Archive for the ‘Cristin Malone’ Category

The ROI of Market Research

Cristin Malone this week ponders the return on investment of market research

As prospective clients inquire about our capabilities to conduct market research on their behalf, one of the most frequent questions they ask is how successful our research contributions and action recommendations have been to our previous clients’ growth and business success. Essentially, they are trying to gauge the return or value that they will receive by investing in market research. As this happens quite frequently and as my intrigue on this matter continued to grow, I read an interesting article by Dawn Lesh and Diane Schmalensee entitled, “Measuring Returns On Research.” While the authors focused more on internal market research departments or groups, I found that their conclusions and suggestions are also applicable to a research supplier.

In my own experience with prospective clients, I found the authors’ following statement to be dead on:

We came to several conclusions. First, the organizations that are most likely to ask for measures of the payoff of MR [Market Research] are those that are unconvinced of its value.

I found this to be particularly true, as many of the clients that request examples of return are often those that are the most skeptical of market research and its value. In many cases, this skepticism is not undeserved as some prospective clients are conducting a research project for the first time or have conducted market research projects that have failed in the past, among other reasons. Despite what may cause this disbelief in market research, it is important to help clients understand its value. The two authors detail three approaches that can be utilized by market research providers to demonstrate and increase the return on investment to their clients, as summarized in the figure below. (Please click to enlarge)

To get further details on the approaches provided above, check out the article in full:

http://www.schmalensee.com/files/articles_measuring_returns_on_research.pdf

While the ROI (Return on Investment) of market research is important to measure, the return that clients receive from the market research rests on the quality of that research and the provider and how well the actions and recommendations derived from the research are implemented. What good is measuring ROI, if it is not maximized by quality? The value that the supplier can provide is of the most importance as that is what has the most impact on ROI. Therefore, if you are considering market research, think: how can the expertise, quality, and specialization of this supplier help me get the most return for my investment?

We pride ourselves on being able to provide quality data and service to our clients, consult our clients with actionable recommendations and findings, and help our clients implement these recommendations to reach their objectives and maximize ROI. One tool that we use to help our clients achieve the maximum return on investment is an implementation workshop, which rests on our proprietary, action-oriented MOSIAC model shown below:

For more information on B2B International and how it can help you maximize the return on your potential research investment, visit http://www.b2binternationalusa.com/

You can also check out our white paper, Measuring & Maximizing The Return On Investment Of Market Research

Posted in Cristin Malone, Market Research, ROI, The Business Surgery |
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The Bigger Picture

In this Thursday night insight Cristin Malone, helps fine art photographer Joy Malone, discover that market research is truly a work of art.

A few weeks ago I was pleasantly surprised when my older sister Joy asked me – her younger sister- for advice. Maybe it’s the fact I spent my undergraduate career studying to be a psychologist, or the fact that I love to hear myself talk, or the fact that I have been waiting for my sister to ask me about anything, but eagerly I jumped at the opportunity. Before she could get the words out of her mouth, my mind raced as I began to think of what she needed advice on. I conjured up insights on my specialties: love, men, how to find happiness in life, the best places to shop for clothes or furniture… and all of this came to a dead halt when she asked, “Cristin, you’re in market research. What would be the best way for me to market myself?”

For the first time in a long time, I was silent for more than a minute. My sister is a fine art photographer and in all fairness to myself, I am not entirely familiar with the photography industry. However, I did have ample time to prepare for this question. For the past 4 years she has completed her MFA in fine art photography and for months now she has been talking about starting her own business and selling more of her art – nonetheless I was ill-prepared. The only advantage I did have was that I am just as immersed in her art as she is and so I truly understand her goals on how she would like to position herself.

She really has developed a unique style; check out some of her work:(click picture to enlarge)

I remained silent for a few more minutes. Then finally the researcher inside of me shined through. I was puzzled about where she should start to market herself because I didn’t have any information about the kind of prospective buyers she could target. Even prior to gallery representation, my sister has had much success in winning art shows, photography contests, and selling some pieces of her art. So I suggested that she work harder to understand the people that have expressed an interest, judged her pieces, or have purchased her art. I advised (yes I advised!!!) that she develop a loosely structured questionnaire that would fit easily into a normal conversation, but yet pull out key information that would help her to better market herself.

The loosely structured questionnaire included these themes:(click picture to enlarge)

Together my sister and I thought these themes would help her to position herself or create messaging, by determining the feelings that resonated the most with her existing and potential customers. In addition, these themes would help her determine what type of customer she has and the best ways to reach them. Furthermore, it would provide information on the other artists out there and if they are creating art similar to her style. Most importantly, the answers to these questions would also indicate ways she could improve her style and encourage ideas for new pieces of works.

The reality is that market research is needed in any phase of business development – whether it is a sole proprietor taking his or her first big step or a long established company embarking on a new endeavor. Receiving just a few answers to some key questions on: how the product is used; by whom it is used; where it is used; why it is used; the perception of the product; the perception of the company; and the value of the product, can lead to some of the best marketing strategies. That is why taking the time to research is so critical for any company. I hope that my sister continues to work these questions into the conversations she has about her art, as each snap shot of information she gets will help her understand the bigger picture (pun intended).

Hey Joy, here is some free marketing for you!
Interested in her works? Check out her website: http://joymalonephotography.zenfolio.com/,

Posted in Cristin Malone, Questionnaire Design, Thursday Night Insight |
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Gossip Girl

In this Thursday night insight Cristin Malone discusses how a bad habit lead to a refreshing view on market research

This past weekend I took part in something that I am ashamed to admit. It’s a little embarrassing. I was overtaken by something that is completely unnecessary, totally fabricated, crude and at times disgusting: you may know it as “celebrity gossip”. It all began with my favorite sweats, my couch, and my decision to re-watch episodes of Sex and the City (aka SATC). As a die-hard SATC fan, I have seen every episode at least twice, so it was very easy for me to be distracted by the fashion and gossip magazines neatly stacked on my coffee table.

