Dec
06

Evolving With Technology Without Abandonment of Tradition: Lessons Learned from the Telephone

Post by Jonathan Hammett

The telephone. Where would we be without this?  Now, I am not referencing the telephone by today’s standards.  I mean the telephone that so many of us grew up with.  Not one that allows you to buy and sell on eBay, get directions while driving, or record songs being performed at a concert. You know, the one that allows you to connect verbally with someone else.  Just a standard telephone, one that is push-button, or better yet, a dial telephone. 

There was a point in time when the telephone call was an event.  As a child, weekly or biweekly, we called our grandparents.  Sometimes it was more frequent, but this was a happening.  This gave our grandparents insight into our lives.  This way, they knew how English class was going, or how many times I may have struck out in a little league game.  Most importantly, this kept them connected.  Imagine years earlier, not having the convenience of being able to chat with someone to know all that is current.  These same grandparents, when all of their respective friends would move away, still could gossip about the neighborhood and little Jimmy down the block because they could call one another.

Or how about in middle school, having to spend hours at night finding out what was missed at recess or after school.  Who asked whom to the dance?  Who is no longer allowed to sit where at lunch?  What teacher is assigning research papers?  This was a way for teenagers to keep in touch the way in which adults had been for years.  Little did anyone realize that the information being gathered was about to be turned on its ear.  The phone would soon allow them to do anything they would dream, all from the comfort of the Lazy Boy or even their bedroom.

Now, who needs to talk?  I can just text everyone and find out what the plans are for this evening.  I can look up the number of my favorite pizza joint, order it online, and sometimes swipe my phone in lieu of a credit or debit card.  I no longer have to TALK to anyone on my telephone!  The purest reason for the invention: talking, communicating, is almost obsolete.  Who has the time?  With talking, there are social graces that must be upheld.  Why spend five minutes in conversation to find out someone’s favorite wine for a gift, when one text exchange will yield the same result?  By not having to call and talk, time is saved, allowing you the chance to continue to do whatever it is you are doing, even if it is online chatting! 

So, in this crazy world of marketing research, how is the evolution of the telephone impacting our landscape?  Why have a face-to-face focus group?  Surely everyone being in a remote location tweeting thoughts and ideas will suffice, right?  Think about it; eight individuals, all in different spots, sharing ideas generated by a facilitator who tweets out questions.  Surely the same emotion conveyed on one’s face can be replicated in 140 characters or less.  You must have heard of emoticons?

And where are these eight individuals found?  Through an email blast-duh!  And how are they screened?  Bingo-online screeners, set up remotely, dictated through emails and texts, all in the comfort of one’s home, on a Monday afternoon, while wearing pajamas!  Who has time for the event of a phone conversation?  Look how easily everything comes together without so much as speaking a word!  In fact, in the time I saved not talking, I can plan my next tweet, and maybe add a follower or two! 

Obviously, this example is extreme.  But how is the telephone in our lives as it stands today impacting marketing research?  Are call centers becoming obsolete?  Should we still call and screen potential respondents?  What about all the hassle that comes with it?  You know, dialing a number, the throat clear before a greeting, waiting for a child to take the phone to a parent.  Think how many Angry Birds could be gone if we could do without speaking. 

Now, this is obviously in jest.  For this industry, the phone conversation is a must!  We must speak with and screen respondents.  We must have the ability and discretion to weed out potential problems.  We must be able to track answers and verify responses.  What about the TDI?  Without this convenience, interviewing a doctor 1000 miles away may prevent insight from being gained into a new treatment for an existing disease.  Would more probing texts or tweets really garner the same response?  Before you waste time contemplating, no it would not! 

This industry, while making every effort to embrace and utilize every piece of new technology, must also remember what is most effective and foolproof.  We need to evolve in every way possible, and with that change, evolve the older methods that serve us so well.  Researchers must always evaluate their objectives carefully and select a methodology and technology that will best help them achieve their goals.  There is no shame in recognizing that very often, traditional data collection methods may represent the best practice. 

Besides, if we all had Twitter sessions in the place of a focus group, then no one gets to travel here to Baltimore Research, enjoy a sumptuous crab cake, all while seated on a couch shaped like a pair of lips in the Hollywood Suite.  And come on, is that not why we are all in this industry, for the crazy furniture and fantastic food?  Well, maybe not, but it helps!  Just like picking up a phone to ask a client how the project went, instead of simply sending an email.  There is no substitute for human interaction and communication, and so far, there is no substitute for a person to person phone call.  And this is from someone that loathes talking on the phone!