Tag Archives: market research

Need cost effective market research and insight? Thinking about a DIY survey tool?

10 Dec

To DIY or not to DIY.

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Here are ten questions you need to ask yourself before deciding which option to take:

  • do you do your own research;
  • do you consult with a professional research agency to do your research for you, or;
  • do you do without research / insight and proceed on gut-feel?

10. When did you last sit down and listen to what customers want?

It is widely accepted that the growth of social media and other smart technologies means that traditional processes of customer decision making have changed forever. Your customers have access to information and product/service reviews like never before. Organisations can no longer rely on the traditional means of brand building. Successful, sustainable brands are built more by what they do than what they say. Customer needs and behaviours are continually changing and evolving – faster than ever. Expectations are rising. Organisations need to listen to their customers more regularly and more intently than ever before.

9. Do you have the willing?

Do you have the desire to hear, warts and all, what your customer think? Can you commit to changing and restructuring how you think, operate, behave and communicate based on what you learn?

8. Do you have the time?

Will fresh research and insight make it to the top of your to-do-list, or will something else always take priority? Can you commit the time to doing the research yourself properly, or will compromises be made because of other commitments?

7. Can you design an interview survey with the necessary ‘flow’ and techniques to tease out the golden nuggets?

Questionnaire design is a skill that benefits from an expert’s touch like any other.

6. Can you ask the questions in a dispassionate manner?

Can a business truly deliver its own surveys without an element of bias? Can you probe for a full deep understanding (not ‘take as read’ the top-of-mind response). Will you hear what you want to hear – or stop probing once you think your suppositions have been verified?

5. Do you know how to analyse and interpret research data?

Bias can also come through in terms of how survey results are analysed and interpreted. Data can easily be misread or misinterpreted at face value. Do you have the skills to dig deep, to explore sub-groups and to interrogate data with statistical techniques?

Independent research partners never make assumptions. They never leave a stone unturned. Most can also provide useful benchmarks from similar studies within and across sectors.

4. Do you know who you should be talking to?

One of the pitfalls of companies looking to do their own research is that they will naturally target the ‘lowest hanging fruit’ – the ones they always hear from, the ones they know are more likely to say yes to a survey invitation. An independent agency will help with sample framework design (and, if necessary, sourcing of contacts) so that the research audience is aligned to the organisation’s commercial priorities. Should we be speaking to your loyal customers (retention), your occasional customers (increasing spend), or prospect/competitor customers (acquisition). Should we be targeting any specific segment, behaviour trait, market/region or demographic?

3. Will your customers be honest?

Will the customers you engage with respond differently to YOU asking the questions (versus someone who is independent)? Will they tell you what they think you want to hear?

2. Can you afford not to base your business decisions on insight?

For some, it is about keeping a step ahead. For others, it is about catching up. Whatever the context, market research should be viewed as one of a number of great tools for helping your business maximise opportunities. Though not designed to replace the instincts of the business decision maker, it can complement them.

It is often reassuring to have expert research data available to help support and guide the key decision making. Market research is about as close to an insurance policy as you can get in this day and age – and surely anything that reduces the risk of doing business is worth consideration!

1. Talk to an agency or two.

Independent market research might not be as expensive as what you might think. Online methods mean that the costs associated with reaching customer samples with targeted surveys is on the way down. You would be surprised at what can be achieved, even with a four-figure budget.

For more information and inspiration, read this case study on how start-up company Escentially Smooth recently used targeted insights to inform its launch strategy.

Or give the team at Mustard a call on +44(0)1625 628000.

www.mustard-research.com

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Top 10: Market research tips for small businesses and start-ups

24 Jul

Ahead of Ci Research’s Colin Auton appearing on the Guardian.co.uk expert panel – “How to get started with market research” – we have posted a “top 10” on the ways in which market research and consumer insight can benefit small business and start-ups.

If you fancy logging on to hear some wise words from Colin, the link to the Q&A is below – discussion is live from 1pm to 3pm on Tuesday 24th July 2012.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/small-business-network/2012/jul/20/get-started-in-market-research

10. Consultation with customers helps build stronger relationships. Your customers value being asked their opinion, and the need for brands to forge stronger relationships with their customers is more relevant than ever before.

9. Understand that you have one chance to get it right. Customers are less forgiving than ever before – getting to the heart of what drives trust and loyalty is critical

8. Test before invest. Use market research to test new product ideas, concepts and propositions before committing too much resource to their development

7. Collaborate with consumers to develop new concepts and propositions. Get the prospect customer to help you with the design process.

