The Time is Now: Using Latency Timers to Develop Better Communications and Marketing Strategies

•    Gotham Research Group has developed a unique survey methodology that produces more predictive and actionable findings than studies that rely exclusively on traditional survey questions.

•    To determine the relative “accessibility” of consumer attitudes, Gotham Research Group has incorporated RESPONSE LATENCY TIMERS into large-scale telephone surveys.

Response Latency Timers

•    The traditional strategy of relying on consumers to self-report the strength of their perceptions about a company, product or issue can produce misleading results.

•    In a series of laboratory studies, psychologists have demonstrated that response latency – the speed with which a respondent provides an answer to a question – is a direct and reliable measure of “accessibility.”

•    Put simply, the shorter the pause before responding to a question, the more deeply felt the opinion/perception, the more it influences decision-making, and the better it predicts likely behavior.

•    Through the use of interviewer activated timers, Gotham is able to measure the speed with which consumers respond to survey questions (in hundredths of seconds) and then, through proprietary statistical modeling, isolate the impact of response accessibility on perception and behavior.

The Benefits

Gotham’s published and proprietary work demonstrates that consumers who report identical perceptions of a company's brand, product, or issue position are likely to behave differently if the response latency of those perceptions differs.

As a consequence, the inclusion of latency timers in consumer research provides a more reliable and direct measure of the key inputs for good communications and marketing strategy:

• The real strength of consumers’ opinions and perceptions (e.g., brand impressions, policy positions, product preferences).

• The likelihood a consumer will take a specific action (e.g., purchase or recommend a product/brand; mobilize to support/oppose an issue or company agenda).

• The vulnerability of consumers to messages designed to change their brand/product loyalty or issue positions.

• The effectiveness of communications and marketing – the clarity and quality of a company’s message as received by consumers.