| Newsletters > December 2011 |
A gift for you...
from L&E Research
Each year during the holidays I prepare favorite recipes for my family and loved ones. One of the recipes I make year after year is particularly special to our family.
When my husband, Ted, was a student at NC State University he worked a part time job for a local company in Raleigh, NC delivering ice. One of his stops was a Mom and Pop convenience store located on an old country road miles outside of town. Each week, when Ted made this stop he looked forward to purchasing a slice of the famous pound cake handmade by the wife of the owner of the store. And each week, he would ask her for the recipe for this pound cake for which she won first prize at the North Carolina State Fair years before. After a solid year of asking, Ted offered the owner's wife a trade, 75 bags of ice for her prize winning pound cake recipe. She agreed and Ted proudly brought the recipe home. The old convenience store is now gone but I've been making this legacy cake for the past 35 years. As I remove the now tattered browned piece of paper with the handwritten ingredients from my recipe box I thought it would be nice to share it with you. May you and your loved ones enjoy it as much as mine do. The recipe is below.
Warm Wishes,
Charlene Randall
Director of Business Development
Great Recruiting...Great Service...Great Results.
Facilities in Raleigh, NC & Tampa, FL
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North Carolina State Fair Blue Ribbon Pound Cake
3 cups sugar
2 sticks margarine*
½ cup Crisco
6 eggs
1 tsp. coconut flavoring
1 tsp. butternut flavoring
3 cups cake flour
½ tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk
Blend softened margarine*, sugar, and Crisco together. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add flavorings. Mix. Sift cake flour and baking powder. Alternating add milk and flour mixture, mixing well after each. Grease and flour a tube pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 ¾ hours.
*I prefer to use butter instead of margarine
Recipe shared by Charlene Randall
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Twas the Day Before Research
BY MARTHA GUIDRY
The Rite Concept • Martha@TheRiteConcept.com
‘Twas the day before research,
When all through the brand,
Not a creature was stirring,
Not even the main (wo)man.
The screener was finished,
The recruit had begun,
With hopes of finding insights
That were second to none.
The team was excited,
And snug in their choice,
When picking a consultant,
Just one name was voiced.
The moderator had written
A great discussion guide.
The brand team was confident,
That she’s on their side.
When out in the focus room,
There arose such a clatter,
Clients sprang from their chairs
To see what was the matter.
Away to the mirror,
They flew like a flash.
Tossed the M&Ms aside,
So they landed — crash!
In the room, all were seated.
Energy buzzed from inside,
Giving the client a sense
They were in for a ride.
When what to their
Wondering eyes should appear,
But eight excited respondents,
Though, there were
no reindeer.
With a charismatic moderator
So quick, lively and free,
She looked right at home
In groups at L&E
More rapid than lightning
Through the guide she
did blaze,
It was so efficient and fun,
Clients’ eyes whirled in a haze.
Now, Concepts! Now, Copy!
Now, Insights and Benefits!
On Packaging! On Logos!
On Products and Tasting!
From the top of the guide,
To the end of all groups,
She gathered great learning
As if jumping through hoops.
And then, in a twinkling,
From the room, clients
did hear
The knowledge they needed,
So they had nothing to fear.
She was dressed kind of funky,
From her head to her toes.
Where she got the cool earrings,
No one really does know.
A bundle of techniques,
She had in her back pocket.
She gathered all the learning
As if launching a rocket.
Her eyes, how they twinkled,
Her attitude so merry.
The respondents were helpful.
The discussion did carry.
She makes moderating look easy,
Like some magical elf.
I laughed when I pretend
I could moderate myself.
A wink of her eye and
A twist of her head,
Soon gave me to know
I had nothing to dread.
She listened to each word
And went straight to her work
And filled clients with knowledge,
Then turned with a jerk.
And laying a finger,
Aside of my chin,
I knew using L&E
Was always a win!
She sprang from her chair,
To the team, gave a snap —
The debrief was astounding —
Then called it a wrap.
