Market Research Training from Research Rockstar

“Ask It Right: Choosing Scales & Answer Options for Online Surveys” – April 2 (10 PM EST)

For our friends in Australia & India, we are pleased to announce we are offering a FREE demo class so that you can try out Research Rockstar’s virtual classroom and see what you think of our classes.

In our new class, “Ask It Right: Choosing Answer Types & Scales”, Research Rockstar covers Likert Scales, Semantic Differential Scales, Constant Sum, Ranking Questions, Rating Questions and more.  We specifically highlight examples of how to structure answer options for common market research needs, including customer satisfaction, product concept testing, and more.

Click here to read more.

Click here to sign up for FREE.

Here are some time zone equivalents for the convenience of our friends overseas. April 2nd, 10pm EST (UTC-4 hours (EDT)) is equivalent to the following:

• April 3rd, 10am in Perth, Australia  UTC+8

• April 3rd, 1pm in Sydney, Australia  UTC+11

• April 3rd, 12pm (noon) in Brisbane, Australia UTC+10

• April 3rd, 7:30am in India; from Mumbai to Kolkata UTC+5:30

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Remarkable Researchers Understand the Global Economy

It is a classic dilemma; many companies that are selling in numerous countries can only afford to do research in a subset of them. How does a market researcher deliver research with this obstacle? Three steps to take are as follows:

• Be crystal clear when delivering all research results. What is the geographic scope of the research? A specific country? Region? I have seen it happen many times; the audience assumes that since their company is “global” the research is as well—when in fact the research may have been based on 2 or 3 countries.
• Select the countries carefully. Too often, researchers select countries based on past projects (“We always do our research in the U.S., UK, France, and Germany.”). Challenge old assumptions! What mix of countries will give you the insights you need for your organization’s current business initiatives?
• Educate the audience on how geographic variations impact customer behavior and attitudes. This usually applies more notably to consumer markets than B2B ones, but issues still arise. Here are just a few quick examples out of many known issues:
  • Different colors have different associations by geography. Red is “positive” in some cultures but negative in others. This can impact reactions to ads and product packaging.
  • Internet access penetration varies by country, and in many cases, within countries. Some brands have enormous word of mouth via online media, which will not have an impact in certain geographies.
  • The role of male versus female heads of households or the person driving purchase decisions for certain categories varies by country. Thus, research about purchase intent or price sensitivity based on one country cannot be assumed for all.

  By educating the audience on such issues as they apply to the research being done, you can advise them on what findings are likely to be at greatest risk for country-by-country variations, even when you didn’t have budget to actually conduct research in every country of interest.  Ideal? No. But still an important risk mitigation step.

Global Perspectives from Market Research

In an ideal world, market researchers would have adequate budgets for multinational research needs.  But in reality, we often have to focus on a limited number of countries for a given project.  Mitigate the risks by selecting countries carefully, communicating with the audience precisely, and providing contextual information about known regional variations in customer attitudes and behaviors.

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Principles of Remarkable Research: Part 20 of 20

Remarkable Researchers understand that markets change—sometimes quickly. And often more quickly than do companies. The implication for remarkable research is twofold:

• Always let the audience know the expected shelf life of the research. Are the findings likely to reflect reality for one year? 2 years? 3 or more?
• Clearly identify which foundational/underlying assumptions exist that, if changed, could meaningfully influence conclusions.

I am reminded of the arctic fox that changes color rather dramatically from brown in the spring to white in the winter. But it is not easy, its fur changes slowly, growing an entire new coat. In other animals, change happens more quickly with some species actually changing the pigments in their skin. For example, nudibranches (the tiny sea creature pictured above) change color by altering their diet. When a nudibranch eats coral, its body uses the pigments. The pigments are visible, and the animal becomes the same color as the coral.  Why do I digress? A metaphor exists here for research. When markets change, it can require growing a completely new coat of fur (doing new research), or it can rely on mechanisms that change the output to reflect current reality.

[This is the twentieth article in a series of 20 mini-posts titled, “Principles of Remarkable Research.” But I can't help myself; I have one more post coming next Tuesday and then the series will be over.  Don’t want to miss it? Subscribe to our blog via email or RSS.]

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Remarkable Research Is Clear About the Certainty of Conclusions

Remarkable research distinguishes between conclusions, hypotheses, and “directional” results—and is precise about which is which.

While it may seem obvious to you as a market researcher, it is not always clear to the audience. The person receiving the research results often makes assumptions, which may be incorrect. Common assumptions may be about the research’s scope, thoroughness, and suitability for extrapolation. So when delivering research results, be crystal clear:

• Are the market research findings firm? Directional? Anecdotal? Or are they just hypotheses that require further investigation?
• Is the research based on current customers, potential customers, a mix, or some other population all-together? Can we extrapolate findings based on one group to other groups? If so, what is the basis for this?

Communicating both the certainty and context of findings is important; the last thing we want is to have well-intentioned research turned into misinformation. Even if it isn’t deliberate.

[This is the nineteenth article in a series of 20 mini-posts titled, “Principles of Remarkable Research.” Don’t want to miss this series? Subscribe to our blog via email or RSS.]

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Remarkable Research Isn’t Done in a Silo

Remarkable research projects validate conclusions and enrich context by weaving in additional data sources. Sure, the fresh insights from your thoughtfully executed project are great—but they will carry more power if they are supported by additional sources. Your audience will have much more confidence, and thus be more likely to use your research, if they have multiple data points. Relying on a single source of market insights often feels like having a single point of failure. You want a confident audience!

• Take a lesson from the U.S. FDA; there are roughly ten clinical trials for each new drug the FDA approves.
• While you may not find other data sources that directly support your findings, you may find some that provide relevant profiling data for the target population, or insights into related or similar markets, which may support your findings. There is a plethora of secondary research available these days; with a little digging, you may be surprised at what you can find.

[This is the eighteenth article in a series of 20 mini-posts titled, “Principles of Remarkable Research.” Don’t want to miss this series? Subscribe to our blog via email or RSS.]

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