netrashetty
Netra Shetty
DivX, Inc. (formerly DivXNetworks, Inc.), based in San Diego, California, now part of Sonic Solutions, a division of Rovi, was the corporation behind the MPEG-4 Part 2-based codec, DivX. The company's codec has been downloaded over 240 million times since January 2003. DivX, Inc.'s offerings have expanded beyond the codec to include software for viewing and authoring DivX-encoded video. DivX, Inc. also licenses its technologies to manufacturers of consumer electronics devices and components used in these devices and certifies that these products are able to properly handle DivX-encoded video.
nds familiar to you, you may want to consider tapping a valuable resource: students from the marketing research classes at your local college or university.
It's a relationship made in research heaven: They need you as much as you need them. During my 10-year tenure as an adjunct faculty member, I've supervised over 100 teams with over 70 different clients. Almost every company that has worked with a team of students has proclaimed it to be one of the most valuable experiences they've ever had. These clients have ranged from Fortune 500 companies like Northwest Airlines, 3M and General Mills to small entrepreneurs hoping to make their first million by finding customers for their latest invention.
Benefits for students and clients
The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Students have much more time and energy than you'll ever have. In some ways, the stakes for them are also higher. In addition to the obvious grade, they're vying for something much more valuable, something money can't buy: experience. (You're only working for a paycheck.) There's nothing more impressive on a résumé than noting that you have worked for a real client on a real marketing research project. The final written report is also something a student can take with them on a job interview. Several students have used these courses as meal tickets. In fact, I've hired several myself. "Marketing research textbooks are worthless," says Paul Nicholas, marketing director at Minneapolis-based Vaughn Communications. "You just can't beat this kind of experience. You have to live it to learn it."
On the first day of class, my students are given a simple challenge: "Do it better than a supplier. If you do, you'll get an A. If not, you won't." That challenge becomes the motivation through four long months of hard work. Essentially, these students become a marketing research company - writing a proposal and questionnaire, overseeing the fieldwork, analyzing and interpreting the data and writing the final report as well as presenting results to the client.
For the client, the benefits include a real-world refresher course that's better than any high priced seminar at a fancy resort in the middle of January. The students' inquisitiveness rejuvenates a research manager like nothing else can. Suddenly, everyday assumptions and habits are called into question. "Why do we do it that way?" Nothing is more valuable than looking at one's job from a new perspective. "I can't believe how much I've learned from the students," says Dave Bonko, marketing director at Pro Insignia, Eagan, Minn. "We also have the opportunity to evaluate new product opportunities and try out new marketing research techniques."
Notice that cost wasn't one of the first items mentioned. Companies do save money, but oftentimes these savings are overshadowed by the benefits listed previously. Rule of thumb: Students can save up between 25 to 50 percent on the cost of a project - much, much more if one tries to figure out how much a real-world supplier would charge for hundreds of hours of developmental and analytical time.
One of the greatest rewards comes at the end of the semester, during the conclusion of the student presentation, when you hear the students "extend" the research. For four months, the students have submerged themselves in a client's business. More often than not, they come out knowing more about the business than you do. In their presentation, based upon a summary of the data, they offer recommendations of what they would do "if this were my business."
"Yeah, that part is the most fun," says Bob Wills, director of computer operations for Ramsey County in St. Paul, a former student and client. "The students get a unique perspective of the company and offer all these suggestions, completely unburdened by internal politics and warring factions. They don't have to worry about drumming up future business."
Disadvantages are few
The disadvantages? For the students it's not knowing what they don't know. Let's face it: Enthusiasm only goes so far. At some point - usually sooner rather than later - the client realizes that the students don't know everything. Not yet anyway. Therefore, it's going to take some patience to harness this mental powder keg. You have to spoon-feed them - and then watch to make sure that they don't stray too far.
Thus, there is a time investment for the research manager. On the other hand, how much time is wasted in "continuing education" seminars, courses, books, etc., that are attended, read and forgotten by the time one returns to the office?
