A key characteristic in the personal toolbox of a strong market research company is the ability to be objective. Some of the best market research suppliers earn their way to the top because of their keen ability to build retainer relationships with clients which span for many years. Through this relationship the market research team learns about its client's line of business and in-turn, the client learns about strategic benefits of market research. Over the course of these years and quite possibly hundreds of projects, you'll begin to develop a strong working relationship and even be fortunate enough to call some of your clients friends.
So as you can imagine, as a market research company it may be difficult to tell a long-time client or friend that his/her new product concept will not be successful, customers are very unhappy with his/her customer service offered at the call center in the past three months, or his/her competitors' products are rated consistently higher. However, the credibility of market research lives and dies with objectivity. As a market research firm it is your duty to deliver objective and unbiased results to your client. As a market research consultant it is your duty to understand how to translate poor results into areas of opportunity for your client.
Of course, every market research analyst would love to deliver positive results to a paying client or loyal friend. But this can often become a career privilege in market research rather than the norm. If you are in a situation that will deliver bad news to a client, spend some extra time understanding how the client will be using the results and make recommendations to turn the bad news into good strategy. Keep in mind, market research reduces risk. By conducting the study with your market research firm, it saved your client an incalculable number of dollars by avoiding a costly mistake or identified issues that needed to be corrected. Your bad news might just be the objective information your client needed to drive change.
Drive Research is a market research firm outside of Upstate, NY located in Baldwinsville. Feasibility studies are a way to address the potential success of your new product or service. Questions about our market research services? Contact us at 315-303-2040 or email the President at [email protected].