Mobile research is much misunderstood, variously discussed and often understood to mean anything from an online survey intercepted on the mobile browser, to a CATI-based interview but on the mobile rather than the landline. We believe that mobile research should be seen as making use of the mobile phone's onboard technologies to enable self-fulfilment of the survey, via SMS, WAP, Mobile Web or downloaded Applications.

Standalone, or as an integrated part of a multi-mode project, it offers a unique opportunity for "In the moment" research and insight. As part of your present insight programme it:

• adds the ability to pulse-check key drivers identified in longer studies
• opens up moments of insight never before captured e.g. that engagement with brands on the way home in a taxi at 3 am
• reduces costs and increases the amount of insight by engaging staff and customers in place of professional shoppers

Think about your customer and how they like to be engaged. Designing a process of engagement is as important as the technology you use to implement it and the process is key.

There are four standard ways:

• MO (Mobile originated) - you present a keyword to a potential participant on a communication (Scoreboard, menu, receipt, poster - e.g. text the word PICTURE to 85001 for the UK or 91318 for the USA)
• MT (Mobile terminated) - the permission-based participants' details and mobile numbers are uploaded to your mobile survey solution and the survey is sent to those on the list
• Mobile Web - a participant could be browsing your website or mobile website and offered a survey opportunity by clicking through a banner ad or pop up
• Apps - a participant who has engaged to the degree that they have your app on their mobile can receive an invite from within the app as a result of arriving at a location that you have specified as a survey site. The geo-location of the phone combines with the geo-location list in your OP mobile account and relevant sampling specifications to present a survey to an appropriate participant

This will depend on your customers, their preferences and the process you are looking to fulfil.

• SMS - When you are trying to maximize your reach and inclusion and want to make it free for participants (free text is available in some countries, but free data is not yet here). It's a little known fact but pictures and video can be sent and received without the need for an app
• WAP - When you are trying to ask a few more questions, reach isn't an issue for your research, and you want to provide a more visual experience. Picture and video can be sent and received without the need for an app in this channel too.
• Mobile Web - As for WAP but perhaps aimed at higher end phones with data contracts and better graphical capabilities
• Apps - When you have designed a process whereby you expect a higher level of engagement from the participant. For example, they will download and install an app because of their interest or motivation to do so. Apps enable the use of video streaming, gps location, and barcode and QR code technologies, to enrich the insight further
• Choice - The best solutions will enable you to provide customers with a choice of channel to suit their preferences, handset capability and cost of participation.

The costs vary globally and are dependent on several factors:

• The length, graphic richness and data charges for the participant combine to make it difficult to estimate the cost of participation but your technology vendor should be able to provide best practice advice on a case by case basis. We recommend keeping surveys to around 10 questions. We also recommend using WAP to increase the reach and cut down on the richness for the time being, until data connections are fast enough not to cause high costs to participants, frustration with loading times and untimely drop out.
• Apps - Similar to WAP and Mobile Web, the participant must be able to download and install the app from the internet, making a data contract a prerequisite. Apps are for the more committed and engaged participant. This is likely to be either a consumer who has downloaded an app to stay in touch with a preferred brand, or a research app to participate in surveys in return for incentives.
  Apps are designed to enable location-based triggering of surveys and the extended use of video/picture/barcode and QR code scanners. This makes the data richer and also therefore increases the size of data transfer, the use of battery life on the handset. Therefore a clear outline of what to expect is important for the participant, and incentives should accommodate the additional engagement and costs.

This depends mainly on the process you have designed and how well it meets the preferences of your participant.

• Panel-based polling surveys are receiving a consistent 60-80% completion rate in under two hours to SMS/WAP surveys (Mobile terminated)
• Customer-based point of sale and service CSAT surveys are receiving 20-50% completion rates in under four hours via SMS (Mobile terminated)
• Brand tracking using keywords that panel participants text in when they engage with a brand is affected by the project and the penetration of the brand marketing. However, typical projects include 250 participants over 10 days and often see an average of 5 completions per participant, meaning 1250 pieces of insight (Mobile originated).

Yes. Mobile is the perfect complement to each of the four other mainstream methodologies. Mobile provides the "In the moment" aspect where location and immediacy can enrich your research. It makes an interesting and engaging alternative activity to those that people have become over familiar with and tired of.

The mobile phone has achieved the furthest and greatest reach for a communication channel globally, so much so that today 5.6 billion mobile phone contracts exist and it is growing. For example, 300,000 new contracts are being signed in China every month.

The principles of good mobile research dictate that the participant should receive a choice as to how they would like to take part. Rewards and incentive offerings should then take into account the variety of people's preferences and make a choice available. This could be cash, coupons, music downloads, games, panel points, exclusive media content etc.

