Monday, November 21, 2011
6:00 PM

When Projects Go “Pear-shaped”

We’ve all had one - a project that goes pear-shaped! It’s never about us, of course - but is it? A Harvard Business Review study concluded that 87% of business issues are due to the lack of inter-personal communication skills, not the competencies of the parties involved.

Paul Fini, a consultant in team facilitation, will provide some insight as to what & why people can be so difficult with each other. He will look at contributing factors such as psychological preferences and limiting belief systems, and will provide a model for giving feedback.

Paul welcomes the opportunity to provide some practical advice to your specific situations, including the times when the difficult team member happens to be the customer or client!

Paul Fini is a consultant in organization development and effectiveness, supporting people, creating inspiration and enabling growth. He builds interpersonal competence through personal and professional coaching, and conflict resolution. And, he helps organizations achieve their growth objectives by providing senior teams and leaders with professional development and facilitation services.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011
6:00 PM

An Evening with Chris Commins

Chris Commins is one of the best known and respected researchers in Canada. He is also a hilarious speaker, particularly when he reminisces about his extensive career in Canadian market research – 53 years and counting! His expertise spans all phases of marketing research but Chris is particularly known for creative solutions to challenging research problems.

So join us to hear about some of the challenging research “problems” that Chris has encountered, and the “creative” solutions that he offers.

Chris Commins is Senior Partner at Commins Wingrove. After working in the research departments of two leading Canadian advertising agencies, Chris held senior positions with three major research firms before starting his own company which was the predecessor company to Commins Wingrove. He was President of the Professional Marketing Research Society in 1985-86, and in 1990 was named a "Fellow" of the Society (now the MRIA) for his "distinguished contributions to marketing research" in Canada.

Monday, September 20, 2010
6:00 PM

Are we paying too much? A discussion about Physician Honoraria

Honoraria for physicians participating in market research projects have been steadily increasing over the past several years.  These increases are driven both by requests from the doctors themselves and by clients’ decisions to offer high “incentives” to encourage physicians to take part in their research.  But how much is too much?

Join us for a lively discussion, brainstorming session and information exchange around this hot topic.

Nancy Gulland is the president of Maverick Research Inc.  She has been working in Data Collection for over 25 years.  Nancy is currently on the Board of  Directors of the B2B Division and the Committee Chair for the Field Management Group.

When Time or Times Are Tight: The Role & Value of Secondary Research

Secondary information is a key resource in B2B market research, particularly when entering unfamiliar markets. But its advantages – easily available, and cheaper to collect than primary data – can also lead to disadvantages: far too much, and possibly of dubious quality.  Maggie will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of secondary research, and provide a checklist of quality resources for when time or times are tight.

Maggie Weaver has worked with business information for more than 35 years, undertaking competitive & market research for the chemical industry, management consulting firms and small businesses.  Her knowledge of Canadian business sources is extensive, and she is the compiler of The Canadian B2B Research Sourcebook, a guide to the online and print databases, statistics, and market research available for the Canadian market.    She brings the same expertise to international market research, working for associations of importers and exporters.

B2B Mystery Shopping – the Next Frontier in CI

David Lithwick will be speaking on how competitive intelligence and mystery shopping have evolved in Canada over the past 5 years and where he sees developments going in the next 5 years. David will touch on training, ethics, merging of CI with mystery shopping and traditional market research, the demand for systems to prevent sensitive information from being leaked from one’s own company, and expanding skills that market research professionals will need to keep up with the demands in intelligence gathering.

Blogs, Wikis, Widgets, Forums, Tweets, what do they all mean?

Speaker: Ezra Silverton

Are you constantly playing catch-up with the latest developments in web technologies, or find yourself baffled by the current lingo? Blogs, Wikis, Widgets, Forums, and Tweets have opened up new avenues for reaching out to consumers and generating greater business awareness. But how do you know which new technologies are right for your business, and how can you employ them to the best of your advantage? For businesses reliant on a web presence, incorporating these latest trends can be critical to staying in the game.

‘Green Ocean’ Strategies

Speaker: Susan Sheehan

Help your clients establish and communicate their sustainability strategies

Business Intelligence for the rest of us

Speaker: Ulla de Stricker

Business Intelligence:strategically using a carefully analyzed collection of key information.

• Live Webinar
• Wednesday, February 15, 2012
• 12 PM to 1 PM EST

• MRIA B2B Webinar: THE CHALLENGES OF BUSINESS TO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH
• Ruth McNeil – Author of “Business To Business Marketing Research”.
• Ruth is the author of the first B2B market research handbook published in well over a decade and a director of the Business Industrial Group in the U.K.
• She is also an international speaker on B2B research topics.

• Live Webinar
• Tuesday, June 16, 2011
• 1 PM EST

• MRIA B2B Webinar: SANS FRONTIERES – Allan Hyde on the Business Environment In Post-Conflict Iraq
• When you deploy modern communications technologies, determination, and a creative approach to research today, there are very few markets anywhere in the world that should ever be closed to B2B researchers. Allan Hyde is Director at The Opinion Research Business Ltd. (ORB), U.K., will describe the context and background to the project, and how the numerous challenges faced were overcome in executing it.

