The brands that win are dual: tradition + modernity, without feeling contradictory
In marketing, “tradition” and “innovation” are often placed in opposite corners. As if, if you’re “traditional,” you’re not allowed to be modern. If you’re “digital” and “new,” you’re not allowed to have roots. In reality, consumers don’t think in black and white, and the brands that grow and endure are, most of the time, paradoxical: […]
A Romanian brand, you say? Let’s see if it passes the consumer test. How do consumers actually identify Romanian brands?
Ask someone: “What is a Romanian brand to you?” In the first few seconds, the answer seems simple. After two or three more questions… things get complicated. In our research on Romanian brands, we discovered something interesting: Romanians don’t think of “Romanian-ness” in black or white. Instead, you get shades like: “it’s half,” “it’s from […]
Segmentation studies: the essential compass for smart marketing decisions
In an increasingly complex and competitive market, talking about the "average consumer" no longer makes sense. People are diverse, with very different needs, motivations, and behaviors. This is where segmentation comes in: a process through which amorphous masses of data are transformed into clear groups of customers with distinct traits and attitudes. And we are […]
The Enigma of the Response Rate and How to Ensure Your Sample Doesn't Mislead You
A client asked me whether, with a 9% response rate, the resulting sample from surveying a customer database can still be considered representative. Situation: We have 1,400 unique contacts—customers who purchased online in 2023. The product is industrial, sold in large volumes but with low frequency, meaning customers return to purchase multiple times a year […]
Sampling Error in Estimating a Mean Value
When we sample a subset from a population instead of surveying the entire population, we aim for the measured value in the sample to be as close as possible to the true value in the population. When we say "value," we refer either to an average (e.g., the average height of individuals in the population) […]
8 Steps to design a sample - Part II
See the first three steps here. 4. What is the sampling frame? In essence, I am answering the question, "Where can I find the eligible respondent?" Bank employees can be reached via email, as the bank provides the contact list. Moreover, the bank has decided to invite all 2,800 employees, without applying any additional selection […]
8 Steps to design a sample - Part I
In the first two articles (1, 2), we focused on providing arguments for why sampling for a face-to-face (F2F) study in Romania is conducted following the rules/methodology of multi-stratified sampling combined with cluster sampling. Essentially, we answered the question, “How do I reach the respondent?” When I think about sampling, regardless of the study, we […]
Why you should combine multi-stratified random sampling with cluster sampling when conducting fieldwork in Romania. Part II
Now that we’ve established the context, I feel that we can return to our discussion about multi-stratification. Stratification is employed when you can divide the population into sub-groups which are heterogeneous, disjunctive. They do not overlap. This separation is very clear. It somewhat helps to break a large population or area into smaller, more manageable […]
Why you should combine multi-stratified random sampling with cluster sampling when conducting fieldwork in Romania. Part I
Stratified sampling and cluster sampling are two of the four types of probabilistic sampling. I suggest we combine them... it might seem weird, yet it really helps with managing random samples. One thing is certain regarding Romania and managing population data records – there is no possibility to draw a random sample of citizens from […]
Wall painting during the pandemic and what to expect come 2022
The two pandemic years differ regarding the reasons people chose to paint their walls. 2020 saw wall painting soaring. The consumers, being at home for extended periods of time, apart from the concern for cleaning (54%), sanitizing (35%) or their walls’ yellowing (25%) also expressed a desire to change the color palette or decor of […]
