GMIFY

For many years our industry’s fixation naturally focused on the surveys completed by panelists and their message has been consistently clear - shorten them up, make them tighter and more focused. But Methuselah may have been the first to utter it. Market research refers to it as the survey experience but the above message seems to have fallen on deaf ears. What our industry is sadly missing is that the survey experience is only a slice of the pie. Folks, it’s really all about the total respondent experience, of which the survey is only a part. So, what is the survey experience? Let’s start with the panel company impression that rattles around a panelist’s head from time to time. Does it bring a smile to the panelist’s face, does it produce frustration or is it plain vanilla in nature with no real impression? Then we move to the invite sitting in a panelist’s inbox amidst their clutter of emails. Does it jump off the page or it indistinguishable? Now it’s time for the instructions that either take you on a pleasurable journey or thrust you into a brick wall leading you to the screener questions that you seem to answer innumerable times. Notice we haven’t gotten to the very last slice of the pie yet – the actual survey! Even if surveys don’t dramatically change and if time tells us anything, they may not - by creating a better overall respondent experience, a hallmark of GMIFY, surveys will still receive better focus with better data produced. #dataquality #marketresearch #insightsassociation #esomar #newmr

A leading global research company, on their website, indicated these are the five things you can do to keep your research participants happy: (1) Offer each market research participant an incentive for their time such as a gift card, merchandise or money (2) Keep the process short & sweet when it comes to surveys or discussion guides with the goal being brief but targeted (3) Tailor questions to your audience to get meaningful responses, in other words, get participants’ thoughts without bogging them down (4) Personalize when possible when it comes to the invites sent to panelists and (5) Ask respondents for feedback on the research process so that they feel part of things. These are simply the five things that prevent a panelist from being angry but they have absolutely nothing to do with a panelist being happy. They are simply table stakes, nothing more, nothing less. Now these are the five things that can truly make participants happy: (1) Make them feel more like players by being able to participate when the urge strikes (2) Make the entire respondent experience feel more game-like than survey-like (3) Turn any survey into a gaming opportunity (4) Introduce a fun, competitive spirit into any task and (5) Give participants a chance to compare themselves against others through tournaments. #dataquality #marketresearch #insightsassociation #esomar #newmr

Recently I read an article from an industry person who conducted a little experiment. He was questioning the respondent experience of panelists so he joined 20 different panels to get a first-hand impression. He was certainly not enlightened by anything he witnessed. The surveys were too long, many were not interesting and he usually spent more time than what he was told. All in all, it confirmed his worst fears. But it was his conclusion I found interesting - if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Just because something continues to exist doesn’t mean it ain’t broke and I’m sorry but panelists and their respondent experience is broke and in desperate need of fixing. Why? Because it’s impossible for the industry to prove that the experiences of bored & frustrated panelists produce great data. #dataquality #marketresearch #insightsassociation #esomar #newmr

My favorite app brings a smile to my face. What’s important here is that I may not even be playing it and I’m happy just thinking about it because it’s fun. Now we know no panelists today feel this way about the respondent experience provided by panel companies and I know that billions of data points are being collected and churned out each day and companies are making critical decisions off of them. But it’s the only game in town so there’s no choice but to run into the fire. I’m not saying the industry should put up the white flag. Rather, it’s simply time to run smack into the middle of established industry behavior and change everything because the respondent experience is frustrating, boring and definitely not enjoyable. And why should a panel company care, putting aside the fact that better data means better decisions, well, if you can show that panelists are excited about the unique environment you’ve created, you’ve got a chance to leave everyone else in the dust and that means greater revenue. #dataquality #marketresearch #insightsassociation #esomar #newmr

I have no great interest in the invitations I get from panel companies and I'm sure I'm not alone. They don't bring a smile to my face and they don't generate any happiness or enjoyment when I see them. Players who open up their favorite apps on their smartphones are engaged people but most panelists don't exhibit that level of engagement. GMIFY can turn disinterested panelists into engaged players and for a panel company, it means an easier time growing their panels and retaining their panelists where they'll spend less money constantly recruiting disinterested panelists, not to mention the added revenue benefits of being known as an industry leader. #dataquality #marketresearch #insightsassociation #esomar #newmr

While high-quality data is craved by clients so that they have the utmost confidence in the decisions they’re making, how can we expect this when an out of sight, out of mind panelist mindset is present featuring demotivation and only one-directional communication? GMIFY creates an enjoyable & entertaining environment for panelists through its gamification elements such as prediction, wagering & tournament play, serving as both a panel management tool and revenue-producing methodology, turning respondents into players with data that translates into some unique & insightful metrics. #dataquality #marketresearch #insightsassociation #esomar #newmr (1)  

A panelist’s behavior has never changed – while minding your own business, should an invite land in your inbox, maybe you’ll open it up or maybe you won’t. There has never been an opportunity for a panelist to indulge when the urge strikes. GMIFY provides panelist access to two-way communication for the first time, since in addition to waiting for an invite to arrive, a panelist can play GMIFY whenever they want. #dataquality #marketresearch #insightsassociation #esomar #newmr

When the starting point between a panelist and their panel company is vanilla, is there any wonder that these folks have little motivation to open up invites sitting in their inboxes? GMIFY, by creating a positive impression, provides the impetus for panelists to open up their invites, producing greater opportunities for the successful completion of surveys. #dataquality #marketresearch #insightsassociation #esomar #newmr

It’s difficult to label the association between a panelist and their panel company as a ‘relationship’ since many times panel companies leave no lasting impression on their most important commodity. This is the last thing that any panel company wants yet it can happen. GMIFY seeks a top-of-mind impression with its panelists, similar to the way gamers think about their favorite apps. #dataquality #marketresearch #insightsassociation #esomar #newmr

One of the few “motivational gems” that panel companies can put in front of their panelists is not much different than what they’ve been doing for decades: incentives. And guess what – it isn’t working spectacularly well today. It’s simply not producing anything resembling true engagement. GMIFY was built to create a more enjoyable environment for panelists. #dataquality #marketresearch #insightsassociation #esomar #newmr