Market Research I

Market research (MR) - the venerable 'god' word that every marketer swears by.

This; is the data thrown in the face of naysayers, to any and every person that tries to put down a well done research regarding, say, a new concept product that needs to go out pretty damn soon.

So, we have tried to put down some pretty basic pointers that are - well - basic, but are the gist of what any good market researcher needs to cover. Now, when we say basic, we  mean these pointers are the building blocks of good MR. It may differ from situation to situation. But all these pointers will act as foundation guidelines for any MR; let it be for college project or say, even an actual NPL strategy. So ahead we go!

There are a number of questions that a prospective client would be asking you to begin with. If you're good, you would have already asked these questions to yourself and found the answers to them as well…

What is the Need for Marketing Research?

There are bean counters in any company; these are the stingy guys that pull the plug on any brilliant idea to conserve the loose change that goes into buying the staplers. That apart, look at it this way - this the damning data that lets you figure out whether you are going to enter that niche market; that allows you to explore the gut feeling that you've got; or; you gotta cut and run with your losses. It’s not about whether you’ve got a problem, but instead it’s whether you have a readily available solution to your problem or not – that determines whether there is a need of MR or not.

What’s the Problem?

Many people can’t figure out where the problem is occurring. In fact, many of them fail to understand the difference between Symptoms, Problems OR a Root Cause; to begin with. That is to say that, it’s as if they are out to find problems with their strategies.

This may be the case on the ground level, but endeavoring to define your problem statement when you are going in for a research is advisable - since; working towards a goal that is clear and definitive always helps you when you are dealing with the overwhelming amount of data at hand. And that (you can bet on it) any good MR is going to throw in your face.

What are the Research Objectives?

That comes from the problem statement itself. ‘What is going to be my research objective?’ may well be defined from the simple fact, as to how I go about addressing the problem that I am facing right now. It may not necessarily be a problem to begin with, but for the convenience of all - we will call it a problem statement.

Now consider launching a new concept ‘entertainment and leisure gaming bar'. Any business would need to know whether this concept would be lapped up by the public or be panned badly amounting to several millions of losses to the businessman who's put his money there. MR would give him the kind of reassurance that he would need stating that the idea is brilliant and that he can go ahead with it.

So, giving shape to the research objective is imperative. In our example - the research objective could be succinctly stated as

'To figure out whether the idea rocks, OR, it’s just plain stupid'

Well, that's not how we would put it when we take it to the client, but you do get the general picture.

What’s the Research Design?

Now, here, you have to ask yourself a question:

Who says Market Research has to be done in a structured manner?

We know, we know. Even asking a question like that sounds foolish but - think for a bit.

MR can be with a formal approach but sometimes even casual talk can speak volumes and give you amazing insights, like, say current market dynamics.

See, it’s simple. If someone comes to you with a 5 page feedback form, what will be your 1st reaction? Remember all those “half page” forms which we get after Lunch/Dinner at glitzy restaurants?

Tell us honestly, how many times you have filled those? And say, if once in a while, the manager comes in and casually asks you –

"How’s everything? Need something different? DID you enjoy your food and booze? What more can we do?"

What do you think will generate more authentic feedback for them? We are not advocating a casual approach in bloody serious stuff of the likes of MR. We are just saying that - give it a thought.

What will really work for me in this MR?

Feedback form? Opinion form? Asking casual questions OR a focused group meet?

The answer may be anything and everything. It’s just that for every MR there is always a healthy mix of all these things.

The whole point is, don’t take Research Design for granted & assume that filling up a tacky questionnaire is the only and the best way to go about MR.

Hey BTW, Where do you get all this Information?

Solid information is the backbone for any MR. Obviously, but finding clean data is as monumental a task as finding clean laundry in a bachelor pad.

That apart, the right information coupled with resources that you can be sure of will keep you in a good stead as far as getting to the objective is concerned.

Oh, another thing, don't just sit on your butt and surf the internet for information (its goddamn old!).

Go out and talk to people and figure what’s going on at the ground level. That's amazingly important simply because the information you will gather is going to be farm fresh!

So, we can go on & on about MR. But we think that we can take up each step in a staggered approach & go on explaining & exploring each step by trying to apply it in our real life MR experiences.

So, watch this space for more about Market Research for Dummies all. :)

Coming up: Data Collection Tools, Methods of Data collection, Analysis and much more…