How
To Avoid Holiday Traffic Jams
Many of our clients
have expanded their data collection
to reach the far corners of the
world. In fact, during 2008 EMI
Surveys completed interviews in more
than 30 different countries. As we
in the United States enter the
“holiday season,” EMI Surveys
thought it would be helpful for our
fellow marketing researchers to be
aware of the International public /
bank holidays in the regions where
we have been conducting interviews.
Planning for
International research requires a
bit more preparation than your
typical domestic marketing
research. Below are some helpful
hints to simplify the process of
conducting International marketing
research:
-
Allow for extra
time to field studies due to
lower response rates over
holidays, and time zone
differences
-
Determine whether
you or your client will handle
questionnaire(s) translations;
you will also need to address
this issue for open-ended
questions
-
Will the
translated documents be reviewed
by partners in the local country
to ensure for most accurate
interpretation?
-
Allow for extra
programming time in the event
International partners are short
staffed
-
Be aware of
cultural differences by country
(i.e. the weekend in the Middle
East is typically Friday and
Saturday)
-
Ask for approval
or insight from partners on
survey topics that could be
sensitive in nature to each
culture
-
Many countries
outside of North America
restrict interview length to not
more than 25 minutes, others
have more stringent guidelines
Additionally, we have
provided a reference chart of the
public / bank holidays in the more
“popular” countries where we have
conducted surveys. To access and
print this chart please click here:
General Guide To Global Holidays
We hope you find
these tips helpful as we approach
what can be a busy and hectic season
in both the research world and
family dinner tables alike. Do not
hesitate to contact EMI for your
next International study; you will
be in good hands!
Sincerely,
The EMI Team
