The difference between good market research and great market research can be significant.

But sometimes the incremental time, cost and sweat of that extra effort simply doesn’t make sense. Sometimes, “good” is just perfect.

I was reminded of this last week at the Launch Camp conference in Cambridge. The event, for entrepreneurs seeking social media wisdom, had some interesting speakers; the one from whom I learned the most was Dharmesh Shah, Chief Technology Officer and Founder of HubSpot (on Twitter as @Dharmesh).

In three years, this company has gone from start-up to 2,000+ customers, most of whom pay a monthly fee. Dharmesh shared his start-up success insights at Launch Camp and advised the attending entrepreneurs to focus on practical marketing. Selling stuff. Tracking key metrics to understand what sells stuff. And in his case, this clearly works.

He observes that many entrepreneurs get bogged down by over-analyzing their decisions—ultimately missing their window of opportunity. Key areas for such analysis paralysis? Product optimization and pricing.

ACK! Product concept testing and pricing research are two key pillars of market research practices around the world! But of course, he is correct. Especially in the context of new or rapidly evolving product categories.

Product Concept Testing

Market research offers proven methods for testing new product concepts—methods that can prioritize features or optimize feature-price combinations. And that’s great.

But I have seen companies completely miss windows of opportunity because they kept adding on less-than-critical features before they would launch. Kept conducting more and more research to inform (or justify) their decisions. Their leaders traded early market feedback for an over-engineered product. Dharmesh chastised this approach and emphasized that while market research is useful, at some point you need actual market feedback in order to inform further improvements. The ultimate feedback: will people buy it? If they buy it, will they return it?

Of course, these days, there are ways to simulate actual product releases to do this—although that is not a realistic option for all categories.

Pricing Research

Look, if you are talking about mature consumer product categories (like toothpaste and laundry detergent), pricing research is a very defined, concrete sort of practice. But in many B2B markets, emerging markets, and new product categories, it simply isn’t perfect. Yes, do some research. Do some primary research, analyze competitive/substitute pricing, understand your target market’s overall budget, know your expected ROI. But at some point you have to take a leap with pricing. And as Dharmesh said, despite long-held tenets to the contrary, you CAN adjust your pricing down the road.

Imperfect Data is Better Than No Data

Yes, it is true—imperfect data is better than no data. And sometimes, directional data sooner is better than quantitative data later.  In any case, knowing when to stop conducting market research in order to price and release new products can be tricky. Luckily for busy professionals seeking to inform product and pricing decisions, there are many options along the continuums of research speed and exactitude.

BTW, Dharmesh has a book out—I ordered my copy and can’t wait to read it: Inbound Marketing.

[Would you rather take one market research class for $2000 or get unlimited access to 12 online for $600/year? Or how about 5 for FREE? I thought so!  Sign up for a Research Rockstar membership today: http://is.gd/87vvd]

[For more info on Launch Camp search #LaunchCamp on Twitter for great links to blogs, RTs and even videos from the event]

Have you ever delivered a big market research study, and had your internal clients completely ignore it?

It is an unfortunately common and painful experience.

Sometimes the challenge is that audience members find numbers too impersonal.  They see charts and graphs and they just don’t seem to represent living, breathing customers.  And nobody is going to take action based on market research data in which they don’t completely believe.

In many cases, bringing the data to life can be done easily.

Try conducting a handful of in-depth interviews with some of the research participants to capture verbatim quotes about some of the surprising results. Was there a result in the research that revealed customers are less satisfied than expected with a new product? Quoting an actual customer about this can make it feel more real.

Did research participants indicate a preference for competitor A’s packaging? Bring some samples to the final presentation—let your audience see and touch the packaging as you discuss the results. Of course, your audience is hopefully already familiar with competitive packaging, but having an example in hand during the presentation adds impact.

Did the research suggest that customers who receive your print catalog buy more from your online store than customers who do not receive your print catalog? Pass around the print catalog during the presentation. Engage the audience in a discussion of hypotheses as to why this might be the case.

While these are just a few simple examples, hopefully they will inspire you to add quotes or physical “evidence” to your presentations. Both techniques will help make your research results feel less theoretical, and more concrete. And that will help your audience take action.

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This is my response to a well-meaning but misinformed article published in Forrester’s Groundswell blog. I address the 2 most obvious factual errors below.

*****

Yes, online research communities have their place.  I ardently believe that there are many organizations that can benefit from structured online communities (MROCs or ORCs, as many now call them), or even just well-run, online customer advisory boards (link). In fact, there are some markets for which I think online communities can be one of the best ways of getting honest, objective customer insights. But let’s not oversell it; if we do, we’ll only cause a lot of heartache (and wasted research dollars).

