Market Research Online Communities (MROCs) as they were typically called at the time were a yearly feature in GRIT’s new technology section for over a decade, until they became nearly ubiquitous due to their cost/time efficiencies over ad hoc research.   But do those advantages still hold when compared to the potential of AI synthetic data/respondents?  To add some context, AI is not new to our industry.  For example, Large Language Models (LLMs)have existed since 2018.  However, interest in LLM applications exploded with the arrival of ChatGPT just over a year ago (No ..read more

“Somebody was trying to tell me that CDs are better than vinyl because they don’t have any surface noise. I said, ‘Listen, mate, life has surface noise.”  Former BBC DJ, John Peel I love that lead-in quote and not simply because I’ve been a vinyl record enthusiast and collector since a guy named Reagan lived in the White House. I also love it because I’m a HI (Human Insight) enthusiast and embracing life’s surface noise is critical in the pursuit of human insight. Given the current state of AI enthusiasm, I should stipulate that I believe the emerging generative AI technologies h ..read more

I built my first insight community more than 20 years ago while working in insights and strategy for a GE business and I have championed them ever since.  If you have no or limited knowledge of insight communities, I hope this basic primer gets you started! What Is An Insights Community? The Basics An insight community is a valuable research tool that virtually brings together a select group of your customers, prospects, or key stakeholders, allowing you to regularly engage with them and gather valuable feedback and deep insights.  With an insight community you can better understand ..read more

AI (ChatGPT, et al) is set to disrupt the Market Research Industry.  A recent joint academic study (Princeton, Penn & NYU) with the sexy title “Occupational Heterogeneity in Exposure to Generative AI” listed MR in the top 10% of industries threatened by AI (75th out of 750).  Looking for more causes for concern, On Monday May 8th, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said the company will pause hiring for roles that could be replaced by AI in the coming years.   OK, let’s take a step back.  We could say AI has the potential of being as disruptive to MR as the internet was 2 ..read more

Insights Communities are an effective and affordable way for utility providers to track key performance indicators.  Do you need to regularly answer questions like these: How satisfied are customers with the service we deliver? Where are my customers most/least satisfied – and what can I do about it? Do customers find us easy to do business with? What is our Net Promoter Score and how is it trending? What are my customers’ perceptions of our brand? Who recalled my last communication or campaign? What do they remember about it? How can I better target my communications to reach customers ..read more

In January 2022, KLC rolled out a program we call KLCares.  While I’ve been fortunate to work for some fantastic companies (including three Fortune 200 brands), I have never been prouder of a company sponsored giving program. My former large employers give a lot back. That’s a good thing and I hope they continue to do it.  What’s different about KLCares is who gets to decide where the money goes.  In many (maybe most) companies an executive or small group of executives chooses where the donations go.  We decided to do it differently at KLC and our incredible team has made i ..read more

The core responsibility of insights providers is to help our clients make better decisions. Decisions based on disparate, objective analysis. On the other hand, autocratic leaders show a predisposition for their own subjective litmus tests.  We are seeing this play out in Ukraine.  But as is often the case in history, there are striking parallels to an earlier faulty litmus test. Approximately 60 years apart, two experienced Russian leaders met with much younger leaders of rival nations to assess their abilities.  In both instances, the Russian leader came away convinced th ..read more

To read Part 1 of this series click here “Building an Online Community That’s Right For You” To read Part 2 of this series click here “Assembling & Maintaining Your Community” You may be reading this article because you have been running MROCs for years and are interested in someone else’s perspective to learn new ideas or confirm what you already know. You may be thinking about building your first online community and are curious how others use theirs. Or maybe you came across it while searching for something else and don’t even know what an MROC is. (If you are in that last ..read more

We’ve all been there, running from store to store like our lives depend on it. The holidays just around the corner, and nothing stopping us from getting what we need to enjoy the season with friends and family. Except, maybe, those pesky checkout lines. You know the ones I mean. The kinds that wrap around the aisles of “impulse buys” like book lamps no one is ever going to use and novelty magnets with someone’s name printed across it in fancy script to make it feel “special”. And who has time to wait in that line when you need to buy things for mom and dad and your sister and your nephew and ..read more

The Customer Experience The customer experience is crucial to your business’s success. To make sure you are continuously improving your customer experience, you must listen to your customer voice. Your customers are the ones who purchase and use your product/service, so why not give them what they want? This helps build brand loyalty and repeat customers. People want to be listened to and have their ideas taken into consideration. Customers care a lot about how a company treats them. This can make or break a company’s reputation and their brand. Optimal customer experience can be found throug ..read more