Tailor make research solutions to fit your needs

In the market research industry, too many clients are forced into using a research method that suits the research company rather than having a specific solution for a specific need. For example a client who wants to know why their competitor's product is selling better than theirs is forced into utilising a product that purports to measure brand loyalty rather than brand attributes because the market researcher happens to have a ready made programme to measure brand loyalty.

How could it ever be that a researcher knows more about the information needed by a person to do his job than the person himself? Surely the skill of the researcher lies in the ability to advise the client of the best ways to assimilate the information called for and not to mandate the type of information needed?

In my experience most competent marketers know what information they need to make the decisions necessary to effectively do their jobs. Providing clients with information they actually ask for and really need works best because clients are able to base their decisions on their own foundations of logic. From a researchers point of view these clients are the happiest of all and tend to repeat purchase from the same research suppliers.

Too many researchers have got too rich trying to squash the client's requirements into a ready made research method.

Inevitably their technique is spellbinding and the product is the best because it has good academic substantiation (many award winning papers presented at numerous conferences); a very long track record of being used by numerous corporate clients (40 000 users can't be wrong); international recognition (40 000 foreign users can't be wrong); a snappy brand name and an exorbitant price (at these prices it must be good).

At the end of the day though, the client is left feeling a little at a loss as the answers don't fit the questions. Choosing the incorrect methodology or massaging the information to fit a research model will compromise the quality of the outcome, however, by utilising a technique that has been specifically formulated for the clients needs, one can obtain accurate, honest answers which will result in an appropriate marketing action.

Let the research solution fit the brief not the brief the solution.