The best companies are those that not only provide their clients exemplary value, but who also bring value to their community.
Recently, a teacher at Middletown North High School (in Middletown, NJ) reached out to RTi for help in demonstrating to his graduating senior Statistics students a real world application of what they’ve studied all year and that statistics is not just mathematical theory. Not only was this an opportunity for us to “walk the talk” of community outreach but it was so squarely in our sweet spot that we jumped at the chance!
I had the pleasure of representing RTi this day – and it was even more of a positive experience than I expected it would be. The talk took place at 8am so I was prepared for the students to be a bit groggy, but in fact they were very engaged and willing to ask and answer questions.
We started by talking about what market (or consumer) research is and what types of companies use it. They were surprised at how many of the brands they know and use rely on consumer input to guide decision-making. Once they were “hooked”, we moved on to how researchers use statistical applications to choose a relevant sample universe and, on the back end, how data analysis is made more powerful through the use of statistics.
It was clear that they “got it” when I reported some hypothetical research results and asked them what decision they would make based on the results if they were the Brand manager responsible for growing their brand. The students came up with a lot of very thoughtful responses.
To wrap it up, we talked about the different paths that could lead one to a career in market research – specifically the fact that, while we USE statistics, it is not necessary to BE a statistician in order to be a consumer researcher (good news for me).
All in all, two hours very well spent – sharing information about careers with 30 young men and women who will be choosing career paths within the next 4 years – no better way to give back than that!
– Lisa Cooper, Senior Vice President