But I heard her exclaim
'Ere she drove out of sight
I use L&E Research
To get qualitative right
Written by Martha Guidry, The Concept Queen. Revised edition October 2011.
www.theriteconcept.com
About the author
Martha Guidry is the principal at The Rite Concept, based in Avon, Connecticut and the author of “Marketing Concepts that Win! Save Time, Money and Work Writing Concepts Right the First Time.” The Rite Concept uses a flexible combination of qualitatively driven consumer understanding, hands-on learning, and ideation to help clients develop and optimize concepts for market. Martha brings more than 15 years of combined brand management, concept development, and research experience to each of her projects. After completing her MBA at Harvard, Martha spent 6 years in consumer marketing for Procter & Gamble and Hasbro Toys prior to starting her own company.
Clients perceive Martha as an unusually dynamic, creative, and resourceful consultant with the business know-how to drive their businesses to winning results. She can provide anything from a “complete package” –ideation through concept development- to a specific investigation into one particular part of the development process. Martha’s work has spanned a variety of product and service categories. She has been a favorite presenter at many conferences and published articles on qualitative research and concept development.
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10 Tips from Respondents
Recently, I had the pleasure of enjoying dinner with a number of respected and accomplished qualitative researchers. Among them was Pat Sabena of Sabena Qualitative Research Services. Pat's wisdom, years of travel and her experiences in qualitative interviewing made for fascinating conversation. I asked Pat if she could share some non-proprietary tips she's obtained from respondents over the years. Here are ten that Pat shared.
- In groups on analgesics for headaches, several respondents told me how they use pressure points to assuage headaches without medication. One tip was to take the side bony part of each forefinger and press these VERY hard into the bony parts under the eyebrows for at least 60 seconds. This works!
- In another project on headaches, a woman showed me how to take my right thumb and forefinger and press deeply into the sorest spot on both sides of my left thumb and hold for at least 60 seconds. This, too, turns off a headache.
- In still another project on headaches, a respondent told me she moisturizes her forehead and then aims her hot air hairdryer at her headache spot. This brings blood to the surface and stops the pain. This also works for me.
- In a project on leg cramps, a respondent demonstrated how she takes the bony side of one forefinger and presses it hard and deep into the bony part under her nose for at least 60 seconds. The cramp disappears and doesn’t come back. This works for everyone I’ve told, even pregnant women and my husband.
- In a group on GERD, several respondents told me that a tablespoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar in a glass of hot water first thing in the morning helps to “balance” stomach acids and cuts down on heartburn and other reflux effects. This sounds counterintuitive, but turns out to be quite true.
- In groups on osteoarthritis, several respondents told me that a gluten-free diet had made an impressive difference in their pain level and range of motion. Who knew?
- In a group on appliances, women complained that high-efficiency front-loading washing machines give off a moldy smell. Another respondent said she had been told this is a common problem and requires a special tablet made by Tide and other companies to de-mold the washing machine once or twice a month.
- In another project on appliances, women complained that high-efficiency dishwashers don’t dry dishes sufficiently. One respondent reported she had switched to Finish Powerball All-in-1 Tabs and solved this issue.
- High-efficiency toilets present another problem. Besides keeping a plunger on hand, switch to single-ply tissue even if you don’t have a septic system.
- Tired of watering plants and leaving a dripping trail on the floor? A respondent in a gardening group told me she takes around a bucket of ice cubes and arranges an appropriate number to melt on each of her plants.
Thank you Pat for sharing these interesting tips with us! If you have any non-proprietary respondent or research tips you would like to share please let me know so I can include them in an upcoming newsletter.
Best Wishes,
Charlene Randall
L&E Research, Inc.
Pat Sabena, of Sabena Qualitative Research Services, has been in practice as an independent qualitative researcher since 1965, having conducted more than 8,000 focus groups and more than 3,000 one-on-one interviews in-person, by telephone or online. Pat was elected three times (1995-98) as president of QRCA, the worldwide professional society of qualitative researcher practitioners. She has taught workshops on qualitative research techniques and best practices, not only in the States, but also in the U.K., Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina, China and Ukraine.