6. Differentiation wins. Use market research to find and monitor the unique territory which your brand / product occupies in the market place

5. Monitor satisfaction levels –and be hungry for feedback on your products and services – use market research for “warts and all” feedback and learn from mistakes

4. Understand what really drives satisfaction, trust, loyalty and advocacy. Understand not just what customers SAY is important, but find those more elusive buttons to press that will deliver beyond what customers THINK they need

3. Use technology. Online and mobile methods mean that means that quantitative and qualitative market research is as affordable as ever before

2. Use positive research findings for PR and influence. Use survey findings to prove to potential investors or retail / wholesale partners there is demand for your product / service

1. Proactive monitoring, environmental scanning and trend-spotting. Use market research to learn from competitors successes and failures – and observe what is happening in adjacent markets

Our final assertion would be D.I.T. (do it thoroughly) and not D.I.Y.

It is important that the big ‘front end’ decisions are given the necessary time, and not taken on the back of questionable samples and questionable interview techniques. Professional research is an investment and will make a significant difference. Although several “DIY” survey tools exist, our advice would be to always entrust a quality agency to provide the design, delivery and interpretation. Not only for independence and objectivity, or for the specialist skills involved, but for the years of experience of having conducted many such projects before.

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Music Market Research: Top Ten Market Research Songs

24 Oct

Marketresearchexpert.co.uk has provided a vast range of comment and opinion on the world of market research, but this weeks “top ten” takes a more light-hearted slant as Ci Research associate director Gareth Hodgson evaluates the extent to which our industry has permeated the world of music with “the top ten song titles related to market research!”… Here’s the countdown from 10 to the big number 1 pop-pickers!

10. The name of our industry itself is used by Australian rockers Pants in their 2003 album track “Market Research” which comments on the rise of electronic surveillance and consumerism.

9. Scottish dance act Kid Adrift caused a record company stampede for his signature in 2010, and who can blame them with tracks like “Customer Satisfaction”.

8. We head to Asia for our next track, with Japanese prog-rocker Tadashi Goto who gets under the skin with his 2005 production “Depth Interview”.

7. Our first trip to the US brings “Segmentation”, ironically a 2010 collaboration between US jazz guitarists Bruce Arnold and John Stowell (collectively known as ‘Sonic Infestation’).

6. We stay in America and head for California where punk-rockers The Frisk recorded “Survey Says” in 2003. No clues on what the survey does say however… MRS Codes must apply.

5. And we move across to Atlanta for our next track “Focus Group” which was recorded by indie rockers Deerhunter in 2008.

4. Spanish rockers Shake Before Use found themselves mixed-methodologically inspired in 2008 as they belted out “Qualitative and Quantitative”.

3. Stats clearly don’t matter to Tuvan throat singer Sainkho Namtchylak who collaborated with Russian ensemble Trio (for the uninitiated, that’s saxophonist/flutist Sergey Letov, bassoonist/swanee whistler Alexandr Alexandrov and trumpeter/althornist Yury Parfenov ) in 1998 on the song “The Ethnography Museum”.

2. Beatles parody The Rutles filled their 1996 album Archaeology with the track “Questionnaire”.

1. …And at number 1, the only artists who anybody may be remotely able to say that they are aware of (although this may entail prompting), Crosby & Nash, who celebrated the unsung cog in the market research wheel in 1975 on their second album with the song “Fieldworker”.  Rumours that Stephen Stills absence was caused by a preference for an online approach remain unfounded.

Market research in the music industry may be used to evaluate the success factors for an album or artist, but as you can see, market research is very rarely the subject matter!… although perhaps more often that you would expect! Much like agency life however the top ten song titles related to market research takes you around the world, away from the mainstream, and gives you an insight into a range of areas you had never previously encountered.

Free mix-tapes will be provided on request by Ci Research with all new commissions in November 2011…

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Top ten tips on planning a segmentation study

11 Oct

Many companies and organisations will have a segmentation model – based on either their customer base or the market as a whole. Segmentation is about understanding the diverse attitudes, behaviours and needs of consumers, and tailoring products, services and communications accordingly – on the premise that one solution will not meet the needs of all.

Segmentations can form the bedrock of customer retention and acquisition strategies – much more than just a marketing tool, they can deliver measurable competitive advantage if used fully and correctly.

In this blog, James Oliver raises some of the questions that clients should consider before embarking on a segmentation study.

1. Get the business behind it. Will everyone be happy to embrace it? A segmentation has to be actionable – and not just informative.

2. Get the business leaders behind it. Buy in from the top is also critical. Involve key people from across the organisation in the planning process.  Important with all research but vital for segmentation.

3. Market or customer segmentation? Understanding the difference is key – the decision should be driven by business strategy and targets. If the focus is on understanding customers then a customer segmentation may be the answer – if the goal is to exploit new opportunities it may be that a market segmentation is required.

