Giving market research a bad name

By this time, dear Margaret could be calling from Mars and you wouldn't care. But Margaret is friendly and polite and informs you she is conducting market research for the company's new branch on Pluto. A good opportunity, you think, to tell her exactly what problems you have with the existing Mars branch.

Impossible, because Margaret will not be interrupted, and you hear the computer mouse clicking on the other end of the phone as the script is read to you. Suddenly Margaret throws a curve ball and asks how many original Martian rocks you would like to purchase. Huh? You weren't really listening but you inform Margaret that you have a deadly allergy to Martian rocks, so no thanks.

There is a name for these kinds of calls, and it's ‘Sugging'.

Pretending

Sugging is the acronym for ‘selling under the guise of research'. It is a process whereby a company tries to sell you a product, but does so by pretending they are conducting marketing research. The Southern African Marketing Research Association (SAMRA) has expressed its concern over this growing trend in South Africa.

Comments Leonie Vorster, chairperson of SAMRA, “Because SAMRA aims to achieve and enhance professionalism in research, our key roles include increasing public participation in research and being a watchdog, not only regarding research standards amongst SAMRA members, but also regarding non-members' research conduct, as unethical conduct could mislead the public and/or erode public confidence in research. An organisation is guilty of both these crimes when it engages in unethical practices (including wrongfully using and abusing the research process) such as sugging.

“Sometimes the research process is abused in this way because the abusing organisation is ignorant, and confuses market research with telemarketing or other marketing activities. However, this is not a very good excuse! I cannot stress enough how important it is for market research never to be combined with marketing activities.”

Sugging is a highly unethical practice and is essentially deceptive to the end user. A classic example is when you receive a call that starts with “we're just doing a survey in your area…” and eventually, either in the same call or a few days later, the person calling introduces an approach, invitation or straight-out sales pitch. Another example of sugging is to receive a phone call from a credible establishment, and a friendly agent asks if you want to buy their product; you decline; then you are asked if you would mind answering a few questions for market research purposes. This includes questions about you, and your reasons for declining the offer. In severe cases of abuse, the agent has a script that requires him/her to continue to sell the product based on the objection (ie reason for declining) that you then provide during the ‘market research'.

Legitimate

Conducting legitimate market research is vital for companies and organisations for a number of reasons. The results obtained can be used to help create a business plan, launch a new product or service, and make changes to existing products. New trends, establishing who competitors are, consumer/client needs and what's happening in the market can all be measured and analyzed by conducting market research.

According to Vorster, SAMRA is concerned about “the misuse of the research process which compromises legitimate research, and causes distrust amongst the public, resulting in poor participation in real research, and poor quality information, because members of the public simply do not know whether they are again the victim of sugging, or actually contributing information to a legitimate research process. If one is suspicious, one does not participate and respond freely.

“Selling products is a marketing activity, and (market) research is definitely not marketing. Legitimate market research requires the cooperation of the public, allows research participants the option of remaining anonymous, and ensures that participant information is strictly confidential and not shared with any other company. Anonymity is what ensures honest responses, and both anonymity and confidentiality protect individuals' privacy.”

Sugging is an abuse of market research and should be reported whenever it happens. Concludes Vorster, “SAMRA objects strongly to the public being misled in any way. If you are the victim of sugging or related unethical practices, notify the SAMRA Professional Practice committee immediately, including a description of the event, and the transgressing organisation. SAMRA will take up the issue with the transgressor and any professional bodies that the organisation may belong to.”

To report your experiences of sugging, go to www.samra.co.za or tel +27 (0)11 886 3771.