Good students, good clients
In some areas, students have far more expertise than traditional research suppliers. Two of these areas include competitive research and research on the Net. Suppliers are too quick to roll up their sleeves and get going. Students, on the other hand, prove to be better detectives. They tend to carefully and painstakingly analyze, then react. One client recently told me that, "After the students came up with all their secondary information, I seriously considered canceling the whole project. I had no idea my competitors were up to this much stuff."
So who is better suited to this kind of work, an undergraduate or a graduate student? Undergraduates have more time and more enthusiasm, but oftentimes it's like baby-sitting puppies. They certainly throw themselves wholeheartedly into a project, but, through no fault of their own, they often lack the intellectual firepower of graduate students. Besides being older (and smarter), the "old dog" grad students usually have actual work experience under their belts which they bring to the project. I'm not dismissing undergraduates, I'm just saying they need tighter supervision.
So who makes a good client? Generally, the clients we look for are people with a background in marketing (not necessarily marketing research), who are a little bored with doing the same things over and over again. The best clients are those who are flexible and curious. They know there's an answer out there somewhere and getting to that answer is what's most important. The client has to be willing to share everything he or she knows about his company. (More often than not, both students and instructor sign confidentiality agreements.)
It's crucial that the client has some knowledge of marketing research. The few projects which went poorly did so because the students knew more marketing research than the client - after only one class. One time, at the first student-client meeting, the students were asking questions. The client became exasperated and said, "You tell me! You're the experts." The person became an ex-client before the end of that meeting.
Another little secret: Past students make the best clients. They've been through the wars. They know what's required. They have the patience to work with new students. An added benefit of this relationship: Their companies (who frequently paid for their course in the first place) end up benefiting twice. "I thought I learned a lot in class," says Todd Bille, director of operations at Satisfaction Management Systems, Minnetonka, Minn. "I was amazed at how much the world had changed once I became a client."
How it works
Working with students is pretty much like working with a research supplier. The project timetable is often just as similar.
1. Clients contact the school and, eventually, the instructor. The instructor screens the clients and determines their suitability for the students. This first step is often the most important, as the instructor has to play matchmaker for two parties who have yet to meet. At this time, the instructor gives the client an assignment: type a one-page summary describing who the client is and what questions he or she wants answered by the end of the semester "or the whole project will be a waste of time."
2. Students and clients should meet during the second week of class. Things are too hectic during the first week of class. Students are dropping, adding and transferring classes. By the second class, student teams have formed and students are ready to get to work. (Experience has shown that three students make the most workable team.) During this first meeting, students and clients agree to the best time for their weekly meetings (more about that later). Also, students and clients - together - complete a "client information sheet." This sheet covers the following information:
-- Background: Full statement of problem origin. Relevant details of situation. Various points of view with respect to the problem.
-- Objectives: What one main question and five to six secondary questions must be answered in order to prevent this research from being a waste of time/money?
-- Secondary research opportunities: Availability of previous studies? Annual reports? Articles? Web sites? Trade associations?
-- Budget: Maximum amount which can be spent.
-- Application: Complete description of decisions to be made on the basis of this research study. What specific actions will be taken pending results?
3. Throughout the semester, chunks of the projects have to be completed within "carved in stone" deadlines. Deadlines are sacred since students have a very finite amount of time to work on the projects. Unlike real-world suppliers, their semesters have a definite ending date. They must complete their work within a given period of time - or you end up doing it yourself. Assuming that the semester is 15 weeks (roughly four months) long, the following timetable works best:
-- The proposal should be signed by the end of the fourth week of class.
-- The questionnaire should be approved and in the field by the sixth week of class. Two to three weeks are allowed for data collection.
-- Data tabulation can take one week (for telephone surveys) or two weeks for mail surveys. No matter what methodology is used, the students should be expected to code all open-ended questions.
