Implementing a multicultural marketing strategy is one of the most impactful ways brands can tap into the new mainstream. The U.S. consumer market is speeding toward a multicultural majority. Marketers are tasked with gaining a deeper understanding of these diverse consumer segments and crafting messaging that appeals to them and motivates them to action. Hispanics comprise the largest ethnic group, while Asian Americans account for about 7% of the U.S. population. Among them, Chinese, Asian Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese and Korean are the largest groups.
But marketing to Asian American consumers can be challenging for some marketers, as two-thirds of this group are foreign-born. This demographic difference means their motivations, preferences, and purchasing behavior may differ significantly from their U.S.-born counterparts. Similarly, researchers must be mindful of these differences when conducting consumer surveys and providing insights to marketers, as insights that apply to U.S.-born Asian Americans may not apply to foreign-born Asians.
In general, online sample providers have not kept pace with the consumer market's changing dynamics to the same extent as they have done to reduce fraud in the industry. Many researchers recruit survey respondents in English only from the general market, resulting in a lack of representation of diverse consumers on panels and low incidence rates.
On this episode of The New Mainstream podcast, Iris Yim, Principal and Chief Strategist at Sparkle Insights and Board Member and Vice President of the Asian American Advertising Federation, delves into the mechanics of effectively engaging Asian American survey respondents and the impact it has on multicultural marketing.
Meet Iris Yim:
Iris is a seasoned researcher well versed in both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. Her experience in research across different industries and cultural segments makes her a versatile researcher that approaches research in a holistic and innovative way to solve clients’ business problems and uncover insights.
The types of studies Iris have conducted include market opportunity assessments, customer satisfaction, attitude and awareness, ad testing, positioning, segmentation and new product development. She has experience in a wide range of industries including CPG, travel and leisure, financial services, automotive, and healthcare.
Iris is the Research Chair of the Asian American Advertising Federation and serves on the Supplier Diversity Committee of the Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing, affiliated with Association of National Advertisers. She is an alumna of the RIVA Training Institute and holds an MBA from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in public relations from the University of Southern California.
La tasa de incidencia es un elemento crucial en la investigación de mercado y se refiere a la proporción de personas en una población que cumplen con los criterios de selección para participar en un estudio en particular. Se deben considerar varios factores para calcular la tasa de incidencia en la recolección de datos en línea, como cuotas demográficas, producto o servicio consumido, frecuencia de consumo, cruces de cuotas, complejidad y duración del estudio.
Como se discutió en un blog anterior, la incidencia es esencial en la investigación de mercado porque puede afectar significativamente la viabilidad y precisión de un estudio. Si la incidencia es muy baja, puede ser difícil reclutar suficientes participantes para obtener resultados significativos. Además, una baja incidencia puede aumentar los costos y el tiempo requerido para completar un estudio.
En la investigación de mercado, los datos demográficos son útiles para identificar el perfil del consumidor objetivo y comprender cómo estos factores influyen en sus necesidades, deseos y comportamientos de compra. También son útiles para segmentar el mercado en grupos específicos con características similares, lo que permite a las empresas adaptar sus productos, servicios y estrategias de marketing a las necesidades y preferencias de cada segmento.
Para estimar la incidencia de un proyecto de recolección de datos en línea, es esencial considerar los siguientes puntos:
En la investigación de mercado en línea, la tasa de incidencia se puede calcular utilizando la siguiente fórmula:
IR = (número de casos que cumplen con el perfil deseado) / (tamaño de la muestra) x 100
Donde:
"IR" representa la incidencia de la variable que se está midiendo.
"Número de casos que cumplen con el perfil deseado" es el número de participantes en la muestra que cumplen con los criterios de inclusión de la investigación. Por ejemplo, si se investiga el uso de productos de belleza entre mujeres de 18 a 35 años, el número de casos sería el número de mujeres en la muestra que cumplen con este criterio y completaron satisfactoriamente la encuesta en línea.
"Tamaño de la muestra" se refiere al número total de participantes que comenzaron la encuesta en línea.
"100" se utiliza para expresar la incidencia como un porcentaje.
Un proyecto de investigación de mercado con una tasa de incidencia del 100% significaría que todos los miembros de la población objetivo cumplen con los criterios de inclusión en el estudio, lo cual es poco común. Sin embargo, en casos específicos, como estudios que involucren a toda la población objetivo, como una encuesta de satisfacción del cliente o una encuesta de opinión pública, podría haber una tasa de incidencia cercana al 100%. Pero sigue siendo poco probable por las siguientes razones:
En resumen, considerar todos los factores es esencial para calcular correctamente la incidencia en el campo. Sin embargo, si tiene alguna duda sobre cómo hacer esto o tiene otras preguntas sobre la tasa de incidencia, contáctenos.