• Live Webinar
• Tuesday, November 23, 2010
• 1 PM EST

• Do SMEs Benefit from Social Networking?
• The impact of social networking on personal communications and entertainment has been obvious, as has its effects on the businesses directly connected to these activities. Less is known, however, on how traditional SMEs have actively embraced these forms of networking and whether adoption has led to stronger business performance. Ted Mallett, Canadian Federation of Independent Business, will discuss the findings of an analysis of 2000 business owners, aimed at determining the impact of social networking on the success of small businesses.

• Live Webinar
• Wednesday, June 23, 2010
• 1 PM EST

• SMALL BUSINESS LIONS’ LAIR – THE SMALL BUSINESS IMMERSION PROJECT
• A presentation outlining a collaborative effort between Vodafone (U.K.) and ACM Research to gain more insight into the small business market. The Lions’ Lair technique was introduced as a creative tool to remove Vodafone from their standard product and service development and put them into direct contact  with their small business customers.

• On-Demand (Pre-Recorded) Webinar: BUSINESS PSYCHOGRAPHICS – FROM SEGMENTATION THEORY TO SUCCESSFUL MARKETING PRACTICE
• This event is now available for downloading. Just follow the link (opposite).

• BUSINESS PSYCHOGRAPHICS – FROM SEGMENTATION THEORY TO SUCCESSFUL MARKETING PRACTICE
• Art Weinstein, Professor of Marketing in the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship, will reprise, summarize and extend several scholarly papers and presentations on organizational segmentation and psychographics.

• On-Demand (Pre-Recorded) Webinar: The State of the Economy and How It Will Impact on B2B Markets and Research
• This event is now available for downloading. Just follow the link (opposite).

• Recruiting Hard-to-Contact B2B Respondents
• Helen Wanford, Managing and Research Partner for Wanford Fieldwork Partnership in the U.K. – a B2B specialist recruiter, Helen has 39 years experience in market research and her talk explores all the challenges associated with locating and recruiting the elusive B2B respondent.

• On-Demand (Pre-Recorded) Webinar: The State of the Economy and How It Will Impact on B2B Markets and Research
• This event is now available for downloading. Just follow the link (opposite).

• The State of the Economy and How It Will Impact on B2B Markets and Research
• Dave Skelsey, Director of Strictly Financial, summarizes his research on how the research industry has responded to the financial situation and how the needs of B2B research buyers may be affected.
• Julia Cupman presents a short synopsis of a global study among 310 B2B marketing executive and how they are coping with the recession.

• On-Demand (Pre-Recorded) Webinar: The Case For B2B Branding
• This event is now available for downloading. Just follow the link (opposite).
  

• The Case For B2B Branding – Pulling Away From The Business-To-Business Pack
• Bob Lamons author of The Case For B2B Branding presents his perspective on what makes for successful business branding. After years of researching business branding Bob came up with 21 success stories and 11 problems that keep these brands from achieving the fame and fortune they so richly deserve.

• On-Demand (Pre-Recorded) Webinar: Ethnographic Research in the B2B Environment
• This event is now available for downloading. Just follow the link (opposite).
  

• Ethnographic Research in the B2B Environment
• Alex Johnston, Jigsaw Research, will give his award winning presentation on the feasibility of adapting ethnographic research to the B2B environment – the challenges, the key issues, the various approaches

• On-Demand (Pre-Recorded) Webinar: The Times They Are A’Changin’
• This event is now available for downloading. Just follow the link (opposite).
  

• The Times They Are A'Changin'
• Ruth McNeil – Author of “Business To Business Marketing Research”. This is the first B2B market research handbook published in well over a decade. Ruth headed the first webinar in this series..
  

• On-Demand (Pre-Recorded) Webinar: What Is B2B Marketing If Not About Segmentation
• This event is now available for downloading. Just follow the link (opposite) for the order form.
  

• What Is B2B Marketing If Not About Segmentation
• Paul Hague, Director of B2B International, and author of several books on market research including “The Power of Industrial Brands”; “The Industrial Market Research Handbook”; “A Practical Guide To Market Research”: the latter is available (free of charge) at www.b2binternational.com/publications.html.
  

• On-Demand (Pre-Recorded) Webinar: Business To Business Marketing Trends and Best Practices
• This event is now available for downloading. Just follow the link (opposite) for the order form.
  

• Business-To-Business Marketing Trends and Best Practices…Insights and Implications For Research
• Ralph Oliva, Excutive Director of the Institute For The Study of Business Markets, will present and discuss the top B2B “trends” and identify key B-to-B challenges and opportunities. As an accomplished B2B marketer and researcher, Mr. Oliva is well qualified to comment on the implications for the market research industry.