-- Plenty of time should be allowed for analysis - usually two to three weeks. This is really where the students have the chance to shine.
-- Presentation and report usually require another one to two weeks for completion.
As these deadlines are being met, lecture topics address each of the appropriate areas. Thus, class time and project work follow parallel paths.
nds familiar to you, you may want to consider tapping a valuable resource: students from the marketing research classes at your local college or university.
It's a relationship made in research heaven: They need you as much as you need them. During my 10-year tenure as an adjunct faculty member, I've supervised over 100 teams with over 70 different clients. Almost every company that has worked with a team of students has proclaimed it to be one of the most valuable experiences they've ever had. These clients have ranged from Fortune 500 companies like Northwest Airlines, 3M and General Mills to small entrepreneurs hoping to make their first million by finding customers for their latest invention.
Benefits for students and clients
The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Students have much more time and energy than you'll ever have. In some ways, the stakes for them are also higher. In addition to the obvious grade, they're vying for something much more valuable, something money can't buy: experience. (You're only working for a paycheck.) There's nothing more impressive on a résumé than noting that you have worked for a real client on a real marketing research project. The final written report is also something a student can take with them on a job interview. Several students have used these courses as meal tickets. In fact, I've hired several myself. "Marketing research textbooks are worthless," says Paul Nicholas, marketing director at Minneapolis-based Vaughn Communications. "You just can't beat this kind of experience. You have to live it to learn it."
On the first day of class, my students are given a simple challenge: "Do it better than a supplier. If you do, you'll get an A. If not, you won't." That challenge becomes the motivation through four long months of hard work. Essentially, these students become a marketing research company - writing a proposal and questionnaire, overseeing the fieldwork, analyzing and interpreting the data and writing the final report as well as presenting results to the client.
For the client, the benefits include a real-world refresher course that's better than any high priced seminar at a fancy resort in the middle of January. The students' inquisitiveness rejuvenates a research manager like nothing else can. Suddenly, everyday assumptions and habits are called into question. "Why do we do it that way?" Nothing is more valuable than looking at one's job from a new perspective. "I can't believe how much I've learned from the students," says Dave Bonko, marketing director at Pro Insignia, Eagan, Minn. "We also have the opportunity to evaluate new product opportunities and try out new marketing research techniques."
Notice that cost wasn't one of the first items mentioned. Companies do save money, but oftentimes these savings are overshadowed by the benefits listed previously. Rule of thumb: Students can save up between 25 to 50 percent on the cost of a project - much, much more if one tries to figure out how much a real-world supplier would charge for hundreds of hours of developmental and analytical time.
One of the greatest rewards comes at the end of the semester, during the conclusion of the student presentation, when you hear the students "extend" the research. For four months, the students have submerged themselves in a client's business. More often than not, they come out knowing more about the business than you do. In their presentation, based upon a summary of the data, they offer recommendations of what they would do "if this were my business."
"Yeah, that part is the most fun," says Bob Wills, director of computer operations for Ramsey County in St. Paul, a former student and client. "The students get a unique perspective of the company and offer all these suggestions, completely unburdened by internal politics and warring factions. They don't have to worry about drumming up future business."
Disadvantages are few
The disadvantages? For the students it's not knowing what they don't know. Let's face it: Enthusiasm only goes so far. At some point - usually sooner rather than later - the client realizes that the students don't know everything. Not yet anyway. Therefore, it's going to take some patience to harness this mental powder keg. You have to spoon-feed them - and then watch to make sure that they don't stray too far.
Thus, there is a time investment for the research manager. On the other hand, how much time is wasted in "continuing education" seminars, courses, books, etc., that are attended, read and forgotten by the time one returns to the office?
