Market Research Glossary | Market Research Buffalo NY

The market research industry is never short of acronyms and terms. Some are more easy to define than others. However, for small business who may not have much experience in the field, the types of market research studies and methodologies available to them can easily become overwhelming.

With the small business in mind and those who may not have the depth and breadth of experience in market research, we decided to create a short glossary. The questions below are almost a FAQ of some key industry terminology you may run across in market research.

Here is our market research glossary from our market research Buffalo NY team.

Market Research Glossary | Market Research Buffalo NY

Here are 5 common questions the market research Buffalo, NY team gets asked all the time from our current and prospective clients. Interested in more Market Research 101? Visit our Market Research 101 category on our blog.


What is Incidence Rate?

Incidence rate is the percentage of people within a given pool that will qualify for your study. If you are targeting females-only in your study you can estimate your incidence rate will drop immediately to 50% since you'll be disqualifying half of the audience. If you are looking for females aged 25 to 29 who live in 3 specific ZIP codes, your online sample incidence could drop below 10%. Lower incidence rates equate with higher costs per completed survey.


What is CPI?

CPI is a measurement used by online panel companies and it is defined as cost per incidence. This is the rate the online panel companies use to price out your survey completes. A 100 complete survey at a CPI of $10 will cost your market research firm in Buffalo $1,000. CPIs can range anywhere from a few dollars for projects with near full incidence (100%), and upwards of $40 or $50 CPI for your highly targeted B2B survey completes.


What is an IHUT?

An IHUT is an in-home usage test in market research. This is a methodology in which products are sent to a consumer's household for testing. Respondents are often required to respond to a mobile or online survey after testing is complete. IHUTs can also involve an on-site moderator who comes to your home to ask you questions as you cook or clean with a new product to collect two-way feedback. Read more about IHUTs here.


What is Honorarium?

An honorarium in market research is used to entice participants to engage and sign-up for studies. It is a proverbial carrot you dangle. Honorariums can range as low as a few dollars, a sweepstakes, or as high as hundreds of dollars paid to C-Level staff or doctors for their time.


What is a Soft-Launch of a Survey?

A soft-launch of a survey in market research is a trial run or test using a limited number of sample participants. These usually contain about 1% or 2% of sample or 100 to 200 respondents. A soft-launch ensures everything is working properly before exploring a full launch. Here are 7 benefits to pre-testing your survey before jumping in.


Drive Research is a market research firm serving Buffalo, NY. Questions about how our company can assist your next market research project in Buffalo? Contact us at [email protected] or by calling 315-303-2040.

Market Research Glossary