Dear Reader

With Labour Day triggering the return to work and school, it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get back to it. Achieving this year’s business goals in the final quarter of 2004 may prove a challenge for some organizations. Tapping into public opinion on key issues of the day, or researching product and channel alternatives, may give you the edge over competitors. Certainly, studies like these can set the framework for achievable goal setting in 2005. In this month’s issue, we highlight recent studies and techniques that enabled our clients to get one step closer to success.

As always, we expect you'll find this issue of Ipsos Ideas Canada an important resource for access to data and experts who understand your markets and stakeholders, and, ultimately, help  grow your business.

Please FORWARD this newsletter to a colleague or friend interested in advertising, market research or public opinion.

Out-of-Office?

According to a survey conducted on behalf of Expedia.ca, four in ten (38%) employed Canadian adults do not use all of their vacation days, and of those Canadians, 76% typically have up to 14 days left over at the end of the year!

A further 93% of Canadians think it’s important for people to use all of their vacation time to help relieve stress and 46% say, after returning home from a vacation they generally feel “refreshed and ready to work.”

• Residents of Quebec (53%) are most likely to feel “refreshed and ready to work,” followed by residents of British Columbia (47%), Ontario (44%), Atlantic Canada (42%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (41%), and Alberta (36%).
• The likelihood of feeling “relaxed but not looking forward to going back to work” decreases with age: 45% of those 18-34 years of age say they feel this way, 36% of those 35-54 years of age say they feel this way, and 23% of those 55 years of age or older say they feel this way.
• Canadians with a high school diploma are more likely than others to feel “refreshed and ready to work” (47% vs. 32%).

Nine in ten (91%) Canadians who have ever taken a vacation think that taking advantage of vacation time with the important people or person in their life creates closer relationships, and two-thirds (66%) of Canadians say the last time they took a vacation with the important people or person in their life was “one year ago, they make time for vacations every year.” The likelihood of making time for vacations with important people every year increases with level of annual household income: 50% of those whose annual household income is less than $30,000 last took a vacation with the important people in their life one year ago; 64% of those with an annual household income of $30,000-$59,999 did so; and 79% of those with an annual household income of $60,000 or greater did so.

To access the full findings of this study, including demographic breakdowns, please visit the Ipsos News Center

The data for this release was collected using our national omnibus. New waves of the Canadian Ipsos Reid Express Omnibus begin every Monday and Thursday, generating opinions from 1,000 Canadians in just five days, or 2,000 Canadians in nine days. To learn more about the national omnibus, please click here.

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Parenting & The Internet

The Internet is a remarkable resource for today’s youth. It allows them to learn about any and all topics they are interested in, and allows them to make new friends all over the world who share similar interests. Unfortunately, too often there’s news of a child who has gone missing and the prime suspect is a stranger who was first met online. Other parents fear that too much use of the Internet results inhibits normal social interaction with other children. And of course there is the questionable content that is easily accessible with a few clicks of the mouse.

In the Q2-2004 issue of the Canadian Inter@ctive Reid Report, we took a look at how parents are staying on top of their children’s Internet activities. This is to be followed by an in-depth look next quarter at how kids are actually using the Internet. To participate in the study, parents had to have at least one child aged 12 to 17 living at home. Parents who have multiple kids at home were asked specifically about their youngest child in the target age bracket.

The Findings
While the vast majority of parents allow their kids to use the Internet (93%), 58% say they are concerned about their kids’ online activities, with 31% saying they are very concerned.

Virtually all parents (95%) feel that they are aware of their kids’ online activities with two-in-three saying they are “very aware”. But realistically, in the age of dual income households and the accessibility of the Internet at multiple locations, it is very difficult for parents to be aware of all that their kids are doing online. The proportion of parents saying they are aware of their kids’ online activities may be a function of wishful thinking more so than actually being aware.

So what steps are parents taking?

• Two-in-three parents are putting their computer in an area where they can easily monitor their kids’ online activities, and an equal proportion have guidelines about how and when the Internet is to be used

• Slightly more than half of parents (56%) place time limits or curfews on their kids’ Internet usage, while 47% check the browser’s history to determine what sites their kids have been to.

