Some market research clients have asked us to compile mailing lists from the contact info of the people we survey, so they can send them sales materials or make sales calls to them.

We don't do that. You as our marketing client will not receive copies of our call lists, contact sheets or any other personal information about the people we survey. Here is why:

It comes down to trust. When we do Quantitative Analysis, the tool we use to to find the people you want surveyed is the Internet. In order for the public to trust us we must prove ourselves trustworthy. When we tell people we aren't selling anything, we must live up to that statement and see that our clients do as well.

Quantitative Research deals solely with statistics and the opinions and mindset of a particular market segment, for example, "families with more than two kids", or "people over age 40 who play golf". If you as a manufacturer are marketing a new tool for diesel mechanics, you probably wouldn't care what bakery cooks thought of it. To be accurate with our research results, we have to know we are talking to the right people about your product or service.

In order for us to help you, the public has to trust us. Their first, knee-jerk reaction is always going to be to suspect that we are selling something (which we aren't). If we can get them to trust us enough to talk to us, we cannot betray that trust by putting them on a mailing list that will try to sell them something.

We will tell you the percentages of people who like your product, and the percentages of people who don't like it. We will tell you what they liked about it and what they didn't and why. We'll even tell you the average income of people who like your product, their age ranges, religous preferences and whatever else is relevent to identifying your market segment. We won't tell you the names and phone numbers of people who answered the questions. Ever.

Our research also helps the public. It's true. Our research actually does help companies improve their products to better meet the public's needs.

Further, it improves our client's image because it helps accurately identify and communicate with his exact market segment.

(I'm serious. Think of the avid boat owner going through his mailbox: "Hmm.. junk mail from a pizza place, junk mail from an RV dealer, junk mail from AOL....what's this? All Right! Hooray! The new Marine Supply catalog is finally here!"

Now let's put the exact same stack of mail in the mailbox of an RV owner: "Hmm... Junk mail from a pizza place, junk mail from some Marine Supply outfit, junk mail from AOL...Hey, the RV dealer in town is having a sale! We should go down there this weekend...") See the difference?

FACT: People resent marketing that is aimed at the wrong public. Most people don't resent marketing if it's a message about something they are interested in. "Blanket Marketing" (completely untargetted plastering of messages everywhere) is a tactic often resorted to by unscrupulous marketers, who are just "playing the numbers game" and know they are pushing an illegal, immoral or worthless product. That's why spammers and junk mailers are considered so evil and why managing a company's direct marketing campaign well is such an art. If you don't target your messages carefully, you can do much more harm than good.

FACT: Keeping our survey contacts confidential allows us to serve both our clients and the public more effectively, honestly and ethically.