Market Research Training from Research Rockstar

Managing in-house market research is tough work. And your internal clients don’t make it easy, do they?

Your internal clients say they want powerful, fresh, objective customer insights. But too often, their behavior shows that they just want you to confirm their personal views.

Your internal clients are enthusiastic at project kick-off. But by the time data is delivered—even just a few weeks later in some cases—they seem to have lost interest.

They say they want current customer data to fuel an important decision. But then tell you that decision needs to be made next week.

They fund an important, time-sensitive research study, but neglect to tell you that they will be on vacation during the design phase. Oh, and that they want final approval on any instruments.

Sound familiar? I bet it does. You have a tough job.

If it helps, you are not alone. I work with lots of people who face these challenges daily. So we work on educating internal clients, establishing sensible (not onerous) customer research policies, and taking other actions to improve how market research is designed, managed and shared.  In some cases, some pretty dramatic changes are required. In others, just some minor tweaks.

Even a few small changes can make your tough job a little bit easier.

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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.

Want to help plan Research Rockstar’s next online class topic? If so, please take this little one-question poll. Hey, I have to practice what I preach, don’t I?

BTW, this is a free poll from Vorbeo. Cool site, amazingly simple tool.

[I welcome any and all comments! Every 2 weeks I randomly select a commenter to win a Rockstar Mug: PIC. Next drawing is 10/23.]

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]

As you can see, the web-site updates are complete! What do you think of the new look and new features? Please give me your feedback here, by phone or by email.

For those of you who buy Research Rockstar classes, the biggest news is that I have simplified the process of buying and watching them. Now, access to classes is based on memberships. Four membership levels are offered, starting with Free. Yes, Free. The higher the membership level, the more stuff you get.

As a Rockstar member, you get access to a members-only page where you will see various courses, eBooks, and templates listed. Just click to view a class (no more downloading huge files!). Or, click to download a PDF (for eBooks and templates). And view classes as many times as you wish.  New classes are added monthly, sometimes even weekly, so check your membership page periodically.

I want to thank the team at Men with Pens for making the updated site look so great.  You guys rock!

So many topics, so little time! With the first 10 courses now completely developed and available, I am busy planning which courses to develop next. Would you like to help? Here is a link to a single-question poll. Yes, I’m doing a little market research of my own.  I’d love to know which topic you would like to see produced as a Research Rockstar online course.

Thanks for your input!

In your organization, do you have a growing number of non-market researchers doing market research? You know what I mean: people using free or low-cost tools like Survey Monkey, Zoomerang and Wufoo to collect data without the sanctioning of the research department? Or those gathering customer insights from Twitter, Facebook, or their own personal blogs?

You are not alone.

It’s rampant. And the genie is out of the bottle.

Of course, if it gets out of hand, we have to be concerned about:

• Annoying customers too many research requests. Especially those that may be redundant.
• Inconsistent standards, such that data from different efforts cannot be compared.
• Poor questionnaire design, leading to misleading data, or worse data.

You get the drift.

So what to do? Try to stop it? I don’t think so.

Look, you now have a volunteer army of market researchers (even if they don’t know it). They are data collectors, insight mavens and customer listeners. GREAT!

Yeah, I know the familiar arguments: “…it takes training,” or, as someone tweeted to me recently, “…just because you could pull out your own tooth doesn’t mean you should.” Uh huh.

Look, I know it’s uncomfortable. We market researchers take a lot of pride in our skills, discipline and experience. But the genie is out of the bottle, and it isn’t going back in.

So we have a choice:
1.    Deny, complain, prohibit. (good luck with that)
2.    Find a way to leverage the trend in a sensible way.

So we should let it run rampant?

Does this mean we should sanction all DIY customer surveys? Encourage sharing of all market insights gathered from social networking sites?

No, of course not.

