Market Research Book:
Understanding Market Research Challenges
by Kathryn Korostoff, Research Rockstar LLC
(part of Intro: Know The Risks)
Understanding the risks associated with MR is the key to project success. By familiarizing yourself with the risks associated with MR before beginning any projects, you will know what to avoid, resulting in higher success rates and more accurate research results. Read on to learn about the most common market research challenges.
MR can be very challenging. There are many risks, but if it’s planned properly and executed precisely, and if the results are presented such that people can digest and apply them, it can be a very important tool in the business-planning tool chest.
I’m a big believer in preemptive strikes as a way to minimize the risks associated with market research, and much of this book’s content describes and recommends these possible actions. But the first step is awareness of the risks you are likely to face.
Armed with knowledge of common roadblocks, the chance of success increases. Below are the 12 most common factors that contribute to the failure of a MR project.
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Objectives are unclear, leading to conflicting or unrealistic expectations. This often is due to imprecise or too many goals.
Result: muddy research, weak data.
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Sample has quality issues (participants are not sufficiently qualified or authenticated, or do not pay adequate attention), or needed sample size is unmet.
Result: weak data, insufficient data (sample too small for use in extrapolation), research loses credibility.
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Instrument is poorly designed. Long, complicated questionnaire design (or rambling discussion guides for focus groups or in-depth interviews) confuses participants with awkward question sequences and poor answer options.
Result for quantitative: low response rates, high dropout rates, respondent fatigue, pencil whipping, weak data.
Result for qualitative: muddy, biased interviews or focus groups; disengaged participants.
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Data analysis is conducted with more attention to techniques than results; either the choice of analytics is poor or is misaligned with client needs.
Result: misleading data, low usefulness.
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Poor matching of methodology to goals and audience needs (incorrect use of qualitative or quantitative methods).
Result: misleading data, low usefulness.
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Schedules slip significantly; research is completed too late to support intended decisions.
Result: research loses credibility, agency loses credibility.
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Internal skeptics or cynics derail the final presentation.
Result: research loses credibility.
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Internal clients unable to apply the research as originally intended; “actionability” of research is called into question.
Result: research is “shelved,” research loses credibility.
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Research firm's representatives are unable to establish required level of credibility with client or internal clients.
Result: research is "shelved," research loses credibility, agency loses credibility.
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Programming (for online or telephone data collection) is done hastily, and questionnaire logic is not enforced nor approved by client. Entire questions are missing, and answer options are not properly presented.
Result: incomplete data, research loses credibility, agency loses credibility.
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Research report contains egregious errors.
Result: research is "shelved," research loses credibility, agency loses credibility.
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Client-agency relationship is unproductive or strained, causing miscommunication and conflicts.
Result: research loses credibility, agency loses credibility, research is late/deadlines likely missed.
Even if you plan to hire a professional MR agency to handle all aspects of the project’s design and execution, it is best to be aware of these challenges. Even a great agency has limitations; by being educated about the MR process, you’ll be in a better position to protect your company’s investment.
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
Other content shared by Research Rockstar LLC
Planning Your Market Research Project
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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. Read Article »
Defining Appropriate Goals For Your Market Research Project
by Kathryn Korostoff, Research Rockstar LLC
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
by Kathryn Korostoff, Research Rockstar LLC
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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One of the main reasons MR projects fail is due to lack of an agenda, or the inability to stay focused on an originally projected design. As more individuals become involved with a project, they bring with them the risk of transforming a once precise questionnaire into an excessively long one with illogical flow. The most important aspects to keep in mind when designing a questionnaire are fit, flow and length. Without these, the questionnaire becomes a burden on the respondents, which directly affects project success. Read on to find out how to avoid the pitfalls of questionnaire design. Read Article »
Defining Project Goals Through Questionnaire Real Estate
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It is important that everyone on a team understand the primary goals of a market research project. While getting a group of individuals to agree on priorities may be a daunting task, certain exercises such as Chartstorming™ may help you reach a consensus. Read on to learn how to manage your questionnaire real estate through better group collaboration. Read Article »
Project Scope: Product Concept Testing and Message Testing
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While defining a project scope may seem like a daunting task, it really comes down to two things; knowing you want to get out of your project, and deciding how you’re going to get it. It also helps to know some of the common language used to define market research studies. Read on to learn about product concept testing and message testing. Read Article »
Project Scope: Market Segmentation
by Kathryn Korostoff, Research Rockstar LLC
While defining a project scope may seem like a daunting task, it really comes down to two things; knowing you want to get out of your project, and deciding how you’re going to get it. It also helps to know some of the common language used to define market research studies. Read on to learn about a common project type: market segmentation. Read Article »
Project Scope: Customer Loyalty and Win-Loss Research
by Kathryn Korostoff, Research Rockstar LLC
While defining a project scope may seem like a daunting task, it really comes down to two things; knowing you want to get out of your project, and deciding how you’re going to get it. It also helps to know some of the common language used to define market research studies. Read on to learn about customer loyalty and win-loss research. Read Article »
Project Scope: Brand Awareness and Needs Discovery
by Kathryn Korostoff, Research Rockstar LLC
While defining a project scope may seem like a daunting task, it really comes down to two things; knowing you want to get out of your project, and deciding how you’re going to get it. It also helps to know some of the common language used to define market research studies. Read on to learn about brand awareness and needs discovery. Read Article »
Revealing Sponsorship of Your Market Research Project
by By Kathryn Korostoff, Research Rockstar LLC
Defining your project scope also includes whether or not to reveal the sponsor of your market research study. Read these guidelines for help making this decision based on best practices and common exceptions. Read Article »
Planning For Your Target Population: B2B or B2C?
