Patent Application
20140188553
This disclosure is generally directed to matching a panelist to a market research project. This disclosure is specifically directed to quota cell priority determination to match a panelist to a market research project.
Market research is an organized effort to gather information about markets or customers. Market research can include social and opinion research performed to systematically gather and interpret information about individuals or organizations using statistical and analytical methods and techniques of the applied social sciences to gain insight or support decision making. Viewed as an important component of business strategy, market research can be a key factor to obtain advantage over competitors. Market research provides important information to identify and analyze market need, market size, and competition.
Quantitative marketing research is the application of quantitative research techniques to the field of marketing. It has roots in both the positivist view of the world, and the modern marketing viewpoint that marketing is an interactive process in which both the buyer and seller reach a satisfying agreement on the “four Ps” of marketing: Product, Price, Place (location), and Promotion. As a social research method, it typically involves the construction of questionnaires and scales. People who respond (respondents) are asked to complete the survey. Marketers use the information so obtained to understand the needs of individuals in the marketplace, and to create strategies and marketing plans.
In market research, projects are defined for supplying a market research sample to a customer having a survey that needs to be completed by panelists having certain targeted attributes. Generally speaking, a project has a deadline for survey completion, and a set of criteria to fulfill in terms of the targeted attributes. An example target attribute for a survey might be “includes owners of vehicle model X,” thus defining a requirement that 100% of panelists have this attribute. Another example target attribute for a survey might be “excludes drivers over age 40,” thus defining a requirement that 0% of panelists have the attribute of being over age 40.
On the other hand, other criteria for a project may involve quotas for certain demographics, such as 45%-55% male and 45%-55% female. These demographic quotas help prevent skew in the results, and are grouped together. For example, the aforementioned set of demographics defines a quota group for the project, with the % male and % female panelists each being a quota cell in that quota group. Another quota group might be defined as 45%-55% eastern US residents and 45%-55% western US residents. These quota groups may be independent of one another, in which case the customer does not mind if 100% of the male respondents are from the Eastern US, etc. Alternatively, the quota cells of a group may be “nested” (AKA “interlocked”), in which case two groups each having two quota cells may be replaced by a single quota group having four nested quota cells as follows: 22.5%-27.5% male, eastern US residents; 22.5%-27.5% female, eastern US residents; 22.5%-27.5% male, western US residents; 22.5%-27.5% female, western US residents. A project may have multiple quota groups, some of which may quota cells nested therein.
The task of supplying the sample for a project has previously been addressed by using a relational database to find panelists having attribute values that match the values of the targeted attributes of a project. In this sense, panelists may be potential respondents who have enrolled as panelists and therefore have one or more of their attribute values recorded in the relational database. It is envisioned that panelists may be members of one or more proprietary market research access panels, or may have been sourced elsewhere, such as dynamically sourced through a network of website properties or from a third party access panel. It is also envisioned that panelists may be newly enrolling or not yet enrolled panelists. For a particular project, the panelists having the attribute values are then sent emails that provide a link to a survey associated with that project. A panelist may respond to such an email after that panelist is no longer needed for that project. In the past, such a panelist may then be matched to another project having a high acceptance rate, in the same or similar way that newly enrolled panelists are handled. However, it would be advantageous to match returning panelists or newly enrolled panelists to projects having relatively low acceptance rates, thus making more effective use of the panelists. It would also be advantageous to make more efficient use of panelists who fail to qualify for a survey by rerouting such panelists to another survey. The present disclosure is directed toward providing such a solution.
In some aspects, a method of matching a panelist to a market research project includes assigning, by one or more computer processors, priorities to quota cells. The method additionally includes accessing, by the one or more computer processors, a set of the prioritized quota cells identified for the panelist. The method also includes selecting, by the one or more computer processors, one of the quota cells based at least in part on the priorities. The method further includes matching, by the one or more computer processors, the panelist to the market research project based on the selected quota cell.
In other aspects, an apparatus for matching a panelist to a market research project has means for assigning, by one or more computer processors, priorities to quota cells. Additionally, the apparatus has means for accessing, by the one or more computer processors, a set of the prioritized quota cells identified for the panelist. Also, the apparatus has means for selecting, by the one or more computer processors, one of the quota cells based at least in part on the priorities. Further, the apparatus has means for matching, by the one or more computer processors, the panelist to the market research project based on the selected quota cell.
