Editor’s note: Jon Hall is the managing partner at SpencerHall, Inc. This is an edited version of a post that originally appeared here under the title, “How to know when it’s time to break up with your moderator.”
Most marketing research professionals know that having a long-term relationship with an experienced research moderator can offer an array of benefits for uncovering consumer insights. From knowing best practices within the company to knowing what snacks you like, a moderator who really knows your business or brand can bring many dimensions of value to a project. It’s not unusual or unexpected for a business or brand to become 
comfortable and depend on the same moderator across many years of use.
However, these same businesses could find themselves in situations in which the moderator’s familiarity or over-dependence on a status quo approach leads to a reduced ability to drive fresh perspectives on challenges, opportunities and possible solutions.
It’s quite normal for any business relationship to experience a sort of ebb and flow or to start feeling as though the efforts of your collaboration have reached a plateau – which means the benefits have actually started to decline. It’s easy to stay in a less-than-perfect relationship with a moderator simply because you’ve been working together for a long time, probably even been through some corporate battles together and came out scarred but victorious. All the more reason to be on the lookout for some key red flags that may point to it being time to break up with your moderator, including:
- Your moderator assumes that he/she knows what you want, or what your internal client wants, rather than continuing to have the important conversations that will push them – and you – into fresh territory. If your moderator isn’t regularly exposing you to new ways of thinking about a research challenge because she thinks she knows what you want, you’re probably missing out. Your moderator should make you feel a little uncomfortable by pushing boundaries such as exploring new uses of technology, or creating techniques that trigger more inventive participant thinking.
- Your moderator uses the same approach with all consumers or prospects, without recognizing that the way consumers interact and communicate is changing and the best results comes from working on their terms, not hers.
- Your moderator doesn’t offer new ways to engage your respondents, even in a traditional format like focus groups, and isn’t aggressively exploring new techniques, situations, stimuli and technologies that could be far more effective in triggering inventive, problem-solving thinking.
If you’ve identified with any of the above red flags, don’t panic. Starting a new relationship with a different moderator may be just what you need. We’ve all heard W.L. Bateman’s quote, “If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got.” In this case, because human behavior is changing rapidly, staying with status quo approaches can mean diminishing results and effectiveness.
When looking for a new moderator who can be a change agent, ask for his perspective on some of your most recent projects, and push him for ideas on ways to improve. Challenge him to come up with alternatives to protocols that have been successful for you in the past.
Similarly, ask potential research moderators to share a difficult question they’ve received from an existing client or team that they’re currently thinking through. Use this conversation as an opportunity to experience and get a good feel for how they think on the spot. Do they approach their own learning challenge or objective beyond expected methodologies, and are they able to articulate why a certain approach makes sense?
What kind of critical thinking and problem solving skills do they demonstrate spontaneously?
Don’t be afraid of a moderator who’s willing to take some risks to explore new territories – after all, that’s where the gold is!
If you’re seeing warning signs that signal complacency or over-dependence on the comfort of the status quo, it’s time to start looking for a new relationship. And in a world that really only cares about your most recent results, the right time to start addressing a deficiency is the moment you identify it.