. He describes the latter as
a “quite chaotic and complex virtual milieu” (Beer 2008, p. 623) that ultimately
incorporates a mixture of private and public issues rooted in “the desire to succeed in
gaining attention and staying in the social game” (Beer 2008, p. 625). As a result, he
judges the content of Web 2.0 to be insufficiently reliable. He advises market
researchers to be aware that social media research constitutes researching people
marketing themselves and that these people do not help researchers find answers to
their questions. Andrew Keen, a leading contemporary critic of today’s Internet, is
even more critical of user-generated media. In his book “The cult of the amateur”
(Keen 2008), he argues that social media and user-generated content are destroying
the economy, culture, and values of Western society. He sees a blurring of borders
between authors and audiences, between fact and fiction, between invention and
reality, which therefore raises questions about objectivity and truth. As a result, he
observes a decline in the quality and reliability of information that people receive.
Because Web 2.0 technology allows people to contribute content pseudonymously, it
can easily mislead other users and make them jump to the wrong or at least distorted
conclusions. Keen is also critical both of Google’s manipulable algorithm and of the
delusive results of social bookmarking sites, which promote stories to the top of
search-engine searches.
2.1.5.2 Advocates
Championing a practical approach, Kim Dedeker, market research VP for Procter &
Gamble, counters that “market researchers need to shift their focus toward listening
and developing ideas better on the front end and away from feeding the metrics
monster” (Dedeker, cited in Neff 2009). Berkman similarly emphasizes that strategic
listening is not a science but an art for exploring the customer’s mind and discovering
what a selection of passionate users are concerned about and what certain influential
people are saying online. He suggests simple trending instead of getting buried in
excess data. Dana Boyd, a researcher at Microsoft Research, explicitly mentions
social-media research as a source of valuable insights into human behaviour, social
structures, and cultural dynamics. She points out the easy access to data and the
resulting understanding of modern humanity and the potential for future innovation.
Brown (2005, p. 32) observes: “… today’s sophisticated consumers are wise to
marketing researchers and the marketing research process. They know what we’re
after and they give it to us – sometimes. Sometimes, of course, they subvert our
surveys, disrupt our focus groups or play up for our anthropological in-dwellers. And
sometimes they simply can’t be bothered, since they know how filter questions work,
answer our questionnaires in a way that minimizes the intrusion or excludes them
from our quota. So savvy are today’s consumers that we must be wary of those who
take part in our studies. Clearly, they’re not normal. There must be something wrong
with them if they’re willing to be imposed upon by us. Thus, anyone who agrees to
participate should be promptly discounted as unsuitable.”
2.1.5.3 Factual discussion
Pineau and Slotwiner (2003) share the general consensus that the popularity and
acceptance of online research have been increasing in recent years. Pragmatically,
they emphasize the importance of understanding the unique characteristics and
drawbacks of online research. The researchers point out that, in the attempt to obtain
accurate results, it is almost impossible to eliminate all types of survey errors, which
include:
Coverage error – Internet surveys exclude certain groups and therefore do not
represent the whole population. Chart 1 illustrates the difference between the U.S.
population and the U.S. online population in 2003. However, the relationship may
have changed since then, the populations are definitely not identical.
Self-selection error – Internet research often surveys a panel made up of volunteers
instead of a designated sample. This kind of sampling is often used in the idea-
generation process but not to make projections when the stakes are high.
Survey nonresponse error – Internet research can cause nonresponse bias due to a
specific survey experience. The researchers argue that a low response rate can
substantially affect study outcomes.
2
Chart 1 – Difference between U.S. population and U.S. online population
More diplomatically, Kotler & Keller (2006) describe the so-called marketing
intelligence system, a data record that suits managers with everyday information
about developments in the marketing environment and is sourced by marketing
managers. Sales employees, distributors, retailers, intermediaries, customers,
governmental data resources, and outside information suppliers form the network
from which this information is derived. Given the complexity and diversity of the data,
Peterson and Yang (cited in Kotler & Keller) suggest four sources that marketers can
mine to obtain relevant online information: independent customer goods and service
review forums, distributor or sales agent feedback sites, combo-sites offering
customer reviews and expert opinions, and customer-complaint sites. This is a way
of keeping control of market information in the digital age. Considering the
2
Pinau & Slotwiner (2003, p. 4)
development of social technologies as described later, Li & Bernoff (2008) judge this
pooling method negatively because customers use their preferred technologies and
not those provided by the companies.
An article on services marketing entitled “Marketing research, market orientation and
customer relationship management” (Javalgi, Martin & Young 2006) concludes that
traditional market research remains critical but points out that marketing researchers
are forced to develop capabilities and skills in a vide variety of global contexts. The
study suggests integrating state-of-the-art technology and adopting new creative
research approaches. It emphasizes that information complexity has increased and
that different sources and environments must be investigated. Unfortunately the
authors do not provide further detail on the research methods they contemplate.
2.1.6 Academic versus commercial market research

A commentary in the European Journal of Marketing (Tapp 2004) distinguishes
between two forms of market research: academic and commercial. While academic
approaches employ strong methodological procedures, commercial research has
adopted a more relaxed attitude to methodologies. These two forms reflect the facts
that academia sees market research as a form of applied social science while
commercial researchers have in recent years developed market-research functions
into customer-insight departments. Chart 2 confirms the shift of practical market
research away from rigour and validity criteria towards a more intuitive and natural
approach to gaining customer insights, catching up with the limited timeframes, and
assisting management in decision-making (Tapp 2004).
3
Chart 2 – Difference between academic and commercial research approaches
In this context, Reitsma et al. (2009) underline the argument that traditional
researchers have only provided research results without putting them into a broader
company strategy. However, the modern economy, they suggest, needs research
results that – through integrating new technologies and methodologies into the
research mix – also deliver strategy and insights based on customers, sales, and
competitor information. Based on these challenges and on the inertness of proven
but challenged academic market research for business-related purposes, this
dissertation aims to explore new ground in the field.
The following chapters will “dig further” into changing human behaviour, introduce the
term “groundswell”, and discuss social technology.
2.2 Groundswell
This chapter aims to provide a deeper understanding of an emerging social
phenomenon called “groundswell”. It describes how people embrace technologies “to
get things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like
corporations” (Li & Bernoff 2008, p. 9). Li and Bernoff, two top analysts from
Forrester Research Inc., an independent research company, published their findings
about and insights into the topic in a Harvard Business Press book. Their work is
based both on hard consumer data and on experience gained by their company in
3
Source: adapted from Carson et al (2001 cited in Tapp 2004, p.495)
recent years through collaborating with various firms. The researchers consider
groundswell to be a challenge for companies because it leads to them losing brand
sovereignty. People use technologies to connect with each other in various ways and
create networks outside and without the assistance of corporations. People have
always rebelled against corporative power and united socially in unions or political
movements. The capabilities of social technologies that enable interactive online
engagement at almost no cost provide people with powerful tools. Networks with
thousands or even millions of users can easily be created. A groundswell is a
collision of three forces: people, technology, and economics. All three forces together
therefore give rise to the groundswell and “have changed the balance of power” (Li &
Bernoff 2008, p. 13). Based on this phenomenon, social technologies have emerged,
enabling new forms of human interaction.
2.3 Social Technology
2.3.1 Social technology and its necessary preconditions

When Forrester Research surveyed the global Internet and broadband landscape in
2008, they found that two thirds of the adult population had access to the Internet
and that younger generations were more likely to be online. Their research showed
that online user profiles vary across countries. The Appendices contain charts about
further details. This broad penetration of the Internet and the consumerization of
technology have introduced an era of social computing (Charron et al. 2006), in
which technology and social change have started to converge. Clay Shirky (2002,
cited in Boyd 2007, p. 15) equally used the term “social software” to describe all the
uses of software of interacting groups, regardless of whether the interaction part is
online or offline. Technology, therefore, has brought power to users, who create their
own content and build relationships electronically. Forrester Research illustrates the
emergence of social computing as follows:
4
Chart 3 – Social computing
2.3.2 Impact of social technology

Forrester Research has made a number of studies providing an insight into which
people use the Internet and how, i.e. social technology. “Social” in this context refers
to the fact that technologies are used to create relationships. The global
technographics segmentation introduced by Forrester Research in 1997 (Anderson
et al. 2007) shows that social technology not only affects the online world but also
has an impact on offline relationships and conversations. Although younger
generations are predominant in the use of the Internet, they at the same time drive its
adoption within other generations (Kruijsdijk et al. 2008). Kruijsdijk seeks to
substantiate this with regularly used communication tools such as instant messaging
4
Charron 2008, p. 3
and social networks. Parents and grandparents realize that they can only connect
with their children and grandchildren through embracing such technologies. As a
result, Forrester advises companies to think about such technologies and the way
they influence potential targets. The more technology-empowered people can be
identified in the potential customer segment, the more effective technology can help
companies understand the needs and wants of customers. The following paragraphs
explain how people or businesses use social technology.
2.3.3 Use of social technology in general

The technographics profile can be seen as a classification of modern society linked
with technology. It goes beyond demography, psychography and sociography, and
has strong implications for relationships, communication, and hence marketing
strategies. People have different intentions when using social technology. Li &
Bernoff (2008) describe six ways that people with a liking for social technology act
interactively and use social technology tools:
1. Creating – people create content, which they publish on any social website
2. Connecting – people connect on social networks and virtual worlds
3. Collaborating – people join forces on collaborative tools and projects
4. Reacting – people act in response to other people’s contributions in forums,
ratings, and reviews
5. Organizing – people use tags and bookmarks to label online content
6. Accelerating – people use RSS feeds and widgets to find the right content quickly
Even though many people have still not used social technologies at all, these
technologies are growing exponentially. The Appendices section shows the
technographics segmentation of every region of the world, based on a survey of
around 100,000 households worldwide. The research results indicate that around
one quarter of the population is open to social technology, while one quarter seems
to be resistant. The remainder could be classified as unconcerned about social
technology.
At the same time, the 90-9-1 principle comes into play. Jake McKee (n.d.) divides
users of social communities into three groups: audience, editors, and creators. 90%
of all users are audience. They read and observe but do not actively contribute. 9%
are editors. They modify content, add threads, but do not often create new content
from nothing. Creators, finally, are the 1% who actively contribute new content and
drive most of the community’s activity. Nielsen (2006) finds evidence of such
participation inequality in many places on the Web. For example, 5% of all Internet
users have a blog, with only 0.1% of users posting on a daily basis. Wikipedia, to
give another example, has 99% lurkers, and only 0.2% of its unique users are active
contributors, with just 0.003% contributing about two thirds of the site’s content.
Companies must infer the technographics profile for their industry and target
markets.
2.3.4 Use of social technology for business

Another Forrester Research study (VanBoskirk 2008), surveying 333 interactive
marketers from seven industries, finds that the percentage rate for the adoption of
social technology doubled from 2007 to 2008. More than 40% of the companies
examined use social media tools in their marketing activities. The rapid growth of
social media indicates that it has reached a critical mass and will become extremely
important for businesses in the years ahead. The reason why companies adopt
social media can be explained by the fact that consumers share valuable information
and experience about these organizations, implicitly expressing their wants and
needs. Companies hope to play a role in this process, gaining insights so that they
can improve their products and services both in real time and in a participatory way
(Charron et al. 2008). Charron et al. point out that companies must adapt their
marketing tools as follows:
5
Chart 4 – Social Computing requires a new marketing tool kit
Social technology provides new channels for marketers and new ways of connecting
with consumers. It goes without saying that, where previously only reach and
frequency were measured, social technology requires the metrics of conversion rates
and cost per sale if marketing effectiveness is to be understood and engagement
prioritized in the social web at reasonable cost. This finally leads to innovative
methods for research.
2.3.5 Implications of social technology for market research

