Editor’s note: Kent Hamilton is vice president/director of international services at A&G Research, Inc., New York.
Have you ever moved across the country with a professional moving company, or taken a long vacation and consulted with AAA or a travel agent? Often, these organizations will give you a checklist to insure success in such a major undertaking.
Well, guess what? A global marketing research project is also a major undertaking! So why hasn’t someone put together a checklist to help marketing researchers and other professionals navigate the rough seas that can threaten the validity and actionability of these projects?
Below please find your checklist, which can be copied for your convenient use and that of your colleagues.
I have written this list from the point-of-view of a researcher who may plan either to use a coordinating marketing research firm or to directly field a study in international markets. In either case, the issues and concerns in the checklist are the same.
It is important to review all of these issues when coordinating international/global marketing research studies. Others may arise that have not been included here. If so, I would be very happy to hear about them. Meanwhile, enjoy the opportunities global/international work can provide - and may you do so as successfully as possible.