This brings us to the next question;
how then can we improve the quality
of research? So apart from listening
what else can we all do to improve the
quality of research? According to Enock
a number of factors affect the quality and
he elaborated on the three key ones: The
Client’s Brief, The Research Methodology,
and the Recommendations.
The Client Brief
This is the foundation from which the
other two factors and indeed the research
project is anchored on. The brief largely
determines the quality of the research
as it provides clarity, direction and sets
boundaries. The brief should be clear
on the research objective, the target
respondents, preferred methodology,
deliverables, the timelines, and a budget.
It is helpful to begin the brief with some
background information on the brand,
the reason for the research, the market
scenario (operating environment). A
closer look at each is important.
The brief largely determines the quali-
ty of the research as it provides clarity,
direction & sets boundaries.The brief
should be clear on the research objective,
the target respondents, preferred meth-
odology, deliverables, the timelines, & a
budget. It is helpful to begin the brief
with some background information on
the brand, the reason for the research, &
the market scenario.
ensure the objective is SMART.
The Background is important as it begins
to frame the reason for the research by
taking the agency through a brief history
of business and the brand, its performance
in the market place, as well as a snapshot
of the business environment including the
competitive scenario. The Target Respondents: Whom do
the client want the agency to gather
the data from? For example it could be
current users, lapsed users or those using
competitor products. Describing their
demographics (age, gender, education
level, career and income brackets) is
important as is their psychographics. Use
of the now common LSM descriptions
helps all be on the same table. The ability
for a pin point description is critical as
getting it wrong will result in information
that is not useful.
It should provide answers to questions
such as; what are their Marketing/
Business goals? What are the strengths
and weaknesses of the brand? What
problem is the brand facing? What issues
is the client grappling with that are giving
them sleepless nights? What do they
think is getting in the way of achieving
the brands goals? Research Approach/Methodology: The
client can suggest which methodology
they deem appropriate for example
qualitative or quantitative and even
focus groups or a one on one discussion.
However should the agency come up with
a different recommendation, with reasons
why, the client should go with their
suggestion as the agency is the expert.
Who are the competitors and how are
they performing and what marketing
activities are they carrying out? What
are their strengths and underbelly? What
opportunities and threats are present in the
business environment? The information
should be as detailed and as accurate as
possible. Other useful information areas are
timelines, budget - if cast in stone - and
the preferred format of the deliverable -
report or presentation or both.
The Research Objective: This spells out
the desired outcome of the research. The
information and insights gathered should
provide answers and assist the client
make the right decisions in respect to the
questions and issues articulated in the
research background. It is important to
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It is important that clients and research
agencies have a face to face briefing
session and this is where keen listening
comes in. But it’s both parties, not just
the agency that should listen. In fact for
best outcome it should be a discussion
that ends when both parties have agreed
on all the contents of the brief.
From the breakfast discussions it was
clear that sometimes the clients may not
be sure of what they want and all they
know is that there is a problem or issue
that is standing in their way of meeting
their objective. Sitting, listening and
debating will enable both parties delve
more deeply into the problem and dissect
the issues the brand is facing that the
research needs to focus on. For example
the discussions may find out the problem
is not what the client thinks it is.
Thus honest and candid interrogation of
the brief will go a long way in ensuring
a successful research project. This requires
keen listening, patience and humility.
Enock emphasised that no effort should be
spared in getting the brief and the briefing
right given that it’s the critical pillar on
which the research project is anchored as
getting this right results in a ‘win win’
outcome and the value of research further
validated.
The Research Methodology
Among others the research methodology
as earlier discussed determines which
between qualitative or quantitative
methods will be employed whether to
use focus groups or one on one. Once
this has been decided the sample size is
determined, the respondents chosen and
the questionnaire or discussion guide
developed.
Thereafter data will be collected, entered,
and analysed. Enock pointed out that he is
confident that clients who choose to work
with Ipsos have an advantage given their
global best practice, proprietary research
tools, their width and depth of experience
that they tap into and benefit from.