When deciding to conduct a market research project, there are a number of important decisions that must be solved before kicking off a project. The first, and likely most important decision, is choosing the right full-service market research supplier for your goals and objectives.
A full-service market research company provides businesses with its expertise in confidently executing a broad range of both qualitative and quantitative services.
This could mean online surveys, qualitative recruiting, mystery shopping, content marketing research, and other types of market research methodologies.
That’s not all! Those looking to start a research project typically choose a full-service market research supplier because they offer end-to-end project management. They work with clients from defining the problem of the organization, to design, to data collection, to analysis and reporting.
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When choosing between various full-service market research providers, there are many different things to consider. The factors we'll explore in this blog post include:
- Specializes in a variety of industries
- Creates custom research project plans
- Offers dedicated project managers
- Is a company you can trust
Let's take a closer look at each of these factors.
Factor #1: Specializes in a variety of industries
The advantages of market research have no bounds in that every type of company can benefit from uncovering key insights about their brand, product, and customer.
When on the hunt for a full-service market research supplier, take a look at their list of clients.
- Are they predominately B2B or B2C organizations?
- Or does the market research supplier only work within a specific industry such as the healthcare or education sectors?
While having an industry niche is valuable, it is important to find a full-service market research provider specializing in several different fields.
The more experience the better!
This is because, with every new project, the full-service market research supplier is discovering different ways to recruit participants and perfect the qualitative or quantitative research approach.
A full-service market research supplier who specializes in many industries will have the best-constructed approach for your company and provide maximum results.
Factor #2: Custom research project plan
This is where specification is key! Though it is more valuable to work with a full-service market research supplier who specializes in a variety of industries, it is necessary that their project plan be specific to your needs.
Larger full-service market research companies reuse the same research approach, project after project – just switching out the company name and study.
However, market research methodologies are not one size fits all. What works for one financial institution will not work for a similar bank or credit union down the street.
When choosing a full-market research supplier, make sure they can craft a custom market research project with your challenges, objectives, and goals in mind.
Factor #3: Dedicated project manager
Perhaps the best benefit of using a third-party market research company is the large sum of work taken off the plates of you and your team members.
You are able to decide how little or how much you’d like to be involved in the market research project.
Regardless of your level of involvement, a project manager of a full-service market research company will help make this process seamless.
What is a project manager?
- A project manager will likely be your point of contact with the full-service market research supplier.
- They are responsible for overseeing the project from kick-off to analysis and reporting.
- They also act as a liaison between your company and the market research agency.
- Any commentary, suggestions, or questions you may have regarding the project will be funneled through the project manager.
While other team members of a market research firm will be involved in ensuring the success of the project, it is nice to have a dedicated project manager you can speak with at any time.
Factor #4: A full-service market research supplier you can trust
There are several obvious factors when choosing one full-service market research supplier over the others.
- Costs
- Talent
- Experience
These all play a major role in the ultimate decision of what agency you hire.
A commonly overlooked factor? Trust.
Look for a full-service market research supplier that offers transparency and realistic deliverables or project outcomes in their proposal.
It is not only important that you trust this full-service market research supplier, but that the public does, too.
If conducting surveys or focus groups, the market research company will likely be responsible for recruiting participants on your behalf.
These participants could be customers or prospects – an audience you do not want to lose by working with a shady market research supplier.
A trustworthy full-service market research supplier is not always obvious from the initial communication stages such as email or an introductory phone call.
Ask the potential research partner for client testimonials or review their ratings online.
These can serve as a gut check to solidify the trust you may or may not be feeling when deciding what full-service market research supplier to hire.
Editor's Note: This blog post was originally published in June of 2019, but has recently been updated for readability.
Contact Our Full-Service Market Research Supplier
Drive Research is a full-service market research company located in New York. Our team of senior research professionals as 30+ years of experience partnering with various types of business across the country.
Interested in learning more about our market research services? Reach out 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
Emily Carroll
A SUNY Cortland graduate, Emily has taken her passion for social and content marketing to Drive Research as the Marketing Coordinator. She has earned certificates for both Google Analytics and Google AdWords.
Learn more about Emily, here.
