SSI Defines the Successful Mobile Survey Experience at ESOMAR

SHELTON, Conn., Sept. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- ESOMAR's 68^th Annual Congress being held in Dublin, Ireland Sept. 27-30 is designed "to bring together the largest international research audience to define, discover, dream and delight at the latest revelations in research, marketing and advertising." SSI plans to turn those revelations into reality by showing how mobile survey design should be programmed, tested and seamlessly executed around the world. 

The move to mobile is on. New data from a Digital Citizen study, fielded by SSI in the United States, shows a growing number of people, especially millennials, using smartphones in ways that present accurate, in-the-moment data collection opportunities for market researchers. Millennials differ dramatically from boomers when it comes to using their mobile device to get directions (79% vs. 47%), watch TV (50% vs. 13%) or compare prices (70% vs. 31%). The most striking difference, as revealed by the study, is the use of mobile apps. Of the 12 most popular apps listed, 97% of millennials said they had used at least one while 41% of boomers said they didn't use any.

"Mobile respondents are growing in importance and have different profile characteristics than online respondents. Yet the industry's ability to effectively survey them has not kept pace," said Chris Clarke, chief marketing officer of SSI. "All mobile respondents need to be included in market research or the sample becomes less representative. While the industry has made a concerted effort to bring panel members to the mobile platform, it must have a truly mobile-friendly survey for them to take."

SSI continues to invest in educating and encouraging clients to go mobile. Still, the SSI QuestTest™ data, which is based on thousands of surveys tested during the past two years, reveals only 35% of surveys are mobile optimized.

"The market research industry must work harder to bring about the kind of change that will ensure we win the increasingly difficult battle for people's time and attention. We need to be more inventive in building questionnaires that truly involve and interest people or risk significant declines in quality data and loss of our most valuable shared asset – our research participants," explained Clarke.

SSI is the only company that has a comprehensive mobile solution featuring SSI QuickThoughts™, a user-friendly mobile app available in 19 countries; a large, high quality, diverse multi-mode panel; a tool called QuestTest for testing and reporting on mobile-friendliness; a set of mobile-smart survey design templates; and a team of expert programmers, project managers and data processors.

This year marks the third consecutive year SSI has been the Gold Sponsor of ESOMAR's Annual Congress. SSI also sponsors the Future Talent Meets the Industry event, held on Sunday, Sept. 27, when it hosts a reception to hear students' perspectives on innovation and the future of market research. These university students were selected by ESOMAR through an application process based on their interest and desire to learn more about the industry.

SSI is also one of four finalists for the prestigious ESOMAR Excellence Award that recognizes "outstanding achievement and excellence in contributing to the market research industry at an international level."

SSI will be exhibiting in connecting booths 39 and 40 at the entrance to the event being held at the Convention Center Dublin located at Spencer Dock, North Wall Quay, Dublin 1, Ireland. In addition to the exhibit space, SSI has unveiled a new mobile responsive Website at www.surveysampling.com, with simple-to-use navigation and full access to information on its new mobile solutions as well as expert content on a variety of research topics.

As part of the ESOMAR program, SSI's Jackie Lorch, vice president global knowledge management, and Pete Cape, director, global knowledge management, will host SSI Masterclass on Sept. 27, between 3-5 p.m. The title of their workshop is Survey Design for Mobile Devices where audience members will learn about best practices when it comes to design and implementation of mobile-friendly surveys. 

On Sept. 28, after a keynote address by Susan Hayes Culleton from the Positive Economist, SSI President and CEO Chris Fanning will present the sixth annual SSI QUEST Awards. SSI introduced the QUEST Awards (Questionnaire Experience Satisfaction Tool) in 2010 to support the industry's continuing quest to improve respondents' survey experience and encourage creativity in developing surveys that delight participants. Scores are based on a variety of factors that have been shown to correlate with respondent satisfaction.

In the afternoon of Sept. 28, Cape will speak and moderate an in-person, no-holds-barred discussion between researchers and mobile participants entitled, Face to Face... But Will We See Eye to Eye? Cape will lead an interactive session in two parts; results from new research in seven countries on today's research respondent – how, where and why they take surveys; and a separate part on the industry's challenges in a mobile future with a panel of respondents talking about their survey taking experiences and answering audience questions.

SSI is the only market research data solution supplier speaking at ESOMAR.

SSI is the premier global provider of data solutions and technology for consumer and business-to-business survey research, reaching respondents in 100+ countries via Internet, telephone, mobile/wireless and mixed-access offerings. SSI staff operates from 30 offices in 21 countries, offering sample, data collection, CATI, questionnaire design consultation, programming and hosting, online custom reporting and data processing. SSI's 3,600 employees serve more than 2,500 clients worldwide. Visit SSI at www.surveysampling.com.

SSI QuickThoughts and SSI QuestTest are trademarks of Survey Sampling International LLC.

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SOURCE SSI (Survey Sampling International)