Using the right tool for the right job

24th February, 2010 - Posted by Tom Raybould - No Comments

Growing up I was introduced to the term “Brummagem Screwdriver”. A screwdriver is an elegant and precise tool perfectly designed for use with screws. The Brummagem Screwdriver can be used with screws but does not achieve the same results. For people outside the west midlands the term refers to a hammer.

You can use a hammer to drive screws but the results tend to be less than satisfying, likewise you can use a screwdriver to hammer nails with little to no effect. Both the screwdriver and the hammer are highly effective tools when applied in the correct situation. This doesn’t apply just to potentially self-harmful DIY escapades, everyday we make choice after choice to ensure the tools we use give us the results we desire. It’s about using the right tool for the right job.

Research evolution has brought us “Communities” and as with many new solutions the research community is touted as a silver bullet for many research requirements. There is no denying that the research community methods and applications are potentially vast, but is it always the best solution in every situation? Converting the potential of a community requires a great deal of skill, effort and time and with the wealth of other methodologies and tools available to the researcher the question should perhaps be is it the most appropriate in all situations?

Thus are you using the right tool for the job?

 

If a job’s worth doing

14th January, 2010 - Posted by Tom Raybould - No Comments

If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. It’s a common and universal proverb; it’s ubiquitous and can be applied to nearly every aspect of life and business. It seems so simple to follow but sometimes doing a job well is easier said than done.

The research industry is certainly not immune to this. I am sure most people can point to at least one project that failed to match its potential or deliver its expected objectives. There are numerous possible causes for this perhaps; the project was just a token effort with insufficient budget, manpower or time (or a combination of all three); maybe there were unrealistic expectations or external pressures. The possibilities are endless.

So how do you get the most value from your research? Well it isn’t enough to just implement a research strategy; its execution requires careful planning, expertise, considered objectives (typing “SMART objectives” in your favourite search engine and you’ll find a plethora of explanations) and of course it takes effort.

But as they say “If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well”.

 

Beehive sponsors four beehives in third world countries for Xmas

17th December, 2009 - Posted by Tom Raybould - 1 Comment

Wishing you a very merry Christmas from Beehive Research.

Beehive wishes everyone a very merry Xmas and a happy New Year.  Instead of sending clients, partners, associates and prospective clients a conventional Xmas greetings card, Beehive, as in previous years, sent out ecards instead  to help the environment (less use of paper) and to use the money spent on cards and postage on a better cause.

For people in third world countries, bees are a lifeline.
This year we sponsored FOUR beehives in third world countries like Bolivia, India and Africa. Honey is a popular source of nutrition (particularly when other foods are scarce). Our hives (abuzz with bees) will be a welcome source of income to poor, landless families. With the money they make from selling honey, they can buy food and clothes and educate their children.

Who would have thought that bees could be such a powerful force in the struggle against poverty? And like the online research panels and communities we provide our clients they will have a real buzz.

Best Regards and a Merry Christmas

Beehive Research

 

Research panel management best practice guide

16th November, 2009 - Posted by Paul Kavanagh - No Comments

How will our FREE 24 page guide help you?

Sometimes online research can seem a little like the “wild west”, there are lots of pioneers out there, but not much clear guidance on how they should operate. Whether you are thinking of setting up a new online panel, a research community or managing an existing one, we at Beehive have put together a clear, practical road map to help steer you in the right direction.

Our 7 Principles of Custom Panel Management will demystify the process of developing your customer panel into a key business asset. This guide will help you tune into the true voice of the customer, improve the integrity and validity of your panel and, through panel enrichment, deliver greater depth of insight in research findings. We will show you techniques to keep your panel in good health and maintain information accuracy, while ensuring your panel members are engaged and motivated.

We highlight tried and tested quality control routines that will help you standardise your practices and improve consistency.  This guide will also help you avoid the potential costly pitfalls of failing to meet legal compliance and Industry codes of practice.

 Why is Quality Panel Management so important?

Investing in a custom panel pays huge dividends to an organisation, not only in the cost saving that can be gained from conducting research to the group (savings of 40 to 50% not uncommon), but also in the valuable and rapid insight that the panel can give to help make informed decisions and drive businesses forward.

However, when making important decisions that can have an impact upon the success or failure of a new product or service, an ad campaign, a pricing strategy or other strategically important objective, the credibility of the information on which the decision is based must be robust otherwise the wrong direction can be taken.

Your key asset

For this reason the quality of the sample or audience interviewed must therefore be of the highest quality otherwise any cost saving derived can be insignificant to the impact of a misdirected decision. Custom panels therefore, whilst a massive business asset, must be treated as such and the implementation of a well designed custom panel (a separate best practice guide is available on this) and a quality panel management process does lead to better informed decisions, competitive advantage and a better return on the investment.