4. Keep the end goal in mind. This ensures the survey design retains focus and avoids interview durations of 30mins plus.

5. Ask the right questions.  If the research seeks to segment a population based on attitudes and motivations then make sure that the attitudinal questions have a wide enough scope to be able to draw out meaningful and relevant differences.

6. Ensure there is sufficient classification data for profiling. Will colleagues and partner agencies need data on media preferences and consumption, shopping behaviour, etc.?

7a. Demographic, needs-based, motivations-based or attitudinal? It is useful to discuss up front the types of factors through which segments could be derived – and exploring the options for all.

7b. But once you’ve chosen, stick with it. When conducting needs based or motivation-based segmentations, it is tempting to bring them to life by describing them demographically (their age, lifestage, gender or income). Even if there are statistically significant differences, if a segment has been DERIVED by motivation them DESCRIBE it by its motivation.

8. Clearly define the sample parameters. For example, for a market segmentation, how do you define whether someone is ‘in’ or ‘out’ of the market? Equally, ensure there are robust sub-quotas so that it is representative (or can be weighted to become representative) of the target population. 

9. Pick the right methodology. Online interviews, telephone, face to face, or something else? Think about how the context of the survey might impact on answers.

10. Embedding strategy. Before starting, think about how the insights are going to be delivered. Get colleagues involved from the off in helping decide how it should be disseminated – for example, are film summaries needed, or are workshops more appropriate? Set in place plans for ensuring other surveys you undertake can incorporate ‘golden questions’ so you can allocate respondents to segments, and plan for matching segments back to the database if you have one.

 

James Oliver is a senior research executive at Ci Research, and has managed segmentation projects for clients across multiple sectors – including leisure and tourism, hospitality, gaming and healthcare.

If you have any tips for planning a segmentation then feel free to comment below. Or get in touch with James on +44(0)1625 628076 or email james.oliver@ci-research.com

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Top 10 Presentation Tips

13 Jul

With regular practice, preparation and constructive feedback anyone can become a fantastic presenter. This blog post is a collection of tips on how to improve market research presentations – but feel free to add your own thoughts and advice in the comments section below based on your own experience!

10. Find out who you are presenting to in advance of the session. Know their names, titles and what specifically they are looking to get from the presentation. Think about the questions they might ask.

9. Stand up. You will project yourself to the room far more effectively.

Continue reading →

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Top 10 Challenges Facing B2C Clients

4 Jul

For any sector relying on discretionary spending, competitive advantage can be achieved by developing a more in-depth understanding of customer behaviour and (crucially) their motivations.

This week for MarketResearchExpert.co.uk, Richard Walker has compiled a Top 10 challenges and issues facing clients in consumer sectors:

10. Recession and the squeeze on disposable income. A lack of job security and rising prices are causing many people to be choosier in how to spend their time and money.
“How can we persuade people to buy ‘this’ (instead of ‘that’)?”

9. Increasing travel costs. A recent Ci Research poll of 6500 UK residents highlighted that approximately one in four people are now deliberately avoiding using their cars for days out.
“How can we persuade people to make the journey to see us?”

8. People are busier than ever and are more demanding than ever. They want more for less. Leisure time is increasingly precious.
“How do we persuade people to engage and give up their spare time?” Continue reading →

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Top 10 tips for using market research to evidence Return on Investment (ROI)

3 Jun

In these straitened times, businesses need to justify all expenditure – marketing and market research spend included. Furthermore, in conducting product tests and concept tests, we need to do more than simply identify a winning idea – we need to prove the potential for a financial return.

Below are ten top tips to consider when undertaking these types of market research projects:

1. understand what ROI really means for your business – Very simply, a return on investment is the financial benefits observed as a result of a financial investment, or a cost. It is also referred to a cost-benefit analysis and calculated using a benefit to cost ratio (BCR). In purely financial terms this bottom-line figure if often all that is required to evidence ROI.

But in market research terms it’s more complex. The Phillips Return on Investment™ Methodology seeks to evidence this ROI through a chain of impact. In doing so the research captures the impact of a ‘product’ in terms of:

  • The reaction within the market place (participants)
  • What the market had gained; new knowledge or a greater understanding
  • How the behaviour of the market is changing – what is it doing with this new knowledge?
  • What the benefits of these changes are; financial and non-financial
  • Hence the ROI

2. Ensure the remit, scope and objectives within the research brief are clean – In some cases the research brief may not warrant, or allow for a credible ROI assessment. For example if you are commissioned to measure a reaction to a new sports centre amongst the local community then this alone cannot prove ROI. However if you are commissioned to evidence how the sports centre has improved the communities quality of life then this CAN evidence ROI.