At first I began skimming through “quality” magazines, Vogue, Elle, Bazaar, then I downgraded a little and skimmed through Cosmopolitan, and ended with an old Esquire magazine that had Katy Perry on the cover. Luckily my in-take of celebrity gossip ended there and I didn’t make it to People, Teen People, or Star magazine. However, my reason for why I stopped reading is just as embarrassing as admitting I read gossip magazines. After skimming through Esquire, I got up went to my computer and actually googled Katy Perry. Yes, I googled Katy Perry.

I actually forgot why I was looking her up, because as I typed in Katy Perry’s name in Google’s instant search, it appeared as “Katy Perry (Hudson)”. Intrigued I continued with the “Katy Perry (Hudson)” search and found out that the singer was originally named Katy Hudson, and prior to her career as a pop performer, she was a Christian singer.

Wait, a Christian singer? Prior to singing about kissing girls and liking it, she was singing about the Lord? How, and I mean how did I not know this? So I called a few friends and realized I was late to find out this piece of information and also realized that many of my friends had a moral issue with Katy’s change in identity. I wasn’t at all bothered by the fact that she changed her image, but more concerned with the how. How did she re-brand herself so effectively? What actions did she take? And how did she know when and where and how to do those actions? My interest became less about Katy Perry and more about the concept of re-branding.

The more I thought about it the more evident it became that Mrs. Perry (she recently wed Russell Brand – there is some gossip for you) did not forgo her transformation from church girl to pop star alone. Her re-branding required an in-depth understanding of the music industry, including:

• What type of songs to sing?
• What type of music listeners to target?
• How to reach her target market?
• Unmet needs of music listeners
• Barriers to enter the music industry
• Discovering a niche in the market
• What her physical image should be?
• Among other key understandings

There is no way she went from Katy Hudson to Katy Perry without having a team of experienced and knowledgeable professionals behind her. Then I thought she chose her team wisely, but what if she hadn’t? Would she still have become a star?

That’s when I really came to love what we do here at B2B International. We play that supportive role to our high level, intelligent, and talented clients. While we may not be able to make our clients pop stars, we always strive to combine our research and consultancy experience to deliver effective brand strategies to our clients. As seasoned and knowledgeable market researchers, we provide our clients with actions on how to re-position and brand themselves as they enter new markets as well as help them discover their niche as they take on market challenges and the restructuring of their image.

The reality is that no matter the industry, the market is always evolving and success is often contingent upon maintaining a brand or an image that is current and forward thinking. The brand represents what the company is and so as a business continues to establish or re-define its image, it’s important to have the right people on your team, because what’s the point of re-defining your image if it’s only going to be a one-hit wonder?

Posted in Branding, Cristin Malone, Thursday Night Insight |
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SegMENtational Analysis

Cristin Malone, looking to help a friend, this week discovered how market research can help find Mr. Right.

So the other night I was on the phone with a good friend of mine and of course the discussion topic was about men. Well, more specifically, it was about all her failed relationships with men. In agony, I listened for two hours as she re-visited every single relationship she had. She started from the very beginning of her romantic history and continued until she finished talking about the current guy she is dating (who is a very attractive, rude, and not very good for her, “bad” guy). For two hours I waited, itching to share my wisdom on love, patience, and being optimistic and just when the conversation was turning to my favor, she had to go. Why? Because her current “bad” guy was calling her on the other line; figures as such. Before switching over to the other line she asked me, “how come I always get stuck in bad relationships?”

As torturous as the conversation was, I felt terrible for my friend and wanted to help her. So for a few days, I pondered and thought deeply about her dilemma. Then the market researcher in me shined through. Eureka! The solution is segmentation analysis. Immediately, I called my friend and told her my bright idea, listed as follows:

 
Even though we considered our sample fairly representative in size, it is important to note how biased our data was. Well for one thing she was providing the information on these men, and even though I asked her to be as unbiased as possible, the information was still coming from her.

So after all our hard work and two large wine bottles later, we determined that the men she dated fell into four segments (which I think may be true for most women):

 
Now with our segments complete, we turned to creating the best questions my friend could ask on her next date to identify the type of guy she was meeting. With a few more looks over the data, we came up with these five questions:

 
In the chart above you will realize we did not mention the “ummmmmm what was his name again” guy. It’s not because we forgot about him, but mostly because we figured if she is on a date and isn’t even interested in asking these questions or if she is more interested in watching the ice cubes melt in her glass of water, that mostly likely he is an “ummmmmm what was his name again” guy.

Even in its simpler form, segmentation analysis is an amazing tool! In this case it was used to weed out the guys my friend was not interested in and to identify the type of guy she wanted: a good guy. However, in most cases, we as market researchers use this tool not to get rid of the bad relationships our clients have with their customers, but to help them improve or build stronger, quality relationships with their customers. Through segmentation analysis, we as market researchers can provide deep insights to our clients on the type of customers they have and who their customers are, including each customer segment’s behavior, needs, demands, and expectations. As a result of segmentation analysis, we help clients develop effective ways to communicate to their specific customer segments as well as better ways to serve their customer base. Helping our client better serve their customers leads to higher satisfaction and loyalty towards our client from their customer base.

While segmentation analysis works wonders for our clients, I have yet to determine whether my experimental, segmentation analysis has worked for my friend. We have completed steps 1-9, but still have to test our survey. Luckily, my friend has a date coming up this weekend. Stay tuned for my Next Thursday Night Insight for the results!

Posted in Cristin Malone, Thursday Night Insight |
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