omnibus research for the non researcher

8/6/2019 Omnibus Research for the Non Researcher

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902 Carnegie Center, Suite 220Princeton, NJ 08540www.orcinternational.com

Getting You Started

OMNIBUS RESEARCH FOR THE NON RESEARCHER


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Table of Contents

What is an Omnibus Survey..3

The Advantages of Using an Omnibus Survey......3

Using an Omnibus Survey to Study Specific Audience....5

Which is Better: Online or Telephone Omnibus Surveys?............................................................7

What to Consider When Choosing Between a Telephone or Online Omnibus Survey...9

Tips For Getting Started..10

Choosing an Omnibus Research Partner........11

Conclusion.....12

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As the pace of business increases while research budgets are tightening, marketingprofessionals are looking for more cost effective methods to quickly gain insights and answers

without sacrificing quality. Many companies turn to omnibus surveys as a primary method ofmeasuring public opinion and awareness. This guide outlines when and how to properly usethese surveys.

WHAT IS AN OMNIBUS SURVEY?

An omnibus survey is a shared cost, multi-client method of quantitative research where data ona variety of subjects is collected during the same interview. Omnibus surveys are a way to getfast answers to questions (to conduct a poll or survey of your own) at a fraction of the cost of acustom study.

The research firm designs the methodology, schedules the study, and each time thesurvey is done, asks a number of standard demographic type questions (age, sex,income, region of the country, etc.).

Clients then submit their specific (usually from 3-10, but sometimes more) proprietaryquestions. They share costs and common demographic data collected from eachrespondent.

THE ADVANTAGES OF USING AN OMNIBUS SURVEY

Cost is lower because clients share the common costs, the survey methodology isstandardized, and the resources needed to conduct the survey (programmers,interviewers and researchers) can be pre-scheduled.

Individually priced questions allow for adaptability to your budget.

Timeliness - because omnibus studies are conducted in a time efficient manner and runon a set schedule.

Responses to the questions are proprietary, belonging to each client individually. Youshare the costs, but not the results.

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Omnibus surveys can be used many ways to support your business. Some uses include:

New Business Pitcheso Gain insight into your market & consumers to help build knowledge for a pitch.

Test New Concepts & Messageso Learn what potential consumers think about your new concept and what

messages resonate so you can effectively plan and execute strategy.

Measure the Impact of a News Story on a Companys Reputation (either alone or tosupplement a media audit)

o Are the media mentions resonating with the public? Are they affecting attitudes?

Validate Qualitative Research Resultso Quickly & effectively validate your qualitative research with a quantitative study.

Measure the Publics Awareness of Your Product or Brando Understand how your brand & product is perceived in the marketplace and how

effective your marketing efforts are.

Public Relationso Help get your company (or companys client) in the news by conducting

representative surveys for publications and PR activities.

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USING AN OMNIBUS SURVEY TO STUDY SPECIFIC AUDIENCES

An omnibus can be an effective way to interview certain targeted audiences, assuming theymake up a large segment of the overall population. Unlike most do it yourself surveys, anomnibus allows you to conduct your own survey among a statistically valid and representativesample of the general public.

Many surveys you see quoted in the media are conducted amongst 1,000 people; in fact manyof those surveys are done in an omnibus. However, a sample size of 1,000 is not alwaysnecessary if you are interested in sub groups. If your target audience is a subset of thepopulation (like men under 45, baby boomers, etc) a smaller sample of 400-800 is often all thatyou need. In addition, if you want to compare the reactions of different groups in the population(say those living in the Northeast compared to Midwesterners) an even smaller sample size of75125 can be used to analyze or compare groups.

You can use an omnibus to locate, or screen for, some of these sub groups in the larger sampleof 1,000. You can target specific demographic traits (age, gender, education, income, etc) ORyou can look to identify respondents using your own proprietary questions (laptop users, videogame owners, people who fly more than once a year, etc). With studies that are run weekly, youcan include your questions in multiple waves to increase your sample size.

However, an omnibus is not a panacea. While you can screen for a group in an omnibus, keepin mind that your starting sample is 1,000 or 2,000 adults. If your target is only a small part ofthe general population, you will not have a large enough sample to reliably analyze the answersof your target group.

Rule of thumb for deciding if an omnibus is the best approach are:

If the group you are targeting is at least 25% of the population or more, an omnibus willlikely work (250 or more respondents out of one wave of 1,000).

If the group is 10-25% of the population, an omnibus is a possibility (100-250 out of onewave of 1,000).

If the group is smaller than 10%, an omnibus may not be the best choice (fewer than 100per wave of 1,000).

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Some examples of groups large enough to be surveyed through an omnibus are:

Demographic screeningo Gender (i.e. women only)o Region (i.e. Northeast, Mid-West, South, West)o Large age groups (i.e. baby boomers)

Proprietary screening of larger groupso Car ownerso Soft Drink Purchaserso Credit card ownerso Cell phone userso Laptop users

Examples of groups that may be too small are:

Small age groups (college age: 18-22) Individual states, cities, markets Extremely high income ($120K plus) Mothers of infants

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WHICH IS BETTER: ONLINE OR TELEPHONE OMNIBUS SURVEYS?

The answer to this question depends on the goals and content of your survey.

