Market Research Daily

Business Card Retention

You go to an event.  You meet some people; hopefully have a good time.  You might even be interested in some of the businesses that you hear about while you are conversing.  Most of the time, there are several people that must have gotten great deals on business cards, because they will hand them to you under any circumstances.  Now it's the end of the event and you have, say, seven new business cards in your possession.  What do you do with them?  How long do you keep them?  In most cases, it really depends on if you are interested in a certain person's company or personal info whether you keep their business card and for how long.

Vizu ran a market research poll to hundreds of sites in their online network asking how long one keeps other people's business cards.  Overwhelmingly, most people (58.5%) have no idea what they've done with cards they've acquired. 

Funny that the second most selected response was "only until they walk away" with 20.9% of the votes.  In a way, it can be construed as being polite, but this is really the business-world equivalent of an after-first-date, "I'll call you."

Next time you hand someone your business card, be aware that there is a 79.4% chance that within the next few hours that card will either be in the trash, recycling bin (if they are environmentally conscious), or lost.

Favorite Instant Message Application

Instant Messaging applications are very common these days - even among business people.  It's standard practice in many companies to utilize an instant messaging network to communicate and share files.  Of course, businesses are not the only ones using these applications.  It's popular between friends and even family members.  But which is the best?  Which is the most frequently used?  Oftentimes these are very different distinctions.

In October of 2007, Vizu conducted a market research survey across hundreds of sites in their network asking which Instant Messaging application was favored.  Interestingly, the most popular choice with 40.4% of the votes was Windows Live/MSN Messenger.  AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) came in much further behind with 17.7%, followed closely by Yahoo! Messenger (16.7%). 

Also interesting is that in fourth place was "Other" with 13.7% of the votes.  Which application is missing?

Food and Clothing(?!) for Pets During the Holidays

It's that time of year again... (I could have phrased that differently, but I'm in a cliche type of mood).  Snow is falling, twinkle lights are up, many are frantically purchasing items that will certainly be returned in January.  One of the best things about this year, is that we are reminded of the people in our lives that love us, or at least are committed in one way or another to tolerate us.  We spend the holidays with our family or close friends, but many also celebrate this time of year with their pets.  They are there for us year round, so why wouldn't we take a little extra time during the holidays to show that they are extra special to us?

In a recent market research poll conducted by Vizu, some insight into how people celebrate the holidays with their pets came to light. 

While 65% of readers denied subjecting their pets to "cute" holiday outfits, 15.5% said they participate in dressing their pets up in the spirit of the season, though, I suspect that if the poll had included holiday hats, the percentage would have increased.

Less humiliating for our furry friends is when their human counterparts make them a special meal during the holidays.  Just under 1/3 of the respondents (31.1%) said they take the time to make a "holiday meal" for their pet.

Wishing everyone (and their pets!) a happy and healthy holiday.