Mobile Surveys and MROCs Are Now Mainstream

by | Oct 16, 2014 | Blog

It’s official! According to the most recent edition of GRIT, available today, mobile surveys and market research online communities are no longer emerging techniques; both are used by a majority of researchers:

  • 56% of respondents have used MROCs, up from 49% in the last survey 9 months ago
  • The growth in mobile has been even more dramatic, climbing to 64% usage, up from 41% in the last survey.

 

GRIT 2014 techniques used trends

Judging by its momentum, social media analytics will be the next technique to cross over to the mainstream: usage jumped 10 points to 46%.

Client-side researchers are more likely to have used the following than supplier-side researchers: social media analytics (47% to 36%) and Big Data analytics (39% to 29%). These are areas where the traditional market research industry might be losing market share to external firms. What are suppliers more likely than clients to see as the future of the industry? Suppliers have used mobile surveys, mobile qual, mobile ethnography, webcam interviews, microsurveys, gamification, facial analysis, and virtual reality more often than clients have.
GRIT 2014 techniques used
Techniques that were added to the survey for the first time, with reported usage, are:

  • Behavioral economics models – 25%
  • Internet of Things/Sensor-based data collection – 12%
  • Wearables based research – 7%

 

We’ll set an alarm on our Apple Watch for a year from now to see how these techniques are doing.

Author Notes:

Jeffrey Henning

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Jeffrey Henning, IPC is a professionally certified researcher and has personally conducted over 1,400 survey research projects. Jeffrey is a member of the Insights Association and the American Association of Public Opinion Researchers. In 2012, he was the inaugural winner of the MRA’s Impact award, which “recognizes an industry professional, team or organization that has demonstrated tremendous vision, leadership, and innovation, within the past year, that has led to advances in the marketing research profession.” In 2022, the Insights Association named him an IPC Laureate. Before founding Researchscape in 2012, Jeffrey co-founded Perseus Development Corporation in 1993, which introduced the first web-survey software, and Vovici in 2006, which pioneered the enterprise-feedback management category. A 35-year veteran of the research industry, he began his career as an industry analyst for an Inc. 500 research firm.