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Simmons Insights Tips & Tricks

How to use Simmons Insights to understand consumer demographics and create profiles of target customers

Video Tutorial : How to create a cross tab


Learn how to create cross tabs in Simmons Insights. Cross tabbing in Simmons allows you to create custom consumer profiles and data reports. For product categories, brands, consumer interests, or activities, use Simmons to get valuable insight into consumer demographics.

Step-by-step: How to Create a Cross Tab

Enter Search Terms

Simmons has a "smart search" feature.  Just start by typing keywords to search for a variable. 

Search by keyword, then limit by category

 

Create Rows or Columns

Add variables to either columns or rows by clicking the appropriate button. Your choice of whether you use columns or rows is up to you, as you are creating your own table.  

Add variables to either columns or rows

 

Add more variables

Repeat the steps above to continue adding as many variables as you need to the columns.  

Continue adding ore variables as needed

 

Create Rows

In order to create a cross tab, you have to create rows to compare with the data in your columns.  Search for variables, then add to Rows using the Rows button.

Add variables to rows

 

Run the Cross Tab

Click the "Run" arrow to run the Cross Tab analysis.

Click the arrow to run the cross tab

 

View your cross tab

The default "Private Eye" view is rather clunky to use.  In my opinion, the Cross Tab view is much easier to read.  

Change the view to Cross Tab view for an easier comparison

Export your work

The cross tabs you create can be exported to either an .XLS or .CSV for you to view and manipulate in Microsoft Excel or another spreadsheet application.

You can also save your cross tab as a .SPC file.  If you return to Simmons at a later time, you can upload the .SPC file to continue where you left off.

Data can be exported as .CSV or .XLS for further analysis in Excel

How to read a Simmons Cross Tab

Reading the Vertical Percent

For reading the vertical percent in a cross tab, we read from top (1),  down to the vertical percent( 2), then left to the comparable variable in the row (3). In this example we would read this as follows:

  1.  Of those people in the survey who said they were very interested in NFL football,
  2. 16.7 percent of them
  3.  Eat at Applebee's the most.  

In other words, 16.7 percent of people surveyed who are very interested in NFL football said that they eat at Applebee's the most. 

 

A screenshot which shows the data described in the steps above

 

Reading the Horizontal Percent

For reading the horizontal percent in a cross tab, we read from left, across to the horizontal percent, then up to the comparable variable in the row. In this example we would read this as follows:

  1.  Of those people in the survey who said they eat at Bob Evans the most,
  2. 19.8  percent of them
  3. Are very interested in Major League Baseball

In other words, 19.8  percent of people surveyed who said they eat at Bob Evans the most are also very interested in Major League Baseball.

A screenshot of Simmons that shows the data described in the steps above

 

Reading the Index

The index in Simmons is the likelihood of one variable to match another variable from the survey. 

The index is expressed by how it relates to the base. In our example below, the base is the Total Survey Population, or in other words, the General Population.   Since the average is 100, an index higher than 100 is more likely to match, while an index lower than 100 is less likely to match. 

The index can relate to either the column or the row, so it can be read in both horizontal and vertical directions.  In our example below:

  1. Those who are very interested in NBA Basketball are 25% less likely to Eat at Bob Evans than the general population.
    • This can also be read horizontally as well:  Those who eat at Bob Evans the Most are 25% less likely to be very interested in NBA Basketball than the general population.
  2. Those who are very interested in Major League Baseball are  33% more likely to eat at Bob Evans than the general population.
    • Those who eat at Bob Evans the Most are 33% more likely to be very interested in NBA Basketball than the general population.

 

A screenshot of Simmons showing the data described in the steps above