So, please, some reality checks:

“And if you worry about whether these collections of consumers function like real communities on the Internet, you shouldn’t.”  Well, I think what the author meant is that “some of them do.” But nobody thinking about funding (and we are talking about significant funding here) an online research community should assume they are guaranteed to have the same experience. Few communities have the defining bond that cancer patients have (the example cited in the Forrester blog).  Some organizations simply don’t have customer bases so eager to connect with peers for experience sharing, support, etc.  Some do—there are some brands that have very passionate customers (Apple comes to mind). So be real: does your organization have a customer base that will be self-motivated to participate? Does your product category engender “team spirit”? If so, great; online communities may be realistic for you.

The statement, “But research communities can do things no other form of research can do. You can ask follow-up questions to get clarification or more detail. You can look at the profiles of members, to put their questions in context”, is factually  incorrect. You can do that with most types of research. Doing focus groups or interviews? You can easily ask for more context or follow-up clarifications, and do so with the benefit of reading body language (follow-up is also feasible for surveys, though the response is generally not real-time). Any half-decent researcher knows to gather contextual information (either for focus groups, interviews or survey projects), and in many cases the screening process uses techniques to ensure this context is valid.  Doing online research? There are most certainly tools available that allow you to do real-time probing; two that come readily to mind are Invoke Solutions and iModerate.  Yes, online communities can do these things too—but to say “no other form of research can” is simply untrue.

Online Research Communities have a place. But whenever we gather customer insights, or insights from the broader market, we always need to first ask, “What are the objectives? What do we want to learn? What will we do with this data?”  The answers to those questions will drive the key decision about best methodology. Should the research be “blind” (the sponsor kept anonymous to avoid bias)? Should it be quantitative? Is directional insight sufficient? Should it be done in one country or many? Should it include our customers and/or competitors’ customers? Only then can you pick which tools, or combination, will be the best choice for your market research dollars.

For more reading about online research communities and their use I recommend these articles:

MROC talk blog: LINK

From Research Live and well-regarded market research thinker Tom Ewing: LINK

From Vovici, a balanced review of one happy online community client’s experience (ABC Studios): LINK

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A client shared a great story yesterday, one that I just have to pass on. I have sanitized it a bit, to “protect the innocent.”

Theresa is a market research manager at a consumer electronics company. Her team of 4 researchers used to be a team of 7, so workloads are pretty rough.

She recently had an executive from another department share his concern that customers were being over-surveyed. He knew some non-research employees were using SurveyMonkey and similar tools to conduct customer surveys. He asked Theresa to recommend a course of action.

Knowing that the issue is a lot more complex than just telling people to “stop,” she recruited six people from the different departments involved in the rogue activity. Once gathered in a conference room, she showed them the Research Rockstar class, “Embracing Rogue Research.” The 1-hour class acknowledges the pros and cons of decentralized research, suggests policy options, and even tools to make everyone’s life easier.

The outcome? Everyone had a common language to discuss the issue (even the non-researchers), some new options came to light, and a very constructive discussion ended up in firm, embraced policy decisions. As a bonus benefit, Theresa even got the attendees to commit to an ongoing, company-wide research council, which would meet quarterly. Now, these people from various functional areas will become research ambassadors.

Also, Theresa didn’t feel like the bad guy. She was sharing information from an objective third party (Research Rockstar). She was simply delivering the information in a non-confrontational way, and then facilitating the decision making process.

What a great way to use a Research Rockstar class!

For a current, downloadable class list (PDF), click here: CLASS LIST.

I am a big fan of online training; the convenience (no travel!), the access (watch a class as many times as you want!), the immediacy (get the info you want NOW!), and the customization (skip the stuff you know; fast forward to the good stuff!). Oh, and it’s 80% of Research Rockstar’s business. So, yeah, I am a little biased.

But online training isn’t the best option for all market research topics, or for all learners. From time to time I do have clients for whom I recommend in-person training options. This is especially true for clients interested in focus group moderating and hands-on statistical analysis. Focus group moderation and hands-on statistical analysis do require teacher interaction, as the nuances can get complex and immediate teacher feedback is critical. And there is the occasional client who really does prefer attending 2-day seminars away from home (some people just learn better when they are in a different setting).

When I do recommend in-person training, these are the options I most often suggest:

• Burke Institute: I ran an agency for 13 years, and this is where I sent my employees for in-person training. Great content, excellent teachers.
• RIVA: Some of the best moderators I have worked with had their training at RIVA.
• SPSS: If you want hands-on training with SPSS, well, it’s kinda obvious.

