During market research projects there can be sources of error on both sides (see blog last week). For you we have a checklist as an orientation guide you can test for quality with. For the checklist’s guidelines are the standard you can demand. 

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Market research projects enable purposive acting. Precondition is the right realisation of the project, of course. For you we have listed the most important stumbling-blocks of the different project phases.

1. Strategy and preparation
Without the appropriate concept nothing will work out. Therefore the initial phase is of enormous importance.
Sources of problems:

• The fundamental targets are not defined.
• The client has not ascertained which informations he wants to get and what for they are to be used.
• Many different questions are mixed up in one single project.
• No hypotheses are suggested.
• Choice of the wrong method, wrong target group or the wrong procedure
• Respondents are lack of incentive to participate.

2. The questions
Sources of problems:

• The questionnaire was not tested.
• The questionnaire is too big.
• The questionnaire is not comprehensible being for client’s purposes and not for the respondents’.
• There are suggestive questions in the questionnaire.

3. The performance
In this phase the correct interviewers, the appropriate respondents and the communication about the actual estate of the project are important.
Sources of problems:

• The wrong interviewers are interrogating (native speaker respectively with specialised knowledge).
• The interviewers are not trained enough.
• The interviewers have too much scope.
• It is not clearly defined how the respondents have been choosen.
• The interrogation’s advancement is not enough communicated.

4. The analysis and the results
Sources of problems:

• Data are not sufficiently debugged. Nonsense answering respondents should be carried out of the analysis.
• The data are not analysed with regard to the target.
• Describing statistic in spite of "detecting" methods.
• The data are incomprehensibly visualised.
• Results are not presentable (Please with power point charts).
• Details about sample sizes and the representativeness are missing.
• The client lacks the know how to valuate the Data’s quality.
• There are not management summary, quintessence or recommendation.
• Special evaluation procedures are not or only insufficiently illustrated.   

5. The consequenzes
New insights are gained. Now it is important to implement the recommendations.
Sources of problems:

• The results are not implemented.
• The tie to the market research institution breaks after the analyses of the results.
• Too less responsible persons or the wrong responsible persons are integrated in the realisation process.
• Lack of know-how or personal shortage so that no realisation workshops can take place.
• The success of the realisation is not controlled.

Author: Mag. Holger Sicking 

Climate protection - everyone votes for it. But what about the costs? As per an actual survey of the Bavarian Housing Companies’ Association ("Verband Bayerischer Wohnungsunternehmen", VdW) having interviewed nearly 2000 men and women the most renters in Germany agreed to climate protection investments. But they are not willing to pay for it. Much more than 70 % wanted neither accepting higher rents nor abstaining from a part of the side costs saving after an energy save modernisation. In the land of "to be stingy is phat" the price still seems to be the most important factor for investment decisions.

A Swiss survey has yielded a little different result. Here the price does not play the most important role. Electricity clients from the Eastern Switzerland have been interviewed which criteria are deciding for their product choice. Three from altogether seven functional product characteristics have had a fraction of nearly 80 % of the voting decisions. An elctric current mix (38 % Importance) comes in first, then the monthly costs (25 %) and in third the power production place (15%). Here a quality feature plays a more important role than the costs. The results allow the consideration that the electricity providers need not to engage in a price war. The survey’s background was the Swiss Current Supply Law planning a gradual opening of the local electricity market.

Sources:
http://www.nzz.ch/nachrichten/kultur/literatur_und_kunst/kunden_wuenschen_erneuerbare_energien_1.567143.html 
http://www.welt.de/welt_print/article1249768/Fr_Klimaschutz_aber_gegen_die_Kosten.html

Since 20 years China has developed into one of the most interesting and strategically conspicuous markets for German enterprises. How important the Chinese-German trading has become was obvious for the German public at least since the Dalai Lama has visited the German chancellor Angela Merkel on September 2007. Then, not only the Chinese government levelled harsh criticism but also German companies seemed to care more about the relations to China than to give a statement against the repression of the human rights in Tibet. A reason for us to regard the German-Chinese relation in more detail.

Upheaval in 30 years
In the last 30 years the most populous country of the world has become to an important country of exportation for Germany. 1978 the former state president „Deng Xiaopeng" proclaimed the „Revolution of economic opening". The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Aiffairs declared somes towns like „Zhuhai" oder „Shantou" to „Economic special Zones". These towns have economic eclusive rights making a substantial contribution to the economic development and therefore to the Chinese living standard.

