Ponderings from the Perch

Can you defend your research insights if stakeholders challenge them? On this episode of Ponderings from the Perch, the Little Bird Marketing podcast, host and CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with guest, speaker and Full Circle Research Chief Product Officer Alexandrine de Montera about the critical shift in market research data quality standards. They explore how industry events have transformed client conversations from focusing on speed and cost to demanding defensible, transparent research practices that can withstand scrutiny, even from stakeholders. Montera shares how Full Circle Research has evolved from treating quality as a back-end function to making it a strategic differentiator. AI presents opportunities and threats in fraud detection, creating data that may look good, but is actually bad, requiring human validation and manual oversight to identify correctly. They explore the challenges of maintaining customer insights integrity while meeting demands for faster research panels and more sophisticated survey design. "Real transparency actually attracts better clients. It reduces friction in QA conversations. It lets you focus on the strategy instead of defending your methodology," Montera explains. "The question is not, should you be transparent, but how quickly can you get there?" The discussion covers the impact of the Department of Justice indictment on industry practices, the rising importance of ISO 20252 certification, and how major brands like Procter & Gamble are now mandating quality standards for their research suppliers. Montera addresses the balance between innovation and integrity, emphasizing that transparency builds long-term client relationships rather than compromising competitive advantage. The conversation underscores how reliable data quality enables better data-driven marketing decisions across global research initiatives. Sponsors: Tired of generic marketing firms that don't get market research? Say hello to Little Bird Marketing, the revenue generation company of choice for the market research industry. Our "peeps" understand market research inside and out. We know your buyers, craft meaningful messages that move them to buy, understand the competitive landscape and where you fit in the market. We get the industry - from qual/quant to emerging technologies. Why settle for getting the job done when you can soar with marketing that drives real revenue? Click here to get started. Ever feel like your marketing plan is just... meh? You've got all the pieces, but are they really working together?  We often find that even when companies are doing the right things, they may not be doing them in the right order. The result is, well, no results. Want to effectively evaluate your marketing efforts and gain clarity on your next strategic move?  Take our Marketing Assessment Quiz today and discover exactly where you stand – and where you could be going – in just minutes.

Can you grow a market research company to £6 million in just two years? On this episode of Ponderings from the Perch, the Little Bird Marketing podcast, host and CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with guest and Potentia Insight Managing Director Suzy Hassan about building a successful consultative data collection company from the ground up. They explore how Potentia Insight achieved remarkable growth by focusing on human relationships and niche market research solutions rather than relying solely on digital automation, which dominates the industry. They discuss how the key to rapid business growth lies in maintaining personal connections with clients, suppliers, and staff while leveraging senior-level expertise to deliver consultative services. Hassan explains that their approach centers on providing clients with a single point of contact who takes projects from start to finish, contrasting with larger organizations where clients work with multiple team members. The conversation reveals how focusing on hard-to-reach niche panels, such as UK farmers and tradespeople, allows smaller agencies to fill gaps that larger global panel companies often overlook. "We use technology as much as we can,” Hassan explains. “But it was more adding back that human element that sometimes is a little bit lost now in our day and age of technology." The discussion covers practical strategies for business partnership success, including the importance of implicit trust and complementary skill sets between co-founders. Hassan shares how personal outreach, LinkedIn engagement, and strategic event sponsorships have consistently filled their pipeline through effective lead generation strategies while deliberately avoiding blanket email marketing in favor of personalized communications. They also explore how supporting industry networks like Women in Research creates meaningful professional relationships that extend beyond traditional business development, ultimately providing deeper customer insights that drive business growth. Sponsors: Knowing your customer is essential for moving any company forward. Enter market research. But what if that customer is a patient with a rare disease? Enter Rare Patient Voice. They don't just find patients - they bring caregivers and health advocates to the table too. When market research firms, health systems, policy makers, biotech companies, and pharma need these important voices, trust the team at Rare Patient Voice. Click here to transform your patient insights today. Tired of generic marketing firms that don't get market research? Say hello to Little Bird Marketing, the revenue generation company of choice for the market research industry. Our "peeps" understand market research inside and out. We know your buyers, craft meaningful messages that move them to buy, understand the competitive landscape and where you fit in the market. We get the industry - from qual/quant to emerging technologies. Why settle for getting the job done when you can soar with marketing that drives real revenue? Click here to get started.