And then there are market research conferences and workshops where some excellent educational content is available. Some of these are annual events:

• The Market Research Event (IIR)
• The AMA’s Market Research Conference
• The Marketing Research Association (MRA) hosts several learning events and conferences each year:
• CASRO hosts several conferences and in-person educational events each year as well.

The topics offered in Research Rockstar’s online training library are generally different from the ones offered by in-person venues. Research Rockstar classes tend to focus on:

• Practical considerations when designing projects
• Best practices for hiring and managing market research agencies
• Tips for managing specific types of projects (such as message testing, product concept testing, customer loyalty, and brand awareness studies)
• Recommendations for how to create and promote market research results within your organization
• Concise overviews of market research methods and techniques
• Strategies for maximizing market research success

These topics can be handled well in online formats. The content is precise and can be clearly documented. And these are topics that are convenient to have online as a reference tool; Research Rockstar members just log-in anytime they need a refresher.

So, yes, I’m an advocate for online training. But several excellent options do exist for in-person training on market research topics.

[Did I miss your favorite in-person market research training resource? Please add it in the comments. Thanks.]

[Seeking some type of market research-related training but having trouble finding resources? Email or call me with your topic of interest, and I’ll try to make a recommendation.]

[Read our recent News Release about Research Rockstar Online Training: NEWS]

If you have been planning a research project involving customer interviews lately, you may have found yourself debating: should I hire an outside market research agency, or use in-house resources?

It’s a debate I hear a lot lately. Even clients who have hired research agencies to do interviews in the past are now considering the in-house option.

And the reasons aren’t just money-related (though that is a factor).  Two additional reasons for choosing the in-house approach include:

1.    The desire for near-real-time feedback.
2.    The need to create direct learning opportunities.

When handling customer interview projects (or IDI projects, if you prefer) in-house, you do get the benefit of fast feedback. The folks making the calls may be right down the hall from you, and it’s easy to pop in and ask for updates.  As issues come up, you and the interviewers can choose to modify screening criteria, update the interview guide, or escalate discoveries—and do so very quickly.

And the learning opportunity for those folks actually conducting interviews? It is fantastic. And that’s true whether the interviews will be conducted by executives, middle managers or other staff. There is nothing like talking to even just 5 or 10 actual customers one-on-one to create deep, impactful insights.  More often than not, after people conduct their first customer interviews, I hear them say things like, “I never knew our customers thought that!”

Risks Ahead

Yes, the benefits of doing interview projects in-house are huge. But so are the risks.

The biggest risk: alienating clients. Folks who have not been trained to do customer interviews may have trouble asking questions—and listening to responses—in a purely objective way. Clients get annoyed if they feel they have been nice enough to cooperate with the research request only to feel manipulated or misunderstood by a company representative.

Another big risk: underestimating the amount of work involved. If you have never done in-house interviews before, you may not realize how much time it takes. You may need to write a screener. And then there’s an interview guide itself to create. Then recruiting and scheduling the interviews. Don’t forget arranging for recording and possibly transcribing. And how about reading and synthesizing the results in a way that can be shared? It really does take a lot of time and skill.  I have seen clients embark on these projects, confident that they can do them, only to have the project turn into a never-ending-nightmare because the staff involved simply could not take enough time away for their primary responsibilities to make it happen in a time-efficient manner.

So just be sure to consider the alternatives. There are market research agencies and freelancers that can handle customer interview projects very well—and have the skills and resources to do them professionally.

Be Honest with Yourself

So if you’re thinking about having non-researchers help out with customer interviews, it is certainly viable. And has some real benefits. But watch out for those common roadblocks, or the money you save on an outside agency could end up being more than risked with customer fallout and excessive staff time.

[Interested in learning more tips to manage in-house interviewers? Interested in training non-researchers to conduct research interviews? Check out Research Rockstar's latest online tutorials:   Training Volunteer Interviewers (Free!) and  Conducting Research Interviews: 12 Tips for Stress-Free Interviewing ]

Are you planning your first Customer Satisfaction project? If so, please take a moment and check all that apply (well, mentally anyway):

– I feel confused by all of the different methodology recommendations I am getting
– I feel a bit stunned by some of the proposed budgets
– I am wondering how my organization will actually use the results when the project is done
– I am worried that I don’t know enough to anticipate likely roadblocks

If some or all of these statements apply to you, don’t worry. These are perfectly common concerns, and just show that you are thinking carefully about the realities of conducting a customer satisfaction project.

So to help you get started, I’ll address some of these items briefly.

What methodology will be best?