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B2B and B2C research are two very different animals. Which one are you doing? The answer has implications for partner selection, questionnaire design, and sample source options. Read Article »
Understanding Your Internal Audience: Research Receptiveness
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There are multiple facets to consider about an internal audience’s readiness for market research. These items range from an audience’s receptiveness to specific techniques, all the way to presentation of data. It is important to take note of the your internal audience’s abilities and preferences to make sure they will be able to receive and apply research results successfully. Read on to learn about aspects to consider when assessing your internal audience’s readiness for MR. Read Article »
Dealing With Hard-Core Market Research Skeptics
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While we all hope for an accepting reception from colleagues when it comes to research findings, it’s a rare occurrence for everyone to be on board. Dealing with internal skeptics is no easy task, but a few precautions taken prior to delivering your research findings can greatly reduce disruption risk. Read on to see what you can do to get skeptics on your side. Read Article »
Leverage Existing Research
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Before you jump into your primary market research head first, it’s important that you first seek out existing, relevant research. This not only saves your organization time, but also prevents wasted funding on a project that would have duplicated existing results. If finding relevant research seems like a daunting task, don’t worry, there are multiple sources you can turn to. Read on to learn how to get started. Read Article »
Building a Relationship With Your Agency
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Before you select a market research agency, think carefully about the type of relationship you want. It’s important that the agency you choose can work with your team in a way that will truly meet your needs. There are hundreds of agencies out there; they do not all have the same styles or collaboration approaches. Read on to learn how to build a great relationship with your chosen agency. Read Article »
Hiring a Market Research Agency: Managing Your Budget
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Before you select a market research agency, think carefully about the type of relationship you want, especially when planning your budget. It’s important that the agency you choose can work with your team in a way that will truly meet your needs. There are hundreds of agencies out there; they do not all have the same styles or collaboration approaches. Read on to learn how to build a great relationship with your chosen agency. Read Article »
The Benefits of RFIs
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Taking time to write either an RFI or RFP may seem like a burden, but in the long run as a form of damage control that saves you both time and money. For market research, it is more common to go straight to an RFP. But in some cases starting with an RFI can “filter” a long list of possible companies down to a more manageable set. Read on to learn how to write RFIs and RFPs for market research. Read Article »
The RFP: Finding Great Research Partners
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In many cases, skipping an RFI and going straight to an RFP is an appropriate choice. If you’ve already narrowed your choices to a manageable number of potential research partners (no more than 5), it’s time to issue an RFP. A well-written RFP will result in proposals that will help you choose the best research partner for your needs. Read on to learn about the elements of a successful RFP. Read Article »
A Few Helpful Reminders on RFPs
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Documenting your market research in an RFP saves time, energy and money. Some aspects to consider include legalese and deliverables. When looking at the specifics of your market research needs, it is important to consider your internal audience, too. Read on for some practial RFP tips. Read Article »
Tips For Reading Market Research Proposals
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Reading proposals can be tricky. Obviously, a market research agency is trying to sell itself to you, so they’re going to represent their abilities in the best way possible. So what can you do? Learn how to read proposals carefully and look out for details that are too good to be true. Be realistic when considering your needs versus an agency’s abilities, and trust your gut. Read on to learn some practical proposal-reading tips. Read Article »
Checking Agency References and Follow-Up
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While you should always check a research agency’s provided references, it’s also smart to look for more objective sources who can attest to a firm’s capabilities. In addition, the way in which a market research firm follows-up their proposal submission says a lot about their communication skills and style. Read on to learn about checking market research agency references, and other steps you can take in choosing an agency. Read Article »
How to Check Market Research Agency Credentials
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There are literally hundreds of market research agencies from which you can choose. Of course, finding ones that have the right qualifications can be tricky. There is no professional certification required in the field, so you need to do a little work. Read on for some tips on checking potential research partners for appropriate credentials. Read Article »
Choosing the Right Market Research Agency
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Once you’ve narrowed your agency choices down to a short-list of finalists, choosing between them can be a daunting task. While it may be tempting to go with the agency offering the lowest price, it’s important to consider other factors, too. Read on to learn some different strategies your organization can use to make the right agency choice. Read Article »
Project Management Planning
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Once you’re hired an agency, then what? Well, if you’re looking to reap the benefits of a successful project, your active involvement is necessary. By working closely with your agency, you’ll be able to represent your internal clients’ needs while providing the agency with important direction. Indeed, your involvement can help the agency be more successful. Read on to learn what to expect from working with an agency once you start the project. Read Article »
Keeping Your Market Research Project On Track
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Though it is easy to jump to conclusions at any sign of trouble, the important thing to remember is that both you and your agency are working towards the ultimate success of your project. That said, there are legitimate issues that may arise. Luckily, most issues have reasonable solutions—and an experienced researcher will help you navigate them. Read on to learn about legitimate red flags versus project paranoia. Read Article »
Planning Your Market Research Deliverables
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When delivering market research project findings, the most effective approach is one that combines multiple forms of delivery. After all, this information is the kind you want retained by your colleagues so they can really apply it. And we all know that delivering a 100-page slide deck just puts them to sleep. Read on to learn more. Read Article »
Planning a Great Presentation of Research Results
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Think of your project’s final presentation as more of a performance. Assigning roles and specific duties to individuals keeps the presentation organized and engaging. You want the audience to be attentive, so it’s important to include them. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or start dialogue. Read on to learn about the basics of a great presentation. Read Article »
Presentation Tactics and Options
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Imagine it is the end of a market research project, and you are getting ready to present the final results. Are you ready? With a little planning, you will be. The following Q & A answers key questions about presentation tactics to make sure your presentation goes smoothly. Also offered are some alternatives to traditional presentation tactics. Read Article »
