Intellicast (S2E7) – The SampleCon Extravaganza – Part 3 – Andrew Cannon of GRBN
February 9, 2019
Is Market Research in a Bull or a Bear Market?
February 18, 2019
This year’s edition of SampleCon was held at the Fairmont in Austin, TX. This year’s event was not only another great gathering of the best and brightest of the sample industry, it was also the largest in SampleCon history. It kicked off with a great keynote speech by John Sweeney, whose talk on focus and energy, in combination with improv exercises, got everyone out of their seats and interacting.
Here are the top trends and topics we observed:
Respondent Experience takes the Spotlight
Respondent experience was probably the most prominent topic at this year’s conference. Whether it was improving it through shortened LOI, better screeners, and asking more relevant questions, or incorporating gamification into surveys to change the experience, the focus this year seemed to be what could be done to improve engagement, and therefore, the data.
Quality
Quality, in particular data quality, was another big topic this year at SampleCon. This topic does go hand-in-hand with respondent experience since good respondent experience equals quality data and vice versa. The discussions also branched into how quality is impacted by response rates and the survey design. The problem of quality was not discussed in a vacuum though; solutions on how technology like automation, APIs, and artificial intelligence could be leveraged to improve quality were also considered.
Blockchain takes the Stage
Blockchain was a big discussion topic again this year, with experts from several leading MR Blockchain organizations taking the stage to discuss how the technology could be utilized by the sample industry, as well as the benefits. The feeling from attendees we observed was mixed, from very positive to some skepticism. We fully expect this to be a main discussion topic within the sample industry in the near future.
Networking
There were some significant changes this year to the networking portion of the conference. Gone were the scavenger hunt and poker tournament; replaced this year with an extended happy hour that featured armadillo racing. The move to downtown also helped networking, as attendees could explore downtown Austin and all it has to offer.
If you want a more in-depth debrief of what was discussed at SampleCon, click the link below to request your free consultation.
