“On Target”

An e-mail Newsletter

September 2003

Volume 1, Number 1

Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies

222 Wintergull Lane

Annapolis, MD  21409

Phone:

(443) 458-5034

E-mail:

pgonzales@garesearch.com

hilary@garesearch.com

Patrick Gonzales - President

 Hilary Gonzales- Marketing

We’re on the Web!

www.garesearch.com

Our Latest Poll Results

The latest Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies Maryland Media Poll was released and  revealed some things expected, some things surprising, and a few intriguing senarios.  To recap:

• Governor Robert Ehrlich is still riding high.  His first legislative session was perhaps a bit rocky, but his statewide approval rating actually improved between March (56 percent) and August (57 percent).
• Our fiesty junior member of the U.S. Senate, Barbara A. Mikulski, is riding even higher.  Statewide, 64% of voters approve of the job she’s doing in Washington, and 53% would automatically vote to re-elect her if the November 2004 election “were held today.”   
• President George W. Bush isn’t faring quite as well with Free State voters.  During the past four months, President Bush's approval rating has fallen precipitously, from 62% in April to 43% today.
• And matched up against several leading Democratic contenders, President Bush actually trails in Maryland, fourteen months prior to the next general election.
• The number one issue in Maryland at this time is the budget deficit, cited by 29%.
• On the slots issue, public opinion in Maryland has shifted dramatically over the past six months.  At the end of August, 57% of Maryland voters favored allowing slot machines, while 31% were opposed.  This as compared to last March, when 47% were in favor and 45% were opposed.  A majority of voters within every demographic subgroup included in our August survey favored allowing slots.

• Reaction to allowing casinos in Maryland is decidedly mixed, with 46% in favor and 42% opposing.  And 40% of state voters favor banning gambling interests from contributing to political campaigns here, while 49% would oppose a ban.

• On the Democratic presidential primary front, Howard Dean currently leads the field with 25%, with Connecticut Senator and 2000 VP nominee Joe Lieberman in second at 23%, followed by Massachusetts Senator John Kerry at 11%, Missouri Congressman Richard Gephardt at 10%, activist Al Sharpton at 5%, and the rest receiving less than 5%. 

• If Hillary Rodham Clinton were to become a candidate, the Democratic field shifts drastically, with Clinton capturing 47%, Dean and Lieberman around 10%, and the others trailing badly.  

He Said…

I’ve been conducting survey research in Maryland for nearly 20 years, now.  I remember one of the first potential clients I ever approached was a State Senator from a rural part of the state.  He was very cordial and listened to my pitch, but after I’d delivered it he said, “Young man, you seem like a very nice person, but let me tell you, I know my district a whole lot better than any pollster ever could.” 

I thanked him for his time and left -- tail between legs -- wondering if there wasn’t a preferable way to earn a living; something more suited to my talents, like maybe selling used cars.

But, stubborn as ever, I plodded forward in my chosen field.  The above State Senator is since deceased (politically, that is, he’s alive and kickin’, just not in his old Annapolis senate chamber), done in by someone I suppose who knew his district even better than he did, and someone who understood that things had changed.

All this was again brought home with the recent statewide survey we conducted in August.  On at least two fronts things had changed, and had changed rather quickly and dramatically:

·                               Between April and August of this year, President Bush’s popularity in the state plummeted from a 62% approval rating in the spring to 43% today.

·                               And during this same time, voter angst over the budget deficit has swelled support for slots as a method for the state to generate revenue.

“A week,” some sage old bird once said, “is a lifetime in politics.”  And we would all be wise to remember this maxim and use every resource at our disposal to stay on the cutting edge of information and remain ahead of our competitors.             

Patrick Gonzales

She Said!

Until joining forces with my husband Patrick this summer, I had worked in the tour and travel industry for over fifteen years.  Most of those years were spent marketing a product that was highly sought after and a wonderfully easy sell: visiting the State of Maryland.  After September 11^th, 2001, everything changed. 

All of a sudden I was facing a traveling public that had shifted – literally - overnight.  I have always believed that when times get tough, the last thing you want to do is cut your marketing budget.  But you don’t want to “throw away money” either, so I turned to survey research (there just happened to be someone in my family who could help me).  From the research I was able to determine that:

·          People were not traveling as they had in the past; were looking for new destinations closer to home; were looking to travel more often as a family; and  wanted to travel by other modes of transportation than they had been using.

I had to search for new ways to market to the traveler.  Times had changed and I had up-to-date information to market my product effectively.  I captured information from the survey research that formed the way our company would head into the next phase.  Using the survey reseach, we set out with a new plan.  Our losses were stabilized and within six months we were back to making a profit.

This research put me ahead of the curve compared to my competitors.  I am a great believer that companies need to look “outside the box” and see where trends are going, what customer perceptions are; and why the buying public thinks the way it does. 

Spend money to make more money and don’t assume that what you think is, necessarily, the way it is!  We see so much “polling data” in the papers related to political issues, but what about consumer trends?  If your numbers are off,  business is not quite where you want it to be, or you just want to “test the waters,” consider survey research – you may be amazed  at what you find.

I look forward to my new endeavors  here at Gonzales Reasearch and want to thank all of our old clients who have so warmly welcomed me into the fold!

Hilary Gonzales