Using a 'Software as a Service' (SaaS) solution makes the time to field very short indeed. Many clients are now offering fast turnaround omnibus services from questions to tables in four hours.

The key to the power of mobile research is the process you employ to engage with people. Time should be taken in making sure that people understand what you are requesting of them and that throughout the survey they know where they are. Finally, you must deliver on their expectations when they complete.

You can access your Global OnePoint Global account online through your internet browser 24 x 7 x 365 providing you with a flexible, always on solution to your mobile communication needs without having to wait or rely on anyone else before you can get started.

With the choice of multiple mobile data collection channels (mobile application, SMS, WAP/mobile web and choice) OnePoint Global really is the one-stop-shop for mobile insight, information exchange and engagement to drive business improvement.

Our mobile engagement channels work on any handset, in any country and in any language. Today, OnePoint Global has completed over 20,000 projects in 74 countries with leading brands, and research agencies. Our mobile insight doesn't just provide the best completion rates; it also offers exceptional response times in fact, 80% of our surveys completed in less than 45 minutes from issue.

As the global leader in mobile interaction, OnePoint Global has helped many customers make the most of this 5th research methodology.

To the client the benefits are - the app works on all operating systems, enables location-based surveys, in built video streaming and barcode scanner enhances product evaluation and in store purchasing insight. This provides a comprehensive global mobile communication capability from SMS to App in one fully integrated fully self manageable online account. For the user the benefits are - intelligent location tracking saves battery life, smart sampling technology minimises memory requirements on the handset, survey invites and rewards are direct to the phone, and a personal community account enables the user to manage and edit their profile, communicate with other community members and redeem rewards.

Survey programming takes no longer than a simple online survey to prepare - for short surveys, allow 30 minutes for programming.

The full power of the OP solution is evidenced in the variety of question types which are designed to bring the power of online to the mobile environment. This means  single and multiple answer, multiple choice, rating, multiple random selection, and open-end questions. Combine this with routing, looping and piping logic, and very sophisticated personalised and relevant communications are easily created. Should we not have what you require, then you can request bespoke question development

Yes. You can run multiple, simultaneous and limitless mobile surveys in your account across all mobile channels.

This is dictated by the mobile network operators in the countries where surveys are conducted. OnePoint Global implements the optimum solution as part of our service. This means that we only use the best quality network connections and services. And make it FREE for participants wherever we can provide them. For example, SMS surveys are FREE for participants in the UK, China, Kenya and Canada. Where free is not available, we make local standard connections so you can be confident that we are always thinking of you and your customers.

Mobile as the 5th Research Methodology is the ideal complement to other traditional data collection methodologies. Many businesses are using mobile to add location and immediacy to the insight that longer in depth post hoc online surveys have been providing for the past 15 years.

With the OnePoint Global gateway you can send a survey from your online account to any number of people/target groups in 193 countries

With open API's and web services specifically designed for the purpose, mobile as a channel of insight can be seamlessly and quickly added to your existing programmes.

Those who are currently using or considering using a mobile research solution may find the following questions a useful staring point. These are based on typical questions we've received at OnePoint Global and highlight what's important for you to consider; together with a list of aspects that we believe should be covered on any mobile research agenda.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Easy to deploy
• Cost effective
• Reach any target group on any handset, in any country and in any language
• High response rates using consumers preferred channel of communication
• Gain rich insights, in real-time with location-based knowledge

To encourage maximum engagement OnePoint Global offers a choice of mobile data collection channels; SMS, WAP/Mobile web, mobile application, voice and 'choice' which enables the participant to select their preferred channel for responding. Additionally you can incentivise respondents with powerful mobile incentives including vouchers or even cash directly to their mobile phone.

Our mobile engagement channels work on any handset, in any country and in any language.

Application-based surveys allow quite extensive flexibility around look and feel. This may vary slightly across different makes/models of phone.

Yes. The application is independent of network.

The application works on a wide range of handsets. For capturing photo images and video, respondents must have a camera-enabled handset.

It should only take a few seconds, but in cases of very bad reception it could take upto 30 seconds There is a recruitment process where we profile them and then provide the app download to suit the handset

No - respondents download the application once, and can use this to receive surveys for as long as they have the handset.

A respondent may incur costs for completing a survey when they connect to the internet. Costs for accessing the internet vary across networks and phone packages (e.g some people have unlimited internet access bundled into their monthly call plans, others pay on a per access basis). To ensure that all respondents are adequately compensated for their participation, we would advise incentivising at an appropriate level to cover the costs of submitting each survey on a per-access basis.

Application-based surveys work in countries where the mobile network infrastructure is developed enough to support GPRS. They work independently of the network the respondent is connected to.