netrashetty
Netra Shetty
Doculabs, Inc., is a privately owned information and technology consulting firm based in Chicago, Illinois. The firm provides expertise in enterprise social collaboration and content management, developing strategic plans and roadmaps to help its clients make use of these technologies to create competitive advantage. Doculabs also provides assistance in records management and information governance to facilitate compliance, reduce risk, and reduce the costs of e-discovery for its clients.
Doculabs was founded in 1993 by James K. Watson, Jr. and Paul Burian, both formerly of Xerox Corporation; and Richard Medina, formerly of Information Resources, Inc. The firm's mission was based on three principles: a specialization in content-based applications, analysis grounded by benchmark data, and objectivity. These principles remain the foundation of Doculabs' business and continue to differentiate the firm in the technology consulting services market.
works.
It's not free! Somehow, somewhere clients have come to assume that this process doesn't cost a dime. Wrong! Although students donate hundreds of hours of their time, they cannot be expected to pick up out-of-pocket costs. These costs include duplicating of mail surveys and postage as well as paying the telephone vendors who will collect data for a phone survey. It includes the cost of producing colored overheads and copying final reports. The students don't do the calling. This is the real world, after all - you don't make all your own phone calls, do you?
How much does a student study actually cost? Experience has shown that a mail survey will generally cost $1,500, whereas telephone interviewing is often twice that. It is important to note that this money goes exclusively for out of pocket cost. The students do not receive any compensation for their time. The instructor should not receive anything beyond his normal teaching salary. (In other words, student research teams should not be slave labor for an instructor's consulting business.)
There are cost efficiencies, however. Oftentimes, local suppliers will give students a break. They are smart enough to recognize that these same professionals will be looking for marketing research suppliers down the road. Here in Minneapolis, Northstar Interviewing has done telephone work for students. Both Project Research and Focus Market Research have allowed us to use their focus group facilities for field trips. Later, many students - including me - have gone back to Northstar, Focus and Project Research for work for their own employers.
Whenever the students do mail surveys, it's very helpful if the university allows them to send out surveys under institutional letterhead. Not only does this add to the credibility of the research, but it also contributes to some very impressive response rates. In the past 10 years, covering over 50 mail surveys, only twice have the students failed to achieve a response rate of less than 35 percent.
There's no such thing as too many meetings. A good rule of thumb: Clients and students should meet at least once per week (outside of class time, of course). Since the students are often working full- or part-time, it is important to schedule meetings when it is most convenient for everyone. In the past, successful meeting times have been before the workday begins, first thing in the morning, or right after work. It is crucial that the client be available to meet (i.e., consult) with the team.
At the same time, it is important that the instructor meet with the students and clients several times throughout the semester. My rule: Students must meet with me three times (outside class) and two times with me and the client during the course of the project. This allows me to keep close tabs on what is going on. It also shows the client that the instructor is involved, that there is some control over where his or her money is going.
It's important to recognize that this is a mutually beneficial relationship. In other words, the client is not benevolently "helping out a bunch of kids." Thus, it is inappropriate for the client to selfishly expect the students to accommodate his schedule. Working with a student team is a two-way partnership, not a one-way ego trip.
Finally, at least once a week before formally beginning a new class, each student team is expected to give a one-minute progress report to his peers. The other students are encouraged to ask questions and offer suggestions. This enables students to learn from each other and provides an informal barometer of where they are vs. the other teams.
Tremendous rewards
So, that's it. Simple. A small investment reaps tremendous rewards. One problem is that clients keep coming back, wanting more work from more student teams. It's an enviable position to be in - being able to turn away work. Typically, we have twice as many potential clients as student students.
For the instructor, the greatest reward comes during the client presentation when the students are presenting the study's results. The students have presented to as few as one client to as many as 110 people. No matter how many are attending, all sit in rapt attention, treating their presenters as experts, knowing that at no other time will they work with a group who can provide a more in-depth understanding of their needs.