What's hiding in consumer blind spots that brands need to uncover? On this episode of Ponderings from the Perch, the Little Bird Marketing podcast, host and CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with guest and President and Head of Client Consulting at Nailbiter, Gram Bowsher, about capturing authentic consumer behavior through their proprietary in-the-moment video methodology, videometrics. They dive into how Nailbiter's approach provides deeper customer insights than traditional survey methods while removing recall bias that often plagues market research. Shopping habits continue to change. Ever wonder how brands stay competitive despite these changes? They discuss how brands face challenges in understanding shopper behavior across multiple touchpoints—from pre-shop research to in-store decisions to online price comparisons. Nailbiter's methodology allows brands to quantify consumer behavior at scale through human coding of video data, offering both the statistical validity of large sample sizes and the rich context of seeing consumers make purchase decisions in real-time. This combination of quantitative data with qualitative depth helps brands address issues from new product launches to packaging problems to retail optimization. "Traditional survey methodologies put a lot of burden on the person answering the questions," Bowsher explains. "We [want] to find a better way to open up that black box that [exists] in the industry." McKinney and Bowsher also talk about the powerful insights revealed when brands see beyond demographics to understand the complexity of human shopping behavior. While age, gender, and income might influence purchase criteria, shopping behaviors and attention patterns are remarkably consistent across demographic groups. Nailbiter's market sizing capabilities help brands understand what's happening in the aisle and why certain products succeed while others struggle. It’s the difference that translates into a competitive advantage.  Sponsors: Knowing your customer is essential for moving any company forward. Enter market research. But what if that customer is a patient with a rare disease? Enter Rare Patient Voice. They don't just find patients - they bring caregivers and health advocates to the table too. When market research firms, health systems, policy makers, biotech companies, and pharma need these important voices, trust the team at Rare Patient Voice. Click here to transform your patient insights today. Ever feel like your company is sitting on a goldmine of opportunities, but they keep slipping away? Most companies already have their next big win hiding in their database. Little Bird Marketing's Revenue Sprint is a proven system that works backward from your revenue goals to create a focused plan for building a sales pipeline and predictable growth. No massive budget required—just strategic execution that delivers measurable results. Ready to turn missed opportunities into new wins? Click here and build a predictable pipeline for sustainable growth.

Amplifying patient voices transforms healthcare outcomes beyond what medical professionals alone can achieve. On this episode of Ponderings from the Perch, the Little Bird Marketing podcast, host and CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with guest and Senior Vice President at Rare Patient Voice, Pam Cusick, about the critical importance of including patient perspectives in healthcare research and product development. They discuss how patients with medical conditions are the true experts of their experiences, yet historically, they have been underrepresented in developing products and services meant to serve them. They explore the transformation happening in healthcare research methodology, where the focus shifts from what doctors think patients need to what patients experience. Cusick emphasizes how her company connects researchers with a community of 180,000 patients and caregivers across 1,500 conditions, creating opportunities for meaningful B2B content marketing that genuinely addresses user needs. This partnership approach helps research firms avoid expensive recruitment challenges while ensuring products meet patient needs. "Patients live with their conditions 24/7/365. They are the experts on their condition," Cusick explains. "When something is created with the patient as the end user, you need to find out what the patient needs or wants." The conversation highlights how patient input transforms everything from clinical trial design to product development as a part of niche B2B marketing consulting services. Cusick highlights the importance of inclusive research that considers accessibility needs and the often-overlooked caregiver perspective, which provides crucial insights that patients themselves might not recognize. Cusick shares how participating in research can be therapeutic for patients who rarely have opportunities to share their full experiences. All in all, this important work fits into a well-rounded plan for delivering high-quality insights for products and services that truly change lives.  Sponsors: Tired of generic marketing firms that don't get market research? Say hello to Little Bird Marketing, the revenue generation company of choice for the market research industry. Our "peeps" understand market research inside and out. We know your buyers, craft meaningful messages that move them to buy, understand the competitive landscape and where you fit in the market. We get the industry - from qual/quant to emerging technologies. Why settle for getting the job done when you can soar with marketing that drives real revenue? Click here to get started. Ever feel like your company is sitting on a goldmine of opportunities, but they keep slipping away? Most companies already have their next big win hiding in their database. Little Bird Marketing's Revenue Sprint is a proven system that works backward from your revenue goals to create a focused plan for building a sales pipeline and predictable growth. No massive budget required—just strategic execution that delivers measurable results. Ready to turn missed opportunities into new wins? Click here and build a predictable pipeline for sustainable growth.