The new toolkit illustrated above creates new forms of marketing. Companies must
first pick their objectives and then choose the appropriate technology to achieve their
goals (Bernoff et al. 2008). Bernoff et al. from Forrester Research provide the
5
Charron et al. 2008, p. 15
following overview of social objectives and corresponding technologies. Companies
must understand social technology and develop a technological strategy based on
their objectives. This dissertation focuses on the research function.
Corporate Typical Appropriate Success metrics

function groundswell objective social applications
Research Listening — gaining insights • Private communities • Insights gained
from listening to customers • Brand monitoring • Comparable cost of
surveys
or focus groups
Marketing Talking — using conversations • Blogs • Awareness
with customers to promote • Communities • Online “buzz”
products or services • Social networking sites • Time spent on sites
• Video or user-generated • Sales
sites
Sales Energizing — identifying • Brand ambassador • Community
enthusiastic customers and programs membership
using them to persuade others • Communities • Online “buzz”
• Embeddable “widgets” • Sales
Support Supporting — making it possible • Support forums • Members participating
for customers to help each other • Wikis • Questions answered
online
• Avoided support calls
Development Embracing — turning customers • Innovation communities • Usable product ideas
into a resource for innovation • “Suggestion boxes” • Speed of development
6
Chart 5 – Groundswell objectives, appropriate social technology and metrics
In summary, social computing allows people to connect with one other. Connected
consumers, in turn, are less brand-loyal, less trusting, and more independent
(Charron et al. 2008). New channels and technologies deriving from social
technology are finding their way into traditional market research and the way
companies communicate with their customers (Reitsma 2009). As a result, research
processes and media must be reassessed.
As far as the market research chapter is concerned, social research is based on
listening rather than on surveying consumers with classical methods. Today’s
technology offers a wide range of listening platforms throughout the Internet.
6
Bernoff et al. 2008, p. 3
This dissertation deals with the power of microblogs, a certain kind of social
technology, and analyses the way in which it can be implemented in the strategic
listening process.
2.4 Microblogs
2.4.1 Introduction
To put it in a nutshell, “microblogging enables real-time interaction between users,
using different devices, technologies and applications” (Grosseck & Holotescu 2009).
Originally conceived to communicate status updates and whereabouts among closely
connected friends, microblogs have developed into a new form of communication
that did not previously exist (Marydee 2008, Sandler 2008). “What are you doing?” is
the core question of the 140 character posts that stream chronologically on a
microblog. Benedict Kelly (2008) explains the basic principle of the microblog as
follows: “There are people who want to share thoughts or experiences with a number
of friends but don’t have the time or inclination to write or maintain a proper blog.”
Yehuda (2008) attributes the success of microblogs to mobility making us
omnipresent but short of time. In an O’Reilly Radar Report, Milstein et al. (2008) call
the sense of microblog conversations “ambient intimacy” and “ambient awareness”.
To some extent, the report admits the “soft” instead of fact-based characteristic of
microblogs but at the same time judges that it will become “a key player in the
attention economy, distributing comments about what users are paying attention to,
what they have opinions about, and what they have expertise in” (Milstein et al. 2008,
p 3). During the 2007 International Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data
Mining, a conference paper analysed microblogs in more detail. The authors shared
their insights and understanding of microblogging and its usage, and explained
microblogging as “a new form of communication, in which users can describe their
current status in short posts distributed via instant messages, mobile phones, e-mail
or the Web” (Java et al. 2007, p. 56). The posted messages cover matters of
everyday life, current events, news stories, and other interests. Microblogging is an
emerging trend of social technologies that was already predestined to become “the
next killer app” (Hamilton, 2007) two years ago. Compared to blogs, microblogs are
designed for fast and short messaging, with users posting perhaps several updates
daily. Because people share personal thoughts and feelings with the public, Ng
(2008) considers microblogs to be paradoxical – “intimate but impersonal” at the
same time. For market researchers, this means that they operate transparently,
without the risk of intruding into users’ private space.
2.4.2 History of microblogs

Erica Naone (2008), Assistant Editor of the MIT Technology Review, illustrates the
history of microblogging on a timeline. In March 2006, Facebook launched its status
update feature. Four months later, on July 13, Twitter.com started as a first major
microblogging service. Other similar services were launched during the next two
years: Jaiku.com (July 2006), Pownce (June 2007, closed down in December 2008),
status updates on MySpace (July 2007), FriendFeed and Seesmic (October 2007),
status updates on LinkedIn, a professional networking site (February 2008), and
Identi.ca (July 2008). These are only a few of the microblogs on the Internet. There
are actually, incredibly, several hundred of them (Singh 2008).
On 25 February 2009, Google launched a Twitter account, reasoning that Twitter “is
regarded as the next evolution of blogging” (Chitu 2009). Experts started to speculate
about whether Google’s intended to acquire Twitter because it is seen as “the most
important, quickly growing form of [real-time] search” (Batelle 2009). Investors
believe that real-time search will be important for, e.g., obtaining answers to real-time
questions, real-time branding analysis, or tracking a new product launch, and will
therefore become more relevant in the future (Borthwick 2009). During the 2009
South by Southwest, a U.S. media and entertainment event, an improved service
was announced that will combine Twitter and Facebook status updates (MacMillan
2009), making it easier for people to follow their friends’ status updates on both
services. At the time of writing, there has been permanent movement in the field, and
it is difficult to accurately predict the future and success of microblogs.
2.4.3 The potential of microblogs and outlook

Schonfeld (2009) explains the potential of microblogs by referring specifically to
Twitter as follows: “Twitter may just be a collection of inane thoughts, but in
aggregate that is a valuable thing. In aggregate, what you get is a direct view into
consumer sentiment, political sentiment, any kind of sentiment.” Up-to-date
companies work hard in order to truly mine the data on microblogs and extract a
common sentiment from the noise (Schonfeld 2009). Because of the fast-moving
pace in the World Wide Web, it is almost impossible to keep track of all
developments. Nova Spivack (2009), an experienced technology entrepreneur and
blogger, ventures an outlook and suggests sophisticated filtering capabilities for
microblogging services. Otherwise, he questions whether microblogs will survive the
upcoming transition, when they will be broadly adopted, leading to an explosion in
the number of user accounts. He believes that microblogs will probably become
overloaded and to spammed. Efficient tools for preventing the service from such
messages have yet to be developed (Percival 2009).
2.4.4 User intentions in general

In the early stages of microblogs, users tended to be the youth market and the tech
community, but in recent months microblogging has spread across wide swathes of
the population, and business purposes have emerged (Petrovic 2008). Java et al.
(2007) analyse user intentions on microblogs. Their study shows that users have
multiple intentions, meaning that a microblogging platform fulfils various functions. It
identifies different types of vague intention, ranging from everyday chit-chat,
conversations and sharing information to reporting news. Despite this, the
researchers attempt to understand individual user intention in more depth. To do so,
they focus on aggregated behaviour across communities and close mutual
acquaintanceships among users, leading them to the conclusion that there is a
strong community intention.
Java’s research further classifies users into three different user categories: (1)
information source, (2) friends, and (3) information seeker. In the first group, people
have a large number of followers, posting interesting information and influential news
at regular intervals or infrequently. The friend category is the broadest group and
consists of many sub-categories of friendship across family, friends, and co-workers.
The information seekers follow other users closely but rarely post themselves.
Interestingly, Huberman et al. (2008) find that in online social networks that have
grown exponentially since the turn of the millennium people interact with only very
few of the people “listed” in their network. The researchers point out that attention
and the time that it takes to interact online is scarce and people only enter into
relationships with users who reciprocate their attention.
2.4.5 Business use

The paradigm shift of groundswell, as explained above, has prompted companies
using microblogs to “listen and engage with their stakeholders” (Mones 2009). Ng
(2008) distinguishes between the significance of microblogging for consumers, media
owners, and marketers. While consumers can use microblogs as easy, free and
instant contact tools with their friends and colleagues, media owners are provided
with a further communication channel for their news and stories. Marketers, like
media owners, use microblogs to distribute brand-related content, as a promotional
tool, and – obviously the most important function from the point of view of this
dissertation – to monitor consumer reactions to new products or even within
controlled groups so that they can research new concepts over time. Go (2008)
explains how celebrities such as Barak Obama use microblogs to extend their reach.
Petrovic (2008) summarizes that in the business-related field the principal purpose of
microblogs is for networking, collaboration, market monitoring, and sharing
knowledge and expertise.
2.4.6 Various microblogging services

The section above about the history of microblogs implies that many different
microblogging services have started on the Web in recent months. Winterer (2009),
who writes for the German Internet magazine “Tomorrow”, points out that all these
services are clones of the most popular microblog, Twitter.com. Winterer’s view is,
clearly, too general. MacMillan (2008), by contrast, explains in an online
Businessweek article that not all imitations are clones. He substantiates this by
arguing that when the 1.4 billion users of the Internet start microblogging, they have
different needs, wants, and individual approaches. Identi.ca is based on open-source
software that is not just more stable and malleable but also, above all, available in
almost 30 languages, whereas Twitter supports only English and Japanese. Yammer
has a clear focus on companies because it enables them to start a corporate
microblog. Another major player in the microblogging sphere is Plurk.com, which
introduces itself as the “social journal for your life” (Plurk.com 2009), and which
differs from Twitter with its more visualized timeline interface (Petrovic 2008).
Petrovic concludes that Plurk.com is more complex than Twitter. Blip.fm offers
another dimension of microblogs, enabling users to access millions of currently
streaming songs. By indicating a style of song, they get their favourite type of music.
Facebook, the popular social network, permits its own status updates and at the
same time positions itself as an aggregator of microblogging sites, allowing users to
display their updates from Twitter, Blip.fm and elsewhere through using the news-
feed feature.
The dominance of Twitter.com can easily be verified through assessing statistical
data provided by Alexa.com or Comcast.com. Throughout this dissertation,
Twitter.com will be used as an example for analysing the power of microblogs as an
innovative market-research tool.
2.4.7 Twitter.com
Twitter was founded in March 2006 (Owyang 2007) and has established itself as the
most popular microblogging site and the fastest-growing social network (Antony
2009, Lenhart & Fox 2009, Mones 2009, O’Leary & Sheehan 2008, Owyang et al.
2009, Petrovic 2008, Ramdurai 2008). It enables registered users to publish 140-
character-long messages (so-called “tweets”) easily and free of charge, which
broadly respond to the question “What are you doing?” Mones compares Twitter to
skimming headlines and distributing them virally with links, tweets and micro-
conversations. She also maintains that the social networking site lacks the depth that
other forms of content-rich social media have but sees the site as useful for
networking, for receiving feedback, for direct traffic, as a source of information and
news, and for branding. Ramdurai (2008), further, mentions characteristics that set
Twitter.com apart from other social-media technologies, namely simplicity and ease
of use, hyperconnectivity, minimal time investment, speed, and real-time updating.
His study concludes that Twitter.com shows potential for companies wanting to enter
into a long-standing relationship with their customers to start conversations with
them. A Twitter network is built on users subscribing to the microblogging stream of
other people. Companies can follow their target customers and talk directly to them,
while individuals can update themselves about new product launches, service
innovations, and even find out if there have been problems with the service provision
of particular companies. Owyang (2009) states that Twitter has now become
mainstream, developing into a simple but significant networking tool. By using
Twitter, companies can reach early adopters of the latest social technologies and
persuaders. In his personal web-strategy blog, Owyang (2007) speaks of the amount
of unstructured micro-information that needs to be parsed by users before they can
gain insights and build a suitable network.
2.4.8 Twitter tools