• Only 18% of parents report that they have installed some sort of screening software or service that blocks out questionable content. Seven percent say that they have read their kids’ email without their kids knowing.

The vast majority of parents clearly feel that they have a handle on their kids’ Internet usage. However, the reality is likely very different. Realistically, the home is not the only place that kids use the Internet. Most have access at school, many have access at a friend’s house, and some might even venture into Internet cafes for unencumbered Internet usage. And even if the majority of one’s Internet usage is at home, parents’ belief that they have a good handle on how their kids are using the Internet may be a case of wishful thinking. This came to light in September 2003 when the RIAA’s initial series of lawsuits against those sharing music files included a 12-year-old girl living in public housing. The mother of the girl in question had no idea that her daughter was sharing music files and the girl in question had no idea that sharing music files is illegal.

Accordingly, our interviews next quarter with kids should prove to be enlightening, particularly to parents.

To learn more about this special investigation, or the Canadian Inter@ctive Reid Report, please contact Rhys Gibb.

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Does Loyalty Pay-Off?

Why do some organizations keep losing customers even though their customer satisfaction scores are so high? In today’s global, competitive marketplace, consumers have an abundance of choices. It’s more important than ever to not only satisfy customers’ high service standards/expectations, but to develop their ‘loyalty’ to consistently purchase your brand. Why? Because loyal customers spend more and help spread positive word-of-mouth, attracting other customers. Growing loyalty among the right customers means increased profitability for your business.

Early this summer, we conducted a loyalty study using our Interactive Voice of BC Panel. The study measured a variety of customer relationship indices including price sensitivity, history of loyal behaviour, and whether or not panelists shared positive or negative customer experiences with others. The findings were presented at two informative sessions held in Vancouver and Calgary. To request a full copy of our presentation slides, please contact us.

Are Customers Loyal?
The primary reason we state that “satisfaction does not equal loyalty” is that four-in-ten (39%) say that satisfaction with previous experiences is not enough to keep them from comparative shopping. Additionally, only 24% of respondents loyally shop at a select number of companies with an additional 41% saying they are somewhat loyal.

The importance of brand loyalty is accentuated when we witness that nearly six-in-ten (59%) agree that it is worth it to spend a little more on a brand they know. Willingness to spend more on a known brand does not translate to frivolity, as most consumers are price sensitive (74%), admitting to shopping with more than one company to ensure they get the lowest prices.

How is Loyalty Earned?
Positive word-of-mouth is critical in building a strong and loyal brand identity, as 82% of respondents confirmed that they tell other people about their positive or negative customer experiences. Here are two sample quotes:

• “I shop [there] frequently because they offer the whole package, good pricing, good customer service and a great return policy. I always feel confident that if I don’t have time to shop around that at least when I purchase from [them] I won’t walk into the next store only to find out I paid way too much.”
• “[They] consistently has knowledgeable staff, friendly, prompt service, and great prices.”

To learn more about our loyalty measurement division, including Ipsos Reid’s Loyalty Optimizer, the first in a suite of new loyalty products designed to help organizations understand, grow and nurture loyal customers, please click here.

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We hope you enjoyed reading Ipsos Ideas Canada, our free monthly e-newsletter. Each month you receive the very latest news, analysis and insight on the key issues of the day from other Ipsos member companies, here in Canada and from around the world. In Canada, Ipsos is represented by Ipsos ASI and Ipsos Reid.

Ipsos ASI is the largest provider of advertising pre-testing services in the world.We offer a full range of advertising research solutions to help clients make the best decisions at all stages of the advertising development process, to maximize the return on their advertising investment, and, ultimately, to help them build stronger brands.

Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader and the country’s largest provider of public opinion research. Our marketing research and public affairs practices are staffed with seasoned research consultants, with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, offering the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information.

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To learn more about the services or products featured in this issue, please contact the Editor.

Or, to access the latest copy of our global magazine, please click here. Each issue is single-topic focused. In this issue, experts from our customer loyalty research division provide case studies of how CRM (customer relationship management) has entered a new era, and describe critical factors to make loyalty pay off.