When you’ve identified a business problem that you want to solve, it’s time to utilize market research to inform your decision making and problem solving. Before you can start recruiting respondents and collecting data, you need a specific question and a detailed research plan. Therefore, here are the 4 reasons why great market research begins with a great question and plan:
1. Creates Synergy Between Researchers & Business Owners
While you might have a business problem in mind, giving researchers adequate time to interview you and ask the right questions can help both parties formulate a research question from the problem at hand. For example, you might think your business needs to increase visitors to your locations. However, this isn’t the real question you’re trying to answer. The real question might be “Where is our next best untapped revenue stream?”. Your operations metric may have long been set based on visitors, but what is the real question you are trying to answer? When everyone is on the same page with a question and a plan, you can identify the common goal and the expectations along the way. Business owners know what to expect from the market research team and the market research team knows what they must deliver, creating synergy between the two parties.
2. Saves Time & Money
Deciding on a specific research question and creating an in-depth research plan saves precious time, and therefore money, for both the market research agency and the business. Because you are both on the same page about the question, the methodology and how you will answer the question, you can execute the plan efficiently. Without an explicit question, your market research will not be as focused on solving the problem. Without a plan, you might utilize more methodologies than truly necessary and waste more time trying to get to the root of the problem. In the end, the more focused your efforts can be from the beginning, the more time and money you’ll save getting to a resolution.
3. Improves Research Performance
When businesses know exactly what to expect from a market research firm, they are more likely to let the experts handle their research. This means the market research firm has more resources to dedicate to the project as the clients know what to expect from the project management side. Having a detailed plan also gives the research team a breakdown of everything they need to execute for success. This way there’s no questions about which methodologies will be executed and when.
4. Can Revise & Update Plan Before Data Collection
The best part about developing a plan early on in the market research process is that you can revise and update it before data collection. Whether the business brings new insights to the table or the market research firm uses their knowledge to tweak the plan for better results, it is much easier to update the research plan than to change the research while it is happening.
Have a Business Problem You Need Help Answering?
If you’re looking for a market research agency to formulate a great research question along with a detailed plan, look no further than Communications for Research. We adapt our market research best practices to your industry and your business problem to give you the best insights. From plan creation to data collection to analysis, we can handle as much of the market research process as you’d like us to.
Contact us today to schedule a chat with our CEO, Colson Steber. While getting to know more about your business, he can identify whether CFR can be an added benefit to your team. He can also provide more details on project specifications, timeline and pricing.