Twitter’s open application-programming interface (API) has enabled programmers to
develop related tools that use Twitter content in different ways. These tools not only
lead to increased user efficiency but also allow topics to be classified, queries to be
easily made, and in-depth analyses of user profiles to be carried out. There are
innumerable such tools on the Web. Hitherto, their capability has been limited, but
many additional tools with more sophisticated search and analyse abilities are
expected to emerge (Passant et al. 2008). The Appendix 3 illustratively features a
selection of such tools, grouped in different categories.
2.5 Synthesis of the review of bibliographical and online literature
Market research has matured over decades, but in recent years there has been
growing criticism of the discipline’s shortcomings. At the same time, social
technologies have emerged, changing people’s online behaviour and with it the
power and abilities of consumers. The Internet has impacted on the business of
market research, and innovative approaches to online research have developed.
Classical researchers have enhanced their work by using technology as a
productivity tool, and companies have started to introduce new methods of online
research through using social technology. This has undoubtedly divided research into
an academic and a commercial part. Owing to increased individuality and community
building in the customer landscape, to the fast-moving economy, and to accelerating
technological developments, practical marketing research requires the adoption of
social technologies. Marketing departments must tap into online conversations and
analyse the technographics profiles of their targets. Wittes Schlack and Jennings
(2006) see research transforming from unilateral interrogation into relationship.
The advent of modern research has opponents and advocates. Its opponents
consider the new forms of online research to be insufficiently representative due to
insurmountable survey errors, uneven access to Web technology by different
populations, unreliable user-generated content, and people’s desire to seek attention
rather than assist researchers by providing adequate answers to their questions. By
contrast, the advocates of modern research see easy access to the Internet and its
vast amount of data and information, declining participation rates in classical surveys,
decreasing confidence in the accuracy and interpretation of classical research data,
and the possibility of real-time interaction with consumers as an alternative way of
understanding consumer behaviour. Marketers concede that these new forms may
be less scientific but that they seem reliable enough to better understand consumers’
wants and needs, and are hence better suited to their purposes than the traditional
methods. In the age of the “groundswell”, a social phenomenon described by Li and
Bernoff (2008), people embrace social technology to connect with each other. As a
result, real-time market insights can be attained by skilfully combining state-of-the-art
technology and new creative research approaches.
Our focus on microblogs, such as Twitter, has underscored a new form of
conversation, which started among users sharing “what they are paying attention to,
what they have opinions about, and what they have expertise in” (Milstein et al. 2008,
p. 3). While one single person does not provide strategic insights, the aggregated
voice of the crowd may reveal trends in what people most care about. Companies
have started using microblogs to listen to and engage with their stakeholders (Mones
2009), and monitor their markets as well as consumer reactions (Ng 2008, Petrovic
2008), but they still lack an integrated research tool.
3 Methodology
Bearing in mind the developments in the market research discipline and social
technologies, this chapter attempts to determine an innovative way of accessing
market intelligence with microblogs. For the business-related perspective of this
work, an established innovation method was applied to identify a way of using
Twitter.com as a market-research tool. To meet academic requirements and verify
the method, a classical multiple case study approach was conducted.
3.1 “Design thinking” innovation method
The New Business Development department of Swiss Post uses Ispiro, an
inspirational 12-step process for continually improving the company’s performance
and innovating its products and services.
“Ispiro” is derived from the Italian word “ispirare”, which means “inspiration”. It is
designed for Swiss Post as a team innovation process that supports the generation
of novel, creative business ideas and effectively enables thinking “outside the box”.
This dissertation uses this highly efficient technique in an adapted manner with the
aim of creating a process with which Twitter.com can be used to gain market insights
and, thus, become part of an integrated market-research strategy.
Ispiro builds on the “design thinking” approach developed by IDEO, one of the ten
most innovative companies (Borden et al. 2008), which maintains that “thinking like a
designer can transform the way you develop products, services, processes – and
even strategy” (Brown 2008).
This highly effective, time-constrained innovation technique is capable of producing
tangible results in a short time-span. Ispiro blends together intensive brainstorming
with rapid prototyping and a series of deductions to reach an exceptional solution.
The approach is based on a multilevel process, whereby a problem, opportunity or

both motivates the search for solutions through observing the generation,
development and testing of ideas. The original Ispiro process has been customized
to meet the requirements of this dissertation.
3.1.1 Comments on the customized Ispiro process
Step 4
Step 3
Step 2
Step 1
Chart 6 – Ispiro process adapted from SolutionSync (2008)
Although one of Ispiro’s strengths is the power of human collaboration, this aspect
has been limited here due to the nature of the present work. The 12 steps have been
condensed into four essential steps, which nevertheless enable answers to be found
to the research question.
Step 1: Define a design challenge
To begin Ispiro, a design challenge to be addressed must be clearly delineated. A
well-articulated design challenge should be defined in one single sentence or phrase.
In this dissertation, the research question is taken to be the design challenge.
Step 2: Learn from the experts
To launch an Ispiro, an initial set of ideas should be developed for addressing the
design challenge. To optimize the process, it is recommended that experts be
included in this session. Our review of the literature provided the initial ideas as well
as the opinions of experts.
Step 3: Fast iterations
This step comprises a series of brainstormings, which generate alternative solutions
and assess the viability of these alternative solutions so that the best ones can be
selected. At this stage, multiple ideas need to be generated that might address the
design challenge, with these ideas then being used to rapidly come up with a
prototype. Generating prototypes is intended to help move from abstract ideas and
concepts to a tangible solution format. At this stage, prototypes are not expected to
be perfect or even close to perfect, as it will take several iterations to reach a final
prototype.
Various ideas have been identified that allow Twitter.com to be used as a specific
market-research tool which respects both traditional market-research processes and
innovative approaches.
Step 4: Refinement and final prototype
The iteration step will generate many “prototype” solutions. It is recommended that
an outside perspective and feedback loops should help refine the final prototype. The
final prototype should build both on the best attributes of all the prototypes and on the
collective feedback provided by the people involved, and should offer an ultimate
solution for the design challenge.
The prototype solution resulting from step 3 was iterated and refined by discussing it
with a few people interested in the topic of the dissertation. The methods, finally,
were roughly validated in terms of practicability and performance by means of case
studies. The ultimate prototype solution is presented in the results chapter.
3.2 Multiple case study approach
As part of the Ispiro process, multiple case studies have been used to test the
inferred way of conducting market research with Twitter.com and improve its quality
and reliability. In fact, the cases helped to answer the research question of the
dissertation and assess the advantages and limitations of microblogs as a market-
research tool.
Two business cases in different economic sectors were investigated. For each
business, the research objectives were defined individually. Following the individual
research objectives and by applying the research procedure, Twitter.com was used
to systematically access market intelligence. The cases were conducted during step
4 of the adapted Ispiro process and helped fine-tune the prototype solutions and lead
to the ultimate prototype. They were intended both to improve the prototype of
Twitter.com as a research tool and to apply the tool by way of example to identify a
strategy for using microblogging services to gain market insights.
3.2.1 The cases

The first case investigates social fundraising for the Salvation Army, while the second
one deals with the launch of a new product at Swiss Post. Since the adoption of
social technologies is linked with engagement, the author of this dissertation has
chosen two cases where he felt personally motivated to drill down into the subject
matter. The Salvation Army is to be his future employer, where he will start as Head
of Marketing in autumn 2009, while Swiss Post is his current employer, where he has
worked in the ideas and innovation department for over six years. When the studies
were finished, both companies were pleased with the results.
3.2.1.1 Case 1 – Fundraising guide for the Salvation Army
Taking the Salvation Army in Switzerland as an example, the first case deals with the
identification of innovative methods of fundraising for non-profit-making enterprises.
The Salvation Army, founded in 1865, is a worldwide evangelical organization and
part of the universal Christian Church. It offers a wide variety of social services for
those in need and works on a non-profit-making basis. The organization operates in
118 countries around the world. According to its annual report, the Salvation Army in
Switzerland has 4 divisions, 66 corps (Christian community centres), and around 40
social assignments. In addition, the non-profit-making enterprise is involved in
various projects providing aid to refugees and runs 24 second-hand shops. Its annual
turnover in Switzerland amounts around CHF 160 million, of which CHF 25 million
comes from donations (Heilsarmee 2009).
The ongoing demographic trend means that the average age of donors has been
rising for some years now, and younger generations are less attracted to supporting
the charity. According to Christoph Bitter, head of the charity’s fundraising
department, new ways must be found and offered to make contributing attractive and
easy.
Taking the research process with microblog Twitter as a basis, the task is both to find
insights and success stories in today’s fundraising métier and also understand the
attitude of potential donors. The general idea of this research case is to offer the
Salvation Army in Switzerland a guide to modern tried-and-tested fundraising
activities.
3.2.1.2 Case 2 – Swiss Post Box
In 2008, the executive board of Swiss Post decided that the company should become
the world’s most innovative postal company. To achieve this goal, a programme was
introduced to boost innovation (Swiss Post 2009a). In June 2009, Swiss Post
launched a new service, called “Swiss Post Box, Your Postal Mail Online”. The
service is a secure, electronic equivalent to a regular physical mailbox and allows
customers to access their physical mail online, anywhere, and at any time.
Customers subscribe to the service, paying a monthly fee which starts at CHF 19.90.
Swiss Post scans the envelopes of incoming mail without opening them and posts
images of the envelopes to the individual customer’s virtual mailbox. The customer
decides what Swiss Post is to do with each unopened item of mail. The service also
includes opening each envelopes and scanning its content so that it can be accessed
online, sending the unopened letter to an address of the customer’s choice, recycling
the letter, shredding and disposing of the letter, and/or archiving its contents (Swiss
Post 2009b).
The case aims to evaluate the market introduction of the product and observe the
corresponding reactions online as a form of feedback.
7
Chart 7 – Starting page of the Swiss Post Box service
3.3 Synthesis of methodology
An established multilevel innovation process and a classical case study approach are
applied complementarily to identify an innovative way of accessing market
intelligence with microblogs. While the so-called Ispiro process is intended to permit
out-of-the-box thinking, the case studies are designed to examine practicability and
attune the quality of the entire research procedure. The outcome of this combination
of methods and the way in which Twitter.com serves as a market research tool are
presented in the next chapter.
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4 Presentation of Results
Our review of the literature as well as the combination of Ispiro and the multiple case
study approach has generated insights and a guideline as to how microblogs might
successfully be used in commercial market research.
This chapter presents both the developed research process using Twitter.com and
the ultimate prototype, which offers systematic documentation of market information
in a business-related setting. It also outlines the results of the case studies.
4.1 13-step listening with microblog Twitter.com
Li & Bernoff (2008) do not use the term “research” but rather “listening”, describing it
as an ongoing monitoring of consumers’ conversations rather than occasionally
initiated surveys or focus groups. Listening makes it possible “to track discussions,
understand sentiment, identify influencers, and use the resulting insights to improve
market research, positioning, and overall marketing strategy” (Vittal et al. 2009, p. 1).
This is why the term “listening” is appropriate here.
“Listening” is understood in a broader sense, incorporating strategic listening and
strategic relationships as two characteristic elements in a two-phased listening
process. Phase 1, the screening phase, is designed to screen both the market-
related topics and volume of talk on Twitter.com, while phase 2, the conversation
phase, is about a company’s serious engagement with people willing to interact,
aimed at gaining deeper market insights. The 13-step listening process helps the
corporate market researcher to follow real-time conversations on Twitter and
document his findings. The prototype is an Excel form, divided into four datasheets
(overview, strategic listening phase 1, insights, and wrap-up), which enables topic-
related content from Twitter.com to be structured. Section 4.2 and its sub-sections
gradually introduce the prototype and provide explanatory notes of the 13-step
process.
4.2 Systematic overview of the 13-step listening process
Steps to be followed Attribute of process Datasheet of

ultimate prototype
solution
Preparation and process planning Overview
Phase 1: Screening phase
1. Tracking trends Strategic listening
2. Setting objectives and goals phase 1
3. Identifying particulars
4. Retrieving data Strategic listening
5. Processing data Insights
6. Delivering insights
7. Reflecting screening phase Wrap up
8. Setting up strategy for phase 2
Phase 2: Conversation phase
9. Getting started with Twitter
10. Resuming listening
11. Creating personal network Strategic relationship
(panel)
12. Delivering valuable content
13. Gaining deeper insights
4.2.1 Preparation and process planning

4.2.1.1 Datasheet: Overview
The time to be spent on each step and the person responsible must be typed into the
relevant fields, while the status of progress can easily be selected from a dropdown
menu (see 1). Together with the case description (see 2), the overview datasheet
always provides helpful information on the research in progress.
4.2.1.2 Explanatory notes on “overview” datasheet
The overview datasheet helps the researcher plan and track the process.
Chart 8 – Overview datasheet
4.2.2 Phase 1: Screening phase (strategic listening)

The screening phase might be described as capturing a broader, bird’s-eye view of
the target market. Twitter’s strong interconnectedness across the Internet and its
rapidly growing amount of content make it an excellent source of market information.
It offers real-time access to customers’ mood and intentions. Searching Twitter.com
gives the researcher an idea of what people like talking about and helps the former
set up a sophisticated listening process. The screening phase is informal and based
on the modern-market researcher’s sensitiveness to movements and changes in the
marketplace. It is strongly advised that the screening phase should be aligned with
corporate strategy, thus enabling the task to be termed “strategic listening”.