The incidence rate is a crucial element in market research and refers to the proportion of people in a population who meet the selection criteria to participate in a particular study. Various factors must be considered to calculate the incidence rate in online data collection, such as demographic quotas, product or service consumed, consumption frequency, cross-quotas, study complexity and duration.
As discussed in a past blog, incidence is essential in market research because it can significantly impact a study's feasibility and accuracy. If the incidence is very low, recruiting enough participants to obtain meaningful results can be difficult. Additionally, a low incidence can increase the costs and time required to complete a study.
In market research, demographic data is useful for identifying the target consumer profile and understanding how these factors influence their needs, wants, and purchasing behaviors. They are also useful for segmenting the market into specific groups with similar characteristics, allowing companies to tailor their products, services, and marketing strategies to the needs and preferences of each segment.
To estimate the incidence of an online data collection project, it is essential to consider the following points:
In online market research, the incidence rate can be calculated using the following formula:
IR = (number of cases that meet the desired profile) / (sample size) x 100
Where:
"IR" represents the incidence of the variable being measured.
"Number of cases that meet the desired profile" is the number of participants in the sample who meet the inclusion criteria of the research. For example, if researching the use of beauty products among women aged 18 to 35, the number of cases would be the number of women in the sample who meet this criterion and successfully completed the online survey.
"Sample size" refers to the total number of participants who started the online survey.
"100" is used to express incidence as a percentage.
A market research project with a 100% incidence rate would mean that all members of the target population meet the inclusion criteria in the study, which is uncommon. However, in specific cases, such as studies involving the entire target population, like a customer satisfaction survey or public opinion survey, there could be an incidence rate close to 100%. But it is still unlikely for the following reasons:
In summary, considering all factors is essential to correctly calculating incidence in the field. However, if you are uncertain of how to do this or have any other questions about incidence rate, contact us.
En la industria de la investigación de mercados, la incidencia se refiere a la proporción de personas de una población que cumplen los requisitos para participar en un estudio específico. Por ejemplo, si un estudio busca personas que hayan comprado un producto concreto en los últimos seis meses, la incidencia sería el porcentaje de personas de la población total que cumplen este criterio.
Si la incidencia es demasiado baja, puede resultar difícil encontrar suficientes participantes para realizar un estudio válido y relevante, lo que aumenta los costos y el tiempo de campo para completar el estudio. Identificar criterios de selección lo suficientemente específicos como para obtener resultados fiables y, al mismo tiempo, lo suficientemente amplios como para producir una muestra representativa es fundamental.
Pero, ¿qué ocurre cuando un proyecto experimenta incidencias inexplicablemente bajas a pesar de considerar criterios de selección amplios? Cuando el reclutamiento que debería haber sido rápido y fácil no lo es.
La respuesta a por qué la gente no participa en la encuesta puede estar en cómo está diseñada. Examine qué preguntas de la encuesta están siendo abandonadas. ¿Qué tendencias observa? Los cuestionarios deben adaptarse a las necesidades de una población determinada para que tengan eco. Los investigadores pueden hacerlo a través de la tropicalización, en la que el lenguaje y el estilo de las preguntas se adaptan a un contexto cultural específico, modificando ciertos términos y expresiones para hacerlos más comprensibles y relacionables con hablantes locales, culturas o generaciones específicas.
La tropicalización se puede utilizar para adaptar las preguntas de la encuesta en cuatro áreas para lograr resultados máximos:
Considerar la tropicalización del lenguaje en la investigación de mercado es importante, especialmente al diseñar encuestas. Simplemente traducir preguntas de un idioma a otro es insuficiente. La redacción de las preguntas y la presentación de las opciones de respuesta de forma diferente influyen en la eficacia general de la encuesta. El contexto cultural y las características del público objetivo siempre deben considerarse al diseñar una encuesta para que sea relevante para la audiencia prevista.
El abandono de la encuesta también puede producirse por otros motivos, como un problema de configuración en la programación de la encuesta o simplemente porque los encuestados se aburren. Es fundamental que los investigadores analicen en qué parte del cuestionario los encuestados abandonan o son filtrados para comprender mejor qué se necesita para mejorar las tasas de participación.
