Robert Heeg
Last year, ESOMAR successfully introduced corporate membership. Some of the organisations that joined tell us about the benefits of global associations in an age of changing privacy and quality perceptions.
In a diverse, sometimes chaotic global marketplace, it helps to streamline standards, set best practices and exchange the latest information. As a global organisation, ESOMAR introduced corporate membership to better serve the increasingly international needs of its members. Indeed, global coverage was a major reason for full-service market research agency SKIM to sign up as a corporate member, says chairman Dirk Huisman. “We have offices in more and more countries and are currently expanding into Latin America, so we need a global approach. We only work for multinational clients, and they expect standardisation. Of course, we’ve also joined local associations, but membership of a global organisation makes it easier for us to work with people worldwide who answer to the highest standards.”
Most of all, Huisman feels that an association should establish best practices. “They should say, ‘When we collaborate, this is our nomenclature.’ We all need to speak the same language. An advantage for us is that ESOMAR is the only association that is pretty much represented everywhere.”
This global reach is equally important for a client like Swarovski, says Alexander Linder, director corporate consumer and market insights at the luxury goods company. “We usually select our partners through the ESOMAR website. When we need to do research in territories where we haven’t been before, this is the best way to find quality vendors and get feedback on them.”
If you’re an ESOMAR member you can read the full interview in MyESOMAR in the digital copy of Research World. If you are not a member of ESOMAR you can join and receive a free copy of Research World 6 times a year or alternatively you can sign up for a subscription of the magazine in our publications store.