4.2.2.1 Datasheet: Strategic Listening Phase 1
The datasheet “Strategic Listening Phase 1” contains four steps of the screening
phase.
First, there is a grid for tracking trends, where key elements of the market and
keywords in relation to the intended research can be listed.
Chart 9 – Strategic Listening Phase 1 datasheet (Part 1 of 3)
The second part of the datasheet enables objectives and goals to be set. Selecting
from a drop-down menu can set the type of research, and five lines offer space for
writing down the goals and commenting on their alignment with corporate strategy.
Part 3 of the datasheet enables particulars to be identified and the retrieved data to
be filed. The findings section must be extended in line with the number of keywords
researched and the amount of content available on Twitter.com.
4.2.2.2 Explanatory notes on datasheet: Strategic Listening Phase 1
Step 1 – Tracking trends
Gillin (2007) shows that the Internet enables individuals to directly determine what is
coming up. Their passion for community journalism, their opinion leading, and their
commitment to change, combined with easy access to social technologies, makes
them the new influencers. Such people use microblogs to reach even more people
than was possible a few years ago. Tracking trends, therefore, should provide an
idea of what is going on in the target market and deserves closer examination.
To start trend tracking, researchers first must identify the key topics that they think
people are talking about on microblogs. They can get an idea about the topics that
are being discussed online and about what related topics they should also focus on
by performing some search queries with the Twitter search engine.
8
Chart 12 – Twitter search engine interface
Although this information is unstructured and difficult to extract, the listening form is
at least a partly systematic way of tracking trends. Keywords should be assigned to
several key elements covering the general issue. Further keywords can be added
throughout the screening procedure and irrelevant words deleted. Some keywords
will prove to be too general, while others will generate no response at all.
However, as with web analytics, a discipline that has been standardized in recent
years, the 10/90 rule must apply. Based on his studies with several Fortune 500
8
http://search.twitter.com
companies, Avinash Kaushik, director of web research and analytics at Intuit,
concludes that often too much data is extracted and too little human brainpower
invested. This results in too few actionable insights. As a result, Kaushik (2007)
suggests the simple rule of thumb of investing only 10% of the budget in tools and
90% in people analysing retrieved data. The same should apply to tracking trends
and strategic listening.
Step 2 – Setting objectives and goals
The need for continual market insights requires objectives and goals. According to
McDaniel and Gates (2007, p. 69), “well-formulated objectives serve as a roadmap in
pursuing the research project”. Objectives must be clearly set because Twitter.com
references right across the Web, and its content is characteristically chaotic, meaning
that researchers can easily get bogged down in details. As with classical research,
investigators may be interested in the following types of research:
- Research question to be answered
- Hypothesis to be approved/rejected
- Decision to be made
- Combination
- Other
The research goals should be aligned with marketing strategy and be suitable for
market-related decision-making. The research objectives might cover customers’
needs and wants in general, the need for product or service innovation, product or
service rating, benchmarking, brand awareness and image, price sensitivity,
customer profiles, etc.
Step 3 – Identifying particulars
As with traditional marketing research, the research objectives and goals are
addressed through identifying particulars. The form enables general information as
well as qualitative and quantitative data to be filed, and is also sufficiently flexible to
allow supplementary information to be reported.
The keywords identified from the trend-tracking step permit focused listening. The
keyword list must be kept dynamic, for words can easily be added or deleted,
depending on the search results during the process.
Groundswell shows that people play a major role in social technology. They feed
Twitter.com and, thus, are the random sample here. Participation inequality and the
technographics profiles must be considered at this point, and a first guess about
reliability of sources is required.
Step 4 – Retrieving data
On the basis of the particulars identified, data is then retrieved from Twitter through
using the Twitter search engine. The process can be understood as monitoring
keywords, participants and networks, and the conversations taking place. By using
Twitter’s advanced search interface and applying various search operators, further
controls are possible during this phase.
9
Chart 13 – Twitter advanced search engine interface
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http://search.twitter.com/advanced
10
Chart 14 – Twitter search engine operators
The duration of data retrieval during strategic listening depends on the amount of
information available and on the dimension of the research project. It must be
defined, based on the objectives and goals. Data retrieval has several dimensions.
The total volume of talk for each keyword must be assessed. Because Twitter search
displays a maximum of 1,500 posts per keyword (Sanford & Matt 2009), a search
query reflects the current conversation, proving Twitter’s real-time search character.
10
http://search.twitter.com/operators
Researchers should be aware that trending topics might easily surpass 1,000 posts
per hour and, thus, the density of tweets must be thoroughly considered.
Hierarchically speaking, a keyword is a specification within a certain key element.
However, it is still not specific enough for understanding the current conversation and
drawing meaningful conclusions. Therefore, for improved differentiation, a handful of
sub-topics must be identified in line with each keyword. On the one hand, sub-topics
describe topic-related content, and, on the other, this step enables sentiment to be
distinguished (i.e. positive, negative, or indifferent).
If reach and network around the conversation are considered to be essential, the
number of followers for the relevant Twitter profiles and/or the click-through stream of
linked websites must be analysed.
4.2.2.3 Datasheet: Insights
The insights datasheet contains the two steps 5 “processing data” and 6 “delivering
insights”.
Quantitative and qualitative data must be displayed in graphs. Quantitative data give
an idea of the volume of talk (degree of activity), while qualitative data indicate the
mood of the talk (sentiment of topics) or the simple relation to the topic.
Chart 15 – Insights datasheet (Part 1 of 4)

The screening information part is designed to gather all the information relating to the
topic and classify it into a usable format. Trends, driving forces, underlying causes,
nature of participants, reach, and verification and reliability are the comments to be
added.
Further details are worked up graphically and commented on logically.
Finally, an assessment must be made of the achievement of objectives. The
researcher is asked to introduce this section with a general comment and then revise
it if the goals are achieved.
4.2.2.4 Explanatory notes on datasheet: Insights
Step 5 – Processing Data
Because Twitter.com as a research tool has not yet been broadly accepted or
approved, this step must obviously be handled with care and interpretations made
sensibly. Misinterpretation of data can mislead decision-makers, ultimately resulting
in financial disaster or damage to the company’s image. As with classical data
analysis, data must be validated and edited before insights can be delivered.
The researcher should exercise care in retrieving data, detecting large-scale
spamming and other robotic content. Inspecting the profiles of influencers and their
networks can assess the credibility of identities, while checking the sources that have
been linked can provide credibility of content.
Spivack and Huberman et al. (2008) likewise suggest analysing four criteria in order
to verify the reliability of sources.
1. Number of followers: The more followers, the larger is his or her audience and
reach
2. Re-tweeting activity: The higher the number of re-tweets, the more value
somebody adds
3. Social network analysis: Level of user interaction
4. Metadata filtering: Extracting content and analysing it in aggregation
While the first two filtering methods and to some extent the third can be performed to
the best of the researcher’s judgment, the fourth metadata filtering method remains
to be developed. In June 2009, Twitter itself started to experiment with its Twitter
verified-account feature (Twitter 2009). However, owing to the high costs and amount
of time involved, Twitter has verified only a few identities, whose profile has been
faked or abused in the past or is likely to be faked. Nevertheless, such verification
helps increase the credibility of the service, and the company intends to expand this
experiment in the next few months. For his part, Berkman (2008) stresses the
importance of identifying the influencers, people and organizations that can be seen
to have added valuable content over time.
Spivack lists several kinds of overload that can help verify validity of content:
- Hypertweeting: real people tweet masses of messages to dominate a topic or
market themselves.
- Spam: robot messaging and other forms of automated spam create traffic that is
not human-driven and hence distort the retrieved data of human mindsets and
opinions.
- Notification overload: many web services such as blogs, games and social media
sites allow notification updates on Twitter to increase traffic.
While erroneous content might be published in other media, such as the “Wall Street
Journal” or “The New York Times”, traditional editors, fact checkers and proofreaders
ensure that it is corrected and as objective as possible. On microblogs, by contrast,
people can write whatever they want. Accordingly, researchers should check the
content of replies to microblog postings, detect controversy in key conversations, and
verify the original sources through the links provided.
However, validation is a delicate matter although crucial for usable and reliable data.
Because technology has not yet managed to validate automatically, it has remained
the onerous task of the researcher.
Step 6 – Delivering insights
The data retrieved needs to be put into a readable format and organized.
Berkman (2008) suggests that such work should not be outsourced because the
insights deriving from the process itself are strongly related to the company’s
business and its customers. If a vendor filters and aggregates data, finally putting
them into nice charts accompanied by comments for the attention of management,
the subtleties cannot be achieved. The goal of gaining insights means identifying the
key conversations that are held on Twitter about the topic the company is interested
in. A key conversation among users is characterized as follows (adapted from
Berkmann 2008):
- a lot of activity (a lot of tweets)
- a lot of energy and passion (emotion and excitement among Twitter users)
- strong interest in early developments and a willingness to share the latest news
and experiences
- a sense of community and opinion leaders (influencers)
- little or no spam but a lot of referencing to other online content
To detect a key conversation, researchers must apply different perspectives.
Although every single part of retrieved data can provide insights, overall a holistic
perspective is needed. Interpretation of Twitter content should differentiate language,
behaviour, attitude, activity, and perspectives, while at the same time paying close
attention to something unusual, surprising, frightening, or angry as well as to
excitement and “lightbulb” moments. Researchers must be sensitive and develop
their own art of listening, distinguishing valuable information from noise. They must
also try to identify patterns. Patterns can be some kind of category, timeframes,
people involved, volume of conversation, development over time, similarities, or
structure of any kind.
4.2.2.5 Datasheet: Wrap-up
The wrap-up is in two parts. First, the quality of the screening phase needs to be
revised, and, second, the strategy for the conversation phase must be defined.
Each strategic listening step and its outcome are reflected with step 7. The form
provides a field for commenting on each step and an optional comments field,
helping the user to note process-related comments and questions.
Chart 19 – Wrap-up datasheet (Part 1 of 2)
Step 8 could be seen as strategic planning for the next phase. Goals and strategies
can be written down, ensuring focus for the conversation phase.
Chart 20 – Wrap-up datasheet (Part 2 of 2)
4.2.2.6 Explanatory notes on datasheet: Wrap-up
Step 7 – Reflecting screening phase
Although an estimate of the validity of contributors and content has been made
during the data-processing step, it is necessary to reflect the entire process. The
reflecting phase is designed to establish whether the insights obtained are sufficiently
trustworthy and relevant to the goals and objectives. As microblog research is a form
of commercial research, the accuracy of its results must be verified with appropriate
effort, although it should be borne in mind that no research strategy is 100 per cent
infallible. Serious work, emphasis on factual accuracy, accessible knowledge and
personal experience sensitize researchers to satisfactory objectivity (Berkman 2008),
enriching the toolbox of marketing departments in today’s connected markets.
Step 8 – Setting strategy and goals for phase 2
Approaching the second phase, researchers will have noticed the dynamic character
of content on Twitter, its quantity and reach. Due to limited resources and in line with
corporate strategy, researchers must set a clear focus for the second phase. At this
stage, it is essential to integrate Twitter into an overall marketing strategy. The
preconditions are as follows:
1. Researchers should have understood Twitter and how it works (Owyang 2007).
2. Researchers must determine how much engagement on Twitter will meet the
company’s market research goals. They must decide on the mixture of marketing
tools and the proper integration of Twitter.
3. The company must assign people to the conversation on Twitter and provide
them with accurate guidelines as to how they are to engage online. Personality
(Bhargava 2008) and authenticity (Godin 2007) on the part of the company are
core elements here.

