Just got back from a two day trip to Bangalore where a friend and I conducted consumer surveys in colleges, malls and IT parks. Interesting lessons learned. Some of the below are specific to India and have cultural underpinnings.
- There are a zillion biases in surveys. There's no perfect survey. If you think a survey is perfect, you just haven't thought hard enough.
- Smokers are easy fish. They are your best friends. Be prepared for a lot of passive smoking if you are on the road asking people questions. I think this one has to do with a person's mindset when he is smoking. Simply put, he is much more relaxed compared to a person who isn't smoking.
- If you want to get hold of working professionals who don't smoke, an option is to find them while they are on their way to work. They'll come to work at noon but won't have a couple of minutes to spare for your earth shattering survey. And yes, you are to blame for them reporting late to work so save those arguments even remotely hinting on logic for later. There's a simple solution. Walk 100 yards away from the entrance and get their inputs by walking with them to their workplace. Works well.
- At malls, we made a conscious effort to survey a healthy proportion of women. Pretty challenging if you are a guy and are there by yourself. The first thought when you approach the fairer sex is "Here comes another one. Dream on...sucker!" or a toned down equivalent. It's difficult to get them to think otherwise and they aren't to blame entirely for this behavioral paradigm. The ISB branded notebook that I carried helped rid this bias to a certain extent. Also, get a girl to accompany you or try interviewing couples.
- At the least, appear to be comfortable and in control. A smile goes a long way. You're poking yourself in the eye if you appear disconcerted or uneasy. Key word is "appear".
- There are a zillion biases in surveys. There's no perfect survey. If you think a survey is perfect, you just haven't thought hard enough.
- Smokers are easy fish. They are your best friends. Be prepared for a lot of passive smoking if you are on the road asking people questions. I think this one has to do with a person's mindset when he is smoking. Simply put, he is much more relaxed compared to a person who isn't smoking.
- If you want to get hold of working professionals who don't smoke, an option is to find them while they are on their way to work. They'll come to work at noon but won't have a couple of minutes to spare for your earth shattering survey. And yes, you are to blame for them reporting late to work so save those arguments even remotely hinting on logic for later. There's a simple solution. Walk 100 yards away from the entrance and get their inputs by walking with them to their workplace. Works well.
- At malls, we made a conscious effort to survey a healthy proportion of women. Pretty challenging if you are a guy and are there by yourself. The first thought when you approach the fairer sex is "Here comes another one. Dream on...sucker!" or a toned down equivalent. It's difficult to get them to think otherwise and they aren't to blame entirely for this behavioral paradigm. The ISB branded notebook that I carried helped rid this bias to a certain extent. Also, get a girl to accompany you or try interviewing couples.
- At the least, appear to be comfortable and in control. A smile goes a long way. You're poking yourself in the eye if you appear disconcerted or uneasy. Key word is "appear".
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