So, you’ve decided to explore market research as a possibility for your company, but you’re not so sure how to get your boss on board?
To be honest, there’s a lot to consider when deciding to conduct research and deciding which market research company to work with.
In this blog post, Drive Research, a full-service market research firm, will explain the six things about conducting market research your boss wants to know.
We’ll break down the cost of market research, the market research process, how long market research takes, your required level of involvement, the expected ROI from the market research, and how to choose a market research vendor.
1. The Cost of Market Research
The truth is, there’s no “average cost” for a market research project.
I know that’s not the answer you’re looking for, but each market research project that Drive Research conducts is custom built to meet our clients’ individual research needs and stay within their designated market research budgets.
The cost of market research is dependent on several factors, including research methodology, setup/design, audience/incidence rate, level of reporting needed, and participant rewards.
Interested in reading more about the cost of research? Here is some more information about the cost of market research.
2. The process of market research
How exactly does this whole “market research” thing work?
Although each market research project that Drive Research conducts is completely custom to the client and their market research needs, there are typically six key phases our third-party market research company employs during a market research project.
At Drive Research, the market research process usually looks something like this 👇👇👇
Proposal
The proposal will include information such as research objectives, approach, research design, fieldwork, reporting, timelines, and project cost.
Kick-off call
Once the proposal has been signed, Drive Research will organize a kick-off meeting.
During the call, we’ll discuss the main objectives of the market research and answer any questions you may have about the market research process.
Research design
Once Drive Research has a complete understanding of your research goals, we can design the market research survey, moderator’s guide, interviewer guide, or other research materials.
Testing and fieldwork
After the research has been designed and approved, we’ll test it to ensure everything is working properly, and there aren’t any unexpected issues.
After testing, we’ll move the project into fieldwork to collect the market research data.
Analysis and reporting
Once fieldwork is complete, we’ll check the data for quality and exclude any bad cases from the research findings.
Moving into the reporting phase, the data is interpreted by one of our research analysts, who will highlight key findings and provide actionable recommendations.
Debrief and next steps
When the market research project is complete, Drive Research will typically schedule a debrief with the client to help break down the research report into key findings and next steps based on the research.
3. How Long Market Research Takes
Similar to cost, the timeline for any given market research project depends on a number of criteria.
For the most part, the length of time it takes to complete a market research study is dependent on:
Research methodology
While more involved methodologies such as a phone survey or a mail survey might take anywhere from four to eight weeks to complete, an online survey can take anywhere from a few days to four weeks to complete.
Amount of setup and design required
In market research, the setup and design phase of any study requires careful planning and close attention to detail.
The length of time setup and design requires is dependent on your research goals and the research methodology selected.
The audience you’re trying to reach
Some audiences are just more difficult to reach than others.
For example, if you’re looking to survey IT decision-makers, the study will usually take more time to complete than if you were just to survey the general population.
Level of reporting needed
Once fieldwork is complete and the data has been cleaned, the market research project will move into the reporting phase.
If you’re in a hurry or just need a high-level summary, a top-line report might be the best fit for you. However, if you’re looking for a complete in-depth overview of the market research, a full quantitative analysis report is probably the best fit for you.
These typically include an executive summary, recommendations, infographic, personas, advanced data analysis, and an appendix of question-by-question results.
Although there are many factors that impact the timeline of a market research project, Drive Research has been known to turn custom market research projects around quickly when needed.
4. How Involved Your Team Will Have to Be
One of the many benefits of working with a third-party market research firm is that you only have to be as involved in the project as you want to be.
Our market research company has clients who are involved in several aspects of their market research project, but we also work with clients who relay their research goals and objectives and let us run with the study.
Your level of involvement is entirely up to you!
5. The ROI From Market Research
Whatever your research goals and objectives are, it’s important to consider market research as an investment.
Like most investments you’ll make throughout your lifetime, market research comes with an initial upfront cost.
However, once the study is completed, the data can be used in several different ways in order to see a return on your market research investment.
Here are some of the ways our clients see an ROI from market research.
Minimized risk
Market research is notorious for reducing risks.
Whether the research is a feasibility study for an apartment complex, an online survey to better understand your target market, or an in-home usage test to work out the kinks in a new product, the market research data will allow you to make better business decisions, allowing your company to maximize the ROI and minimize any risks.
Marketing campaigns and strategies
While you could easily conduct a marketing campaign and see 3 or 4 times return, powering marketing strategies with fresh data from a market research study could result in a much higher return than just the campaign alone.
Improve customer experiences
When you decide to invest in market research, you’ll be able to use that fresh data to improve customer experiences and build better relationships with customers.
For example, if a customer survey finds your store to be less welcoming than your competitors, you’re able to make proper adjustments to sales associate training, store cleaning practices, lighting, organization, and decor to improve the customer experience.
Drive Research works closely with our clients to help them choose the best fit process, methodology, and deliverables to maximize the ROI from the market research.
6. What to Look for in a Market Research Company
Choosing a market research vendor can be overwhelming. Here are a few things you should look for when choosing a market research company to work with:
Experience with your industry
It’s important to know that the market research firm you decide to work with is an expert in your field.
With past experience conducting market research within the same or similar industry, the market research firm is sure to know the ins and outs of industry lingo, what works well, what doesn’t work, best research methodologies, have access to the right audiences, and so much more.
Look for a full-service market research firm
When it comes to service offerings, it’s important that the market research firm you choose to work with is able to meet all of your market research needs.
A full-service market research vendor, like Drive Research will offer a wide range of qualitative and quantitative services.
For example, Drive Research not only hosts focus groups at our facility, but we recruit participants, moderate the focus group, offer note-taking, transcribe the group, and supply an in-depth qualitative market research report complete with key findings and recommendations.
Service offerings that go beyond data
It’s one thing to collect data and make a few graphs, but a whole other to offer actionable insights and valuable recommendations based on that market research data.
When deciding on a market research firm, make sure their service offerings go far beyond data alone.
Drive Research is a full-service market research company located in Upstate New York. Our experts help organizations from across the country execute a variety of research studies from start to finish.
Interested in learning more about our services? Contact us through any of the four ways below.
- Message us on our website
- Email us at [email protected]
- Call us at 888-725-DATA
- Text us at 315-303-2040
Elizabeth Sincavage
Elizabeth has a curious mind and is never afraid to ask “why?” She discovered her passion for research and exploring data while completing her bachelor’s degree at Marist College. As a researcher, she believes you’re never truly done learning.