There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Lots of methods can be used (including various qualitative and quantitative ones).  Your best mix will be selected based on:

• How you plan to use the research results. For example, a design meant to provide inputs to executive bonus calculations will be different than one designed primarily to inform organizational performance goals. In fact, any consultant or sales person who tells you their approach is the only legitimate one is only interested in sales—not insights.
• Your customer base. Its size, profile and geographic distribution all come into play. A customer sat (and yes, that is the vernacular) project designed for a consumer goods manufacturer in a highly competitive market with millions of customers worldwide will not be the same as one for a B2B software company with a primarily US-based client base of 500.
• Your budget. Yes, I said it. Any customer sat project can be designed (or, over-designed) to the tune of hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. But maybe your budget is limited. If your budget is $50,000, or even $20,000, options exist. Not all research firms will be interested (some are operationally optimized for larger studies), but plenty will be. Be honest about your budget limits and you will get appropriate proposals.

How will my organization use the final results?

The most common real-world uses of customer sat data are:

• To set and track organizational performance goals. For example, a company may have as a stated goal, “80% of customers report they will buy from us again in the next 6 months.” (Of course, just because 80% say they will, doesn’t mean 80% will in reality. Still, the fact they think they will is important).
• To generate inputs for executive bonus calculations.
• To identify opportunities for innovation (sometimes based on areas of customer dissatisfaction)
• To identify which customer touch points most directly predict loyalty behaviors (such as repeat purchasing and positive word of mouth); this creates a prioritized list of areas for improvement, optimized for the most impact.

What roadblocks will I likely encounter?

Short answer: a bunch. But the single most common issue is sample source. Do you really have a list of customers you can recruit to participate? Do you have other direct access to qualified customers? If you do, great. But a surprising number of companies do not.  I have worked with some really big clients, and some have had pitifully poor customer lists.  And since this is a customer sat project, you do need access to valid, qualified customers.

Here are 2 problems I have seen many times each:

• B2B companies that realize their lists a) are out of date (more than 10% of the names/phone numbers/email addresses are incorrect) b) have bad contact info (the customer sat survey needs to be of people who use the product, but the list is comprised of purchasing agents who buy, but do not use). Result? Significant delays and budget overruns.
• Consumer companies that overestimate the feasibility of using purchased lists to reach their customers. The result? Significant budget overruns.

Want More?

If you’d like a little more of an introduction to planning your first customer sat research project, please check out this 10 minute video on YouTube: Research Rockstar on YouTube.

Or, for a 53-minute, comprehensive introduction, check out this link to the Research Rockstar store: Store Link.

[Any questions or comments? Leave them here or call the blog requests line at 508.691.6004. Thanks!]

Are you thinking about a market research project? If so, you may be debating whether you should hire an outside market research agency or do it in-house.

Of course, working with a market research agency is a big investment. Depending on the scope of your project, you may be looking at a $50,000, $100,000 or greater budget.  Then again, a DIY approach can also add up—perhaps far more than you expect.

In reality, the “cost” of a DIY project is not just the out of pocket expenses; it’s the time it takes to do it well. I have seen many clients decide to pursue a DIY, and then find out the hard way that they didn’t have the skills or time to design, implement and deliver results. Weeks evaporate, and they are left with a failed project.

[BTW, a tangent here...I notice that on Google, "market research company" is searched for about 10 times more than "market research agency."  Of course, they are the same thing, though market research companies do refer to themselves as "agencies."]

So how do you make this big decision: to do it yourself, or hire an agency?  Thanks to great online tools like SurveyMonkey, Wufoo and Zoomerang, DIY is certainly an option. DIY is best used when the following conditions are met:

• You are confident that you can write a questionnaire such that it will capture information objectively (and this may be the case if you are tackling a narrow topic and you really only need to ask, for example, eight to ten questions)
• You realistically have time to do the project management in-house
• You have the tools and skills in-house to clean the collected data and analyze it
• You have resources in-house that can report the findings in a way that will be credible to your internal colleagues
• You have access to a quality sample source (the people who will be qualified to take your questionnaire)
• You don’t need the research to be blind (you are willing to reveal your company as the sponsor)

If these conditions are all true, then choosing a DIY approach may be fine.  But if not, it’s time to hire a market research agency.

Here are some resources to help your with the process:

• For a practical guide, check out “How to Hire a Market Research Agency“
• For a deep look at best practices when hiring and managing an agency, check out “How to Hire & Manage Market Research Agencies.” Available on Amazon.
• For a directory of Market Research suppliers, check out Quirk’s and The MRA’s Blue Book Directory.
• For examples of Market Research RFPs, to help you craft your own, check out the free samples in the Research Rockstar store (they are free, just add them to your shopping cart and you’ll get a download link).
• For examples of DIY research options check out: “Rise above the Noise: 3 DIY Exercises.”

Any questions or comments? Please leave them here or call our blog requests line at 508.691.6004. Thanks!