On the flip side, it can also be disheartening to see the research fall flat, especially when it’s due to a mismatch in the answers produced by the research and the inputs needed to make a strategic decision. Sometimes this can unavoidable due to shifting tides within an organization or in the broader market, but other times is entirely preventable.

The solution? Ensure that the inputs are front-and-center throughout the process, and that the research is specifically designed to produce those inputs. While that sounds obvious, it is something that is quite easy to get wrong. 

To illustrate, put yourselves in the shoes of a marketer who has been tasked with estimating the potential of a new product in the market.

Since it is a new product, their mind goes to the Concept Testing methodology. They reach out to a research partner, spin up the Concept Test, and ask respondents how much they like the concept, and which part they like most. Fast-forward to the results, and the marketer now knows that 60% of potential customers surveyed say they like it. This seems good, so they excitedly bring it to their executive team.

In that meeting, they are asked to estimate its market potential. The original mission. How many people are likely to buy it? What impact will it have on market share? Who are the most likely buyers, and what pain points are motivating them to buy? These are questions that the research cannot answer because it was not designed to do so. You can try to infer your answers, but not with a lot of confidence. This is what happens when the methodology, rather than the answers you need, is the guiding principle in your research.  Square peg. Round hole.

In contrast, by assessing and internalizing the original mission and anticipating the questions that will be asked in that executive meeting, we can tailor a research plan to get you clear and direct answers. The answers that will feed directly into your strategic decision making around things like market viability, financial modeling, and customer acquisition.

For additional impact, we can also help you workshop, form hypotheses, and pressure test your assumptions during the design phase. This helps us better understand your frame of reference, knowing which results may be confirmatory and contradictory of your expectations, and guides our data exploration to give you a richer and more complete answer to your true business questions.

This is the extra time, care, and dedication we want to bring to every project. We want your research budget to be utilized as effectively as possible to help create real and tangible impact for you and your organization. We want to help you achieve success and share in the joy of attaining it.