Could understanding the non-conscious drivers of human behavior be the key to creating marketing that truly resonates? On this episode of Ponderings from the Perch, the Little Bird Marketing podcast, host and CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with guest, author and Chief Creative Officer at HBT Marketing Nancy Harhut about behavioral marketing. Harhut explains how understanding hardwired human behaviors can help marketers craft more effective messages that drive customer action. They discuss how behavioral science identifies automatic, instinctive responses that influence purchasing decisions, many of which consumers aren't even consciously aware of. Nancy shares how marketers can leverage these insights through testing and experimentation, focusing on buyer psychology rather than simply promoting product features. By understanding what motivates customers on a deeper level, marketers can create personalized content that drives action and builds authentic marketing connections. "If we as marketers can become aware of these factors that influence people's decisions—that they're not even aware of—it can help us craft better marketing messages, more effective marketing messages for our clients," Harhut explains. "We have these hardwired behaviors, these hardwired human behaviors are automatic, instinctive, reflexive responses." Nancy shares a fascinating case study from AT&T that demonstrates the power of behavioral science principles in action. By leveraging autonomy bias—our deep-seated desire to control our own choices—AT&T significantly increased customer retention during a critical transition period. The campaign succeeded by speaking to business owners' fundamental need to make their own decisions rather than having choices made for them. Sponsors: Looking for those hard-to-reach voices in healthcare research? When you need insights from patients with rare diseases or their caregivers, Rare Patient Voice delivers. Whether you're a healthcare system, policy maker, biotech company, or pharmaceutical firm seeking these critical perspectives, the team at Rare Patient Voice has you covered. They can source both specialized and general audiences for your market research needs. Click here to see how they can support your research, and when you connect with them, thank them for sponsoring this podcast. Little Bird Marketing is proud to sponsor the Small Business Coalition Symposium in NYC on June 3rd! This one-day event brings together market research business owners under $10M to connect, collaborate on shared challenges, and develop crucial leadership skills through expert-led sessions. Ready to join fellow entrepreneurs and discover why collaboration is the new competition? Click here to register for this industry-changing opportunity.

This podcast mini-series is brought to you by Smith Hanley & Associates, connecting businesses worldwide through specialized recruitment solutions. What makes a market research company truly stand out in 2025? On this episode of Ponderings from the Perch, the Little Bird Marketing podcast, host and CEO Priscilla McKinney delivers Part 2 of our Quirks Chicago Conference Flyover as she catches up with industry leaders about the evolving landscape of market research. This collection of candid conversations captures the pulse of the industry through unfiltered discussions with executives who are navigating the balance between technology and human connection. They discuss how specialized recruitment panels are transforming agricultural and veterinary research, why community building is more effective than traditional panel development, and how behavioral data is becoming essential for accurate insights. From the merging of strategic partners and the development of AI-powered DIY tools to the critical importance of understanding emotions in brand perception, these leaders share practical approaches that deliver tangible results for their clients. "Trust is the biggest factor when it comes to farmers or most folks within the ag industry," Mike Mostransky explains. "We're regularly in touch with those participants within the ag space. If they hear it coming in from us, because we are selective as to who we work with, they trust us." This flyover features in-depth conversations with research professionals from diverse specialties, each offering unique perspectives on the intersection of technology, human expertise, and industry evolution. Despite technological advances and shifting business models, building genuine relationships with both research participants and clients remains the cornerstone of lasting success in market research. Want to connect with any of our guests? Featured below are all of their LinkedIn profiles, and if you decide to contact them, make sure to let them know that Little Bird Marketing sent you their way: Mike Mostransky, Insights Director at Qlarity; Pal Afzelius, CEO and Co-founder at Protobrand; Paul Gaudette, CEO and Co-founder at Dig Insights; Pierson Wofford, Executive Recruiter at Smith Hanley Associates; Ray Fischer, CEO of Aha! Insights Technology; Stewart Tippler, European Representative with Quirks Media; Nicole Potter, Field Manager at Insights in Marketing; Sean McKenna, SVP of Business Development at Luth Research.

