Never too small for research Getting the most out of your research, and your budget Neil Stollznow (QPMR) Director, Stollznow Research National Secretary, AMSRS How to use market research in a SME environment The basics  Qualitative  Focus groups / group discussions  In-depth interviewing  Characteristics  Unstructured  Not representative  Quantitative  Telephone interviewing  Intercept interviewing  Online interviewing  Door to door  Characteristics  Highly structured  Projectable  Sampling  Questions When to use each approach  Qualitative  How do people feel  What do they think  What is their reaction to an idea  Why do they behave this way  Quantitative  How many people feel this way  How many think this way  What is the size of the market for a new idea Before you begin…  Define the issues  Why you need to do research  How will this information be used  What do you need to know  versus what is ‘nice to know’  What information do you already have  What happens if I do nothing? Before you begin…  How well do I really know my market?  Age, income, occupation  who purchase  who don’t purchase  where do they live…  Beware “We know our customers/clients”  Friends don’t tell you the bad things The brief  Background to the project  Business objectives you want to achieve  Many people just state questions  Researchers can help you define objectives  Timeframe  Budget  No requirement to specify methodology  Meet with the researchers  Make sure they have your outlook  Make sure they match your business What sort of budget do I need?  How important is the issue?   Qualitative    What will it cost if we get it wrong? Focus groups $4,000 to $6,000 Costs affected by:  Recruitment – easy / difficult  Where the respondents are Quantitative  Start @ $60 per interview (telephone)  Economies of scale as sample increases  Specialist techniques will cost more Tips for the perfect qualitative project  Fish where the fish are  Have realistic expectations about what people can tell you  Don’t be proscriptive  Participants must feel free to digress, argue and be involved  Leave you with insight into  Motivation  Thoughts  Perceptions Tips for the perfect quantitative project  Based on real understanding of the population   Ask questions people can answer  Know the meaning of questions you’re asking Must have good sampling    Sample size must be robust  Confidence level  Analysis of sub-groups Quality fieldwork   Random in population If it’s not right at this stage it won’t improve! Quality analysis  The right tools for the job What about the web  Ideal for  B2B  Existing customers  General population where income plays no role  Issues  52% of Australian households have internet (ABS 2003)  About 60% now  Not equally distributed  Older less likely to use  Lower income much less likely to use  The way of the future Use your existing data  You have data!  Data collection is the main cost of research  Simple analysis is often overlooked  Postcodes, spend, frequency  You may have the resources internally  Many consultancies can analyse data Use your existing data  Complex analysis requires a specialist  Loyalty programs  Customer tracking Conducting internal research programs  Any knowledge is better than no knowledge!  A standard approach  Identify key information requirements   Systematically collect data  Analyse the data Use existing business activities  Use your CRM program  Use your telesales information Things to remember  Qualitative  It is what it is  Avoid jumping through hoops  Projective techniques  Extensive observation  Extended groups (3 hours)  ‘Homework’  Quantitative  Doesn’t always need to be complex  If cross tabulations are all that’s needed, that’s fine Ethics and quality   Look for quality in suppliers as you do in your business Research Organisations Ethics mean people will speak (AMRO) to researchers   Association of Market Australian Market & Social Research Society (AMSRS)  AMSRS Code of Professional Behaviour  Qualified Practising Market Researcher (QPMR)  Interviewer Quality Control Australia (IQCA)  Australian Standard 4752 Market research & telemarketing  Must distinguish between the two activities  Telemarketing sells  Participants must understand which process they are involved in  The individual is the focus  Ethical behaviour  Market research gathers  Required by the Privacy Act information  The individual is irrelevant to the project  Participants must understand what their information will be used for Impact of the Privacy Act on market research  More about databases than privacy  National Privacy Principles (NPPs)  Market and Social Research Privacy Code allows  Collecting name and contact details  Making recordings of research  Using customer lists  Registering individuals on a customer database  Conducting fieldwork checks  Contacting respondents for follow up research Case studies Inner-city hotel  Upgrade worth $½ million  Expanding restaurant  Opening up former restaurant area to customers  Who to cater for?  What kind of food?  What kind of ambience?  Who lives in the area? Two-stage research program  Quantitative  233 interviews  Simple demographics  Age  Household makeup (share, family, couple etc)  Household income  Use of local hotels  Opinion of local hotels  Like to participate in group discussions? Two-stage research program  Qualitative  3 group discussions  Identified competitive set  Identify strengths and weakness of each hotel  What is missing in the area  In food  In recreation  What should hotel food be?  Menu evaluation  Wine evaluation  Role of promotions  Role of entertainment Outcomes  Understand local marketplace  Things to do at the hotel  …and things to avoid  Demographics  Competition  Strengths  Weaknesses  Unique selling proposition (USP)  Know how to develop profitably  How to use every dollar in renovations and subsequent promotion to generate income  Cost $13,000 + GST The British Council  Who is the British Council?  Cultural representatives  Limited budget  Primary means of communication is through website(s)  Upgrading key site  Essential for operation Information requirements  Research needed to  Content  Relevance  Information needs  Branding on site  Strengths and weaknesses  Detail of the information on  Retained information consider site  Technical aspects  Interactivity  Ease of navigation Qualitative research  3 group discussions  Completed with 3 key stakeholder groups  Evaluated a draft-version of the website  Participants took turns to navigate through the site while it was discussed Research outcomes  Significant modifications made to site  Specific direction on  Links  Quotes  Graphics  Content  Summary of each page  Important to ‘get it right’ first time when there is limited budget  Cost of project was $12,000 + GST “Internet start-up”  Can’t name  Signed confidentiality agreement  Needed to know  Market size  Likely market reaction to product Quantitative research  Simple telephone interviewing  Interviews last 5 minutes  Asked about  Scope of operations  Size and number of activities  Size and number of events  Existing sales activities  Likely uptake of offer Research outcome  Small fractured market  Large clients ‘signed up’ to alternatives  ‘Rats and mice’ left  Limited potential  Idea killed  Cost of project was $10,000 + GST  Much less than would have been wasted on a idea that did not work What have we learnt? Key learning  Know what you want to achieve before you start  Find a company in tune with your business  Prepare a brief  Not as hard as it might seem  Research does not require large budgets  When to use  Qualitative research  Quantitative research  Telephone interviewing  Web research  Don’t be afraid to complete simple research yourself  The importance of standards and quality in consulting A simple checklist…  To test if you’re on the right track..  Do you have the right sample / population?  Do the research outcomes fit into your business plans?  Is the methodology the right way to go?  Don’t be bamboozled  Methodology  Process  Do you have realistic goals  Outcome  Time-frame  Do you understand the deliverables? Contact details  Neil Stollznow  PO Box 16 Level 2/156 Military Rd Neutral Bay NSW 2089 T +61 2 9953 7543 F +61 2 9953 7563 M +61 412 200 235  [email protected]  www.stollznow.com.au