Welcome back. Market research involves complexities and constraints.
As a result, we need to ask appropriate questions.
The answers we get will shape the research to meet
the client's needs and yield accurate results.
That's what we'll discuss in this lesson.
After this lesson, you'll be able to determine possible research constraints
and discuss appropriate questions to ask in
the research planning process. Let's get started.
We've learned what market research is and what it isn't.
We've learned about some of the tools of market research.
We've also learned about some of the complexities,
with complexities come tradeoffs Sometimes,
we want to keep things very scientific and structured.
However, that may cost more and take longer.
Sometimes, the individual organization
simply needs a tiebreaker and wants a quick response.
Such factors often define what market research could look like and what tools to use,
since there are many ways to conduct an experiment.
You need to know what is important to the client in order to
where the tradeoffs and choose the appropriate tools.
First and foremost, comes the understanding
of the business objective and how to get to the finish line.
Secondly, one must understand what is most important in getting the answers you need.
You need to clarify the constraints in reaching the business objective.
Is rigidity or accuracy of the findings most important?
What does the client value most?
Is cost of time primary?
What impact do legal or ethical considerations have?
How will the research be used?
Who is the reader or client discovering what is most important
and taking into consideration all relevant factors matters?
You need to stay focused on reaching
the business objective while keeping in mind sacrifices,
tradeoffs and must has- have as you decide how to reach the finish line.
These make up the constraints that you will use as
your boundaries in shaping your research plan or proposal.
So, get a good handle on the constraints and what's important in the research.
Then assess whether it's important to achieve the objective given these constraints.
The questions presented to a market researcher vary.
You may get simple question like,
how satisfied are our customers compared to customers of our competitors.
But you may get more complex questions such as,
what will be the most effective advertisement to use with our new product,
or what price should we charge for our product.
Or you might get something as simple as,
which of the following two ads would most appeal to our customers.
The latter example is fairly easy and quick.
On the other hand, you may get something more challenging such as,
which toy would children most prefer.
While that appears to be a simple question,
the answer lies in two market groups.
You have to consider the buyer.
And in this case, it's an adult buying a toy for a child,
and the user, which would be the child.
Those two market groups have different motivations.
So, market research requests may vary in complexity.
Even some that appear simple may still require the expertise of a
professional who will recognize the nuances the client may miss.
A good market researcher is far more than an order taker.
You are in the process of creating a research plan.
In order to create a plan that will meet the real needs of the client,
you will need to ask some difficult questions.
Some questions have the potential to make the research better,
more accurate and reliable,
and therefore, ultimately more valuable.
It's the market researcher's responsibility to ask the right questions,
such as: How do you see yourself using the information from the market research?
Is a company information or past
research that you think would be helpful to the research?
Whom should we research?
To whom should we look?
What segment, person, demographic or title within a company or household?
Who might have the best information to address the objective?
How much time do you have or what is your critical milestones?
What is your budget, so that we can see whether it can be met based on what we recommend?
You should now be able to determine the kinds of questions to ask.
These questions will reveal the possible research constraints.
Once you've identified the constraints by asking good questions,
you will then be able to determine how
the constraints may affect the plan you can put in place.
I hope this lesson helps you see an approach to dealing with
the complexities and constraints that will frame your market research plan.
Jim FongDirector, UPCEA Center for Research and Marketing Strategy