4.2.3 Phase 2: Conversation phase (strategic relationship)

The screening phase should have determined the volume of talk about the brand or
topic of interest. If there are brand mentions that allow a certain amount of
conversation, companies should engage in the discussion. If talk about the brand,
product or service is marginal, further efforts are required to raise brand awareness
on Twitter. The conversation phase is designed to build strategic relationships and
has a long-term focus. Owing to the wide range of strategies that can derive from
strategic listening, the prototype listening form does not feature this section of the
listening process. The following sub-sections deal with the attitude companies must
develop and offers practical advice on how to proceed in phase 2.
4.2.3.1 Step 9 – Getting started with Twitter.com
Owyang et al. (2009) suggest that companies should first secure their brand identity
and, by providing links to their corporate website, give proof of authenticity of their
Twitter account. In addition, they must make available internal resources for
continuous listening. Because Twitter is part of an integrated marketing strategy and
users decide who they want to follow, the site is not the place to put only
advertisements. Companies need a different mindset and culture if they want to use
Twitter successfully. Owyang and his team recommend answering customers’
questions, informing customers of what is new and company deals, reaching out to
customers, and providing insight into the brand. Put simply, companies must add real
value to their tweets and use Twitter.com as a feedback loop. Customers can be
contacted directly and personally to better understand their needs and wants or to
resolve their problems. Influencers, people discussing a company’s brands and
products with a strong social network, can be energized and fed with valuable
information. However, a policy on how to engage with stakeholders must be
elaborated at this time. A decision to engage with Twitter in the second phase
requires dedication and must reflect corporate strategy.
4.2.3.2 Step 10 – Resuming listening
Strategic relationship is an ongoing process. Just as companies like Starbucks, for
example, teach their frontline staff always to listen carefully to what their customers
say about their brand or products (Schultz & Jones 1999), Twitter enables marketers
to continuously follow prospects and influencers.
Marketers are strongly urged to support the resumption of listening through
technology. Although more detailed instructions on how to operationalize systematic
listening would go beyond the scope of this dissertation, the Salvation Army case
study will feature an example with Yahoo Pipes of how technology can support
marketers (see Appendix 5).
The web and its technology provide almost endless possibilities for the continuous
listening process. Each company and marketing researcher must find a way best
suited to them. IT and marketing departments should work closely together.
4.2.3.3 Step 11 – Creating a personal network (panel)
Classical market research companies have panels, comprising a wide variety of
demographically and socially distinct people and customer groups suitable for in-
depth research. Their surveys are meticulously tailored to each purpose, and people
are systematically interviewed to obtain the most accurate market insights. With
Twitter.com, companies can themselves engage in the conversation, gain insights,
and build their own network. Referring again to the metaphor of the cocktail party
cited in section 2.1.4, after a certain time of honest conversation and personal
engagement users begin to trust a company and share more substantive thoughts.
As Berkman (2008, p 213) puts it: companies “will be helping the discussion evolve
to a higher, more refined level, meaning that it will be addressing harder and
therefore more fundamental issues”. Thus, talking back and getting part of the
conversation is the key to creating a kind of a panel or, as it is called on Twitter, a
crowd of followers that is interested in a company’s products and services. It
becomes possible for the company to ask questions, giving rise to a powerful
research tool. Where in a first step the company started with listening to what users
were willing to talk about, this second step allows marketers to create a customized
set of information aligned to the company’s strategic goals.
4.2.3.4 Step 12 – Delivering valuable content
“Valuable” in this context means creating value for the customer. While mass
marketing is losing ground (Godin 2008), social media have influenced marketing
dramatically. Respect and engagement have entered marketing and its related
disciplines. Twitter, to stick closely to our central thesis, is personal, enabling each
user to choose whether to follow or unfollow somebody. Free choice poses a
challenge for every user interested in followers or willing to have a serious dialogue.
Yet significant content with an impact on (prospective) customers’ lives results in a
higher commitment and delivers deeper insights into consumers’ behaviour.
Nevertheless, market researchers should not ultimately strive for large numbers of
followers but for quality and depth of interaction.
4.2.3.5 Step 13 – Gaining deeper insights
In fact, the higher the quality of a conversation, the more people are committed to it
and the more they deliver deeper insights in terms of feedback, criticism, and
suggestions for improving products and services. Market researchers pursuing this
approach may seriously be able to replace slow and expensive, externally managed,
classical research mandates, moreover increasing their understanding of customers
and brand enthusiasts. The example in Appendix 6 illustrates this.
4.3 Case study results
The multiple case studies are used not only to iterate the prototype, improving its
quality and reliability, but also provide answers to a specific market-research
question for each organization. The following sub-sections present these findings
synoptically. Detailed results can be found in the appendix.
4.3.1 Case 1 – Fundraising guide for the Salvation Army

4.3.1.1 General comment
The screening phase generated a manageable quantity of daily mentions for trending
topics (13 for “social fundraising”, 32 for “cause marketing”, 17 for “charitable giving”,
and 20 for various topics) and allowed acceptable scanning of the more general
topics (150 mentions for the “Salvation Army” and 750 for “non-profit”) (see Chart
21).
Chart 21 – Volume of talk based on quantitative data
Moreover, qualitative data showed a topic-related discussion. It was possible to gain
factual insights at a practical level (see Chart 22).
Chart 22 – Sentiment and topic relation, based on qualitative data
The case was designed to achieve the following three goals.
4.3.1.2 Goal 1 – Identification of innovative methods of fundraising for non-
profit enterprises
The wide variety of online resources in the field of charity fundraising indicates that
non-profits have started to use the Internet for doing business. The high degree of
professionalism of online services and the large number of published success stories
definitely indicate that online fundraising has reached a tipping point, where a shift
has occurred from physical towards electronic fundraising. “Social fundraising” and
“cause marketing” are the emerging markets for innovative non-profit-making
organizations. Web 2.0 is a perfect fundraising tool for charities able to spread their
stories and offer easy donation processes online. Social technologies allow
individuals and organizations to connect with people all over the world and operate
with easy-to-use tools. Online fundraising, therefore, permits global activities or –
explicitly for the worldwide Salvation Army – supports collaborative fundraising
activities.
4.3.1.3 Goal 2 – Understanding the attitude of potential donors
Generally speaking, “charitable giving” is the core intention of donors. Although
charitable giving in its classical sense is slowly decreasing, online microgiving is an
emerging trend that defines the donor 2.0. Obviously, due to demographics, younger
generations are less likely to donate through classical fundraising activities but are
willing to contribute online and take personal responsibility.
4.3.1.4 Goal 3 – Providing a guide for modern fundraising
The online world has given rise to new terms, such as “peer-to-peer fundraising”,
“microgiving”, and “donor 2.0”. While the first two indicate the trend for individuals to
be willing to take action and responsibility, “donor 2.0” describes the new target
customer, who is most likely to be attracted to professional online fundraising
methods following the principles of Web 2.0. Online communities can easily be built,
making it simple to measure the impact of online activities. People can connect with
each other, and stories can easily spread, thus enabling personal involvement and
engagement. The Internet is the perfect media to use. The wide range of links
retrieved provides a deeper understanding of the business models, tools and
instruments that can be adapted and applied for the Salvation Army’s future
fundraising activity.
4.3.1.5 Conclusions and strategic implications
Strategic listening leads to the following conclusion. All in all, the volume of talk is a
good starting point for the Swiss Salvation Army to engage in a conversation on
Twitter.com. The organization is advised to adapt its fundraising strategy, taking into
account technological developments and changing donor intentions, and pool its
activities in the field of the worldwide Salvation Army.
A strategy for social media
A professional specializing in social media should be assigned and should properly
integrate social technologies into the organization’s corporate marketing strategy.
Filling the role of the influencer
It should be easy for the Swiss Salvation Army to enter the conversation on
Twitter.com because its topics are of reasonable interest there. With a strong global
commitment, the worldwide Salvation Army would be able to establish an influencing
position in online social fundraising. Its growing social network would increase during
the conversation phase, and deeper insights could easily be gained.
Continuous adaptation and deeper understanding
The screening phase shows that Twitter.com is a valuable source for gaining insights
into the three goals for the organization:
1. Identify innovative methods of fundraising for non-profit enterprises
2. Understand the attitude of potential donors
3. Provide a guide for modern fundraising
Linked websites and analysis of the social network must be used to gain a deeper
understanding of the topic and operationalize the knowledge obtained.
Users and their tweets, respectively, determine what course should be pursued in
terms of innovation and trends, market insights, donor feedback and needs.
4.3.2 Case 2 – Swiss Post Box

4.3.2.1 General comment
With five tweets per day for “Swiss Post Box”, quantity is rather scarce (see chart
Chart 23).
Chart 23 – Volume of talk, based on quantitative data
Many postings talk about the new “Swiss Post Box” service, commenting critically on
it. However, apart from some indifferent mentions, the sentiment is more positive
than negative. Mostly the conversation is a topic-related (See Chart 24).
Although Swiss Post Box reflects the trend towards the virtualization of postal
services, it has still not reached mass-market attention and high volume on Twitter.
Awareness on Twitter faded out within a few of weeks. As a result, research with
Twitter.com analysed social networks and featured links in more depth. Briefly, if
Swiss Post wishes to maintain conversation, it needs to engage seriously and must
continue to interact with those users who are willing to talk about its product, using
this method to gain satisfactory market insights.
4.3.2.2 Goal 1 – Assessing the volume of talk and the number of people
involved
“Swiss Post Box” garnered more attention on Twitter, compared with the three daily
mentions of “Swiss Post”. “Earthclass Mail”, “Snailmail” and “various topics” are only
remotely associated with the product itself. All in all, the degree of activity on Twitter
connected with the topic is quite low.
However, probing the links posted on Twitter.com indicates that the announcement of
the launch of the product spread further.

The data for this graph was collected from social networks, i.e. from the numbers of
Twitter followers over all relevant posts and from the numbers of unique daily visitors
of linked websites. The fact that Swiss Post Box was announced on three major
online news sites – Heise online, the NZZ and the Washington Post – boosted its
numbers.
In addition, each Twitter user who shared his or her thoughts about Swiss Post Box
showed a crowd of 444 followers on average. Given that the average number of
followers on Twitter.com totalled 126 up to June 2009 (Arthur 2009), the conclusion
can be drawn that the contributors have respectable social networks and act as
influencers.
The small “sample” examined during the screening phase does not allow final
conclusions to be drawn about the quality and use of the new product, but it does
indicate a fruitful environment that Swiss Post could engage on Twitter.com.
4.3.2.3 Goal 2 – Obtaining customer feedback about the service and gaining
customer insights for service improvement
Switzerland’s population of 7 million and 3,500 daily unique visitors on Twitter
(Google Trends 2009) indicates a limited conversation around the topic, and
feedback is likely to be interpreted as biased and unreliable. However, the
conversation involves larger social networks, and the launch spread among
respectable online news sites. Participants in the conversation are used to working
online and proved to be mobile workers. As a result, they fit the profile of potential
Swiss Post Box customers and represent the target market. Thus, Swiss Post could
use Twitter to energize influencers and establish a relationship with prospective
customers for its service. “Swiss Post Box”, “Earthclass Mail”, and “online, virtual and
digital mail” as well as “postal innovation” were keywords that generated a few
suggestions for improvement and feedback about the service, including pricing
suggestions and additional service features.
4.3.2.4 Conclusions and strategic implications
Twitter.com does not provide a satisfactory volume of talk. However, the fact that
influencers are involved makes Twitter.com a promising medium in which to conduct
market investigations. Swiss Post is advised to expand its marketing strategy and
integrate social technologies into its portfolio.
Boosting volume of talk and spreading the word
The fact that prospective customers are involved in the conversation surrounding
Swiss Post Box means that if the company seriously commits, sales are likely to
increase. However, the focus must not be on sales as such but on qualified feedback
and assistance. The goal here is to boost the volume of talk, delivering valuable
content. The product in question fits in perfectly with the company’s corporate
strategy to expand abroad. Online services are not restricted to borders but can
easily compete globally.
Understanding the needs and wants of prospective customers
Since “Swiss Post Box” is an innovative online service replacing physical mail, it and
similar services will be part of the future core business of the company. Swiss Post
needs to understand what modern consumers require and want. By creating a social
network among potential customers, it can build up trust, probably leading online
“addicts” to comment on the company’s online services and to provide valuable
feedback. Online services must be accompanied by reasonable feedback loops.
Twitter.com could be one of them.
Listening strategically to understand competitors
Swiss Post must use Twitter.com not only to obtain customer feedback but also to
follow its competitors’ moves in the field. The virtualization of everything and the
increasing power of the Internet is set to challenge traditional companies such as
Swiss Post. Swiss Post must look out for real competitors, detect faint signals of what
is happening in its sector, and continuously establish its position as a key player in
online mail businesses. Twitter.com is a perfect technology for listening and
engaging strategically.
4.4 Conversation phase
Since the case studies only feature the screening phase of the 13-step listening
process, each research project must identify a suitable way of launching the
conversation phase and entering strategic relationships. Technological and factual
decisions based on explanations in sections 4.2.3 ff are needed. Appendix 5
exemplarily illustrates the cost-free application of Web tools during this phase.
4.5 Synthesis of results
The pioneering method of market research studied in this dissertation make it
necessary to develop a prototype that allows data and insights to be documented.
The greenfield development of the listening process is elaborated based on the
findings of the review of the literature and by strictly following the adapted Ispiro
process with the goal of accessing market intelligence with the microblog
Twitter.com. The process has been improved iteratively with the application of two
case studies and its viability validated. Phase one – the screening phase – is
designed to screen trending topics that people are willing to talk about and
companies are interested in, while phase two – the conversation phase – is intended
for personal interaction with Twitter users with a view to building strategic
relationships. The results provide a detailed explanation of the prototype so as to
make the 13-step process replicable. Because it is still at an early stage of
development, and because the second phase (strategic relationship) needs to be
strategically implemented in corporate strategy, the listening form only covers phase
one (strategic listening). The results of each case study, including strategic
implications for each organization, are outlined in a second section. The following
chapter discusses the results before leading to the conclusion and recommendations
of the dissertation.
5 Discussion
Chapter 5 provides a discussion of the results and of their relation to the review of
the literature. It considers an analysis of the Twitter.com listening form as well as the
results of the multiple case study approach and their implications for professional
practice. The chapter concludes by focusing clearly on the dissertation’s research
question.
5.1 The social in the media
As was noted in the review of the literature, a number of factors, including changing
consumer behaviour, consumerization, a changing culture in management, and the
emergence of new technologies, has led to classical market-research methods being
confronted by a variety of challenges. Demographic sampling, for example, was
introduced as far back as the 1930s, and, although surveys and focus groups have
been enormously professionalized since then, they have not changed significantly for
scores of decades. During the 1990s, media became more social. Social
technologies increasingly allowed participation, giving rise to a desire for online
collaboration and interaction. While some critics view this phenomenon as no more
than people marketing themselves, others detect in it an opportunity to take market
research to the next level. Trends show that even if research is conducted in a
rigorous scientific manner, people – including an increasing number of professionals
– are questioning traditional methods. At the same time, however, novel forms of
market research are also being subjected to serious criticism, giving rise to concerns
about its objectivity and credibility. Nevertheless, new forms, as deployed by Amazon
or user beta-testing in web applications, have ignored these arguments, successfully
introducing them anyway. Such initiatives take account of the challenges to
traditional research and emphasize immediate feedback and customer/user

involvement. Wittingly or unwittingly, the initiators have managed to harness to their
advantage both the changing balance of power between consumers and
organizations (Li & Bernofff 2008) and people’s willingness to contribute.
5.2 Separating the wheat from the chaff
Many consumers spend time sharing opinions online, voluntarily voting on services
and products, and interconnecting within social networks. The Internet has turned
into a single source of information, broadening the delivery channel of market-related
information. This development has weakened the power of companies conducting
surveys and employing other directive market-research techniques. Retrieving and
analysing data has become more complex both because user-generated media are
less structured and because users of social technologies are more guarded or even
devious in answering companies’ market-related questions. Because the Web is only
partly organized, researchers must find ways to separate the wheat from the chaff if
they are to identify significant content.
5.2.1 Creating a prototype with scope for improvement