La tropicalización del lenguaje también puede incluir la adaptación de un cuestionario, encuesta o entrevista a la edad de los encuestados, especialmente si en un proyecto de investigación participan personas de diferentes edades.
Cuando se realiza en relación con las edades de los encuestados, la tropicalización puede implicar el ajuste del nivel lingüístico, la presentación y la formulación de las preguntas, la terminología y el tono para garantizar que las preguntas sean comprensibles e interesantes para cada grupo de edad.
Por ejemplo, si se le pregunta a jóvenes menores de 18 años sobre sus hábitos de consumo, se podría simplificar la redacción y utilizar ejemplos más concretos y actuales. Para los adultos de más de 30 años, podría utilizar un lenguaje más formal y una presentación más compleja pero fácil de entender.
Al adaptar el lenguaje en función de la edad de los encuestados, los datos recopilados serán más precisos, ya que las respuestas pueden variar según su comprensión de las preguntas. Además, la tropicalización del lenguaje también puede contribuir a la satisfacción de los encuestados, ya que las preguntas fáciles de entender hacen que los encuestados se sientan más cómodos al responderlas.
Aunque el español se habla ampliamente en América Latina, no todos usan las mismas palabras. Por ello, tropicalizar un cuestionario adaptando términos y expresiones a las variantes regionales del español hablado en cada país, facilita la comprensión.
Al aplicar un cuestionario de investigación en otro país, hay que tener cuidado. Lo que tiene sentido para unos puede confundir a otros. Por ejemplo, una tienda de conveniencia en algunos países latinoamericanos puede llamarse "tienda de abarrotes" o "minimercado", según la región. En el caso de la comida, la palabra "taco" en México y Nicaragua se refiere a la comida envuelta en una tortilla, mientras que en Colombia puede referirse a una mentira o exageración. En Chile, puede referirse a un atasco de tráfico. Del mismo modo, la palabra "torta" puede referirse a un alimento salado en México, mientras que en otros países como Argentina, es un postre dulce.
La tropicalización de las encuestas de investigación de mercado en América Latina puede prevenir problemas de comprensión y aumentar los índices de participación.
Si pensaban que tropicalizar cada encuesta según el país objetivo en América Latina era complicado, realizar una encuesta para hispanos en Estados Unidos es aún más desafiante. Esto se debe a que muchas encuestas se centran en los hispanos en general, incluyendo a personas de cualquier país de América Latina, con diferentes niveles de aculturación y diversos entornos socioeconómicos.
Pero el equipo multicultural experimentado de ThinkNow es experto en estas áreas y puede asesorarle para mejorar la incidencia en LATAM y EE. UU.
Póngase en contacto con nosotros. Podemos ayudarle.
In the market research industry, incidence refers to the proportion of people in a population who meet the requirements to participate in a specific study. For example, if a study seeks people who have purchased a particular product in the last six months, incidence would be the percentage of people in the total population who meet this criterion.
If the incidence is too low, finding enough participants to conduct a valid and relevant study may be difficult, increasing costs and field time to complete the study. Identifying selection criteria specific enough to obtain reliable results yet broad enough to produce a representative sample is critical.
But what happens when a project experiences inexplicably low incidences despite considering broad selection criteria? When recruitment that should have been quick and easy is not.
The answer to why people are not participating in the survey may lie with how your survey is designed. Examine which survey questions are being abandoned. What trends do you see? Questionnaires must be customized to the needs of a given population if they are to resonate. Researchers can do that through audience customization, in which the language and questioning style is adapted to a specific cultural context, modifying certain terms and expressions to make them more understandable and relatable to local speakers, cultures, or specific generations.
Audience customization can be used to adapt survey questions in four areas to achieve maximum results:
Considering language audience customization in market research is important, especially when designing surveys. Simply translating questions from one language to another is insufficient. The wording of questions and presenting response options differently matters to the overall effectiveness of the survey. Cultural context and characteristics of the target audience should always be considered when designing a survey so it’s relative to the intended audience.
Survey abandonment may also occur for other reasons, such as a configuration problem in the programming of the survey or simply because the respondents are bored. It is critical that researchers analyze where in the questionnaire respondents are either dropping out or being filtered out to better understand what’s needed to improve participation rates.
Language audience customization can also include adapting a questionnaire, survey, or interview for the age of the respondents, especially if a research project involves people of different ages.
When done in relation to the ages of the respondents, audience customization may involve adjusting the language level, presentation and question wording, terminology, and tone to ensure the questions are understandable and interesting for each age group.
