Many marketing managers in the manufacturing industry – along with the executives they report to – are unpleasantly surprised to discover that their robust, comprehensive and important market research effort is running into a rather fundamental and totally unexpected obstacle very early on in the process: they cannot find enough qualified market research recruits!
Indeed, market research recruiting for the manufacturing industry is utterly different – and far tougher – than recruiting consumers. However, since the quality and value of market research depends on quality participants, struggling with this piece of the puzzle is not just an inconvenience: it is an impediment.
In fact, it is arguably better to scrap the market research process entirely, than to push ahead onwards with less-than-suitable recruits. Aside from the missed deadlines and low show rates, the opinions and insights gleaned will be unreliable and inapplicable at best, or outright misleading and counterproductive at worst.
What’s more – and this is where things get even more complex – some market research consultants and firms are just as incapable of recruiting for the manufacturing industry as their clients. As such, they struggle to find the right people, and invariably miss agreed upon targets. When this comes to light, the only course of action the client has is to extend the deadline, or terminate the relationship and start over. It is a losing proposition, and often the decision is based on “the lesser of two evils.” That is hardly what clients signed up for!
Therefore, if your company in the manufacturing industry is considering or planning on market research, it is vital that you choose a partner that is not going to over-promise and under-deliver when it comes to market research recruiting. Here is what they should have to offer:
- At least five years of experience working in the manufacturing industry.
- Deep, proven familiarity with research candidates in your industry.
- In-house experts who know who the “gate keepers” are, and how to get past them.
- The ability to build rapport and relationships with recruits, and speak to them in their language – which is critical for generating buy-in.
- The ability to gather a wealth of information, but in a way that is easy, fast and convenient for recruits. As you know, these are extremely busy people and their time is valuable.
Learn More
At Communications For Research, we specialize in recruiting candidates in the manufacturing space. We understand the nuances, the subtleties and the culture, and our well above-average callback and conversion rates are evidence that we do not make market research recruiting promises that we cannot keep!
To learn more, contact our team today and you’ll speak to our co-CEO Colson Steber. Colson can further explain how our recruiting process differs for the manufacturing industry and why the CFR difference in recruiting can change your market research outcomes.
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