How To Do Market Research

Lying behind all of our industry sector and research experience is a firm understanding of how to do research.

Often, conducting successful and effective market research studies involves a grasp of two very different demands:

 

• "How do we get this done?" - The practical demands of conducting research in niche and diverse markets
• "What are the best tools for getting the results we need?" - Using innovative and established research techniques to ensure market intelligence delivers real return-on-investment.

 

This section is devoted to the former: Getting the job done, on time and to the clients' specification.

It should come as no surprise that we've picked up a thing or two in conducting thousands of bespoke market research studies. A little of what we've learned is shared below:

 

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Infographic: Power and influence

Which information sources are the most effective for customer advocacy? Is a webinar more trusted than word-of-mouth? See which sources rank where in this guide to power and influence.

Infographic: Turning a profit

To increase the efficiency of a product life cycle, market research should be implemented at each stage, starting from pre-birth, right through to old age. Want to link to...

White Paper: The Impact of Behavioural Economics on Market Research

Market researchers are dogged by nagging doubts. We ask someone why they bought their red Porsche and they tell us that it was because they value reliability. What can we make of that? ...

Book: Market Research In Practice - A Guide To The Basics

This practical guide to the basics of market research takes a clear, concise step-by-step approach. It describes and explains the various tools and techniques available to market researchers. Comparative examples and real-life international case studies help make the basics of market research straightforward and accessible. Market Research in Practice assumes no previous knowledge...

Book: Do Your Own Market Research

Carrying out your own market research can seem a difficult and daunting task, besieged with obstacles and requiring extensive training. You may feel it is a task that simply cannot be undertaken by the lone researcher. However, enlightenment is at hand with this third edition of Do Your Own Market Research, which has been fully updated to cover all the latest technique. The book...

Book: Presentations And Report Writing

The presentation of the findings of market research is the most important aspect of the researcher's work. There is little value if hours and pounds of valuable research is clumsily reported, poorly presented and left to moulder in a company's files. It is possible, however, to create a clear and lasting impact with your data, and the detailed advice in this practical book will help you:

Book: The Industrial Market Research Handbook

The basis for anticipating likely future demand lies in thorough industrial market research, which is now recognised as the key business tool in reducing risk and increasing sales. This practical book is designed as a complete guide to analysing, assessing and anticipating the strength of the industrial market in almost every area of business. Writing for sales and marketing...

Book: Market Research

Fully revised and updated for the second edition, Market Research assumes no previous knowledge of the subject. Through clear, concise advice and real life case studies, starting out in market research is made simple. Straightforward, accessible and practical guidance is offered on many essential topics, including: Planning market research Desk research Qualitative and...

Book: Questionnaire Design [eBook]

Questionnaire design is a subject fundamental to the market research function. Yet, until now, the available literature on the subject has been too specialist or complex for a wider readership. Questionnaire Design breaks the mould by providing a basic, yet highly practical, guide to this important area. Drawing on years of experience in the industry, the author demonstrates, in an accessible and...

Book: A Practical Guide to Market Research [eBook]

This is Paul’s first book not to be published traditionally in hard copy. It will appeal to you if you have an interest in market research, you have a market research project to complete and need help with how to go about it, you are studying for a business degree and market research is part of your course or if you are taking the Market Research Society/City & Guilds Certificate in Market & Social Research. Whatever the case, we know that the knowledge shared within this book will help you succeed.

White Paper: Measuring & Maximising The Return On Investment Of Market Research

All commercial organizations exist to make a return on their investment (ROI).  Organizations that are not commercial, such as government departments and charities, still have to justify their...

White Paper: A Problem Defined is a Problem Half Solved

How do ideas for market research arise? First of all, someone has to know something about the capabilities of market research before they can think of it as a possible solution. Most...

White Paper: Forecasting & Scenario Planning

This paper considers the subject of forecasting, one of the biggest challenges faced by marketers in this fast changing world. Different Types Of...

Article: Good & Bad In Questionnaire Design

How often have you struggled to respond to a questionnaire which just isn't quite right for your answers? No doubt you became annoyed, frustrated and maybe even cynical about market research. These problems arise because of poor questionnaire design. The most frequent errors in questionnaires are: Questions which don't quite mean what the researcher intended Questions which don't probe to find out what the respondent really meant Long and complicated questions Questions which repeat what has...

Article: Market Intelligence

Nick Hague discusses three steps to powerful market intelligence Take a minute to think what it would be like if you had just a handful of customers and you intimately knew everything there was to know about them from their names and personal background through to their differing business needs. Just like a market trader who has a continuous finger on the pulse of customer preference, direct contact with customers allows a business owner to quickly evaluate what he is doing right or where he is going wrong. Such informal feedback is valuable in any...

Article: Differing Needs – How Companies Source Research Agencies In China

As the global economic recovery continues, an increasing number of companies and organizations are commissioning research on the Chinese market. With a growing number of companies beginning to recognize the commercial importance of establishing a more detailed understanding of the Chinese market, the prospects for b2b research agencies in the country look better than ever. More than three-quarters of all research enquiries in China come from international companies, with a high proportion of enquiries originating outside of China. Multinational...

Article: How To Make Sure That Research Delivers Action

Market research is an extremely valuable tool to have at your disposal but only if the results of any research study are used in an intelligent way. In this article, we offer some tips on how to get the most out of your market research. Calculating ROI – the scourge of market researchers The truth and nothing but the truth! It is not a bad edict for market researchers, after all, we are usually hired as an independent source of facts. However, this is by no means the full story. Research is likely to cost tens of thousands of pounds and if w...

Article: The Art Of The Brief

Have you ever told a researcher exactly what you want and been surprised and annoyed to find that what you got was neither what you asked for nor given to you when you wanted it? You know you were right. The other party is equally adamant that they did what was demanded. There has been a failure in communication: in particular an inadequate brief. A research brief is a statement from the sponsor setting out the objectives and background to the case in sufficient detail to enable the researcher to plan an appropriate study. As a general rule a market research...

Article: The Differences Between B2B And B2C Research

The two disciplines of b2b and b2c market research, though employing many of the same research tools and techniques, both have very differing requirements, traits and skillsets. In this short article, we outline some of the core differences between b2b research and b2c research: A Different Skillset B2b market research requires a different skillset at every level of responsibility – from research director to telephone interviewer. Indeed, one of the key areas of success to many b2b research projects is the skillset and expertise of the t...

Article: How To Choose An Industrial Sample

If business to business marketers experience twinges of inadequacy when compared to their counterparts in consumer fields, sampling is often the reason. Consumer marketing men trot out jargon about quotas, stratification, probabilities and the like which is mumbo jumbo to 99 per cent of industrial marketers. The business-to-business researcher feels intuitively that the sophisticated sampling methods are not appropriate. This article presents a number of simple rules which guide industrial sampling. Before a sampling method can be decided, a certain...