At Beehive we therefore believe that every custom panel should be treated as the asset it is and by adhering to our principles of best practice will deliver the organisation greater value, more robust results and more informed decisions.

In the guide we have isolated 7 key principles of Best Practice Quality Panel Management that will make an organisation’s custom panel more effective:

7 key principles of Best Practice Quality Panel Management

• Principle 1 – Diversity and representation – “Obtaining balanced opinions”
• Principle 2 – Validation and enhancement – “Real people, real information”
• Principle 3 – Information accuracy – “Keeping it current and true”
• Principle 4 – Managing engagement – “All people are not the same”
• Principle 5 – Reporting and monitoring – “Panel health”
• Principle 6 – Quality control – “Auditable processes”
• Principle 7 – Compliance – “Keeping it legal”

To obtain your free 24 page guide register in the Beehive Members area – www.beehiveresearch.co.uk/members

 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas from Everyone at Beehive Research

8th December, 2008 - Posted by Tom Raybould - No Comments

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas from Everyone at Beehive Research.

This year we have opted to send you an email greetings card (ecard). There are many advantages to ecards but we think that by sending you an ecard rather than a conventional card we can spread Christmas a little further this year.

That’s why we’re taking the money we save on sending Christmas cards and donating it to charity. For every ecard we send we are making a donation to Barnardo’s (for more informtation on the wonderful work that Barnado’s do please visit http://www.barnardos.org.uk/).

We hope that this message not only brightens your screen this Christmas but also gives children and young people a brighter future.

Best Regards and a Merry Christmas
Beehive Research

 

“Co-Creation” Builds Better Research Communities

26th June, 2008 - Posted by Paul Kavanagh - No Comments

Paul Kavanagh,  Founder and Director of Beehive Research Ltd (Epsom, Surrey, UK), noted research has traditionally been a linear process wherein organizations hire an agency to query consumers, who provide answers to the agency, who returns final results to manufacturers. Co-creation however adds several layers of communication to that model, with organizations engaging in two-way dialogue with consumers, consumers asking questions of and getting answers from agencies, and consumers having dialogues with each other that are captured and included in the research process.

“Co-creation abounds in the online world,” he said,  “and manufacturers are capitalizing on it. Procter & Gamble, for example, has been working with consumers through its Tremor Panel to generate word-of-mouth marketing. Several organizations and agencies are conducting research in online virtual worlds like Second Life. Organizations are also including consumers in product design and innovation,” he said, citing websites NIKEID.com and legofactory.com, which both allow consumers to design their own products. “Similarly, companies like McDonald’s and L’Oréal have partnered with consumers on advertising creation.”

Kavanagh  suggests that online communities are the forerunner of “Research 2.0,” suggesting, “The key to successful ‘research communities’ is finding the middle ground between the kind of engagement found at social networking sites like Facebook and YouTube and virtual worlds like Second Life, and the more traditional online panels and research studies.” The motivations for being a panelist on a commercial access panel are also very different from those seen on an organizations customer panel. Typical motivations driving the latter research community participation, he said, include brand loyalty, the allure of community information sharing and varying degrees of engagement / communication.

While traditional research “has always been about representative sample, Word of Mouth Advertising (WOM) often utilizes elite groups, like ‘Mavens,’ people who have a disproportionate influence on other members of their network,” Kavanagh explained. “In research 2.0 can these influencers cause results to be altered and, as such, should we be concerned by biases in social networks? Will our community include all people we should engage with, and how do we balance it to engage just with the people we want to speak to?”

Kavanagh presented a case study on Screwfix.com, the UK’s largest direct and online supplier of trade tools, accessories and hardware products. “They had an existing talk forum and panel, but faced challenges with managing diversity, engagement, segmentation and communication,” he described. Asked for suggestions, Screwfix.com panelists said they wanted to be able to leave feedback on purchased items, score other panel members’ suggestions, see feedback or a survey summary, and see the actions Screwfix.com took as a result of panel input.

To assist in driving strategy forwards, Beehive polled Screwfix panelists about their interaction with and affinities for “Web 2.0” venues like YouTube and Facebook, and to assess what types of  co-creative engagement would be attractive, with responses including quick polls, blogs, product reviews, forums, chat and others. “Ratings, for example, have become a major feature of communities like Trip Advisor and Amazon,” Kavanagh said. “They can provide users with feelings of engagement or empowerment, and an opportunity to influence, share, praise or even disrupt.”

 Before implementing a rating system, Kavanagh advised researchers to consider the following:

• Will previous knowledge of other’s opinions cause a “sheep effect?”

• What are the motivations for people to leave rating feedback?

• What type of people leave ratings?