For instance, if you're asking young people under 18 about their consumption habits, you could simplify the wording and use more specific and contemporary examples. For adults over 30, you might use more formal language and a more complex but easy-to-understand presentation.
When adapting language based on the respondents' ages, the collected data will be more accurate, as responses may vary according to their understanding of the questions. Furthermore, language audience customization may also contribute to respondent satisfaction, as easy-to-understand questions make respondents more comfortable answering them.
Even though Spanish is widely spoken in Latin America, not everyone uses the same words. Therefore, audience customizing a questionnaire by adapting terms and expressions to the regional variants of Spanish spoken in each country aids comprehension.
When applying a research questionnaire in another country, be cautious. What makes sense to some might confuse others. For example, a convenience store in some Latin American countries can be called "tienda de abarrotes" or "minimercado," depending on the region. In the case of food, the word "taco" in Mexico and Nicaragua refers to food wrapped in a tortilla, while in Colombia, it can refer to a lie or exaggeration. In Chile, it can refer to a traffic jam. Similarly, the word "torta" can refer to a salty food in Mexico, while in other countries like Argentina, it is a sweet dessert.
Audience customizing market research surveys in Latin America can prevent comprehension problems and increase participation rates.
If you thought that audience customizing each survey according to the target country in Latin America was complicated, conducting a survey for Hispanics in the United States is even more challenging. This is because many surveys focus on Hispanics in general, including people from any country in Latin America, with different levels of acculturation and diverse socioeconomic environments.
But ThinkNow's experienced multicultural team of experts is skilled in these areas and can advise you on improving incidence in LATAM and the U.S.
Get in touch with us. We can help.
Non-profit associations in Latin America produce valuable data that promotes and regulates good practices in opinion and market research. As part of their activities, they create questionnaires that help determine the socioeconomic levels of the population, which companies use to develop research studies tailored to specific profiles. Below is a list of some of the organizations responsible for these classifications, arranged by country:
Undoubtedly, the work of these organizations generates a practical vision of the socioeconomic diversity of each country, although their methodology continues to present some challenges, as listed below:
Each country has different methodologies, as well as different scopes. Some questionnaires, such as those in Mexico, attempt to measure socioeconomic level by well-being. Still, in other countries, it is determined by the postal code and the collection of domiciled public services. While these disparities do not allow us to compare Latin American countries exactly, they approximate the population's reality.
Different from the United States, Latin America never asks directly about income levels. As fraud and organized crime continue to grow, inquiries about income levels have become sensitive for Latin Americans, often generating fear and insecurity when shared openly. Thus, the questions do not directly address an individual's income but rather the number of goods and services they have. To determine the socioeconomic levels of our panelists, ThinkNow uses country-specific measurement questionnaires.
AMAI's 2020 study on socioeconomic levels suggests that the frequency of updating socioeconomic levels varies by country. Argentina, Colombia, and Brazil update their data annually, and Mexico and Chile update every two years, whereas Uruguay, Peru and Guatemala update every three years. It can be highly challenging for a panel company to maintain an updated database of millions of registered users since the socioeconomic level of panelists varies. To obtain current data, ThinkNow recommends posting socioeconomic-level questions before starting each survey.
The majority of the Latin American population comes from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Market researchers and online panel companies face a considerable challenge in finding consumers who are connected to the Internet and have time to respond to customer surveys. The most common solution involves combining online and face-to-face sampling methodologies.
Ideally, when conducting a consumer study in Latin America, the questionnaire that measures the socioeconomic level of the country should be included in the data collection. We recommend, however, reviewing the methodology employed by each country to determine if the points covered in the questionnaire are relevant to your market research.
ThinkNow offers expert survey programming, including questionnaires for the LATAM region. Contact us today for a quote.
This October, ThinkNow sponsored IDEAS AMAI 2022, one of the largest conferences for the insights industry, particularly for LATAM market research. The Mexican Association of Market Intelligence and Opinion Agencies (AMAI) works to maintain data quality and transparency in market research in Mexico. The event marked AMAI's 30th anniversary, and the mood was festive.
The format of this year's event was different from previous years as it focused on small group sessions led by industry insiders who shared insights from their careers. The objective was not to sell or argue about the best research method but to listen to and learn from speakers and colleagues.
Here are a few takeaways from some of the sessions.
There was a sense of camaraderie and collaboration at AMAI 2022. Researchers gathered to share experiences and learn from some of the best in the field. Access to such diverse perspectives helps broaden our vision of the industry, the companies we represent, and the clients we serve.