EFAMRO E-ZINE SEPTEMBER 2005

SEPTEMBER 2005

European Industry Leaders expect growth in the 2nd half of 2005

Presidents and Director-Generals of the leading European market research associations have noted an average growth percentage of 3.5 % within Europe during the first half of 2005. Efamro, the industry network of European market research associations, is able to group together the various individual predictions in order to create an overall European market overview and outlook for the second half of 2005.
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Selfregulation stops respondent abuses in UK

The BMRA has accepted a code of practice for Automated dialing Equipment, which will affect the future code of practice in all European countries. Automated dialing leads to a substantial cost reduction, but does compromise the privacy of respondents as a result of so-called “silent calls” or “abandoned calls”. Efamro is of the opinion that the market research industry should have self-regulation in place long before legislation is considered.
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Germany completes selfregulation cycle

The German associations of market and social research recently issued two new guidelines that complete the comprehensive system of self-regulation. These guidelines form part of the professional rules of conduct that govern German market and social research, resulting as they do from the law and the methodological standards, but also from prevailing practice. They are mandatory and their requirements must be observed by every researcher and research agency when conducting scientific market and social research in and from Germany.>
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Czech market research turnover reaches all-time high

In 2004, EFAMRO and ESOMAR decided to collaborate for the purpose of establishing a manner in which MR turnover within Europe could be assessed, using identical methods for each European country. A standard questionnaire was drawn up, and national associations in EFAMRO-member countries were requested to provide their respective national data. SIMAR was responsible for the Czech Republic, where MR has seen a dramatic rise in turnover in recent years.
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Spain agrees on common quality standards

ANEIMO, the Spanish association for Market Research Companies, issued a ‘Quality Code’ last May, providing a ‘clear and straightforward’ description of the quality principles upheld by all its associated MR Companies. The Code presents a comprehensive summary of the quality principles upheld by Aneimo, the association that brings together the main Market and Opinion Research agencies in Spain, and the benefits that each of these principles will entail for clients. The Quality Code has been realised after an in-depth study with companies that use market research services in order to respond to their client’s key issues.
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Letter to the editor

Dear editor,

I represent ABEP, which stands for Associação Brasileira de Empresas de Pesquisa: an association which has 170 affiliates in Brazil, and generated a market revenue of USD 248 million in 2004. Read more...

A minimum ringing time of 15 seconds
Connection with a live operator within two seconds of picking up the phone
Automated dialing equipment may store no more than 4% of abandoned calls
A monitoring system must be in place
Any further calls after the first abandoned call must be made by a live operator.

The first Code principle refers to the standardisation of proposals and projects presented by different agencies: reports and work methodology to facilitate clients´ decision-making processes.
The second principle, professional qualifications, guarantees the provision of correct know-how and expertise in every phase of the research process for experienced professionals.
The third principle, ongoing training commitment, guarantees clients the highest qualification and training levels with regard to professionals in the sector.
The fourth principle is transparency, which will ensure straightforward and complete access to information regarding all operational procedures.
Being able to provide information and data reliability to our clients is one of the most important principles since it minimizes risks in terms of the decision process of clients.
The sixth principle, comprehensive quality control, ensures the implementation of rigorous and disciplined actions in all work procedures.
Aneimo members are also committed to serve as a historical archive of the research conducted on behalf of their clients, allowing access and recovery of accumulated expertise.
In terms of data protection, the principles ensure that the consumer data protection standard is upheld.
The confidentiality principle guarantees safe access, use, and storage of the information and all materials utilized in studies conducted for clients.
Finally, the Code summarizes the principles by referring to the overall industry commitment, driven by a continuous search for excellence and outstanding methods.