Executive Decision - March/April 2008 - (Page 70)

marketing qualitative research or investigative interviews with customers, prospects and competitor’s customers first before moving into a quantitative or survey-based study. “It is easy to get carried away with quantitative studies,” he notes, “and ignore the rich information that companies already intuitively know about their customers.” Bortner echoes this sentiment and suggests that often after conducting a thorough qualitative research project, companies will find the information to be sufficient and not continue with the qualitative panel. According to Bortner, quantitative research should be used primarily for projectable research or to identify a new need or group to sell to. For most companies, however, market research is often needed to service other purposes such as proper messaging of products and services to clients. While working with a client who was a homebuilder, says James, qualitative, in-depth interviews with potential customers revealed that location in a good school district was more important than any other factor in purchasing a new home. This particular homebuilder serviced the starter and second “upgrade” family home “It is easy to get carried away with quantitative studies and ignore the rich information that companies already intuitively know about their customers.” market. This research made a material difference in how the client built their marketing programs, says James, rather than focusing on amenities, campaigns and collateral materials were constructed that first emphasized the school district and secondly touted the homes’ features. While both Bortner and James seriously emphasize the need to get the right internal stakeholders involved in the process early on to ensure the research is relevant, they also recognize that too many cooks in the kitchen can unnecessarily skew the results. “You have to make sure you are not breathing your own exhaust,” notes Bortner. James notes that during one recent client engagement, internal stakeholders were invited to share thoughts and suggestions, but were directed in the beginning that their ideas may or may not be used in crafting the final product. Good management and expectation setting in the beginning, says James, affords crucial input without diluting the purpose of the research with too many differing agendas. Many companies outsource some or all of their market research needs to one of the over 2,500 market research service providers in the U.S. Bortner strongly suggests that companies deeply scrutinize their vendors before signing up for a study. “The big secret of the U.S. market research industry is that there is no commonly accepted measure of quality,” says Bortner. 70 EXECUTIVE DECISION I execdecision.com http://execdecision.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Executive Decision - March/April 2008

Executive Decision - March/April 2008 Contents Index of Advertisers Contributing Editors From the Editor's Desk Publisher's Note You Be the Judge - Unionization Thought Leader - Pitney Bowes Management - Flying High for Long-Term Results Strategies - Sovereign Wealth Funds Cover Story - In Whom Do We Trust? The Movement for Greater Accountability & Disclosure Finance/Legal - The New Boycott Model Green At Work - Transforming for Sustainability Technology - Embracing Risk Leadership - Executive Reputation Management The Global Village - China Moves to Curb Prices Economic Profile - California Gold Rush Transformations - I Can See Clearly Now, The Brain Is Gone Marketing - Effectively Using Market Research The Bottom Line - Brands: A Shrinking Advantage or Shifting Advantage? Pulse - Pandemic: Not If But When SPECIAL SECTION - Living On the Green: Luxury Golf Destinations

Executive Decision - March/April 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.