Instead of using the Internet as an efficiency tool and reaching “more consumers in
less time” (Wittes Schlack & Jennings 2006, p. 1), the 13-step listening process is an
attempt to simultaneously overcome the limitations of yet also respect the proven
elements of classical market research. The form has now reached the stage of a
prototype requiring further development.
The overview datasheet does not yet offer a sophisticated step-by-step research
plan. Professionalizing the overview datasheet would result in a dashboard, where
the researcher can easily carry out and control an entire listening process.
The strategic listening phase 1 datasheet navigates the researcher through the
bulk of content on Twitter.com, narrowing the topic down to a manageable quantity of
data. It would be misleading to pretend that the process is completely rigorous or
coherent, let alone “academic”. Nevertheless, because this dissertation distinguishes
between business-related and academic research, the datasheet has proved
effective in gathering data for the purposes of obtaining substantial information in a
business-related setting, where cost and time efficiency lead to a competitive
advantage. Overall, the datasheet provides the researcher with the cornerstones for
flexible data retrieval from Twitter.com, presupposing that the researcher is already
familiar with microblogs and the Internet. Future developments should take into
account that not every marketer or researcher has this familiarity, meaning that
enhanced assistance must be built in.
The insights datasheet visualizes retrieved data for interpretation. Even if the form
pretends a systematic approach, this step allows individual freedom. As evidenced
by the two case studies, the author was challenged in each case as to how to
present the data and what data to emphasize. Unlike classical research, where
various research errors may cause glaring misinterpretations, the characteristic of
continuous listening compensates for weakly consolidated data. Just as it takes a
while for someone joining a conversation to pick up the gist, it may take a moment for
the researcher to get the thread. Depending on the dimension and goals of the
research as well as on the researcher’s familiarity with microblogs, much of the
content of this datasheet shapes up during the data-retrieval process – skill comes
with practice. As a result, social media research should be carried out within the
company because much information derives from the research process itself.
The wrap-up datasheet leads to the second phase, i.e. the conversation. Unless the
researcher has read the remarks in the methodology chapter it is not possible to fill in
section 7 “Reflecting Screening Phase”. Just as with the strategic listening phase 1,
the wrap-up datasheet needs appropriate revision, with enhanced guidance being
embedded. Concerning the two case studies, the author conducted step 8, “setting
strategy for phase 2”, differently in each case. While in the Salvation Army case
study the person responsible for fundraising was involved, with the Swiss Post Box
case study the author was involved, who was already very familiar with the project
and did not require any further assistance. More cases are needed to understand
how market researchers can be instructed here.
5.3 Multiple case studies revisited
5.3.1 The cases

Originally it was planned to conduct three case studies. Besides the fundraising and
Swiss Post cases, a third case was to assess the potential of microblogs for finding
market intelligence for a service in the tourism sector, for which classical market
research already existed. This case would have scrutinized the extent to which
listening with Twitter.com could replace classical research. However, in the interests
of profiting from narrower-but-profounder rather than wider-but-shallower analysis,
the author decided to prioritize the development of the new method and refrained
from the third case. Thus, in the event, no direct comparison of traditional and
innovative methods was made. Owing to the great disparity in the levels of
development of classical market research and listening with Twitter.com, the author
considered that the outcome of such a comparison would not have been sufficiently
meaningful.
The listening procedure, as conducted by the author, revealed a highly commercially
oriented method that reflected Carson (2001, cited in Tapp 2004), who observes a
shift from practical market research towards a more intuitive and natural approach.
The procedure demonstrated that a single person is able both to handle strategic
listening to conversations and to make out within a short time relevant talk on
Twitter.com, allowing the researcher to devise a strategy for building up long-term
online relationships. A review of the process of the two cases leads to the following
insights.
5.3.1.1 Fundraising guide for the Salvation Army
The Salvation Army case showed that Twitter.com, due to its considerable volume of
talk and the relative soundness of its sources, is a reliable resource for finding the
latest trends and current practices regarding online social fundraising. It was possible
to assess relevant information for marketing decision-making. Objectives and goals
could be aligned with corporate strategy. Data processing was straightforward, and
insights into objectives and goals could be delivered. As a result, it was possible to
deduce the strategic direction for the conversation phase. Thus, the dense network
on Twitter.com represents a valuable body of knowledge for the Salvation Army’s
fundraising department.
5.3.1.2 Swiss Post Box
The results for Swiss Post Box were less compelling. The tracking trends step
generated some related keywords but only delivered limited market-related
information. The low volume of talk, therefore, had a rather slight dimension. Using it
for decision-making would have been risky. Particulars had to be chosen very
judiciously, and data retrieval required great care. During data retrieval, it was not
clear exactly how data processing should be carried out. The author decided to
divide it into the tweets posted to followers and the reach of notable websites linked
on Twitter.com. This social network analysis revealed, on the one hand, an above-
average follower rate and, on the other, reach of announcement. Both variables
proved that, despite low volume, the approach was nevertheless reliable and
trustworthy, enabling a strategy for phase 2 to be mapped out. The case showed that
analysing the user profile and social network can play a major role, although only the
conversation phase might generate deeper market insights.
5.3.2 Appropriateness of Ispiro and the case-study approach

The adapted Ispiro process helped identify a practicable method, while the case-
study approach had two complementary functions. First, it was needed to iteratively
improve the prototype, and, second, the approach was intended to illustrate how
companies can access real-time market intelligence. The results confirm that Ispiro
and the case-study approach are very appropriate and satisfactory for answering the
dissertation’s research question. Moreover, the fact that businesses all over the world
successfully use similar processes to drive innovation (Brown 2006) makes Ispiro a
tried-and-tested method and one that is valid for finding a feasible market-research
method with Twitter.com that had not previously existed.
5.4 Value added
Our research question reads: “To what extent do microblogging services provide
access to market intelligence, thus enabling companies to identify market
opportunities and threats in today’s connected, interactive, marketing-savvy
consumer landscape?”
The author cannot pretend that his investigation provides an ultimate answer to this
question, although it has led to interesting findings.
The cases identified Twitter updates dealing with benchmarking, complaints about
organizations, improvements of services, product features, spreading ideas and
innovations, business models, interesting news, events, etc. Because Twitter is able
to instantly spread micro-messages, its relationship-based, quantified and qualified
content perfectly meet the requirements of time-constrained management decision-
making. Further, marketing toolkit extended by social technologies requires new
market-research methods. The dissertation has shown that innovative market
research is needed which differs from traditional research.
One of the core elements of innovative market research is chiming into the
conversation to build trust and relationship. The literature as well as case studies
show that people discuss the performance and failures of companies, and that the
latter would do well to be part of this discussion. The literature points out that soft
attitudes rather than fact-based ones are common in today’s attention economy, and
that insights should be gained at the front end and not from figures alone.
Nevertheless, setting clear objectives, evaluating technographics profiles and
retrieved data, and proper documentation of results, which are all vital aspects of
traditional research, must also be part of new methods. Thus, the 13-step listening
method, which starts with strategic listening and leads to strategic relationship,
satisfies these qualifications.
Both cases illustrate Twitter.com’s capability as a source of instant customer
feedback and answer real-time market questions. The spamming feared within
focused, small-scale research proved insignificant, and analysis of the social
networks and reach yielded very accurate information. Admittedly, neither the review
of the literature nor the case studies provide a reliable guideline as to how vast
amounts of information can be aggregated into market intelligence or whether large-
scale research projects could be conducted in the way outlined here. Accordingly, it
is understandable that many researchers and practitioners still believe in refined,
widely accepted, traditional methods. A further consideration is that the approach
described does not involve any ethical issue because content is publicly accessible.
5.5 Synthesis of the discussion
The challenges facing both traditional and innovative market-research approaches
were discussed, as was also the methodology of the dissertation. While changing
social behaviour challenges classical market research, progressive market
researchers are confronted with the unstructured accessibility of social media data.
Whether the approach is traditional or novel, experts have criticized both types. The
development here of the Twitter.com listening form is an attempt to carry out market
research that is still meaningful but less formal. The version presented has reached
the stage of a prototype that needs further development in terms of usability and
guidance. Both case studies showed that Twitter.com is a very productive resource
for commercial, small-scale market research and that any shortcomings assumed to
be connected with using it proved insignificant. Although social technologies
undoubtedly offer a huge amount of data explicitly for large-scale projects,
nevertheless traditional methods still enjoy the confidence of many researchers. The
next chapter will provide conclusions and recommendations regarding the literature
and empirical work.
6 Conclusion and Recommendations
The discussion shows that neither traditional nor innovative forms of market research
enjoy the complete confidence of experts or even consumers. This is sufficient
reason to strengthen the discipline. The dissertation attempts to take account of
changes in social behaviour, altering business practices, and emerging social
technologies. With his dissertation, the author also hopes to have contributed his
mite to professionalizing innovative market-research techniques. This chapter aims to
condense the findings, draw conclusions, and make recommendations.
6.1 Market research – a transforming discipline
The dissertation distinguishes between traditional or classical and innovative market
research. The table above documents different aspects that can be traced in today’s
market-research discipline. The borders of the classical and innovative forms have
already begun to blur – an unmistakable effect of groundswell. As can be seen in the
table below, the aspects of each type are grouped into micro-description, attributes,
and basics. The comments are conclusions deriving from the entire work needed to
understand development in the field.
Aspects of market research
traditional innovative comments
micro-description
science art The qualities that describe the modern market

researcher are sensitivity, which enables him or
her to distinguish valuable information from the
noise, and an ability to identify patterns.
Innovative research is more an art than a science
(Berkmann 2008).
research strategic Innovative forms of research build on trust and

relationship relationship. Instead of posing questions to
unknown people, personal commitment is
interrogation conversation needed. Where the performance and failures of

companies are being discussed, these
organizations would do well to be part of the
conversation. One of the main ways in which
innovative market research differs from traditional
third-party do-it-yourself research is its willingness to start conversations
mandate project with customers to build up a long-term
relationship. This is only possible if a long-term
perspective is taken. Slow and expensive market-
snap-shot long-term research mandates, therefore, will become less
perspective engagement important in today’s fast-paced economy,
necessitating new methods of real-time research
at affordable cost.
attributes
academic commercial The distinction between academic and

commercial market research is helpful. While
academic research must comply with scientific
standards, commercial market research is
designed to find market intelligence that takes
time and money into consideration.
directive collaborative The discussion shows that marketing research is

about to be transformed, undergoing a paradigm
shift towards new forms of market research.
These attributes describe the direction of the
standardized flexible impending transformation. They gain additional
weight as a result both of new rules of marketing,
as cited by Grant (2000), where management
culture is penetrated by creativity and reinvention,
and of a societal shift, where consumers’
linear creative behaviour and attitudes no longer match the rigid
and predictable types of former times, when easy
targeting was possible.
survey errors approaches The long-term focus of innovative forms weakens