In a next step 14 towns (e.g. „Qingdao", „Shanghai", „Dalian" und „Yantai") were granted the status of „opened towns" in 1984. The result was a slowly establishng market economy. Finally in 2001, China joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Inside and outside of China this was seen as a big step leading to a further economic impulse in China and worldwide. Meanwhile foreign enterprises in China are producing 6,7 percent of the goods in the whole world.

Since 1978 the country of the dragon has developed into the sixth largest national economy and fourth largest trading nation with an economic growth of 9,4 % per annum. Big German car groups or chemistry groups like VW, Daimler, BASF oder Bayer have been already present in the Chinese market. Formelly placed 32 on the world trade list China comes now sixth. Since 2002, the Middle Kingdom has grown to Germany’s most important asiatic trade partner.

Also the further development in the Chinese-German relationship is seen serene by the German economy despite the actual irritation because of the Dalai Lama’s Visitation. As Joerg Wuttke, the chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Beijing mentioned: "I am not afraid that the meeting between the German chancellor and the Dalai Lama would disturb the very good Chinese-German relationship in the long term."

 If China is an interesting topic for you, too, here are further information and market data about China: 
www.markt-studie.de/china

More and more consumers want to eat healthy and have no work with preparing the meals. A new report from independent market analyst Datamonitor reveals the desire to compromise these two needs will increasingly drive demand for healthy snack food and drink. More than 20% of consumers surveyed in Europe and the US indicated they sought healthy options much more than previously when it comes to snacking.
Snack foods and beverages sit uncomfortably in the context of the consumer trend for health and wellness, often being associated with unfavourable nutritional practices. However, despite this, snacking remains an important part of daily eating and drinking behaviour.

According to Datamonitor, the growing market for healthy snacks is being driven largely by consumer desire to find products that can match their hectic life styles. Such products represent a quick fix to the dilemma of achieving a healthy diet within a time-scarce lifestyle, but without sacrificing the experiential qualities that make snacking so pleasurable. Datamonitor’s consumer survey in the US and Europe in 2006 found that 60% of European and US consumers had sought convenient and healthy food and drinks more in the last year. Such products represent a quick fix to the dilemma of achieving a healthy diet within a time-scarce lifestyle, but without sacrificing the experiential qualities that make snacking so pleasurable. 
Health, convenience and indulgence are three trends pursued by consumers that do not sit together comfortably. Being "healthy" is often seen as inconvenient, requiring more time-intensive preparation, and as lacking indulgent credentials–not easily sacrificed for health considerations.

Table:Question: to what extent have you done the following more or less in the past year? Sought food and drinks which are both convenient AND healthy? 

	Much less	slightly less	the same	slightly more		much more	overall
Europe	1.9%	1.9%	38.3%	36.6%		21.4%	100.0%
US	2.0%	1.6%	35.2%	36.7%		24.4%	100.0%
Source: Datamonitor Consumer Survey					D A T A M O N I T O R

 

Traditional snacks are going healthy, but still face a skeptical public

Datamonitor’s survey revealed that 80% of both men and women in Europe and the US agreed that companies need to enhance the flavour and tastiness of healthy products. Consumer market analyst and author Richard Parker comments, "Snacking is a strongly sensory-based and emotive experience, and is often a response to stress or a momentary form of escapism. If that is to be fulfilling in a healthy way, then the indulgent characteristics must still be satisfied."  
Producers and retailers are taking this on board – "health" is growing as a product claim amongst typically unhealthy snack categories such as confectionery and savory snacks, with those claims increasingly focusing not just on reduced fat or sugar, but on functional benefits (added vitamins, antioxidants etc.).

However, the report notes that credibility remains a key problem for the snack industry in tapping into the health trend. Snack foods and beverages with health benefits still seem counter-intuitive to many consumers and scepticism towards corporate messages makes it an uphill battle for traditional snack producers. Datamonitor also found that when consumers consciously select more traditional, impulse snack food or beverage options, health considerations are still not a primary influence on choice. Consumers are clearly aware of the unhealthy attributes of such products but are largely choosing to consume such products in spite of them, focusing on other attributes such as taste and indulgence/treating.  
Parker concludes: "Producers need to focus on building real trust between themselves and consumers through developing products that credibly offer health benefits and at the same time meet the impulsive indulgent needs that drive snack consumption."

Datamonitor interviewed a demographically representative sample of over 5,000 consumers from eight countries in 2006. This included over 500 consumers from France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Over 1,000 consumers were interviewed in the US.

The report: Healthy Snacking - Future Trends and New Insights