*This podcast mini-series is brought to you by Gazelle Global, connecting businesses worldwide through expert research services and specialized recruitment solutions.* How do research pros tackle today's most pressing challenges while preparing for tomorrow's opportunities? On this episode of Ponderings from the Perch, the Little Bird Marketing podcast, host and CEO Priscilla McKinney gives you Part 1 of our 2-part Quirks Chicago Conference Flyover as she talks with market research professionals about current trends, challenges, and innovations in the industry. This conference flyover captures candid conversations with leaders from multiple companies, offering an unfiltered look at what's happening in market research right now. They discuss how companies use AI to speed up processes while maintaining accuracy, why face-to-face research is experiencing a resurgence, and the critical role of connecting insights directly to revenue growth. From strategic pricing decisions and sports fan experience analysis to multilingual research and real-time mobile feedback, these experts share specific practices that create measurable value for their organizations and clients. "Being in the industry as long as we have, we've seen a lot of change over the years, over the decades. The companies that have been stable in their leadership, stable with their teams, tend to be the companies that are going to be sticky," J.R. Venza explains. "They're the companies that are going to be here at this conference or other conferences in 2025, 2026, 2030 and so on." This conference flyover features rapid-fire interviews with ten different professionals, each contributing their distinct perspective on how technology and human expertise work together to drive business growth. Despite advances in technology, the human element remains irreplaceable in transforming data into decisions that deliver real-world results. Want to connect with any of our guests? Featured below are all of their LinkedIn profiles, and if you decide to contact them, make sure to let them know that Little Bird Marketing sent you their way: Adam Dietrich, Managing Director at Unlock Surveys, A Stagwell Company Emily Krol, Senior Manager Traveler Research at Expedia Group Jason Deutch, Strategic Account Director at SampleGurus Jonathan Dore, Executive Vice President at Reach3 Insights Jill Kushner Bishop, PhD, CEO at Multilingual Connections J.R. Venza, SVP North America at Torfac Liv Metcalf, Senior Account Director at Relative Insight Matt Worden, AVP Sales & Marketing at Finch BrandsTim Hoskins, President at Quester Tim Lawton, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at SightX Sponsors: Little Bird Marketing proudly supports the Marketing Research Education Foundation's 2025 Race Around the World for Education. This virtual event in May 2025 promotes STEAM education in underserved communities. Participants log miles to circle the globe three times and aim to raise $90,000. Form a company team to compete with other market research firms! Become a sponsor to help provide quality STEAM education to children who need access. For registration and more information, visit: https://www.mrgivesback.org/

Could your team's hidden challenges be preventing business growth? On this episode of Ponderings from the Perch, the Little Bird Marketing podcast, host and CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with guest and Team Leadership Coach Meghan Opitz about unlocking collective brilliance in organizations. They explore how trust-based team coaching can transform company culture and drive b2b content marketing success. As an American expat in Berlin with extensive market research experience, Opitz brings a unique perspective on building high-performing teams across US and European markets. As a leadership and team coach and the Senior Vice President of Business Development at Republikka, she works daily with teams laser-focused on revenue generation. Meeting and exceeding goals is her specialty. Having scaled Cint's respondent base from 10 million to 100 million, she provides valuable insights on revenue generation challenges and how understanding your buyer persona can lead to better team alignment. "When you talk about leadership coaching, you get to have a series of conversations with one person. With team coaching, it's several people," Opitz explains. "It's more than the individual topics of each person in that room. It's all of the dynamics at play that create that collective performance." McKinney and Opitz discuss how empathy emerged as the key benefit in one team coaching experience, enabling members to see each other as humans working toward the same goals. The conversation touches on how building trust within teams enhances social influence and creates lasting business impact. This human-centered approach is especially critical today, as Opitz's recent survey revealed 54% of professionals struggle with balancing workload and burnout. By implementing an effective growth marketing strategy that values both business objectives and team wellbeing, organizations can achieve sustainable growth while supporting personal wellbeing. Sponsors: Little Bird Marketing proudly supports the Marketing Research Education Foundation's 2025 Race Around the World for Education. This virtual event in May 2025 promotes STEAM education in underserved communities. Participants log miles to circle the globe three times and aim to raise $90,000. Form a company team to compete with other market research firms! Become a sponsor to help provide quality STEAM education to children who need access. For registration and more information, visit: https://www.mrgivesback.org/ Priscilla McKinney is not just a CEO; she is also a LinkedIn Influencer. “The reality is that very few people are using LinkedIn efficiently or effectively, and if you’re not careful, social media can become a black hole. When you emerge, you find you wound up in a place you never intended to go and you’re wondering where all the time went,” she explains. Time is precious, and trying to be everything to everyone means becoming nothing to no one. That's why she's developed a transformative 12-week course that goes beyond basic tips and tricks—it teaches you how to build a strategic network and create stellar content that cuts through the LinkedIn noise. Click here to learn more, and sign up for a spot in her social influence course today!

