Center for Strategy Research

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• Vol. 15, Issue 5, November 2020

Hello!

It’s almost Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays. Lots of food and gratitude. We can’t share food with you while maintaining social distance, but can certainly share some gratitude. We hope that you enjoy this edition of Research with a Twist, “Winner, winner, turkey dinner.”

—Julie

Winner, winner, turkey dinner

Maybe, like me, you watch “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives,” and hear the host, Guy Fieri, say on a regular basis, “Winner, winner, chicken dinner” when a chicken dish tickles his fancy. Well, this time of year, a turkey seems more fitting, and the concept of “winner” might (or might not) apply to a certain recent contest we will not name.

As this very long, challenging year draws to a close, there’s still a lot for which we can give thanks, particularly as market researchers. So, we’d like to take a moment to express our gratitude for the following “winners”:

More than ever, companies still want to understand their customers

At the beginning of the pandemic, when states started shutting down most activities, we weren’t sure whether our projected market research studies would continue as planned, be put on hold, or even cancelled. We were relieved and gratified to learn that, not only did all the studies continue as planned, our clients wanted to know even more — particularly about how their customers and clients were managing during this difficult period.

We continue to be delighted at how focused our clients have been on supporting their customers. We are truly grateful for the opportunity to help understand how so many individuals and businesses are managing and even thriving in these unprecedented times.

Research participants are still participating

Not only are our clients still curious and asking questions, their customers and prospects are still answering them. Throughout this entire crazy year, research participants have remained committed to sharing their experience, opinions, and feedback with us, by picking up the phone or clicking on survey invitations.

We were not sure how research participation rates would be affected by the events of this year, and are happy to report that they have remained steady, if not slightly higher than pre-pandemic. It’s clear that customers appreciate that companies continue to be interested in their opinions.

We really are all in this together

Whether it’s the pandemic, the election, murder hornets, the deaths of beloved personalities such as Kobe Bryant, Alex Trebek, Tom Heinsohn, and Eddie Van Halen (just to name a few), or the influences of so many unusual events in 2020, it seems as if many of us have become more attuned to the communities to which we belong. We’ve noted a trend among colleagues, clients, research participants, vendors, and others towards working more collaboratively. The world slowing down a little, and more of us recognizing that we are all facing challenges and issues in this new global reality, seem to have made everyone a bit more grateful for the basics (health, family, jobs, for example) and more conciliatory when complications do arise.

Some combination of not having to commute to work, or being able to wear sweatpants (or no pants?) while working, has underscored the benefits of our new reality, as well as the challenges.

Here’s the Twist: And the real winner is… market research! It’s inspiring to know that despite one of the craziest years in recent history, we still have so much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. Thanks to all of you for another wonderful year of research!