In additional aspects, a computer program product includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium that includes code for assigning, by one or more computer processors, priorities to quota cells. The computer-readable medium additionally includes code for accessing, by the one or more computer processors, a set of the prioritized quota cells identified for a panelist. The computer-readable medium also includes code for selecting, by the one or more computer processors, one of the quota cells based at least in part on the priorities. The computer-readable medium further includes code for matching, by the one or more computer processors, the panelist to a market research project based on the selected quota cell.
In other aspects, a market research apparatus has a memory that stores data relating to panelists and market research projects. The apparatus also has a processor configured to assign priorities to quota cells. The processor is additionally configured to access a set of the prioritized quota cells identified for the panelist. The processor is also configured to select one of the quota cells based at least in part on the priorities. The processor is further configured to match the panelist to the market research project based on the selected quota cell.
In further aspects, a method of finding a first data item within a set based on a second data item includes assigning, by one or more computer processors, priorities to criteria data items of the first data items, wherein the criteria data items represent criteria for matching the second data item to the first data items. The method additionally includes accessing, by the one or more computer processors, a set of the prioritized criteria data items identified for the second data items. The method also includes selecting, by the one or more computer processors, a first data item based at least in part on the priorities assigned to its respective criteria data items identified for the second data item. The method further includes matching the second data item to the first data item based on the selection.
In yet further aspects, an apparatus for finding a first data item within a set based on a second data item, includes means for assigning, by one or more computer processors, priorities to criteria data items of the first data items, wherein the criteria data items represent criteria for matching the second data item to the first data items. The apparatus additionally includes, means for accessing, by the one or more computer processors, a set of the prioritized criteria data items identified for the second data items. The apparatus also includes means for selecting, by the one or more computer processors, a first data item based at least in part on the priorities assigned to its respective criteria data items identified for the second data item. The apparatus further includes means for matching the second data item to the first data item based on the selection.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the invention, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present invention.
For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying FIGURES, in which:
As will be further explained below, the present disclosure is generally related to finding a first data item within a set based on a second data item. For example, the one or more computer processors assign priorities to criteria data items of the first data items, and access a set of criteria data items identified for the second data item. The criteria data items represent criteria for matching the second data item to the first data items. Additionally, the one or more computers select a first data item based at least in part on the priorities assigned to their respective criteria data items identified for the second data item. Also, the one or more computers match the second data item to the first data item based on the selection. In some aspects, the one or more computers may assign priorities to the criteria data items based on one or more of scarcity of their respective first data items, schedules for finding their respective first data item; or scarcity of second data items that satisfy the criteria of the respective data items.
In particular aspects described below with reference to
It is envisioned that other implementations may address other tasks. For example, it is envisioned that other implementations may match medical patients to medications, treatments, and/or medical study opportunities. Additionally, it is envisioned that other implementations may match consumers to advertisements. Also, more generally, other implementations may match entities having known attributes to goods, services, or opportunities. One skilled in the art will readily apprehend how to extend the teachings of the present disclosure to these other implementations without undue experimentation.
Referring to
As described with reference to
The apparatus may additionally implement a project management engine 208 that interacts with a customer 210 via a customer interface 212 to obtain information about a survey 212 implemented by the customer. As further explained below with reference to
Project management engine 208 may also assign priorities to quota cells of projects based on one or more conditions, such as: scarcity of panelists having the profile parameter values that satisfy the quota cell criteria, which may be defined in terms of actual scarcity of such panelists in the database, or may be defined as a scarcity/value proxy based on pricing of quota cells that reflects scarcity of the panelists fulfilling the quota cell criteria; percentage of progress, which may be defined in terms of number of registered starts or completes for a quota cell, versus the total number of starts or completes scheduled to have been achieved according to a field schedule for filling that quota cell on or before the project completion deadline; and/or elapsed effective field time for completion of the project, with a factor being defined for use as a measure of priority based on percentage of completion. In this sense, effective field time may take into consideration the time of day, days of the week, etc. with respect to panelist behavior, and when panelists are more likely to be available. Such priority assignment is described in greater detail below with reference to
The computer-implemented process of matching panelists to projects may principally be carried out by a panelist matching engine 218. The panelist matching engine 218 may interact with the panelist 200 via the panelist interface 206, and access the attribute database 204, to obtain a fit 220 that matches the panelist 200 to a market research project associated with a survey 214. Accomplishing the fit 220 may result, for example, in the panelist 200 being redirected to a website of the customer 210 where the survey 214 is hosted.