Surveys using online panels are less costly, although there are some concerns. Random digitdial telephone surveys are still considered to be the best method of surveying the generalpopulation and some industry groups, such as the AAPOR (American Association for PublicOpinion Research) who contends that online surveys should be used cautiously. In their view,the issue with online surveys is not simply because of coverage (not everyone is online), butgoes to projectability. Most online surveys are conducted among panelsgroups of people whohave agreed in advance to participate in online surveys. With these opt-in panels, there is norandom selection of households (i.e. phone numbers) of respondents. Thus, in contrast torandom digit dial telephone surveys, you cant legitimately cite margin of error (sampling error)for such surveys. It is this position that is at the root of some media organizations (including AP,

New York Times, etc) reluctance to accept stories based on online surveys. Keep in mind thatsimply conducting a survey using the telephone is NOT the key element. It is the randomness ofthe sample vs. the self-selected respondents in a panel.

In addition to these concerns, online respondents may not be representative of all groups of thepopulation. Online results can be different than results of a random telephone survey. Onereason for the differences can be that online survey respondents simply take more surveys. Thechart on the next page suggests that on average, online respondents take 12-17 surveys permonth, while most telephone respondents (whether reached on a landline or a cell phone) havenot participated in a study at all in the last 30 days.

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Past Month Interview Participation Frequency: Online vs. Telephone Respondents

Landline Cell Online Vendor 1 Online Vendor 2

Unweighted n = (1005) (251) (962) (995)

% % % %

Any 23 13 85 86

None 76 86 13 13

1-5 21 12 21 34

6-10 1 0 17 17

MORE THAN 10 1 1 48 35

MEAN (OUTLIERSREMOVED)

0.7 0.4 16.8 12.7

How many surveys have you taken in the past 30 days, through any format such as bytelephone, online, etc?

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WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING BETWEEN A TELEPHONEOR ONLINE OMNIBUS SURVEY

What is the primary purpose market research or media release? If media, strongly consider telephone.

o What type of media is the target? Tech oriented media and USA Today aresometimes friendlier to online research. TV networks and most other newspaperstend to prefer telephone.

What is the available budget? Ultimately, choosing the research methodology comes down to a cost benefit analysis.

o A telephone survey might be the ideal, but the less expensive online surveymight be required by your budget.

What is the target universe? Are respondents easy or hard to reach? This may make the decision for you. Some

groups are easier to reach via online panels, some via telephone.

Is one methodology better suited to the group you need to reach? For example if you are asking about details of internet or computer usage, online may

make more sense.

What is being measured? If your questions require a long explanation of a product or concept, an online survey

where respondents can read the concept themselves rather than hearing an interviewerread it to them, is likely better.

Will graphics or other visual stimulus improve the results? Online allows you to use visuals/pictures.

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CHOOSING AN OMNIBUS RESEARCH PARTNER

Many companies say they offer some sort of omnibus service. Things that you should considerwhen choosing an omnibus service are:

Experience and Breadth of Offerings: Look for a partner that has a history of both omnibus and custom research, and offer

both a telephone and online study. Such firms have no incentive to push your survey ina specific direction and can often provide needed advice and expertise.

Service Options Some firms offer only a bare bones service you provide the questions and the service

fields them and gives you data (cross tabulations or a data file) in return. Others offer only a more expensive full service option, where the firm will write the

questions and provide a written or graphic report. A few give you the choice, which you can fit to your needs.

o For instance, if one of your omnibus studies consists of three or four questionsyou may not need a great deal of assistance. Other times, you may have a morecomplex study that can really benefit from your partners expertise.

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CONCLUSION

To conclude, an omnibus is a shared cost, multi-client method of quantitative research wheredata on a variety of subjects is collected during the same interview. Omnibus surveys can beused in many ways to support your business. Whether it is for the new business pitch, to testnew concepts, or measure public awareness of your product, an omnibus can help. Theadvantages of using an omnibus are clear. An extremely costeffectiveway in getting fastanswers to your questions - you share the cost of the survey, but not the results. Individuallypriced questions allow for further adaptability to your budget. Since omnibus surveys run on aset schedule, you receive your results quickly.

Unlike many do it yourself surveys, an omnibus allows you to conduct your own survey amonga statistically validand representativesample of the general public. When you are ready to usean omnibus survey, ORC International, a leader in global market research, has provided

CARAVAN omnibus services for over 40 years.

About CARAVAN

CARAVAN is Americas oldest and longest running provider of omnibus surveys. Our suite ofomnibus services offers solutions for your ongoing market research needs. Our shared cost,multi-client omnibus approach allows for cost-effective research at a fraction of the cost of anad-hoc study. Costs are based on the type and number of questions you decide to ask, so youcan easily adjust your study to your budget. While you share sample, screening, anddemographics with other clients, the results of your study are proprietary and belong only toyou. Every questionnaire is thoroughly reviewed by our experienced research team. We look forthings you may have missed and make sure we understand your intent. We return aquestionnaire in our program ready format with our suggestions or questions, along with costconfirmation for your review and final approval. Once approved, your questions areprogrammed and tested, both by the programmer and research team. When you get yourtabulations back, you can rest assured they have been thoroughly checked.

The CARAVAN Suite of Omnibus Services Includes: CARAVAN Telephone Omnibus ONLINE CARAVAN TEEN CARAVAN Small Business CARAVAN ONLINE CARAVAN International

For more information or to discuss your needs, contact one of our CARAVAN researchspecialists at [email protected].
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

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