Good students, good clients
In some areas, students have far more expertise than traditional research suppliers. Two of these areas include competitive research and research on the Net. Suppliers are too quick to roll up their sleeves and get going. Students, on the other hand, prove to be better detectives. They tend to carefully and painstakingly analyze, then react. One client recently told me that, "After the students came up with all their secondary information, I seriously considered canceling the whole project. I had no idea my competitors were up to this much stuff."
So who is better suited to this kind of work, an undergraduate or a graduate student? Undergraduates have more time and more enthusiasm, but oftentimes it's like baby-sitting puppies. They certainly throw themselves wholeheartedly into a project, but, through no fault of their own, they often lack the intellectual firepower of graduate students. Besides being older (and smarter), the "old dog" grad students usually have actual work experience under their belts which they bring to the project. I'm not dismissing undergraduates, I'm just saying they need tighter supervision.
So who makes a good client? Generally, the clients we look for are people with a background in marketing (not necessarily marketing research), who are a little bored with doing the same things over and over again. The best clients are those who are flexible and curious. They know there's an answer out there somewhere and getting to that answer is what's most important. The client has to be willing to share everything he or she knows about his company. (More often than not, both students and instructor sign confidentiality agreements.)
It's crucial that the client has some knowledge of marketing research. The few projects which went poorly did so because the students knew more marketing research than the client - after only one class. One time, at the first student-client meeting, the students were asking questions. The client became exasperated and said, "You tell me! You're the experts." The person became an ex-client before the end of that meeting.
Another little secret: Past students make the best clients. They've been through the wars. They know what's required. They have the patience to work with new students. An added benefit of this relationship: Their companies (who frequently paid for their course in the first place) end up benefiting twice. "I thought I learned a lot in class," says Todd Bille, director of operations at Satisfaction Management Systems, Minnetonka, Minn. "I was amazed at how much the world had changed once I became a client."
How it works
Working with students is pretty much like working with a research supplier. The project timetable is often just as similar.
1. Clients contact the school and, eventually, the instructor. The instructor screens the clients and determines their suitability for the students. This first step is often the most important, as the instructor has to play matchmaker for two parties who have yet to meet. At this time, the instructor gives the client an assignment: type a one-page summary describing who the client is and what questions he or she wants answered by the end of the semester "or the whole project will be a waste of time."
2. Students and clients should meet during the second week of class. Things are too hectic during the first week of class. Students are dropping, adding and transferring classes. By the second class, student teams have formed and students are ready to get to work. (Experience has shown that three students make the most workable team.) During this first meeting, students and clients agree to the best time for their weekly meetings (more about that later). Also, students and clients - together - complete a "client information sheet." This sheet covers the following information:
-- Background: Full statement of problem origin. Relevant details of situation. Various points of view with respect to the problem.
-- Objectives: What one main question and five to six secondary questions must be answered in order to prevent this research from being a waste of time/money?
-- Secondary research opportunities: Availability of previous studies? Annual reports? Articles? Web sites? Trade associations?
-- Budget: Maximum amount which can be spent.
-- Application: Complete description of decisions to be made on the basis of this research study. What specific actions will be taken pending results?
3. Throughout the semester, chunks of the projects have to be completed within "carved in stone" deadlines. Deadlines are sacred since students have a very finite amount of time to work on the projects. Unlike real-world suppliers, their semesters have a definite ending date. They must complete their work within a given period of time - or you end up doing it yourself. Assuming that the semester is 15 weeks (roughly four months) long, the following timetable works best:
-- The proposal should be signed by the end of the fourth week of class.
-- The questionnaire should be approved and in the field by the sixth week of class. Two to three weeks are allowed for data collection.
-- Data tabulation can take one week (for telephone surveys) or two weeks for mail surveys. No matter what methodology is used, the students should be expected to code all open-ended questions.
-- Plenty of time should be allowed for analysis - usually two to three weeks. This is really where the students have the chance to shine.
-- Presentation and report usually require another one to two weeks for completion.
As these deadlines are being met, lecture topics address each of the appropriate areas. Thus, class time and project work follow parallel paths.
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