Are you stuck in a content marketing rut, doing the same thing over and over again? On this episode of Ponderings from the Perch, the Little Bird Marketing podcast, host and CEO Priscilla McKinney discusses thinking outside the blog for content creation. She explores how a robust content marketing strategy extends beyond blog posts to include various formats that can help brands stand out in an attention economy. She outlines six creative frameworks that marketers can apply to freshen up their content: the Haiku framework for distilling complex ideas, the Socratic dialogue framework that mirrors natural thought processes, the Recipe framework for making business processes digestible, the Weather Report framework for creating complete situational pictures, the Crime Mystery framework for building engagement through suspense, and the Botanical Growth framework for understanding natural progression. "It's easy to fall into that formulaic routine for the sake of efficiency, but don't do that," McKinney explains. "In an attention economy, that is not great for content marketing." The goal isn't to force your content into any specific content strategy template but to use them as inspiration to think differently about presentation. These frameworks serve as tools to help your audience connect with your brand in meaningful ways. Priscilla, a respected content marketing consultant, emphasizes that b2b content marketing should drive revenue results while providing value to your audience. By applying these creative approaches, brands can transform their content strategy and stand out from competitors who rely on predictable formats. Sponsors: Little Bird Marketing proudly supports the Marketing Research Education Foundation's 2025 Race Around the World for Education. This virtual event in May 2025 promotes STEAM education in underserved communities. Participants log miles to circle the globe three times and aim to raise $90,000. Form a company team to compete with other market research firms! Become a sponsor to help provide quality STEAM education to children who need access. For registration and more information, visit: https://www.mrgivesback.org/ Priscilla McKinney is not just a CEO; she is also a LinkedIn Influencer. “The reality is that very few people are using LinkedIn efficiently or effectively, and if you’re not careful, social media can become a black hole. When you emerge, you find you wound up in a place you never intended to go and you’re wondering where all the time went,” she explains. Time is precious, and trying to be everything to everyone means becoming nothing to no one. That's why she's developed a transformative 12-week course that goes beyond basic tips and tricks—it teaches you how to build a strategic network and create stellar content that cuts through the LinkedIn noise. Click here to learn more, and sign up for a spot in her social influence course today!

Could the market research industry be entering its golden age? On this episode of Ponderings from the Perch, the Little Bird Marketing podcast, host and CEO Priscilla McKinney talks with guest, CEO and Founder of OpinionRoute, Terence McCarron, about modernizing consumer insights and delivering meaningful competitive insights. They explore the intersection of technology and human expertise in market research, focusing on helping small to mid-sized firms overcome challenges with feasibility, data quality, and disjointed processes. McCarron shares insights on AI's role in consumer insights, noting it's not about replacing human-derived samples but creating a synthesis. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on the needs of research clients rather than complicating their world with industry jargon. "I think we're about to enter what's going to become 20 years of [the industry's] golden age, but I am absolutely bullish about the small to mid-size agency," McCarron explains. "AI is going to be this massive tool that's going to unlock the creativity [necessary], even on the quant side." The conversation also explores how modernizing a research firm isn't just about implementing new technology – it requires establishing strong process excellence and guiding principles first. McCarron explains that the goal is to move companies from "ad hoc to organized," creating systems that enable researchers to provide better competitive insights and client consultation. They address the future of the market research industry and how, despite current concerns about data quality, companies are better positioned to address these challenges with the right approach. Sponsors: Little Bird Marketing proudly supports the Marketing Research Education Foundation's 2025 Race Around the World for Education. This virtual event in May 2025 promotes STEAM education in underserved communities. Participants log miles to circle the globe three times and aim to raise $90,000. Form a company team to compete with other market research firms! Become a sponsor to help provide quality STEAM education to children who need access. For registration and more information, visit: https://www.mrgivesback.org/ Priscilla McKinney is not just a CEO; she is also a LinkedIn Influencer. “The reality is that very few people are using LinkedIn efficiently or effectively, and if you’re not careful, social media can become a black hole. When you emerge, you find you wound up in a place you never intended to go and you’re wondering where all the time went,” she explains. Time is precious, and trying to be everything to everyone means becoming nothing to no one. That's why she's developed a transformative 12-week course that goes beyond basic tips and tricks—it teaches you how to build a strategic network and create stellar content that cuts through the LinkedIn noise. Click here to learn more, and sign up for a spot in her social influence course today!