Editor's note: Tim Huberty is advertising research manager with Minneapolisbased Fallon McElligott advertising agency.

A few years ago, this agency did an advertisement for a local marketing research company. The ad asked a very simple question: "Are you spending too much money on research to find out that you're spending too much money on research?" The question was a good one that becomes more relevant with each passing day.

Even those people who believe they are not spending too much money on research are often not getting full value for their research dollars. Marketing researchers often spend thousands and thousands of dollars to dredge up answers to all sorts of problems plaguing their businesses. Ironically, for just a few dollars more, they could add a "third dimension" to their numbers. By tacking on a few well-placed open-ended questions, the value of their information could grow significantly.

Marketing researchers are trained to study numbers. Academic research courses often focus too heavily upon sample sizes and statistical significance, ignoring common sense consumer responses. Rather than building grid upon grid, chart upon chart, training field people to follow up with a well placed, "Why do you say that?" can often make the difference between good research and great research.

Furthermore, without exception, we have found that the research audiences, be they clients or creatives, relate more easily to words and sentences, rather than cold, unfeeling numbers. Verbatims have personality; they capture the essence of the human soul. Unfortunately, research people hide behind safe numbers while research audiences crave to hear from real people using real words to describe real reactions to real products.

In this article, I will share how verbatims have helped increase the value of marketing research dollars for both Fallon McElligott and our clients. We have found th...