Such matching of the panelist to a project is described in greater detail in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ entitled Priority-Weighted Selection to Match a Panelist to a Market Research Project and filed concurrently herewith by the assignee of the present application on Jan. 2, 2013. The disclosure of the aforementioned U.S. patent application is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for any purpose. The disclosure of the aforementioned U.S. patent application is attached hereto as Appendix B. Appendix B forms part of the application. Any features of any embodiments described in Appendix B may be combined with each other and/or combined with any embodiments within the description and/or any other Appendices attached hereto.
Turning now to
An incomplete match may occur, for example, if no value for a profile parameter required by quota cell criteria has yet been recorded. Alternatively or additionally, an incomplete match may be determined based on a profile parameter value being expired (i.e., a sufficient amount of time having passed for a previous identification for the profile parameter value identification to no longer be current), thus permitting an incomplete match even if the same or another value for that parameter was previously identified. Further, an event based mechanism may be employed that enables an incomplete match to occur due to a recorded event in a panelist's life that would indicate that certain profile parameter values may no longer be current or correct. If it is determined, at step 310, that the match is complete, then the initial fit 308 may be considered a final fit 312. Otherwise, at step 314, questions may be asked as required to complete the match. Any identifications obtained at step 314 may be employed to dynamically update the panelist's profile. If it is determined, at step 316, that the match is now complete, then the result may be the final fit 312. Otherwise, processing may return to a previous step depending on whether a predetermined amount of time (e.g., 15 seconds) has passed since the set of quota cells was identified at step 304B. This predetermined amount of time may reflect a rate at which the quota cell priorities are updated. If it is determined, at step 318, that the time has expired, then processing may return to step 300 for a new set of quota cells having updated priorities to be identified for the panelist. Otherwise, at step 320, all of the quota cells belonging to the selected market research project may be eliminated from the set of quota cells, and processing may return to step 306 for selection of another market research project.
Turning now to
Another set of parameters that may be predefined for use in the priority assignment may include a scarcity value (e.g., actual scarcity or a scarcity value proxy) that may be predefined for use as a function of scarcity of quota cell criteria. For example, in the case of a scarcity value proxy, a premium or charge amount may be predetermined for a targeted attribute and/or combination thereof, and a plurality of scarcity value proxy parameters may be predefined as a function of thresholds comparable to such premiums or charge amounts. An example of a such related parameters is provided below in TABLE 2.
A central admin user interface may be implemented that permits the definition and editing of various parameters, values, scalars, and factors. For example, the central admin user interface may display and permit definition and editing of the effective field time factors of TABLE 1. Additionally, the central admin user interface may display and permit definition and editing of the priority points of TABLE 2. Also, the central admin user interface may display and permit editing of other values, limits (e.g., maximum and minimum limits), scalars (e.g., initial priority), and factors (e.g., tracker factor).
Referring particularly to
Referring further to
Referring now particularly to
The method of generating the score based on the percentage of progress and the effective field time may further include comparing the aforementioned product to predetermined limits, at steps 610 and 614, and determining the generated score, at steps 612, 616, and 618, conditioned on results of the comparisons. For example, if it is determined, at step 610, the product exceeds a predetermined maximum score threshold, then the maximum score threshold may be used as the generated score at step 612. Additionally, if it is determined, at step 614, that the product falls below a predetermined minimum score threshold, then the minimum score threshold may be used as the generated score at step 616. Otherwise, the product may be used as the generated score at step 618.
From the foregoing description, one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the procedures detailed above with reference to
In this example, the aforementioned predefined value is set at 1.3, the aforementioned predetermined scalar representing an initial priority is set at 450, and the aforementioned maximum and minimum limits are set at 750 and 0, respectively. As previously mentioned, a central admin user interface may permit display and editing of these and other parameters. Another parameter, the aforementioned tracker factor (e.g., 1.2), may also be editable via the central admin user interface.
Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations may be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present invention. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.
