Marketing Research is a Complex Process

Marketing Research is a Complex Process

Keeping in line with the monthly theme of Marketing Research. This article will offer a few primary research tools you can use to ensure your organization covers as many angles of the market as possible.

As stated in my earlier article on the “Seven Steps to Marketing Research”, marketing research is a complex process. The good news is; there are various strategies and tools you can use to support you through the process. Many of you will conduct marketing research for different reasons. Perhaps, you are trying to determine the size of your market, re-assessing your marketing mix, forecasting, reducing risks on a new product launch, evaluating promotional strategies, classifying market segments, identifying customer needs or sussing out your competition. Whichever area you are focusing your research, these tools will work for you. When conducting your primary research consider the following list:

1. A diversified member Focus Group

• When organized efficiently, focus group outcomes can be extremely meaningful and value-add to answering your problem statement. To ensure a successful focus group, do the following:
  • Choose a topic or limited topics that are micro focused and well thought out
  • Invite attendees from different demographics, geographics and psychographics (unless you are focused on a niche target market)
  • Book an efficient moderator and qualified videographer or scribe for the entire session
  • Follow-up with attendees (send a thank you and ask for additional feedback from the session). It’s possible the post feedback will be stronger than the actual session feedback. The attendee has had time for the information to marinate.

2. Targeted Questionnaires

• These are great for specific problem statements. To write a results driven questionnaire ensure the following:
  • Make the questions short, concise and focused on your problem statement
  • Use explicit language
  • Limit technical or non-generic terminology (make sure the majority of your recipients will understand the vocabulary)
  • Send the questionnaire to a targeted audience that have potential interest, expertise or experience in the problem area
  • If the budget permits provide an incentive or reward for the completion of the questionnaire (I.e. a discount, gift card, free trial, accolades, make it a competition for a prize)

3. Secured and identifiable user groups (online focus groups/chat rooms)

• Use the same tactics as the physical focus group but expand your audience. Tips for a successful online Focus Group:
  • Go global. Request people to join from all corners of the globe. The more perspectives you can reach the easier it will be to answer your problem statement
  • Make sure you can identify the location and demographics of participants so the source of the data is known
  • Ensure there is a moderator to keep the conversations on track and meaningful
  • Hire a technical monitor to block any suspicious or inappropriate contributions
  • Hire an Ethnographic Researcher to observe the conversation and provide feedback on the overall discussion and areas of improvement

4. Scheduled telephone surveys or interviews

• Telephone surveys or interviews can be results driven when they are scheduled, time managed, focused, recorded efficiently and the interviewer is meticulously selected. Do the following for a successful scheduled survey or interview:
  • Book the interview or survey at a time that works for the interviewee
  • Respect the interviewee’s time. Call on time, be complimentary, upbeat and positive the entire call
  • Express the value of their opinion a few times (before, during and near the end) to build and sustain their confidence as well as encourage their ease to respond
  • If permitted, record the conversation or type out the interviewees responses

5. Consented and balanced customer interviews

• Similar to the telephone surveys and interviews above, these interviews need to be consented, focused and well managed. For this tool to achieve successful results, do the following:
  • Book interviews with satisfied and unsatisfied customers from first time buyers to long-term loyal customers. Get a mix!
  • If in person, dress in business attire, be complimentary, upbeat, focused and positive
  • If over the phone or online, be on time, up beat, complimentary and supportive of all levels of technical expertise
  • Set the time commitment and expectations in advance and meet those commitments
  • Follow up to thank customers and request any additional feedback for improvements
  • If it is in your organizations budget provide the customer with a thank you gift

6. Carefully chosen test markets

• These are very helpful in keeping a company’s reputation in tact. For this tool to be results driven and successful, do the following:
  • Choose a test market you can trust
  • Make is small, diverse but meaningful
  • Explain clearly that this is a confidential test and you are assessing success pre full-scale launch
  • Have all members sign non-disclosure statements to protect your intellectual property
  • Offer an incentive if the budget permits (free samples, free trials, memberships, gift cards, future discounts etc.)

7. Social media polls, surveys, questionnaires

• This is an inexpensive wide spread opportunity for marketing research data. Options include: Facebook, LinkedIn, iMessage, Twitter, WhatsApp, Google+, Video Sharing (Vimeo, YouTube) and more. These will be most effective if you do the following:
  • Make the poll, survey or questionnaire extra short, use explicit language and be micro focused with your questions (these platforms are inundated daily)
  • Try to identify targeted groups that match your problem statement
  • Make sure the platform you use can provide you with analytics
  • Go as far and wide as you can but make sure you can organize the data efficiently and effectively

The use of a few and ideally all of the above tools as a marketing research plan will result in meaningful data. You can use the data to make informed decisions, identify trends, forecast, reduce risks, save time, money and find solutions to overcoming any obstacles your organization may be facing. This is only primary research. Stay tuned for secondary and more in my upcoming articles.

Erica C Bearss MBA

If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” Milton Berle

If you have questions or would like assistance building any of the tools mentioned above for your organization,

feel free to contact me at: e.b2b.b2cmarketing@gmail.com