Successfully implementing a market research strategy can have vast benefits for companies of all sizes; however, market research blunders are easy to make and can have long-lasting negative consequences for your business. We’re commonly asked, “Why does market research fail?” and the truth is there’s not usually a singular reason. Sometimes companies make one major mistake that fundamentally flaws their research, but making a series of smaller errors is sometimes just as damaging. Taking some time to thoughtfully prepare a market research strategy, and strictly adhering to the fundamentals of implementing research, can help you avoid making major mistakes while launching a market research project.Below, we’ve listed some of the mistakes commonly made by market research agencies. If you’re afraid your market research will fail, carefully avoid the following blunders:
Using the Wrong Methods
Sometimes teams decide to use the research method that is easiest but not necessarily the best. It’s usually tempting to choose the “convenient” method of data collection, but if that method is ineffective for the target population then that data is probably useless.For example, many companies launch internet surveys in place of doing onsite surveys or interviews. Internet surveys are sometimes cheap and effective, but they can also be terribly inefficient if you have no reliable way to guarantee survey participation. Similarly, companies will sometimes hold focus groups to talk with many customers at once in a public – and this can be an effective means of collecting market data – but some topics are too personal/intimate to discuss in person (think sex, love, or happiness) and your customers might prefer the anonymity of an online interview.Further, companies sometimes expect too much from interviews, surveys, and focus groups. Realistically, there are many questions that are better answered by performing more “immersive” research – such as participant observation or video-ethnography.
Asking the wrong questions
Designing interview/survey questions that are appropriate for your research can be tricky. Questions can be “wrong” for many reasons. Sometimes questions are too broad, sometimes they’re too specific. An open-ended question that’s too broad will result in the interviewee rambling on about a number of issues not specific to your research topic. Conversely, questions that are too specific will result in people giving brief one-word responses. Similarly, close-ended questions sometimes result in participants being “pigeon-holed” into choosing an answer that does not reflect their beliefs or feelings on a topic.
Talking to the wrong people
Recruiting participants to participate in your study is one of the most difficult aspects of any market research study, and it’s especially difficult to recruit a representative sample of your target audience. For example, it might be really easy to find study participants that love your company, but it’s sometimes difficult to find people that hate your product/service; however, in the name of good research, it’s important to talk with both of these groups if you stand any chance of understanding why people love/hate your product.
Poor Interviewer Skills
Novice or untrained individuals can often generate inaccurate or biased interview data. Most commonly, interviewers unintentionally bias participant responses by “leading” people to conclusions they wouldn’t have otherwise made. For example, an interviewer’s tone or word choice might “lead” an interviewee to answer in a way they think the interviewer wants/expects. There are a number of similar nuanced mistakes that can be made, and stopping this from happening at the ground level is generally dependent on good training and a foundation in research methods.
Faulty Data Management
For every hour of data collection, there are many more hours of data management. Faulty data management tactics can sometimes inadvertently ruin entire projects. There are a number of methods for meticulously inputting, cleaning, interpreting, and sharing data. Attention to detail is crucial in data management; don’t let laziness cause your market research to fail.
Doing Too Little
In an effort to make market research less-costly, companies frequently attempt to rush studies. This results in market research studies with narrow-minded designs and small sample sizes. Attempting to make business decisions based on low-quality studies can be difficult, and at times it can lead to disastrous results. Efforts to keep studies cost-effective are obviously important, but being too stringent can cause your market research to be inefficient and counterproductive.
Ignoring the results of your research
Companies have to be willing to accept what market research tells them – even if they don’t necessarily like the results of their own research.Kodak Camera Company is a classic example. In the early days of digital photography, Kodak actually produced a significant amount of market research suggesting that digital cameras would be popular and convenient; however, because the company was so invested in producing paper photographs, they decided to shelve their digital camera products. Failing to adapt to the market, despite what their market research was consistently telling them, has obviously resulted in multi-billion dollar losses to Kodak. In hindsight, it seems pretty obvious what Koda should have done, but the reality is that companies are often set in their ways and choose to ignore market research.
The Single Reason
Commonly, research fails because agencies choose to do what is convenient – they pick the “easiest” methods, ask poorly designed questions, and recruit participants that don’t reflect the target audience – rather than taking the extra effort to collect data that is pertinent to business decisions. The easiest way to avoid making these mistakes is by sticking to the basics of conducting good research – become scientifically literate regarding the research methods that are commonly employed, choose the methods that are best for your research questions, fully commit to the entire research process (including data management), and dig in for the work ahead.
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