That's when the students also recognize that they've moved beyond the realm of grade-motivated worker to professional consultant. They've come to realize that "Nobody could have learned more about marketing research, that nobody could have put in more blood, sweat and tears, that nobody could understand the business more than we do." They've also learned that, henceforth, every marketing research supplier they deal with will be expected to live up to the standards they have set for themselves.
Doculabs was founded in 1993 by James K. Watson, Jr. and Paul Burian, both formerly of Xerox Corporation; and Richard Medina, formerly of Information Resources, Inc. The firm's mission was based on three principles: a specialization in content-based applications, analysis grounded by benchmark data, and objectivity. These principles remain the foundation of Doculabs' business and continue to differentiate the firm in the technology consulting services market.
works.
It's not free! Somehow, somewhere clients have come to assume that this process doesn't cost a dime. Wrong! Although students donate hundreds of hours of their time, they cannot be expected to pick up out-of-pocket costs. These costs include duplicating of mail surveys and postage as well as paying the telephone vendors who will collect data for a phone survey. It includes the cost of producing colored overheads and copying final reports. The students don't do the calling. This is the real world, after all - you don't make all your own phone calls, do you?
How much does a student study actually cost? Experience has shown that a mail survey will generally cost $1,500, whereas telephone interviewing is often twice that. It is important to note that this money goes exclusively for out of pocket cost. The students do not receive any compensation for their time. The instructor should not receive anything beyond his normal teaching salary. (In other words, student research teams should not be slave labor for an instructor's consulting business.)
There are cost efficiencies, however. Oftentimes, local suppliers will give students a break. They are smart enough to recognize that these same professionals will be looking for marketing research suppliers down the road. Here in Minneapolis, Northstar Interviewing has done telephone work for students. Both Project Research and Focus Market Research have allowed us to use their focus group facilities for field trips. Later, many students - including me - have gone back to Northstar, Focus and Project Research for work for their own employers.
Whenever the students do mail surveys, it's very helpful if the university allows them to send out surveys under institutional letterhead. Not only does this add to the credibility of the research, but it also contributes to some very impressive response rates. In the past 10 years, covering over 50 mail surveys, only twice have the students failed to achieve a response rate of less than 35 percent.
There's no such thing as too many meetings. A good rule of thumb: Clients and students should meet at least once per week (outside of class time, of course). Since the students are often working full- or part-time, it is important to schedule meetings when it is most convenient for everyone. In the past, successful meeting times have been before the workday begins, first thing in the morning, or right after work. It is crucial that the client be available to meet (i.e., consult) with the team.
At the same time, it is important that the instructor meet with the students and clients several times throughout the semester. My rule: Students must meet with me three times (outside class) and two times with me and the client during the course of the project. This allows me to keep close tabs on what is going on. It also shows the client that the instructor is involved, that there is some control over where his or her money is going.
It's important to recognize that this is a mutually beneficial relationship. In other words, the client is not benevolently "helping out a bunch of kids." Thus, it is inappropriate for the client to selfishly expect the students to accommodate his schedule. Working with a student team is a two-way partnership, not a one-way ego trip.
Finally, at least once a week before formally beginning a new class, each student team is expected to give a one-minute progress report to his peers. The other students are encouraged to ask questions and offer suggestions. This enables students to learn from each other and provides an informal barometer of where they are vs. the other teams.
Tremendous rewards
So, that's it. Simple. A small investment reaps tremendous rewards. One problem is that clients keep coming back, wanting more work from more student teams. It's an enviable position to be in - being able to turn away work. Typically, we have twice as many potential clients as student students.
For the instructor, the greatest reward comes during the client presentation when the students are presenting the study's results. The students have presented to as few as one client to as many as 110 people. No matter how many are attending, all sit in rapt attention, treating their presenters as experts, knowing that at no other time will they work with a group who can provide a more in-depth understanding of their needs.
That's when the students also recognize that they've moved beyond the realm of grade-motivated worker to professional consultant. They've come to realize that "Nobody could have learned more about marketing research, that nobody could have put in more blood, sweat and tears, that nobody could understand the business more than we do." They've also learned that, henceforth, every marketing research supplier they deal with will be expected to live up to the standards they have set for themselves.
Last edited: