Question, clarity and focus
Editor’s note: Adam Warner is the director of the Market Research Center at Seton Hall University and president of Warner and Associates Consulting. He can be reached at adam.warner@shu.edu.
Over the years I’ve been a marketing research client, vendor and consultant. While I’m still a consultant, I am also now a college professor teaching marketing research. Along the way I’ve picked up some tips and observations that I hope will help my fellow researchers, no matter where they are in the journey.
I’ll start from my initial introduction to market research in the pharmaceutical industry. I had moved from the sales force to the home office and was in my first research role. I had a wonderful manager who encouraged us to question everything – not just for the sake of it but to clarify what our internal clients really needed when they came to us asking for help. Don’t be just an order taker, our manager said. Probe to ensure you understand the real issue at hand.
Tip #1: Ask questions to better understand
Here's an example request/project for the new market researcher: Create a report of prescription sales for Product X by state, by strength, by month and by prescriber for the last year. Sounds easy, right? Probably not. Nothing is as straightforward as it sounds.
This data might be available. It might not be. However, rather than just jumping down a rabbit hole and trying to figure it out, ask some thoughtful questions right away to ensure you fully understand the issue. What is your internal client really trying to figure out? What are they going to use the information for?
It may turn out that they are trying to finalize an incentive compensation plan for the sales force. You wouldn’t have known this solely based on their request. Perhaps you have a better way to tackle their request with some different data. By asking questions beforehand, you’re better positioned to understand exactly what is needed. You’re being a valuable team player and consultant rather than just a functionary.
Tip #2: Align on a key business issue
One of my favorite expressions is, “Don’t try to boil the ocean.” To me this means focus. Don’t aim to accomplish too many things at once. Home in on the most important item and come up with a key overriding business issue you want to tackle. Put it into a big, umbrella question to guide your overall project.
The up-front phase of a project – where you are developing and aligning on that key business issue – is the most important part. Get this phase right and you are in good shape. Get it wrong and you’re in trouble.
Another quote I love is attributed to Albert Einstein: “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I would spend 55 minutes determining the proper question and five minutes solving it.” Heed his advice. Invest extra time at the beginning of your project to make sure you are asking the right question. This business issue/question should guide your overall project, so make sure you nail it. Don’t forge ahead into the details, get the big picture first.
Once you’ve landed on that key business question, write it down and circulate it to all the primary stakeholders of the project to ensure they are all on board. Get their approval before moving forward. This may seem like you’re slowing the process down. You’re not. Better to get aligned now before the project starts rather than at the final presentation. When presenting results, you don’t want anyone to say, “Oh, I thought you were doing X, not Y.”
Tip #3: Clarify the who and the how
Who is the right target audience for your project. Can you reach them? Do you have a list? If not, how can you get to them? How easy or difficult will be this target audience be to reach? How long will it take? What incentives should be offered to encourage participation in your research?
Then, importantly, how will you reach them? What methodology will you use? Is this a qualitative or quantitative approach or a combo? Interviews in-person, focus groups, via phone or Zoom? How will you do the recruiting? From a list, via e-mail, texts, phone calls or social media outreach, using a professional recruiting firm or all of these? Web-based surveys? How many respondents? What size audience will be a valid sample? Or really do you just need enough sample to pass the “red face test”?
Tip #4: Set realistic timing expectations
There’s nothing worse for a client than to have their market research provider – whether internal or external – overpromise and then underdeliver.
Overpromising often relates to a delayed timeline. When creating a timeline, ensure it is realistic. Frequently, the biggest challenge is recruiting the right audience and getting the interviews scheduled. Make sure you have a clear vision of who the target audience is and a plan to reach them. Equally important: How long will it take? Do you have good lists with names, accurate e-mails and cell numbers? If not, you’ll need to factor in extra time. Do you have attractive incentives that will motivate the target respondents to participate?
All clients want results ASAP. However, allow enough time to conduct the research and, as importantly, time to analyze the results. Data matters, of course, but what does the data mean? What are the insights, ahas and recommendations from the research? Also, you’ll want to coordinate with your primary client(s) to ensure they understand the insights as they are coming in. You don’t want to have surprises at the final presentation.
So, strive to underpromise and overdeliver on expectations!
Tip #5: Focus on insights
As discussed, data and results are critical, but even more important is what it all means. Focus on the insights. Avoid a data dump in which you overload a 30-slide PowerPoint with charts, graphs, data and statistics but neglect to provide next steps and implications.
Consider including a key takeaway on every slide to highlight your insights. Attention spans are getting shorter. A summary bullet point helps that easily distracted client quickly understand the main point.
Tip #6: Tell a story
Everyone advises researchers to tell a story with the data. It makes sense, as stories are generally far more compelling than your typical PowerPoint slide. One way to tell a story is to consider using personas. Can you create a typical respondent who will help share your insights? Give them a name. Use a stock photo. Describe them (age, job, family situation, education). What are their tendencies (likes, dislikes, frequency of usage, current situation)? Make “Mike” or “Maria” part of your presentation and let them add a human element to the findings. Help your client connect the dots. What is the best way to reach these consumers? What is a typical day like for them? What might they be doing or thinking when using your product?
Tip #7: Create actionable recommendations
I’ve always heard that “show and tell” is significantly more effective than just “tell.” It’s true. When it comes time to make recommendations, go beyond bland generalizations. For example, instead of merely recommending that, based on the research, the company get more active on social media, be specific. What platform? If you think Instagram is right one, say that and then show an example. Create an Instagram post based on your findings that you believe would be compelling for potential customers or whomever the target audience is.
From aligning on a key business issue to setting realistic expectations and creating actionable recommendations, I hope my battle-tested bits of advice will help on your next project, no matter which part of the marketing research industry you work in.