It is equally important that the expectations of the commissioner are managed. They may be forced into thinking they need to evidence ROI but not fully understand the resource required for this. Leave no stone unturned. Continue reading →

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TOP 10 – Recommended statistical techniques for market research and customer insight

11 May

There are a wide variety of statistical techniques that either form the main research process or act as a ‘bolt on’ in order to glean maximum insight from a research study. Ci Research has over 20 years’ experience of applying advanced statistical techniques to survey data. We recognise that ‘the language of stats’ can be daunting for some and, indeed, statistical analysis may not be relevant for a variety of research scenarios. We therefore only utilise advanced techniques when they will bring further valuable insight and will always deliver the output in layman terms. Most importantly, we also ensure that results are actionable with total clarity around outcomes and implications. 

Our top 10 statistical techniques are as follows:

1. Factor Analysis – Factor analysis is a useful data reduction technique, helping the researcher to see the ‘woods for the trees’. The technique groups’ issues together into a more manageable number of factors. Factor analysis can therefore help determine the underlying factors that summarises customer opinion from a whole host of product / service issues.

The technique is often used as a first stage in an analysis process. Factor analysis can be used to reduce the number of variables utilised to model customer behaviour, satisfaction etc. More concise variables will lead to a more robust model and an outcome, which can be easier for clients to interpret. Factor analysis can also assist the development of perceptual maps of customer opinion.

2. Regression Analysis – Regression analysis is a widely used modelling technique and comes in a variety of forms. The basic aim of this technique is to establish causal relationships between a dependent variable, for example, sales, and one or more explanatory variables, for example consumer spending, season of year, interest rates etc.

The technique can be used to gain a snapshot of the drivers of a variable under analysis. A successful analysis will identify which issues best explain the movement in the dependent variable and so can help a client decide which parts of their business to concentrate upon in order to improve sales, satisfaction etc. Regression analysis is also commonly used as a forecasting tool. Continue reading →

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Top 10 – Tips for Creative Workshops

16 Mar

Increasingly at Ci Research we are designing and facilitating creative workshops for our clients, taking the insight captured from qualitative and quantitative research to inform the development of action plans, new product and service propositions, or a new brand positioning.

Using creative techniques on their own does not guarantee that a raft of ideas or concepts will be developed for consideration. You also need to have an understanding of a number of key underlying principles to increase the chances of success. Our top ten tips for consideration when running a creative workshop are detailed below:

  1. Know where you’re aiming for – Be clear from the start about what you are trying to achieve and communicate this to the group. Also have a plan and range of techniques available to use in the sessions;
  2. Make the space – Creative thinking needs time. It is inhibited by time pressures, interruptions and routines. Structuring sessions to let problems to tick over at the back of the mind and allow thinking time can only help;
  3. Think about the setting – Look to run workshops away from the normal working environment – somewhere different and inspiring. It is also important that participants feel relaxed so drop any dress codes and pay close attention to the room layout. Even background music can contribute to providing the right environment for creative thinking; Continue reading →

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TOP 10 – Questionnaire design tips

9 Feb

This week’s top ten is a blog post from Ci Research Managing Director, Colin Auton, on the “art” of good questionnaire design.

When working as the company’s head of market research or insight, there is nothing more frustrating than stumbling upon someone who has decided to conduct their own survey without consulting you first. More often than not, you are handed a fairly basic questionnaire and are left thinking “If only I knew you were doing this. I could have designed this survey so you could have got so much more from it”.

Perhaps it is not surprising that people take it upon themselves to dive in and design their own questionnaires. On the surface it seems an easy thing to do. On the other hand would colleagues start to take on other marketing tasks themselves, such as designing creative materials or doing their own PR? Typically not!

 In all honesty it is only likely that this trend to “do-it-yourself” will continue, particularly with the emergence of the likes of Survey Monkey. With this in mind we would simply like to highlight to non-researchers that there is an art to designing a good questionnaire, and some useful rules to follow. Our top 10 tips are listed below:

 1. Think about your introduction

Positioning the survey upfront is important. Try to make the respondent feel that their views are important and look to highlight what the benefit is to them in taking part. Also be open and honest in advising on how much of their time will be required, and more specifically how their feedback might be used. True market research can’t be used to generate sales leads, and where individual views are to be fed back to the client you should get permission to do this and explain how this will be used.

 2. Screen out anyone that might be inappropriate

As a general rule of thumb you would always look to exclude anyone that works in marketing, advertising or market research. The theory is that they will have insight into why certain questions are being asked, and may therefore bias the results. For similar reasons you should look to screen out anyone who works in your sector.

 3. Think about the flow

The best questionnaires flow in a logical order for the respondent and thus make for a more survey friendly experience. For example, it is deemed good practice to order questions for satisfaction surveys in line with the order that the customer will have experienced the service.

Continue reading →

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