It Might Not Be Rocket Science but It’s Still Just as Good

If you met someone at a party and they said they worked in ‘research’ you’d probably feel a shiver of anticipation. Images of brilliant scientists making groundbreaking discoveries would come swimming into your head. Charles Darwin and natural selection. Rosalind Franklin and DNA.

But what if that same person told you they worked in ‘market research’. Would you feel equally inspired? Or would you suddenly remember you had an urgent phone call to make? Anything to avoid the prospect of an in-depth chat about data collection, the best ways of analyzing statistics, or a heated debate about qual vs quant.

The fact is that market research has an image problem. It’s no wonder that budgets have been declining for over a decade. But the problem is not so much what market research has to offer - it’s the limitations imposed on it by marketers’ perceptions. Very often those perceptions underplay its real possibilities.

So how could this image be shifted? And where is the real excitement and opportunity in market research?

Research Thrives on Subjectivity

Objectivity is supposedly a principal part of market research. Researchers must park their personal opinions and rely solely on what the data says. The problem with this idea is that data never says anything. Only people do.

In practice, all data is meaningless without a healthy dose of subjectivity: existing knowledge, expectations and hypotheses. If five percent of the population use a product, is that an opportunity for growth? The number alone can’t tell you. Similarly, if consumers say they find an advert offensive, is it still effective? And if blind taste tests reveal that people prefer a new soft drink flavor, is it worth selling?

Let’s dwell on that last question, because the Coca Cola company has already answered it. In 1985, thousands of blind taste tests showed that consumers preferred a new, sweeter formulation of their flagship soft drink. The company took this at face value; replacing the original Coca Cola with a new drink using the sweeter recipe.

But the ensuing backlash to New Coke shows the limitations of objective thinking. Insiders forgot that, in the real world, people don’t consume drinks blindfolded. And the data ignored the strength of the original Coca Cola brand. Subjective thinking recognises that some data doesn’t matter, regardless of how many people it comes from.*

Subjectivity is also a powerful tool in creating future insights. After all, current data can only get you so far, and it certainly can’t help you identify something that doesn’t already exist. It’s our own curiosity that tells us where to focus and what to test. In 1998 an Amazon software engineer wondered: “what if the website recommended impulse buys?” This question sparked a prototype and a series of tests, eventually prompting the iconic recommendation system used by Amazon today. Data validated the idea, but a human spark had to invent it first.

Decisions Matter More Than Data

Research has traditionally involved the passive collection of data. This was valuable in a world where information was scarce, but the increasing ‘data deluge’ means modern researchers must offer more to prove their worth: strategic decisions to help companies grow.

Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. Researchers still have to collect data accurately, and therefore pay close attention to technical data issues which have no bearing on strategy. Clients still ask descriptive questions - ‘which logo do consumers find most appealing?’ - which lend themselves to data points not decisions. And lastly it requires courage. It’s much safer to hide behind numbers than explain how companies should act on them.

But there is a big payoff for researchers who understand their role in commercial growth. A global study of research teams found that input into strategic decision making was a strong predictor of their success. Unilever is a prime example of a company getting this right.

It ties researchers’ bonuses to overall business unit performance, reinforcing the link between insights and growth. And research teams undergo regular training in unrelated areas (such as finance), encouraging them to consider the wider business impact of their work. As Keith Weed, former CMO, puts it: “insights merely provide a means to the desired end: action that drives business growth.”

Research Demands Creativity

Research would be easy if consumer responses were always accurate. The reality is that understanding people is fraught with difficulties. They often exaggerate answers to sound better and they struggle to articulate how they feel. Fortunately, creativity helps to bridge the gap between what is spoken and what is true.

This is useful for framing questions effectively. Say you wanted to gauge the impact of a brand’s ethics on purchase decisions. The most basic approach is to ask directly, out of context and in isolation. And it turns out that when you simply ask consumers if a brand’s ethics are important, the vast majority agree they are.

But this finding is at odds with how people behave. Shein & Amazon are incredibly popular retailers, despite their questionable approach to sustainability and taxation. And few people can actually name a specific brand whose ethics they admire.

This discrepancy doesn’t mean people are lying. It just shows how sloppy questions allow them to bend the truth. A more creative approach asks consumers to list the factors that influence their buying behavior; framing the question around specific purchases they’ve made recently. This paints a different (and more accurate) picture - ethics are a low order drive of purchase, far less important than price and quality.

Creativity also nudges consumers to generate better insights. In 1993, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners were tasked with creating an ad campaign to boost milk consumption in California. But focus group participants weren’t revealing much about their reasons for drinking milk (as one respondent put it, ‘uh, it’s just milk’). So researchers asked them not to drink it for a week. After that time the insight became clear: we only miss milk when it’s gone, because it makes so many other foods taste better. The subsequent Got Milk? campaign led to the first increase in milk sales recorded anywhere in the USA for over a decade.

Market Research Is Ready For A Glow Up

Market research seems to suffer from a cruel irony: skilled in measuring the perceptions of other brands, yet unable to improve its own. But all too often it’s the restricted interpretation of market research that defines its value.

So it’s time to dispel the myth that market research has to be a creativity killer. On the contrary, good market research is profoundly creative, as well as dynamic and proactive. It puts people, not numbers, at its heart. And it recognizes that data works best when it drives imaginative strategic decisions. Once you’re working with market researchers who bring this kind of approach you’ll be able to stand back and watch your business potential take off - like a rocket.

*There is always a need to maintain objectivity in collecting data. It’s bad practice to use leading questions about a product just because you like it. But the act of interpreting data requires a softening of these standards.