A New Approach to Market Research Reports?

A recent research project we had in-house for a national not-for-profit presented a number of unique challenges, both in scope and in the style of suitable presentation. While we know each project we take on will be unique in many ways, we are usually assured of a number of commonalities among them – statistical significance, willing participants (be they customers, suppliers/vendors, or prospects), and a data analysis and report writing process that has been internally standardized. Unfortunately, nothing really could prepare us for what awaited.

We very loosely looked at this project, at least from our sixth floor office in Reading, PA, as a Market Opportunity Assessment (MOA), with a few interesting twists to it. Data collection was an interesting process via telephone calls in and of itself (the details of which this writer will spare you, the reader), and yielded a total of approximately 80 interviews, simply because there were no other possible interviewees. As the package of reports we were intending to deliver included eight individual reports, each focused on one state, and an overall data summary, we realized rather quickly that we would have to alter our typical MOA report style, lest we have a report with two observations and another with twenty-three.

After careful consideration during the data collection process, we decided to be focused less on charts, graphs, and tables and more on telling the “story” of the interviews—a goal for which we strive anyway, regardless of the number of observations. Eric Whipkey, in May 2014’s edition of Quirk’s Marketing Research, makes the case that journalists can teach a valuable lesson to those of us engrained in the “traditional” market research report writing process.

“Executives increasingly do not care for nor expect research to meet the standards set by science (e.g., statistical significance for every finding). […] The new expectation is that market research has a business mind-set intent on providing quick and actionable insights that add to the bottom line, rather than one focused on hypothesis testing, test-and-retest and taking three to six months to complete a project.”

To do this, Whipkey calls for writers who are able to “craft compelling nonfiction stories…[that look] very much like old-school investigative journalism or, more specifically, progressive journalism or computer-assisted journalism.”

At the end of the day, the finished product was, visually, unlike anything we had delivered in recent memory; but it did contain everything for which we have been known for over twenty years—actionable research and analysis that will help our client gain and sustain a competitive advantage in its market. We were able to step somewhat outside of our comfortable “box” and enter a realm into which none of us had ever ventured, while providing the valuable information we were tasked to obtain.

Market research comes in many different shapes and sizes, and we have also learned it comes in many different tones and presentation styles, too. Whether it’s a quantitative data-driven report or a qualitative-laden/observational “story,” Tweed-Weber has the research solution that will help you Know More so you can Do More. Call us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, email us at mail@tweedweber.com, and/or visit us on the web at www.tweedweber.com. Also, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter (@TweedWeber).

About the author: Michael Thompson has been with Tweed-Weber, Inc. since 2008 and serves as Project Manager. He handles all internal aspects of market research projects, including implementation, database creation, data analysis, and report writing.

The Numbers and the Words: Methodologies in Market Research

What research method is right for you? Quantitative research categorizes information collected through experimental means that is expressed and evaluated numerically. In other words, when asked to use a rating scale to evaluate factors such as employee satisfaction or one’s work environment, a survey participant is participating in quantitative research. Isabelle Albanese, in the May 2013 edition of Quirk’s Marketing Research Review (“Qual, meet quant,” pp. 70-74), sums up the benefits of quantitative research quite nicely: “[q]uantitative research does provide the date and data analysis to make marketing decisions with a comfortable degree of certainty.” Analysts are able to measure performance (and provide comparisons to a baseline if available) and, to a degree of certainty, offer clients the data necessary to make sound strategic decisions.

Qualitative research, by contrast, focuses on the significance of observations made in a study rather than the raw numbers themselves. A survey participant is part of qualitative research when he or she is asked a question such as “What is the main strength of XYZ Company?” Albanese notes the benefit of qualitative research as providing insight, understanding, truth, and inspiration. After all, perception is reality and reality is, well, truth.

Combining these two methodologies into a sort of “qual-quant” methodology has been a hallmark of Tweed-Weber’s research capabilities for the better part of two decades. This sort of cohesion can yield the deepest, richest, and most action-oriented results, speaking truth to numbers and backing up employees’, customers’, and the market’s perceptions with data. Adding a qualitative component to quantitative research, says Albanese, will reveal emotional connections and underlying motivations to the data and will put “emotion ‘meat’ on the rational ‘bones.’” Adding a quantitative component to qualitative research will help in validating and confirming insight on an emotional level and, ultimately, in providing confident recommendations.

The insights, understanding, truths, and inspiration we can glean from our clients’ employees, customers, and stakeholders is truly rewarding as we know that information, coupled with the hardened numerical data we will undoubtedly gather, can be used to truly make a difference in the organization’s, its employees’ and its customers’ lives. Whether it’s through telephone interviews, online survey instruments, or focus groups, Tweed-Weber’s trained researchers are able to build a nearly immediate rapport with our interview subjects and get them to think, “Someone actually cares enough to ask me what I think.”

Tweed-Weber has the track record to assist your organization with all research functions, both quantitative and qualitative. From marketing to sales, customer service to quality, research can be vital to every organization. Why? Every organization, whether for-profit or nonprofit, is interested one of, or a combination of, three things: profit, revenue, and strategic improvements. Any organization that requires any data or knowledge about themselves or their market will use some form of qualitative, quantitative, or qual-quant market research.

If you find yourself questioning what your employees, customers, or stakeholders are thinking, contact us today to learn more. Our office is centrally located in Reading, PA, just about an hour northwest of Philadelphia. Call us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, visit us on the web at www.tweedweber.com, and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter (@TweedWeber).