One of the greatest benefits of using a professional research firm is the ability to draw upon that company’s best practices, expertise, and resources. A quick and dirty DIY approach is often just that.
There are important elements to consider when conducting your own market research.
To begin with, make sure that you have clarity on the ultimate goals of the research project and that you are very clear as to what decisions the data will drive. Ensure that the questions you are asking will get to the results you are looking for. There is no doubt, that there have been more than one DIY market research project that has been completed and failed to answer the one main question that needed to be answered.
Let’s take a few moments to review the important elements for a successful DIY market research project…
Writing surveys…
It’s important to know not only what questions to ask but how to ask the questions. For example, make sure that you stay away from double barreled questions. We see this all the time when a question asks, “Was the food hot and delivered on time?” If a customer answers yes or no, you are not really sure which part of the question they are referring to so be clear and concise with what you ask.Sampling Plan…
It is equally important to ensure that you gather responses from a statistically valid number of respondents, especially if you are going to use this information for strategic decision making purposes. You want to make sure that the results, if asked of the entire population would mirror those of the survey group ensuring accuracy and confidence in your results.Data accuracy…
Ensuring that the data is accurate and consistent across the entire data set will give confidence in your ability to use it to drive decisions. Things can go awry or can be misleading if there is not consistency in the results being analyzed.Unbiased objectivity… It is critical for the person gathering and analyzing the data to be absolutely unbiased in their approach to the results. Having a person who deletes a survey so their friend doesn’t get in trouble or changes data so a department doesn’t look as bad, could be devastating to the whole process and render the results unusable.Fielding the survey with consistent outreach…
Having the resources to provide a consistent outreach so that you can gather the sample you require is critical to the success of the project. By not having enough resources, the speed to get this project completed could drag out for much longer than expected.Using results to drive decisions …
Having the analytical expertise to review the data and connect the dots to decision making is an art and a science that can take years of experience to develop. However, this is critical to effectively use the results to drive decisions.
So, be wary as many DIY market research projects can fail because of poorly created goals and the methods that were utilized. Follow these tips so you don’t have to end up hiring a professional in an attempt to “fix” your results.
Consider these Customer Acceleration tips that will help you make more money from your customers and make them happier in the process!
