Point of View

Point of View
To Understand Consumers in theMobile Era

Mobile Era

To Understand Consumers in the

Application of Mobile Surveys in Consumer Research

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Ipsos in Greater China 07/2012

This is a "mobile" era. Wherever it is, the phone is an absolute necessity in peoples daily life and work. The growing popularity of phones, especially smart phones, changes not only peoples lifestyles, but also various commercial behaviors. In the field of market research, the mobile survey has emerged and has gradually become an important means research to understanding todays consumers. Thanks to mobile Internet and multimedia technology, mobile surveying has come to offer a series of advantages in consumer research, especially in the following aspects:

collected with higher efficiency as there is no need for data entry. This has prompted the rise of rapid response by companies towards their products/brands in the market. So then, how exactly is mobile survey applied in consumer research? To explain it, we will take consumer loyalty research as an example. As an important area of consumer research, customer satisfaction/loyalty research is the main basis to improve a brands products and services quality. The validity and reliability of the feedback data and high data-collection efficiency are essential to the brand. Equipped with a number of advantages, mobile surveying creates a new consumer satisfaction/loyalty research model. The specific application process for a mobile survey has been established as the following Ipsos study example shows: To further optimize its consumer experience and enhance service quality, the brand commissioned Ipsos to conduct customer satisfaction tracking studies in all its stores worldwide, once a month. 50 samples were pulled for each store. The traditional research model would be very time-consuming and costly if used to try to collect satisfactory data once a month from over 600 stores in dozens of countries in the world. However, for a mobile survey, the seemingly expansive project was relatively simple, time efficient and fun. The overall process can be divided into four easy steps: The customer bought something in one of the designated stores; The customer saw a survey invitation on their receipt. He/ she could visit the online research survey site through a URL link or two-dimensional code (getting URL through QR code if it is mobile device) if his/her cell phone or other mobile devices has access to the Internet. Cell phones or other mobile devices browser online research is the main data collection method. The customer will proceed to finish all 18 questions on his/ her cell phone or other mobile devices; The back-end platform will immediately receive realtime consumer experience data and will save them in the database. The customer may then receive prizes in electronic form (such as an ice cream e-coupon). Meanwhile, in order to prevent cheating, each invited customer was asked to enter the access password (on the store receipts) to the research page, which serves to further ensure the quality control in surveys of this nature. Thanks to the mobile survey technology, in this program, invited customers all gave active support not only because they wanted the electronic coupons, but also because they were fascinated by such a new and modern survey method fueled by its novel technology and sleek interface. The respondents active participation and data synchronization is all preserved for the brands usage, and, moreover, the process is both real-time,

Customer's immediate response

It takes a few days, weeks or even months to collect consumer feedback under the traditional research methodologies. As a result, consumers usually find it hard to provide true and accurate feedback. While with the help of mobile Internet technology, mobile surveying can get real-time feedback of consumers experience with products or services, all without offending them; which greatly enhances the authenticity and accuracy of the feedback data.

Collect data "anytime & anywhere"

Mobile surveys allow you to reach your respondents anytime and anywhere you want. For instance, if a brand headquartered in Beijing wants to survey for consumer satisfaction in its stores in Yinchuan, adopting the more traditional research methods would obviously be a rather time-consuming and laborious work. However, by using mobile surveying, the work can be completed by the consumers themselves without the assistance of any fieldwork resources or labor. It is really time- and costefficient. Similarly, by using a mobile survey, a brand can get feedback data within hours, both objectively and efficiently.

Multimedia and entertainment

Questionnaires presented with photos, flash files, audio and even video media are no longer "dry" as they used to be. This questionnaire format is more intriguing to consumers and the data thus collected is much more accurate. The introduction of upgrades and bonus rewards format that is commonly seen in games, if employed in a questionnaire, will further stimulate the enthusiasm of the respondent.

A variety of data collection techniques

Besides figures and words (multiple-choice questions and openended questions), a mobile phone allows consumers to take and upload pictures, and access audio and video information. Multimedia content adds context and details to a respondents daily experience, and provides more reliable and comprehensive information to support research on shopping experience and mystery shoppers.

Real-time data
Mobile surveying allows the synchronization of respondent responses which are fed to back-end databases. Data is

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 Point of View

efficient, and delivered with the highest quality service. In addition to the tremendous value it adds to loyalty research as is, mobile surveying, itself, can also enhance the satisfaction of customers involved in the survey. The role of mobile surveys lies not only in the research aspect, as it will probably also becomes part of the brands interactive marketing strategy. By participating in the survey, the consumer also interacts with the brand. The fresh and interesting self-service research experience does not turn consumers off; rather, it lets them feel as though they are respected by and important to the brand they purchase. Consumers do not reject the interface, but rather, they develop affinity to the brand. The interaction enhances consumer goodwill and leads to higher satisfaction. Besides its applications to satisfaction/loyalty research, mobile surveying also proves its immense value in mystery shopping. Store information collection has long been a difficulty in traditional mystery shopper research. However, by means of mobile Internet and multimedia technology, mystery shoppers

can send real-time consumer experience back to the brand in the form of text and pictures, which further boosts the efficiency and accuracy of the research. Mobile recording and videos provide even more comprehensive information support for the entire project, and ultimately more accurate and reliable information that can aide in improving the brands service level. In addition to its application in loyalty research, mobile surveys can be applied to mobile log lifestyle studies (consumers keep a record of daily events with text, images, audio and video), CSM/consumer contact experiences, share of wallet , corporate reputation awareness/tracking, travel reporting - satisfaction research, convention feedback/TV event evaluation (programs, sports, etc.). However, mobile survey is not all-inclusive and does not apply to questionnaires that are too long or on older consumers. Nevertheless, being accurate, thorough, efficient, and costeffective, it will undoubtedly change the future pattern of consumer research and become one of the mainstays.

The mobile era is approaching

Are You Ready?

For more information, please contact: David Lee | Executive Director of Ipsos
Digital Research david.lee@ipsos.com

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Ipsos in Greater China 07/2012