In Depth Learning: Pre & Post Conference Workshops

Pre Conference Workshops
Sunday October 22, 2006
Both begin at 9:00 AM and conclude at 12:00 PM. Choose from one of these morning workshops.

Workshop A: Competitive Intelligence Strategies for the Multi-Tasking Market Researcher Understanding Today to Anticipate Tomorrow: Best Practices in Competitive Intelligence & Competitor Analysis

In businesses where disruptive technological and business model innovations threaten to transform once-dominant market leaders irrelevant in the eyes of fickle customer, every market research team must understand competitive intelligence and competitor analysis techniques to be sustainably successful. The good news is that understanding and anticipating change in the competitive forces that alter industry dynamics are based on best practices that operate predictably across the strategic (market alignment), operational (asset alignment) and tactical (customer alignment) dimensions of a firm. In this workshop, participants will learn:

• Early warning indicators and how to anticipate changes before they happen;
• Why customers decide to buy from one competitor instead of another and how sensing shifts in value perception by customers can change market share dynamics; and,
• Which tools and techniques maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of competitive intelligence best practices.

Arik Johnson, Founder & Managing Director of Aurora WDC,
Editor & Chief Strategist
ReconG2.com, and Author of "The Need-to-Know Manifesto"

Workshop B: Predictive Product Development How to Make Great Products that People Want BEFORE They Even Know They Want Them

Using experimental design (systematic variation) of components, you find out what specifically drives the customer to respond — whether text, or pictures. When these experiments are made easy, fast, cheap, robust, and available to anyone, the effect levels the playing field. When you systematically experiment, you're likely to be ‘correct' far more often than the person who guesses. And, if you use these experiments to develop knowledge, you will discover meaningful patterns far faster, far easier, far more productively than any of your competitors do. THAT EASILY-ACQUIRED KNOWLEDGE OF HOW THE WORLD WORKS CREATES YOUR TRUE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE.

• Rule Developing Experimentation (RDE), is the process of testing and modifying alternative ideas, packages, products, or services in a specifically disciplined way so that the developer and marketer discover what appeals to the customer, even if the customer can't articulate the need, much less the solution.
• RDE prescribes what to do, rather than just leaving the suggestions as hypotheses.
• RDE gives marketers and developers actionable rules (directions), even if there was no inkling of direction about what to do at the start of the RDE process.
• RDE breeds market success through knowledge by clearly and dramatically revealing what specific factors drive consumer acceptance and rejection.

Brent Kreiger
Moskowitz Jacobs Inc.

To participate in this workshop, check the box that reads: Workshop B, M1828B3 on your registration form.

 

Post Conference Workshops
Thursday October 26, 2006
To conclude your conference experience, we encourage you to add on a post-conference workshop. The extended 3 hour sessions provide the opportunity to take a comprehensive look at a particular topic and benefit from the expertise of an industry expert.

Both begin at 9:00 AM and conclude at 12:00 PM. Choose from one of these morning workshops.

Workshop C: Balancing Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Whether you have qualitative or quantitative resources on staff or you commission research, each of us can benefit from learning how to determine when either mode is preferred as well as when they should be employed together to provide a more reliable perspective of the business challenge or opportunity at hand. We will first review the distinctions and interplay between and applicability of qualitative and quantitative research modes, then quickly focus on the practical applications of collaborative research designs and how your department/enterprise can transition to a more balanced employment of these modes. We'll highlight how clients can benefit from such a balanced approach, closing with how you can enlighten your staff and internal clients of the virtues of balancing quantitative and qualitative research. The workshop will strive to review traditional and online methodologies, paying particular attention the timeline, costs and interplay of each mode.

Judith Ricker, Division President, Marketing Communications Research,
Harris Interactive

Clay Dethloff
Harris Interactive

Workshop D: Modern Techniques in Online Marketing Research

Advances in both technology and technique continue to propel the growth in online research. By the end of 2006, more than 40% of all U.S. research dollars will be spent using Internet-based techniques. And as more and more work is being done in this medium, we continue to learn more about motivating respondents, controlling for bad survey behavior and making the most out of the rich-media environment.

This three-hour workshop will provide researchers with a best-practices approach on how to conduct market research on the Internet. It is designed for those who are either new to Internet research or for those who would like an update on the ever-growing array of methods being employed in online research.

The aim of this session is to acquaint participants with the types of research being conducted, on a global basis, utilizing the Internet. Topics for discussion will include: continuing differences in response patterns between online and traditional research methods, criteria for evaluating alternative methodologies for Web research, online sampling considerations, best practices in setting up and running online surveys, controlling for cheating and lazy response patterns and future trends in research. A portion of the workshop also will be devoted to qualitative research questions and methodological considerations for conducting qualitative research online.

A combination of open discussion and recent case-study analysis will make this a fresh and informative session. Specifically, we will examine the following:

• Overview of the current Internet-based research industry around the world
• Types of research studies typically fielded via the Web
• Issues related to validity and modern techniques for identifying and removing cheaters from online sample sources
• Techniques for recruiting and qualifying respondents for Web-based interviews and tips for creating a positive online research experience
• Comparisons of cost, speed, flexibility and control between various online technologies
• Best practices for email invitations (complying with European Data Privacy Protection and the U.S. CAN SPAM Act of 2003) and for designing basic online survey instruments

Dr. Bill MacElroy, President
Socratic Technologies, Inc.