• What is the profile of these responders?

• Can we trust the results or are ratings just good for engagement?

To investigate this further, Beehive ran three test questions using 1,127 respondents split into three groups to see if displaying the average rating before a vote is cast––a common practice––significantly affected the outcome. “In each test, all three groups were shown the same suggestion for improving the Screwfix community and asked to rate it,” Kavanagh related. Group A and Group B each saw a different average rating on the screen when they read the question and cast their vote, and Group C saw no rating (control). “Initial findings suggest showing average scores may have an influential effect on subsequent responders,” Kavanagh revealed. “In addition, younger responders gave higher scores in all three tests; they generally appear more in tune with social networks and interacting with other community members, and this has significant importance to the type of community an organization should build.”

Future Beehive communities will be built through co-creation between Beehive, the client and community members,  and based on the business requirements, audience type, and new opportunities/techniques. “We feel this will maximize research insight, engagement, diversity and thus representativeness.”

Kavanagh concluded by drawing parallels between co-created communities and those in nature. “Man-made communities are evolving as members work together to design, shape and improve the environment through communication and feedback,” he described. “Members exhibit altruistic behavior and also adopt distinct roles  whether Mavens, early adopters, advocates, shapers, sheep, etc.

Bees, on the other hand, have been doing this is nature for years, working and communicating together to design and build their community, exhibiting altruistic behavior–collecting nectar for common good –improving the environment through pollination  and having distinct roles.”

 

Beehive Research announces appointment of Rune Wennesland

5th January, 2008 - Posted by Paul Kavanagh - No Comments

Beehive Research is pleased to announce the appointment of Rune Wennesland as Head of Operations. Wennesland, who formerly worked at Confirmit for over 7 years, has joined Beehive to provide expertise in utilising online software and managing the delivery of panel and research projects to clients.

Paul Kavanagh, Director of Beehive says, “Having Rune on board is fantastic news for Beehive and for our clients. Rune’s knowledge of online software and its application is one of the best in the industry”.

Wennesland’s main responsibilities will be split between consultancy, building customer panels and communities and managing Beehives outsourced research services and operations.

Kavanagh added, “Rune will also be spending some of his time developing our product offering. We are already working on an add-on to the Confirmit Reportal reporting module, which will enable existing users to build online reports with greater efficiency”. 

“We will be expanding upon these products over the next six months and assessing where we can add value to online research users generally across the industry”.

Mark Pearson, Director and Founder – Creation Insight Ltd, and former Head of Brand and Customer Insights at Egg says, “In my time at Egg a key component of our insight and customer experience was delivered using the Confirmit online software. Rune was fundamental in helping turn our strategic intent into an actionable solution. We found it a pleasure to deal with someone who was so accommodating and creative in the solutions he delivered. I am sure Rune will be an asset at Beehive and their clients.”

 Wennesland commented, “I was thrilled when Paul contacted me regarding this position. It is exiting to be providing an area of expertise that seems to be in demand in the marketplace. Developing and leading the operational side of Beehive Research is a great opportunity for me personally, and I am confident that that we will deliver top quality service and products to our clients”.

 

Beehive Research Launches

23rd October, 2007 - Posted by Paul Kavanagh - No Comments

Beehive Research Ltd has launched as an independent company specialising in designing, building and managing customer online research panels and communities for its clients. In addition to general online research consultancy, Beehive will also be providing clients with outsourced services for monthly management of their panel(s) and support in building and delivering online research studies and reports.

 “Custom online panels are a very effective way for organisations to communicate and obtain feedback and opinion from their clients, customers or even employees. Over the past 3 or 4 years, the number of custom panels and customer communities has been growing, and we see this trend continuing, especially with the excitement that web 2.0 is creating”, says Paul Kavanagh, Director and Founder of Beehive Research Limited.

 With over 7 years experience using online research software, conducting online research studies, building complex online reports and online panels, Beehive is well placed to maximise the value from a client’s investment in online research.

 Kavanagh, who previously set up and was Head of Experian’s Canvasse Opinion research team and online panel, has launched Beehive to meet the growing demand from clients for online research services and consultancy.

 “This is a really exciting time for us at Beehive. Online research has been expanding rapidly over the last few years and more and more clients have built, or are looking at building their own customer online research panels and communities.”

 “Online research, however, is still comparatively young and whilst clients frequently have very experienced internal research teams to deliver insight, they often lack the time, resource or experience to build and manage an online panel or community. Beehive’s services enable researchers to focus more time on delivering insight and ROI to the business.”

 Kavanagh stresses though, that Beehive is not a software solution provider, “There are many excellent online software platforms in the marketplace and our role is not to be software designers. Instead, we work with our clients and the software to provide innovative solutions that really meet their business objectives”.