  | Gail Apkarian is in the business of finding out what consumers really want. | ||||||
Matters of OpinionMaria Caliri '86, M.B.A. '92 It never fails. You are casually strolling through a shopping mall perusing window displays when a clipboard-toting college student with a ready-made smile approaches. "Hello! Do you mind taking a few minutes to answer some questions?" Proceeding to oblige the request, you soon find yourself answering a series of questions along these lines: Tell us if you strongly agree, agree, somewhat agree, disagree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree with the following: The facial tissue my family uses is the softest brand available. My family would consider switching to a different brand if it were fragrance-free and contained aloe and lanolin. Look at the attached picture of a box of facial tissue and tell us how likely you are to purchase this product. And so it goes until you have reached the 20th question and have given far more thought to facial tissue than you ever imagined. Such surveys can sometimes seem pointless to a busy shopper, but before disregarding their usefulness, consider Gail Apkarian, one of the masterminds behind these questionnaires. President of MarketView Research, an Edgewater, N.J., based market research firm, Apkarian and her 40-person staff work closely with the marketing departments of multinational companies, including Johnson & Johnson. MarketView Research helps companies identify target markets, core users, new product opportunities, and potential line extensions through in-person and telephone interviews, quantitative focus group analysis, and product placement tests. "We maintain a strong partnering relationship with all of our clients," says Apkarian. "We actually serve as an extension of their marketing departments." Her clients, Apkarian explains, never stop conducting market research. Her researchers, statisticians, and technicians continually monitor the strength of brand names and customer satisfaction. The information they glean, analyze, and interpret affects all elements of companies' strategic marketing plans from advertising expenditures to product packaging. Apkarian delights in her work and often rises at 5 a.m. to meet the workday. Since taking her first job just out of high school as a telephone interviewer, she has never lost interest in other people's opinions. "I thought I wanted to be a teacher like my father and study Spanish, but my job as an interviewer prompted me to explore the field of marketing at URI," says Apkarian. Apkarian immersed herself in college life and in her marketing studies. She, with her fellow students and their faculty advisor, started the campus chapter of the Rhode Island Public Interest Research Group (RIPIRG). RIPIRG and other PIRGs around the nation are state-based advocacy groups dedicated to learning about and acting upon contemporary social problems and public interest issues. After three years of study at URI, Apkarian returned to her native New Jersey in 1978 and joined Marketing Information Systems International, a full-service market research firm serving Fortune 500 clients. Over the course of 20 years, she rose to the position of vice president. When the company's owner died in 1998, Apkarian went out on her own and established MarketView Research. Given her solid professional background and her strong reputation in the field, Apkarian continues to steadily expand her business. Within the last year, her staff has grown by 40 percent. "I have a staff that is very excited about its work," she says. "My director of information technology created an entire proprietary online interviewing system for us. They are a very talented group, and I am very fortunate." Apkarian's clients demand exceptional capabilities as well as expedience. Apkarian further explains clients' needs for immediacy. "When my customers introduce a new line extension or a new brand, they want to know how it is doing in the marketplace as soon as possible and do not want to wait for sales data," she says. "We will conduct a tracking study by calling people in test markets at time-critical points--six and twelve weeks after a product is released. In approximately 16 minutes we ask them if they are aware of the brand, if they have tried it, and if they are apt to become regular users." Based on the results of these studies, companies determine their next course of action. They may decide either to proceed with a national rollout, to retool the product or its packaging, or to pull the product from the marketplace. Meeting client demands and possibly identifying weaknesses in product lines are daunting tasks. Yet Apkarian successfully manages these challenges as well as volunteer activities. Recently, she agreed to serve on URI's Communications Advisory Council. Apkarian also balances her professional and personal lives. She and her husband, a financial trader, are parents of a 13-year-old and an 8-year-old. Despite her unforgiving work schedule, Apkarian spends quality time with her family and often travels with them. Should either of their children decide to attend URI, the Apkarians may find themselves making more frequent visits to Rhode Island. "I once saw a bumper sticker that said, 'Rhode Island is the universe,' and in a way, that is so true. It is very manageable, and there is nothing you can't get in Rhode Island. Where can you find a concentration of so many great schools in such a small area?" she asks. "My children are in private schools right now, but if either chose URI, my husband and I would be fine with that decision. My URI experience was fabulous. I made great friends whom I still visit with annually. URI was a stimulating atmosphere." |
 |
