How to Write a Market Research RFP

RFPs range widely in terms of their level of sophistication and complexity. If your need is for a simple project, do yourself a favor: keep your RFP simple. It will save you a lot of time when the proposals come back and you actually have to read them.

At minimum, a market research RFP states parameters and requests responses to the basics:

Computer-Based Training for Market Research Excellence

Computer-based training (CBT), also known as eLearning, is a time-efficient, cost-effective training option for busy professionals.

Market Research Agencies: 2 Tips for Clients

There are several points in a market research project where you, as the client-side manager, need to be particularly cautious. Here are two of the big ones.

Size Matters: Is your market research right-sized?

Small market research projects have less risk. They get done quickly. Results get shared while they are still fresh. And conclusions can be communicated within the attention span of a busy recipient, so they actually get used.

Market Research Results: Dare to Share

If your company invests in market research that generates fresh customer insights, should you hold it tightly, or should you share it?

There are some obvious cases where you hold it tightly. Data that is specific to proprietary product ideas is a good example. But other cases aren’t so clear-cut.

Customer Survey or non-Customer Survey? Tips for Market Research Success

When conducting survey projects, should you survey your own customer base (people who actually by from your company), or non-customers? Or both?

After all, you may very well have a list of customers that would be convenient for you to use for your survey project. But is that a wise choice? Maybe, maybe not.

5 Things You Need to Know About Online Research Panels

Online surveys and research panels go together like…well, milk and cookies. If they are both high-quality, yummy snack. If either is poor quality, the experience is ruined.

These days, there is a lot of awareness of online panel quality issues. So what does a market research buyer need to know?

Here are 5 things you need to be aware of to find the best panel sources for your needs, and mitigate potential risks. Why is this so important? Because panel quality varies. A lot. You can’t assume all research panels are the same.

Avoiding Mediocrity in Market Research

In your organization, what happens when someone proposes a market research study?

* Do people roll their eyes?
* Do people perceive it as a decision making delay tactic?
* Do people readily volunteer to be involved in designing the project?
* Do any executive-level folks readily endorse the idea?

DIY Research Article a Marketing Research Association Winner!

Great news! My article on DIY research “Why It’s Good for Everyone” won the counterpoint contest recently run by the MRA’s Alert! Magazine. The article is reprinted in the MRA… Continue reading DIY Research Article a Marketing Research Association Winner!

2010 Market Research Conferences: Do In-Person Events Still Matter?

The US 2010 Market Research conference season will be starting soon. Luckily, this year they are a bit more spread out than last year.

The MRA’s big conference will be in Boston in June.

The AMA’s annual Market Research Conference will be in Atlanta in September.

And IIR’s The Market Research Event will be in San Diego in November.

I can hear the sighs of anticipated exhaustion already. Travel, sessions, expense reports. And the dreaded, overflowing inbox that faces you upon returning to work the next week.

Besides, we have to ask ourselves: do in-person events matter anymore? Look, I am in the business of online training—I LOVE online content. But I do believe that there is still a place for in-person events as well. And here is why: