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Background information:

It has been decided to use an online panel company as the specific data collection method for the Advanced Automobile Concepts survey. Among the reasons for this decision are

(1) use of online questionnaire,

(2) assurance of a random sample that represents U.S. households,

(3) high response rate,

(4) quick survey data collection,

(5) low refusals to particular questions,

(6) demographic, automobile ownership, and media preference responses in the online panel companys database so no need to ask these questions, and

(7) reasonable total cost. Nick Thomas of Advanced Automobile Concepts has agreed that the selection of the online panel company is entirely up to CMG Research.

Cory Rogerss team at CMG Research has narrowed the choice to two different online panel companies that have made the final cut, meaning that inspections of their website descriptions, e-mail and telephone communications, and other factors have narrowed the set of possible providers. The costs of using either of these companies are highly comparable, so no single provider is favored at this time.

Surveyed for:	Company A	Company B
1. What experience does your company have with providing online samples for market research?	We have conducted market research since 1999. We are the only panel company to take advantage of computer technology and provide a truly nationally representative U.S. sample online.	We have supplied online U.S. samples since 1990, Europe samples since 2000, and our Asian Panel went live in 2005. We have supplied approximately 5,000 online samples to our clients in the past ten years.
What are the people told when they are recruited?	Individuals volunteer for our online panel via our website where they are informed that they will be compensated with redemption points based on the number of surveys in which they take part.	We recruit household members by asking them to join our panel, telling them they can have a say in the development of new products and services. They are rewarded with credits that they can use to claim products.
If the sample comes from a panel, what is your annual panel turnover/attrition/retention rate?	Our voluntary drop-out rate is approximately 5% per month. If a panelist misses ten consecutive surveys, he/she loses his/her panel membership.	We do a 1-for-1 replacement for each panel member who drops out voluntarily (about 3% per year) or removed due to nonparticipation (about 2% per year).
What profile data are kept on panel members? For how many members is the data collected and how often is the data updated?	We maintain extensive individual-level data, in the form of about 1,000 variables including demographics, household characteristics, financials, shopping and ownership, lifestyles, and more. All are updated every other year.	For each panelist, we have about 2,500 data points on demographics, assortment of goods and services owned, segmentation/lifestyle factors, health-related matters, political opinions, travel, financials, Internet usage, leisure activities, memberships, etc. Our updating is done annually.
Explain how people are invited to take part in a survey.	Typically a survey invitation is sent via e-mail and posted on every selected panel members personal member page. In either case, we have a link to the online survey location: Click here to start your survey. The e-mail invitation is sent daily to selected panelists until the survey quota is filled.	Based on the clients sample requirements, we e-mail selected panelists with a link to the online survey. After 48 hours, if the panelist has not participated, we send a reminder, and again 48 hours after the reminder.
How does your company handle data quality issues?	: Our panel members sign a statement that they will be conscientious in responding to all questions in all surveys in which they participate.	In all surveys with most questions, we provide an option of Refusal or Not applicable, where our panelists can indicate that they read the question but chose not to answer it for valid reasons. Furthermore, we advise our clients to not use neutral or no opinion response options unless they believe them to be absolutely necessary.

Question to answer:

Based on quality of the data, compare Company A with Company B and explain why you would choose one company over the other to do your market research.