have negative are fault- the effect of erroneous assumptions and
effects tolerant interpretations. Understanding the targets and
gaining deeper insights is part of the process.
basics
panel social network, Talking back to Twitter users is the key to building
community personality and then creating a social network.
The crowd of followers could be seen as the panel
for market-research projects. The fact of user free
choice about whom to follow always challenges
companies to find attractive ways to interact with
their followers and be part of a community.
figures and sentiment and Evidence from the review of the literature
numbers attitudes suggests that soft-based attitudes should be
emphasized, rather than relying solely on fact-
based ones.
Owing to their long history and high degree of standardization, classical market-
research practices still provide unparalleled reliability and validity. The fact that online
data and user-generated media is considered less credible, make it imperative that
new methods should be developed if these sources are to be mined responsibly and
find their way into a holistic market research approach. The early stage of innovative
market research calls for best practices, such as listening with Twitter.com.
6.2 Listening step by step
The 13-step listening process introduced in this dissertation is an attempt to combine
vital elements of proven research methods with the need to provide instant and
affordable answers to market-related questions. The key elements of the technique
are simple trending and exploring customers’ minds rather than drowning in
excessive data analysis. Results can be expected soon. Factual accuracy,
knowledge, and experience are used to appraise objectivity and check the content of
conversations, while detecting controversy and cross-checking original sources
seeks to increase legitimacy. All in all, listening with Twitter.com shows potential for
eliciting answers to real-time questions, for analysing branding in real time, and for
tracking a new product launch. The higher the quality of a conversation, the more
people are committed to it, delivering deeper insights in terms of feedback, criticisms
and suggestions for improving products and services. Listening is both more flexible
than surveying in the classical market-research manner and is also dedicated to the
topics people are willing to talk about. It not only focuses on vested interest but
permits a trusted relationship. The case studies in this dissertation show that
Twitter.com can be used in small-scale market research, making it an effective
marketing-research tool. Compared to Google and other search engines, which
seemingly provide instant access to market-related information, Twitter.com and the
social network behind it provide tailored, trusted and real-time access to market
intelligence. The stepwise and continuous characteristic of listening with Twitter.com
dramatically reduces the risk of misinterpretation.
The dissertation makes it clear that the 13-step listening process has its limitations.
Nevertheless, it should always be considered in modern management, where fast
decision-making is crucial and slow, expensive (externally managed) research
projects are no longer justifiable.
6.3 Implications for professional practice and management
The fast-paced economy and global competition oblige marketing managers to adapt
management decision-making accordingly. Social technologies have made people
more independent of companies and broadened the delivery channel of market-
related information. In addition, consumers are less inclined to help companies by
participating in surveys, focus groups, and other traditional market-research methods
involving people’s active contribution.
“Technographics” is a further aspect to be borne in mind. It is a classification of
modern society representing the way people embrace technology and interact with
brands. The technographics profile can be seen as a classification of modern society
in that it is linked with technology. It goes beyond ageing demographics and
psychographics and will have important implications for commercial market research.
Companies will have to make their own analysis using available consumer data and
infer the technographics profile for their industry and target markets.
Marketers must identify the consequences that these trends will have on their
existing marketing methods. Serious engagement with social technologies and
integrating them into corporate marketing strategy can bring the discipline to the next
level.
6.4 Limitations and future research
Although the present cases have strategic relevance, they are small-scale
considering the size of the organizations and the focus of the topics investigated. The
cases, therefore, cannot answer the research question as far as larger research
projects are concerned, nor can they say if traditional research might generate similar
results. Nevertheless, the relatively small volume of talk allows manual data
aggregation and analysis, which would not have been possible if the data quantity
had been higher than this. However, market researchers must always consider the
density of tweets and be aware that Twitter.com is real-time conversation. Because
today’s companies often fail to extract common sentiment from the noise (Schonfeld
2009), continuity is important. Further cases must focus on these shortcomings.
Elaborating a listening form with Twitter.com has been a core element of this
dissertation. The form may well provide an acceptable format and cover a
sophisticated listening process, but usability and guidance need improving. Although
improving a form is not research within the proper meaning of the word, the
convergence of research and technology proves the need to incorporate both. Future
concepts should work on a social media cockpit that allows market intelligence to be
accessed across online and offline sources and combines traditional and innovative
forms of research, depending on the particular market-research project. Further, the
listening form does not yet offer a datasheet to document the conversation phase,
and very large amounts of data would be difficult to handle. Focusing on the
technology should bring out a flexible, easy-to-use tool – e.g. combining Twitter add-
ons or using the open Twitter API – that enables researchers to mash up their own
dashboard, where they can continuously monitor their target markets. Reliable data-
mining procedures would be another aspect here.
6.5 Final comment
The phenomenon of groundswell and the increasing number of marketers willing to
employ softer skills instead of traditional surveys have given rise to controversial
discussions around the topic and indicate the beginning of a new era for the
discipline. Innovative research is in its early stages and not yet perfect. A more
relaxed attitude to methodologies, for instance by incrementally applying creative
approaches, is advised for commercial research.
The author agrees with David Armano (2009), who advocates a shift in thinking.
Armano points out that media never solved business challenges and that social
media will not either. As a result, he considers social media to be part of a larger
business transformation, which challenges companies to think about their business
models, which should be adapted instead of only adopting social technologies such
as Twitter.com. No discipline has ever attained perfection, and market research has
not either. Listening is the next step towards the ideal, rewarding those who use it
creatively and boosting their competitive advantage.
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Glossary
Because many of the terms below describe emerging online trends, Wikipedia, the
free online encyclopedia, and other online sources are used to compile the glossary.
Blog A “blog” is a “website that allows users to reflect, share

opinions, and discuss various topics in the form of an online
journal while readers may comment on posts”.
source: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blog
consumerization “Consumerization is a […] neologism that describes the trend

for technology companies to bring new technology to the
consumer market ahead of business markets. Resulting in a
switch of technology power from the work place to the home.
Most employees are now finding that their home-based IT is
more capable than that provided in their workplace. The term
popularized by John Taylor and Douglas Neal of CSC’s
Leading Edge Forum is one of the transforming drivers of
Web 2.0.”
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumerization
groundswell “Groundswell” is “a social trend in which people use

technologies to get the things they need from each other,
rather than from traditional institutions like corporations”. (Li &
Bernoff 2008, p. 9)
microblogging “Microblogging” is a Web 2.0 technology and a new form of

blogging, which allows users to publish online text updates
with fewer than 140-200 characters. The posts can be edited
and accessed online, as SMS, by e-mail, via instant
messaging clients, and by third-party applications.
Microblogging enables a real-time interaction between users,
using different devices, technologies and applications.
(Grosseck & Holotescu, 2009)
RSS “RSS” is the abbreviation for Really Simple Syndication. It

describes a newsfeed technology that standardizes the
publication of regularly updated Web content and allows
users to subscribe to it.
source: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/RSS
social … “Social” in the context of this dissertation refers to the fact

(bookmarking, that bookmarking, computing, technology, and media are
computing, used to create relationships. It is based on the phenomenon
technologies, media) of groundswell, where people use technologies to connect
with each other in various ways and create networks.
technographics “Technographics” are a category complementing

demographics, sociographics and psychographics,

introduced by Forrester Research Inc. and describe a
classification of modern society linked with technology.
Twitter.com “Twitter.com” is an online microblogging service for friends,

family, and co-workers to communicate and stay connected
through the exchange of quick, frequent messages. People
write short updates, often called “tweets” of 140 characters or
fewer.
source: http://help.twitter.com/portal
Web 2.0 “Web 2.0 refers to the second generation of web

development and web design. It is characterized as
facilitating communication, information sharing,
interoperability, user-centred design and collaboration on the
World Wide Web.”
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEB2.0
wiki “A wiki is a website that […] allows the easy creation and
editing of any number of interlinked Web pages. […] Wikis
are often used to create collaborative websites, to power
community websites, and for note-taking. The collaborative
encyclopedia Wikipedia is one of the best-known wikis.”
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki
Yahoo! Pipes “Pipes is a powerful composition tool to aggregate,

manipulate, and mash up content from around the web.”
(Pipes 2009) It is a service powered by Yahoo!
source: http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/
Appendices
Appendix 1 – Forrester Research’s User Profiles
11
Chart 26 – Internet penetration around the world
12
Chart 27 – Age distribution of Internet users
11
Batut 2008, p. 4
13
Chart 28 – Online user profiles around the world
12
Batut 2008, p. 6
13
Batut 2008, p. 7
Appendix 2 – Technographics Segmentation
14
Chart 29 – U.S. Technographics Segmentation
14
Rousseau-Anderson 2007, p. 4
15
Chart 30 – Global Technographics Segmentation
15
Rousseau-Anderson 2007, p. 8
Appendix 3 – Twitter Tools
These tools are not explicitly utilized for the listening process elaborated in this
dissertation but may become essential for companies that engage in using
Twitter.com and its real-time information. They are listed here to illustrate the
potential of Twitter.com and of the data contributed to it in real time, which can be
accessed by the open API. It is a highly dynamic environment, and the breakthrough
tools – for example to easily locate customized market intelligence – have not yet
been found. The collection of these tools was completed in March and April 2009. It
is not intended to be exhaustive. The description of the tools is partly copy-pasted
from the corresponding website description and only partly self-elaborated by the
author.
Tool Description
Facilitating and productivity tools
TweetDeck TweetDeck is a personal client-based browser for

http://tweetdeck.com keeping in touch with contacts across Twitter and other
social networking sites. It offers a well-organized user
interface and connects with other useful services for
sharing photos, shortening links, searching people and
topics, and accessing other popular web applications.
Twhirl Twhirl is a social software desktop client able to connect

http://twhirl.org to multiple accounts, including Twitter. It displays
messages, shortens long URLs, posts messages to
other social networking sites via Ping.fm, posts photos,
allows searches and follows topics in near-real time.
Twitbin Twitbin is an extension for Firefox that enables users to

http://twitbin.com/ follow all Twitter conversation from their browser
sidebar.
Tweet Later Tweet Later is a productivity tool that enables users to

http://tweetlater.com schedule tweets, track keywords, save and re-use
drafts, send welcoming messages, follow or unfollow
people automatically, set status feeds, and manage
unlimited Twitter accounts. It is available in a free and
paid version.
Matt Matt is the abbreviation of multiple account twitter

http://tinyurl.com/5aag9g tweeting. It allows users to feed multiple accounts
simultaneously without having to log into each singular
account.
Twitterfeed.com Twitterfeed can post directly to Twitter and other social

http://twitterfeed.com networking platforms simultaneously.
Twitpic Twitpic allows people to share photos on Twitter by

http://twitpic.com using the phone, the open API, or the site itself. The
service is built into many popular Twitter clients.
Twtpoll Twtpoll allows users to create a simple poll by choosing

http://twtpoll.com a type of question, asking the question, offering multiple
choice answers, and setting an expiration date.
Twtvite Twtvite enables real-life conversations. It allows users

http://twtvite.com/ to create a tweetup, where Twitter users meet
physically. It is an invitation tool with an easy-to-use
interface.
Tweepler This organizing tool allows users to classify followers

http://tweepler.com into two categories. Follow and ignore. It enables users
to quickly scan and follow them back or ignore them. It
helps users to focus the conversation.
Searching and alerting tools
Twitter Search Twitter Search helps filter all the real-time information
http://twitter.search.com flowing through Twitter.com. An advanced search
operator helps the user to get more accurate search
results, focusing on words, people, places, dates,
attitudes and/or links.
Yahoo Pipes Instead of subscribing to single RSS feeds via Twitter,