For additional information about Sabena Qualitative Research Services, visit their website at www.qual.com
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New Qualitative Research Tool
YESmaybeNO Cards
Quickly and efficiently evaluate concepts or other stimuli. Uniquely shaped, reusable plastic cards on a ring in the colors of a traffic light that help you understand visceral reactions to any new stimuli in qualitative research or an ideation session. Each participant just "shows a card" how they feel about the particular stimuli- Yes Maybe or No- based on level of interest to start off the discussion.
Available now through "The Rite Concept"
For more information or to purchase a set of 8 visit:
http://theriteconcept.com/book/yesmaybenocards-com/
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5 Truths . . .
Just for fun
One of my colleagues recently forwarded an email to me that included a list of "Truths". The author is anonymous but the truths are quite humorous. Here are my favorites.
- I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
- There is great need for a sarcasm font.
- Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
- Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.
- Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey- but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.
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Managing the Debrief
by Dave Kreimer, Next Step Consulting
Usually, toward the end of a market research tour I meet with the clients who observed the research to identify the main research findings. The rigors of travel and viewing roughly a half-dozen groups or 20-30 interviews in a week usually leaves everyone feeling tired and stressed. As a result, this exercise often feels like a chore. However, I find it to be extremely valuable and I know that my clients appreciate the clarity it brings to the research process. I listen carefully to my client’s perceptions. Often their more intensive involvement with the specific issues explored in the research help to expand my view and sharpen my interpretation of what I heard. Conversely, I find that my usually more neutral observations sometimes help to resolve disagreements among the team.
I find that my main role as the facilitator of the debrief process is to help to focus the discussion on “what was heard” and how to interpret it… “the takeaway” as mentioned in the above cartoon. Diverging from this primary objective almost always leads to a debrief meeting that is overly long and sometimes contentious because it starts to drift into solutions. I believe and emphasize with my clients that taking the time to simply analyze the research results, prior to deciding what to do about it, is essential.
For time-pressured projects that require immediate action on the research results I sometimes schedule a 2-3 hour morning meeting following the last evening of groups. These extended debrief meetings begin with a discussion of the findings and then move into brainstorming and deciding about the immediate actions to take to address the key issues. There are many interesting ways to facilitate this type of “dynamic debrief” but it is a topic for another posting.
Here are a few tips for leading a focused and effective debrief meeting:
- Schedule the meeting time at the beginning of the project. Typically, the hour following the final group is the only time that fits the travel plans of all concerned.
- Discuss the research objectives and the debrief process with the observers prior to the beginning of the research. The more experienced the clients, the less this is necessary. However, if a company is doing qualitative research for the first time, I might provide a worksheet to the observers to help them take notes and focus on the key objectives.
- Think about the best way to structure the actual debriefing conversation. Typically, I like to spend a few minutes discussing general impressions and then work through the key issues depending on their importance to the research objectives.
- Begin the meeting by defining the objective to uncover the key research findings. When the discussion inevitably turns to solutions, acknowledge that these need to be discussed but will be dealt with more effectively in a future meeting when there are clear research findings to drive their decisions.
- If useful, establish a “parking lot” list, for issues that can be addressed at the subsequent meeting related to identifying solutions and future actions.
Hopefully, these tips will help to make your “debrief” a “bebrief” that generates full value for all concerned.
About Dave Kreimer and Next Step Consulting
Dave Kreimer's background in psychology, and years of facilitation and marketing experience enhance his market research skills. Since 1993, Dave has successfully designed, conducted, and documented roughly 500 research projects involving thousands of focus groups and personal interviews. The company’s most loyal clients include medical, educational, publishing, technology, and finance firms.
Next Step Consulting consists of a team of professionals supporting the efforts of Dave Kreimer, the company's principal.
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Yes We Can!
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Quote of the Month
"Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things."
~Peter Drucker
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