Market Research Book:
Planning Your Market Research Project
by Kathryn Korostoff, Research Rockstar LLC
(part of Chapter 1: Know Your Goals)
While planning a market research project may appear to be a fairly straightforward task, in reality, it takes some real time and effort. Agency selection is one of the key factors to project success, so don’t rush the process.
Read on to learn about the timeline logistics of hiring the perfect firm and setting things in the right direction from the start.
First Things First: Plan Appropriately
Although the task of hiring an MR agency to conduct custom research may sound pretty straightforward, to do it well takes some planning. How long will the whole process take? It really depends on the size of project. Figure 1.1 shows an example for a large-sized project—say $100,000 to $200,000.
It also assumes that more than one person is involved in the process of defining the project and hiring an agency. In this example, the process starts with specifying the objectives and ends with agency selection—totaling six weeks.
So now that you have a rough idea of what the process looks like, let’s get started with the first step; defining your market research goals (chapter one).
Need some help with all of the jargon? See Appendix A for definitions of common Market Research terms.
Know Your Goals
How to set MR project goals/ How to get buy-in from your internal team/ Sample goals
This sounds trite, but it is fundamental.
Once we have clarity about our MR goals, we are prepared to achieve four important things. First, we can decide if the goals are best met through in-house, syndicated, custom research, or other sources. Second, if needed, it informs the creation of a custom research request for proposal (RFP) that will actually result in useful proposals being submitted. Third, it informs our criteria for selecting a research agency. Fourth, it creates the criteria we will use to judge project success on completion. See the examples in Table 2.1.
| Table 2.1 Example Benefits of Knowing Your Goals | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| My goal is... | It informs my RFP by... | It gives me agency selection criteria such as... | It gives me success criteria, including... |
| ...to learn with which target customer groups we need to invest more in basic brand awareness building. | Giving clear priority on project scope. The top priority is measuring brand awareness. We would like to test hypotheses about how it varies by geography and customer demographics. | I need an agency that has a track record with brand awareness studies. Past experience in our industry is a plus. | On completion, we must have a prioritized list of customer groups among which we need to improve awareness. |
| …to select a logo from a set of four potential designs. | Giving clear priority on project scope. The top priority is getting feedback on four potential new logo treatments. |
I need an agency that can handle a quantitative or a qualitative approach to logo testing. |
On completion, we should have the four designs ranked in order, with pros and cons identified for each. |
Do those examples seem too obvious? From this vantage point, they are. But once you are in the middle of planning a project—and are likely in the common scenario of having multiple goals—it gives you a framework for creating precise RFP content.
This is an excerpt from the book, "How to Hire & Manage Market Research Agencies," which is available on Amazon. Published by Research Rockstar LLC. Copyright © by Kathryn Korostoff. All rights reserved.
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Browse "How to Hire + Manage Market Research Agencies" by section
Intro: Maximize Success: Know The Risks
Understanding Market Research Challenges
Chapter 1: Know Your Goals
Planning Your Market Research Project
Defining Appropriate Goals For Your Market Research Project
Practical Market Research Planning Considerations
Questionnaire Design Risks: The Challenge of Staying Focused
Defining Project Goals Through Questionnaire Real Estate
Chapter 2: Defining Your Project's Scope
Project Scope: Product Concept Testing and Message Testing
Project Scope: Market Segmentation
Project Scope: Customer Loyalty and Win-Loss Research
Project Scope: Brand Awareness and Needs Discovery
Revealing Sponsorship of Your Market Research Project
Planning For Your Target Population: B2B or B2C?
Chapter 3: Considering Internal Audience
Understanding Your Internal Audience: Research Receptiveness
Dealing With Hard-Core Market Research Skeptics
Chapter 4: Leveraging Existing Research
Leverage Existing Research
Chapter 5: Planning Your Agency Relationship
Building a Relationship With Your Agency
Hiring a Market Research Agency: Managing Your Budget
Chapter 6: RFIs and RFPs
The Benefits of RFIs
The RFP: Finding Great Research Partners
A Few Helpful Reminders on RFPs
Chapter 7: Market Research Agency Selection
Tips For Reading Market Research Proposals
Checking Agency References and Follow-Up
How to Check Market Research Agency Credentials
Choosing the Right Market Research Agency
Chapter 8: Managing the Agency
Project Management Planning
Keeping Your Market Research Project On Track
Chapter 9: A Successful Deliverables Strategy
Planning Your Market Research Deliverables
Planning a Great Presentation of Research Results
Presentation Tactics and Options
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Understanding Market Research Challenges
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When it comes to defining appropriate project goals, it is best to think in terms of questions or hypotheses. Your golden ticket lies in formulating fewer, “high-level” goals rather than multiple ones in need of conquering. Too many goals dilute a project and increase the risk of failure. Read on to learn how to formulate your goals. Read Article »
Practical Market Research Planning Considerations
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Prior to conducting any project, it’s necessary to decide if custom market research is truly the best choice. If custom MR turns out to be the best option for your project, the next step is to think precisely about defining project goals. Market research is truly a garbage in/garbage out process; start with clear goals, and your chances for market research success are excellent. Read Article »
Questionnaire Design Risks: The Challenge of Staying Focused
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Revealing Sponsorship of Your Market Research Project
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Leverage Existing Research
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Building a Relationship With Your Agency
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Hiring a Market Research Agency: Managing Your Budget
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