Search Yahoo Pipes enables a master feed to be
composed. (Penn 2008)
TwitSeeker Twittseeker is an alternative search interface for finding

http://twitseeker.com Twitter users and browsing their content. It has a simple
and advanced search option.
Tweetscan Tweet Scan searches Twitter and other indexed

http://tweetscan.com microblogging sites for updates on individually
subscribed topics and posts the alerts via e-mail, RSS,
or the website itself. The service costs $ 20 annually.
Twellow Twellow is a Twitter directory to help Twitter users find

http://twellow.com people with experience and expertise in areas of
interest. The service is sub-branded as “The Twitter
Yellow Pages”.
Twubble Twubble is a search engine that searches the user’s

http://tinyurl.com/54podp friends and picks out interesting people to follow.
Twilert.com Twilert is a Twitter application that enables you to

http://twilert.com receive regular e-mail updates of tweets containing your
brand, product, service, or almost any keyword you
choose.
TwitterTroll TwitterTroll helps users to find Twitter friends based on

http://twittertroll.com tweets. The engine indexes the public timeline and
hence offers like-minded people.
WhosTalking WhosTalking is powered by a search-and-sort algorithm

http://whostalkin.com that combines data from over 60 of the Internet’s most
popular social media resources, including Twitter. Its
goal is to search for conversations surrounding the
topics users care most about.
Flaptor Twitter Search This Twitter Search is a simple user interface for
http://tinyurl.com/3kjymf Twitter, offering only one input field for accessing the
topic of interest. A plugin makes it easily accessible
from the browser.
Analysing tools
TweetStats Provides individual statistics for Twitter users, including

http://tweetstats.com tweets per hour and months, tweet timeline, and reply
statistics. The results are displayed graphically.
Twittrratr Twittrratr decodes sentiment on Twitter.com and

http://twitrratr.com distinguishes negative from positive tweets surrounding
a brand, product, person or topic.
Twitterholic Twitterholic is a robot that scans the public Twitter

http://twitterholic.com timeline for new posts. A few times a day it calculates
individual statistics for each Twitter user and provides a
list of the 100 top users based on followers.
Twitt(url)y Twitt(url)y tracks and ranks what URLs people are

http://twitturly.com discussing on Twitter. To enable reasonable qualitative
ranking, the service is based on users’ votes and the
website’s own algorithm.
Twitter Grader Twitter Grader is an analytical tool offering an individual

http://twitter.grader.com Twitter grade for users. The result includes a ranking
based on followers, follows and updates, and provides a
summary, history and tweet cloud.
Twitscoop Twitscoop provides a cloud of words composed by an

http://twitscoop.com automated algorithm that continuously trawls posts on
Twitter, extracting words mentioned more often than
usual. It enables users to stay on top of things
discussed at any time. Evidence shows that it is faster
than news hits the mainstream information channels.
TweetGrid TweetGrid enables users to create a Twitter dashboard

to watch updates in real time. It is available online and
http://tweetgrid.com as a mobile application.
Monitter Monitter is a twitter monitor that allows users to follow

http://monitter.com Twitter content for a set of keywords and watch the
conversation. The web app can be accessed online and
offers a widget.
Tweetmeme Tweetmeme aggregates all the popular links on Twitter

http://tweetmeme.com and delivers the most popular ones, organized and
categorized.
Twist Twist is a tool for tracking trends on Twitter. It visualizes

http://twist.flaptor.com what is popular and what is not among Twitter users,
and reflects reactions and predictions in the micro-
blogosphere.
#hashtags Hashtags is a community-driven convention for adding

http://hashtags.org additional context and metadata to Twitter posts. A word
prefixed with a hash symbol is registered on the site.
The web app offers access to real-time, daily, weekly,
and monthly trends, features top, the latest, and recent
trends as well as a tag directory, and arranges people in
a latest and recent category as well as a people
directory.
Tweetag Tweetag offers a tag cloud of the forty most discussed

http://tweetag.com topics on Twitter.com. The size of the tags indicates a
topic’s frequency.
Twitter Counter Twitter Counter is a statistics provider that enables

http://twittercounter.com users to see their own follower statistics history and
prediction, and features the most popular users on
Twitter.
Tweet Volume Tweet Volume consolidates words or phrases in

http://tweetvolume.com numbers, based on the frequency with which they
appear on Twitter. It is a simple analytical tool.
Qwitter Qwitter e-mails users when someone stops following on

http://useqwitter.com Twitter and quotes the last tweet that was posted before
the user quitted.
twInfluence twInfluence is a tool for measuring influence, based on

http://twinfluence.com the number of first and second-order followers. It
measures reach, velocity, social capital, centralization,
and efficiency. “Reach” is defined as the potential
audience combining first and second-order followers.
“Velocity” assesses the speed of accumulating first and
second-order followers. “Social capital” indicates the
average number of followers’ followers. “Centralization”
measures how much reach is invested in a few
followers (0% = completely decentralized, 100% =

completely dependent on one follower).
TwitterFriends TwitterFriends visualizes the relationship network of

http://twitter-friends.com Twitter users and provides statistics about individual
tweeting behaviour.
Twitter Friends Network The service dynamically displays a Twitter network and
Browser allows users to click to other users’ networks.
http://tinyurl.com/3yzwhg
Hootsuite Hootsuite is a toolbox for Twitter users. It enables them

http://hootsuite.com to manage multiple profiles, editors, plan tweets, mine
information, and measure success.
Tweetrush Tweetrush is a test analytics engine. It provides

http://tweetrush.com estimated stats on twitter usage over a period of time.
The final version – called Rush Hour – is under
construction and will enable users to look at actions and
events instead of page views and clicks.
Twitter Twerp Scan Twitter Twerp Scan is search-engine work in progress.

http://twerpscan.com It analyses both the number of people following a user
and the followers-to-following ratio.
EasyTweets EasyTweets leverages the power of microblogging. It

https://easytweets.com enables marketers to manage multiple Twitter accounts,
and easily join and monitor conversations. Scheduled
message posting as well as SMS and e-mail alerts are
offered.
Twitter Power Search Twitter Power Search offers search results on various
http://tinyurl.com/dzrbyd social media sites. It screens Twitter activity for current,
daily, and weekly trends.
Clicky Web Analytics Clicky Web Analytics released the Twitter brand
http://tinyurl.com/d8pe9e monitor, which summarizes all twitter activity real-time in
dashboard boxes and allows users to monitor any topic
they like.
Twitterless Twitterless enables users to keep track of their

http://twitterless.com followers. Filters and search provide insights into
followers, whose location can be be seen on a Google
map, and who can be categorized in groups according
to their activity.
Tweet-Rank Tweet-Rank analyses the quality of tweets. The engine

http://tweet-rank.de provides insights into how many followers were added

or rejected.
TwitArcs TwitArcs visualizes a person’s 100 most recent tweets

http://tinyurl.com/3lmy7e and links the messages, based on other people’s posts
with the same primary term.
Twitter StreamGraphs The StreamGraph shows which words are mostly

http://tinyurl.com/5awhrn associated with a search word over time. It shows the
1,000 most recent tweets containing the word in
question.
Developing tools
TwitterThoughts TwitterThoughts dynamically shapes what is “thought”

http://tinyurl.com/b283xa on Twitter. Tweets are extracted via the Twitter API and
then displayed interactively by means of the Google
Visualization API. Due to excessive traffic on the server,
the service stopped rendering data.

Appendix 4 – Case Study Details
Case 1 – Fundraising guide for the Salvation Army
Overview
Strategic Listening Phase 1





Insights




Wrapping up

Case 2 – Swiss Post Box
Overview

Strategic Listening Phase 1


Insights



Wrapping up

Appendix 5 – Easy to use Web technology
Yahoo Pipes “is a powerful composition tool to aggregate, manipulate, and mashup
content from around the web” (Yahoo! Inc. 2009). Dawn Foster (2009) provides an
easy way of tracking content across the web that was illustratively applied for the
Salvation Army’s engagement on Twitter.
1. A CSV16 file must be made publicly accessible along with the keywords to be
followed.
17
Chart 31 – CSV file for Case Study
2. The CSV file must be linked with Pipes’ CSV Module.

3. The URL builder loops through each element in the CSV file and builds a search
URL formatted for RSS output.
4. Fetch Feed then loops through each URL built in the previous step and fetches
the feed associated with the item.
5. The Sort module allows sorting by date in descending order.
16
file format type (CSV = Comma Separated Values)
17
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=rSDr1y3Yx9y394d_ktbvl1w&output=html
6. Finally Pipe Output produces the intended result.
18
Chart 32 – Yahoo Pipe for Case Study
18
http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/pipe.edit?_id=vAnuuB1U3hGYBHPh8cv2rw
7. The MyPipes view lists all the results that can easily be subscribed via RSS feed
and allows continuous listening.
19
Chart 33 – List of results for Case Study
19
http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/pipe.info?_id=vAnuuB1U3hGYBHPh8cv2rw
Appendix 6 – Comcast, a cursory example
A recently published BusinessWeek article outlined the use of Twitter by Comcast, a

provider of cable TV, Internet, and phone services in the U.S. This example
illustrates perfectly how microblogs can be used to gain deeper insights. Comcast
uses strategic tweeting for managing the customer service department. Employees
engage with their real name to answer customers’ questions and solve their
problems. Feedback is taken seriously and Comcast provides “instant gratification”
by responding promptly to upset customers and finding out the hidden needs and
wants of prospects. Because of personal commitment even people that do not work
for the company assist customers as far as possible. (Reisner 2009) Comcast
succeeded in building trust, delivering valuable content and finally gaining deeper
insights.

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LISTENING STEP BY STEP

An innovative approach to finding market intelligence

The University of Liverpool

in partial fulfilment of the requirements

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

LISTENING STEP BY STEP

We hereby certify that this Dissertation, submitted by Martin Kuenzi, conforms to

Dissertation Advisor Date

The University of Liverpool

Signed, Martin Kuenzi

Dissertation_20090828.doc iii © 2009MBA\mk

LISTENING STEP BY STEP

This dissertation is a critical examination of the current state of the discipline of

market research. A comprehensive review of the relevant bibliographical and online

Innovative approaches employing not interrogation but, rather, a form of listening

focus on building long-term relationships through using social technologies. Owing to

a number of weaknesses, including survey errors, unstructured data and uneven

The empirical part of the dissertation applies complementarily an established

multilevel innovation process and a classical case-study approach with a view to

identifying an innovative way of accessing market intelligence through microblogs. A

today, is elaborated and refined. The process is an attempt to combine critical

answers to market-related questions. The key elements of the technique are

multiple-case study indicates the limitations as well as advantages of the approach

Finally, for commercial research, a more relaxed attitude to methodologies is

recommended, for instance by applying creative approaches incrementally.

Table of Contents .................................................................................................... vii

2 Review of the Literature....................................................................................... 4

2.1 Market Research ................................................................................................. 4

2.4.7 Twitter.com ..................................................................................................... 26

3 Methodology ....................................................................................................... 30

3.1 “Design thinking” innovation method ................................................................. 30

4 Presentation of Results ..................................................................................... 37

4.1 13-step listening with microblog Twitter.com..................................................... 37

5 Discussion .......................................................................................................... 70

5.1 The social in the media...................................................................................... 70

6 Conclusion and Recommendations ................................................................. 78

Dissertation_20090828.doc viii © 2009MBA\mk

6.1 Market research – a transforming discipline...................................................... 78

References ............................................................................................................... 84

Glossary ................................................................................................................... 93

Appendices .............................................................................................................. 95

Appendix 1 – Forrester Research’s User Profiles...................................................... 95

do microblogging services provide access to market intelligence, thus enabling

companies to identify market opportunities and threats in today’s connected,

interactive, marketing-savvy consumer landscape?

The dissertation will explore specifically online market-research innovations with a

clear focus on microblogging1 and provide a framework for business-oriented market

a holistic understanding of the technology used in modern market research. But a

is considered to be relevant for the development of the discipline.

Numerous social networking sites, blogs, wikis, microblogging services, social

influence on the perception of a brand, product, or service. This development on the

with traditional methods. A new dimension is emerging, which offers new

opportunities to find market intelligence. Now companies are in a position to access

this content online, in real-time, and free of charge.

By contrast, classical market research methods, i.e. questionnaires and focus

as expensive, and, in the words of Brown (2005), as no longer trustworthy, when it

comes to understanding today’s fundamentally changing consumer behaviour. Most

to the organizations’ market-related questions.

users – be they customers, employees or anybody else – companies must rethink

been broadly questioned.

developments in the field of innovative approaches will be discussed. The

will be to use an appropriate form of research to efficiently obtain answers about

what is happening in their target market – and beyond.

The dissertation is structured as follows. Chapter 2 provides a comprehensive review

Table of Contents .................................................................................................... vii 

2  Review of the Literature....................................................................................... 4 

2.1  Market Research ................................................................................................. 4 

2.4.7  Twitter.com ..................................................................................................... 26 

3  Methodology ....................................................................................................... 30 

3.1  “Design thinking” innovation method ................................................................. 30 

4  Presentation of Results ..................................................................................... 37 

4.1  13-step listening with microblog Twitter.com..................................................... 37 

5  Discussion .......................................................................................................... 70 

5.1  The social in the media...................................................................................... 70 

6  Conclusion and Recommendations ................................................................. 78 

6.1  Market research – a transforming discipline...................................................... 78 

References ............................................................................................................... 84 

Glossary ................................................................................................................... 93 

Appendices .............................................................................................................. 95 

Appendix 1 – Forrester Research’s User Profiles...................................................... 95 