Tracker Transformation: An E-book for Managing Change in Tracking and Normed Studies

Our world of constant on-the-go connectedness has changed the way consumers participate in survey research.

If we define survey research, rightly so, as “studies which (still!) require participants to remain immobile in front of a computer and focused for long periods of time while they undergo an exercise that hasn’t fundamentally changed its form since the turn of the century when questionnaires were written on multiple sheets of paper,” the research industry has given an extraordinarily poor showing of itself. We are, after all, an industry that prides itself on knowing how people feel and act! We’ve let down our clients, who are being driven by these very respondents to existential change, and we’ve let down the respondents themselves, who are indisputably voting with their feet to do something else with their valuable time.

But wait, you say. As an industry we have been signaling this for several years. Everyone knows we need to change. We’ve been telling people to move to mobile, to shorten their studies. We’ve shown them research on research. If only the {sample suppliers, panel suppliers, end clients, client service people} would get their acts together, we’d be fine.

Setting aside the unhelpful finger-pointing (and the visible hypocrisy of many of these companies who continue to allow abusive and biased studies), there is a good deal of truth to this statement.

Suppliers have been doing their darnedest to lead the horse to water, but they can’t make it drink. (We’ve made our own commitment to doing this and have challenged the industry’s clients, researchers and suppliers to do the same.) There is a veritable mountain of data, analysis, and guidance calling for change and specifically prescribing the shape of the new world. Yet the core of the industry’s business—that which provides evergreen revenue streams for suppliers and sensitive KPI for clients—is still foundering. The changes we are seeing in markets, media consumption, behavior, and survey participation are now creating big headaches for tracking brand awareness, market share, competitive positioning, advertising effectiveness, satisfaction, and many other indicators that companies use to evaluate performance over time.

What suppliers have done well is to tell clients what their new research projects should look like. What they haven’t done, though, is help their clients successfully manage the transition.

This isn’t easy work, nor is it a common skillset. There are very few people in the industry who have personally managed a change of this magnitude. Trackers and normed studies typically have at least six figures worth of corporate decisions riding on them. Bigger ones can have an impact two or three orders of magnitude greater. Then there are the personal implications in terms of performance assessments and thus reputation and remuneration.

There’s a lot at stake. Changing trackers and normed studies is challenging. But it is very do-able with the right preparation and plan. 

This is a subject where we have experience. In keeping with our belief that quality should be part of everything we do, we’re sharing our experience with our clients and the broader industry.

Starting today, and over the course of next few weeks, AYTM will be releasing our e-book Tracker Transformation: Managing Change in Trackers and Normed Studies. The book is specifically designed for corporate researchers and consultants who are tackling these challenges to ensure their brands continue to measure their markets and their performance accurately.

Chapter 1 digs into the seismic changes in consumer behavior that, in addition to disrupting global markets, have created such turbulence for tracking studies. This chapter also confronts the major organizational obstacles that are preventing research buyers and suppliers from embracing change.

Chapter 2 serves up a proven project management framework and steps to follow to ensure success. Change is possible, but it requires a plan that is pursued with diligence and care. Steady hands and transparent routine communication can win the day.

Chapter 3 speaks to the methodology issues one must confront when contemplating change for studies where being consistently wrong is sometimes preferable to being right. This chapter explores the questionnaire and sampling issues arising from the mounting evidence indicating that, despite consistent fielding practices, trackers are going off the rails due to changing respondent behavior.

Chapter 4 offers advice for research buyers on preparing their organizations for change. As unsexy as tracking and normed studies are, the prospect of changing them raises anxiety levels and sets off alarms all over the organizational chart. Without empathy and constant attention, all will be lost. Managing the optics is a necessary—and very difficult—condition for success.

Chapter 5 addresses a variety of topics that don’t quite fit elsewhere. These are the big But what about …? questions that clients continue to ask to which suppliers have remained largely silent. The book concludes with a wrap-up and some thoughts on the future of tracking studies and how they fit in the constellation of insights.

One final note: throughout the e-book we use the word “tracker” or “tracking study” as a shortcut for all manner of studies which, through unchanged design and consistent execution, ensure comparability against previous periods or norms over time. Put differently, if the prospect of a trend break or shifting norms makes you nervous, this book is for you. 

Download links

• Chapter 1: How Did We Get Here?
• Chapter 2: The Project Plan
• Chapter 3: Managing the Methodology
• Chapter 4: Managing Stakeholders
• Chapter 5: But What About…? (The most frequently asked questions about going through a change of this nature)