Moving A Tracker: Is It Scary?

We know it’s spooky season right now, but when it comes to moving your tracker, we here at Prodege don’t want you to be scared! The number one thing we hear from our clients considering a switch from another vendor is the fear that their data trends will be disrupted. This concern is entirely valid—after all, you may have years of historical data, and the thought of losing its value can be unsettling. Maintaining the ability to trend data against historical benchmarks while minimizing fluctuations caused by changes in sample sourcing requires careful consideration. Rest assured, we’re here to guide you through the process.

If you’re contemplating an update to any aspect of the tracking study—be it survey content, respondent qualifications, quota limits, the addition of boosts or augments, or adjusting the research schedule (for instance, transitioning from 2 waves to 4, or conducting waves in spring and fall instead of winter and summer)—it’s important to recognize the impact these changes will have on your data’s reporting trends. Many clients are willing to forgo some, or even all, ability to compare with historical data, prioritizing the enhancement of tracking value moving forward. In such cases, researchers have a unique opportunity to reassess their sample sourcing strategy and optimize it, ensuring improved quality and depth of insights.

Another area of concern is transferring vast amounts of data to a new system. This includes double-checking established programs and data tables. Too frequently, organizations opt to maintain the status quo, even when they recognize that sticking with their current setup might result in subpar service or higher long-term costs and that they may eventually need to move the tracker anyway due to foreseeable issues. While postponing such decisions can seem like the easier path—especially amid competing priorities—the reality is that clients often find themselves compelled to act, leading to a frantic rush where practicality is sacrificed.

The Prodege team brings years of experience collaborating with clients to refresh existing trackers and seamlessly transition sample sourcing from their current suppliers to Prodege. By doing so, you can leverage our extensive, proprietary, and well-profiled member base.

Our team is ready to partner with yours to assess the value you and your stakeholders are deriving from your current tracking studies. We can brainstorm innovative ideas to enhance your approach, sampling plan, or survey content, ultimately generating more actionable insights from your research programs.

We recommend conducting a side-by-side or parallel test to analyze sample makeup. As many of you may know, numerous trackers utilize samples composed of various panels. A reputable panel provider not only monitors panel composition but also ensures a consistent blend from wave to wave, minimizing noise caused by over- or under-utilization of any particular source.

It’s perfectly acceptable to discontinue working with a sample vendor if they no longer meet your needs due to cost, delivery issues, or persistent quality concerns. Similarly, if you’ve conducted thorough due diligence, incorporating a new vendor can be beneficial; just be sure to introduce the new source gradually across multiple waves.

Top 7 reasons that Prodege can be your new best friend and partner for your tracking programs:

1. We actively manage one of the largest sources of quality respondents, sourced exclusively from our owned and operated global panels. We can access additional sample partners to maintain historic blends or introduce new ones.
2. By maintaining direct relationships with our members, we can effortlessly reach out for follow-up research, whether it’s quantitative or qualitative, targeting specific subgroups from the tracking study.
3. Prodege’s experienced project management team is equipped with the technology and tools needed to oversee sampling for your survey, ensuring sample quality, adherence to exclusion criteria, appropriate pacing, and quota compliance, all while effectively managing the flow of responses from our extensive respondent pool.
4. We can enhance your data and insights by providing additional data streams from our member base. We can append member responses using thousands of profiling variables alongside our extensive purchase data collection. Our panel members utilize our Receipt Capture technology to upload receipts, revealing when, where, and how much they spend at retailers like Walmart, Target, and major grocery stores such as Albertsons and Kroger, as well as the brands they purchase during these trips.
5. Our team brings years of experience from leading research companies, where they have successfully established new trackers and onboarded sample providers to optimize sample blends.
6. Having transitioned hundreds of trackers in recent years, we possess valuable knowledge, insights, and best practices to share. Our established guidelines and processes for each project phase help ensure success for all parties involved.
7. Prodege is here to stay. Since our inception in 2005, our research business has continually expanded, driven by the introduction of new products and acquisitions powered by our technology. We are committed to providing the long-term support and longitudinal efficacy your tracking efforts need.

If you have a tracker you’re eager to move but feel anxious about the process, reach out to Prodege. Our team of research experts has successfully transitioned numerous tracking studies and possess unique insights into the intricacies involved. We are here to guide and support you at every step, ensuring our goal remains the same for each project: to make the process easy for you.

Written by Calvin Friesth, VP, Client Development at Prodege.