• We still have to make sure our valued customers are not over-surveyed, or subjected to bad questionnaire designs.
• We must make sure research is coordinated (no redundant studies, please).
• We have to help people understand what results are anecdotal versus reliably conclusive.
• We must make sure confidential information is protected (training people on what information is confidential and should not be shared or even hinted at on social media forums, etc).
• We need to make sure suitable data is shared, and shared appropriately.

And that’s where training and policies come into play.  With a little planning and common sense, success is absolutely feasible.

Embrace the Chaos!

[Research Rockstar now offers a one-hour online course to help you turn unsanctioned market research into useful insights.  Check out, "Leading Your Volunteer Army: Turning Unsanctioned Research into Market Insight Gold." Or email info@ResearchRockstar.com]

You’ve just spent weeks, maybe months, executing a great primary market research project. You created a final report that just sings (insert angel chorus sounds here). It’s full of insights and fresh perspectives that could save or make real money for your organization.

Any nobody is reading it.

Ouch.

Why not? Is the issue motivation? Is it just too hard for your audience to prioritize taking the time to read the report?

Or is it skill? Are they uncomfortable reading market research data? Or unsure how to tackle a report efficiently?

In my experience, a little training can go a long way in these situations. So I created a free tutorial, “10 Tips for Reading Market Research Reports.” A 10 minute edition is on YouTube, and the full, 23 minute version can be downloaded as a Flash file from the Research Rockstar store. Did I mention that it is free?

Please send these links to any colleagues you have who may be dragging their feet. With these 10 tips, they’ll learn great tactics for reading a market research report so that they can get what they need from it,  easily and efficiently.

Link to YouTube edition.

Link to Flash version download.

Today I read a blog that stated, “… the utility of market research is often minimal.  Many times the data is worthless even before the survey hits the field due to quickly changing business conditions, and consumers are over surveyed and fatigued by the constant bombardment of surveys online or elsewhere.” The blog is from The Armory, and is authored by Brendan Miller. I like Brendan’s posts—he has strong opinions and clearly enjoys innovative thinking. But given how many blogs and articles I have seen lately that express a similar point of view, I just have to respond.

Look, traditional market research is flawed. We all know that. It has its issues—sample quality being a biggie these days. And Brendan sums up another one nicely,  “Traditional research only captures a moment in time.” True, true, and market researchers are well aware of this (and advise clients accordingly).

But let’s not pretend social media is the elixir…the magic potion to cure all market research ills. Yes, social media as a research tool has real benefits and the innovation is exciting for suppliers and clients alike (tip of the hat on a nice piece to Fresh Networks). I am particularly interested in techniques for monitoring online conversations (nice intro by Beth Harte here, plus do include Crimson Hexagon).  But if we set unrealistic expectations about how fantastic social media is as a market research tool, we will ultimately disappoint clients, or worse (deliver misleading or egregiously flawed research).

Yes, it sounds great to make sweeping statements about social media-based research  “…like creating online customer forums can help marketers take an active and continuous listening approach.  Their insights will be timelier and therefore more relevant.” Timely? Perhaps if people happen to be talking about something you care about when you care about it. But alas, these methods also have inherent limitations and biases.

Heresy, you say?! Yes, social media-based market research has real limitations. Two of the major issues:

1.    The Popcorn effect (well, that’s what I call it anyway). When someone is particularly frustrated or particularly thrilled they “pop” onto a blog or user forum or review site and share a comment online. Many online forums suffer from these extremes, so we have to be careful. (In contrast, surveys capture a fuller spectrum of response including neutrals—which are a legitimate response and critical context in many cases).
2.    Online personas. How people talk, behave and portray themselves online is very different than how they do these things in-person. Ask anyone who has been on an online dating site and then met the individual in-person; the gap between online and in-person can be shocking.  And usually not in a good way. As just one example, in some markets, monitoring online communities would suggest an extremely rational set of buying behaviors backed up by shared reviews and deep, objective product evaluations. But in (gasp!) a focus group, a little discussion leads to people confessing to each other that the tie-breaker between brand A and brand B was based on an entirely irrational input (“I wanted my new HDTV to be sleeker than my brother’s”, the knowing nods of the other group members allowing the moderator to use the group dynamic to probe further and peel the onion on customer behaviors).

