Comments on: Market Research – Pity the Respondent

By: Tina Newport

Tina Newport — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 14:45:13 +0000

I feel it’s ironic for an industry focused on the consumer, that it give’s no thought to the consumer in research methodology. I’ve recently launched a mobile research platform – putting the consumer at the heart of research – making research relevant and engaging captures richer responses. Market research just hasn’t moved with the times, it’s not about collecting as much data as you can, and basing that mostly on consumers memory – but enriching want you do collect, and using iterative learnings to build projects as you progress. Love your blog, it’s one of my bugbears!

By: Jacques Lehodey

Jacques Lehodey — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 11:42:05 +0000

I believe the current situation is due to two situations colliding: The first is the fact that all decisions within marketing demand it be backed by research (this is due to the accusation that Marketing was hravilly criticises for not being based on data and facts but “gut feel”. The second is the fact that Resarch must feed the need for data to make decisions. This means that research questionaires are designed by commitee and no one dares to stand up and and point out issues as the interpretation of the data is viewed as absolutelty necessary. The solution to the above is smaller but much more frequent research initiatives along with a willingness to accept that not all questions will be answered by research…

By: Steve Wigmore

Steve Wigmore — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 10:58:28 +0000

Thanks for a great article. As someone who has worked in (online) market research for the last 10 years it is a constant source of frustration that MR agencies seem to simply want to cram in as many questions as possible just for the sake of it. It is especially frustrating how many questions contain long lists of options, many with subtle differences that the respondents cant tell apart and which inevitably causes them to switch off and “lose the will to live”. Thanks again. Steve.