Bottom-line

The market researcher who clings to conventional surveys and focus groups like a life raft on a turbulent sea is going to drown. Those who judiciously add various social media and ethnographic-based methods along with some of the other fabulous new qualitative research tools out there will be able to navigate through the storm—and best help clients choose the methods (or mix) for their unique needs. But let’s not pretend that social media-based research is a magic cure-all; too many snake oil salesmen will only ultimately turn off clients and lead to a backlash.  And that’s not going to do anyone and good.

These days, keeping employees motivated is no small task. Between workplace financial concerns, and ones at home, people become discouraged, even apathetic.

So now is a great time to think creatively about re-igniting employee passion.  And to do that, a little customer insight can go a long way.

Customer Insights Ignite

In most companies, only a small percentage of employees have direct customer contact. And even of those that do, such as in retail, they are so busy that it is hard for them to really observe customers and get a sense of their attitudes and behaviors.

Yet I can tell you from 20 years of experience, that when people get the opportunity to listen to and observe clients-amazing things happen.  Here are some examples I have personally witnessed

• Engineers erupting into a productive debate about how an existing product can be modified to meet an emerging customer need.
• Sales people excitedly specifying new customer training materials that they want to deliver personally.
• Executives formulating new pricing models on the spot.
• Product managers devising new, hard-hitting competitive positions.

And that’s just a few examples.

So yes, the mood in companies these days is a little down. But with a relatively small investment, we can re-ignite employee passion.

How?

There are several options, but the fastest track is to simply use updated versions of a conventional research technique: focus groups.

Do you think of focus groups as a kind of dated methodology? Yeah, they can be. But there are also lots of very cool, new techniques used in focus groups these days that make them fun for participants, and will generate lots of “aha!” moments for observers. And focus groups are fantastic because you can have a group of employees observing in real-time, and get a DVD to those that were not able to attend.  Many focus groups facilities have observation rooms that can comfortably sit 15 or even 20 people.

If you don’t have a research agency partner that does focus groups, you can find some on the Quirks.com or the QRCA (www.qrca.org) sites, or shoot me an email and I’ll give you some more suggestions. If you are on a really tight budget and want to do it in-house, you can contact focus group facilities on your own-and they will connect you with freelance moderators in their areas.

If you have any questions or comments, please add them here, or call the blog requests line at 508.691.6004.

One of my main motivations for starting Research RockStar is to provide an alterative to bloated, boring market research training. I’ve taken plenty of training classes myself over the years and I’ve sent employees to many as well. And with precious few exceptions, they were bloated and boring.  Having to slog through two days of a monotone presentation only to get about an hour’s worth of content I felt I could actually use, if that.  I always felt that I’d be willing to pay more if somebody would just give me the information I needed and let me get on with my life. How many times have you taken a training course and felt that you really got a good return on your investment?  Not only the cost of the seminar, but the cost of your time?  I think there’s a reason why online training is taking off.  Travel cost is certainly one of them.  Time out of the office, another.  Convenience and instant access—to me, that’s the real bingo.

Now is online training for everything?  No, absolutely not.  There are definitely times when in-person training is best.  There are some topics that are so complex and have so many nuances that having an instructor in the room with you is important.  For example, I would never suggest taking a focus group moderation class online.  Could you get some basics that way?  Sure, but it’s the kind of thing you need coaching for.  So for focus group moderation, I do recommend in-person training.  But there are a lot of other market research topics that are far more cut and dry.  They have clearly defined best practices. The how-to’s can be precisely mapped out on a flow chart. For these topics, online training is the way to go. Ad that’s what Research RockStar will be building over the next few months.

Want to give it a try? Check out our currently available MicroTopics here.