Resisting the market research yemptress

Think back in time for a moment. Think back to some of the great temptations of literature and history: Adam and Eve and Satan; Samson and Delilah; Antony and Cleopatra; Odysseus and Circe. Think of the fate that befell to those who yielded to temptation: Adam, Eve, Antony, Samson.

Think of Odysseus who resisted the wiles of Circe. Unable to navigate outside the range of the siren’s lures, he took the extraordinary steps of plugging his crew’s ears and lashing himself to the ship’s mast. Refusing to be sidetracked, Odysseus, crew, and ship safely passed the danger and eventually reached their primary goal of a safe return home.

Now think of that market research project on your desk, of the temptations it presents. The project began so simply. A survey to determine customer requirements in a new product under development.

Then the sales manager came in. "As long as we’re surveying our customers, ask them whether they prefer purchasing from a distributor or from the manufacturer."

"Are we considering changes in our distribution methods?" you asked.

"No,” was the reply. “But, it would be nice to know."

“How will you use the information?" you asked.

"I’m not sure, but we’ll use it," came the answer as the sales manager headed out the office door.

Enter the production manager. "The new equipment’s been running for 12 weeks and we’ve cut our lead times by 20 percent. It would be nice to know whether our customers have noticed the change."

Next it was the ad manager, followed by the head of R&D and the VP of marketing, repeating the same scenario. Soon the questions about product specifications were outnumbered by "nice to know."

The perils of "nice to know"

While the physical dangers of “nice to know” may not be as deadly as the rocks of Circe, the fate of your research survey still hangs in the balance.

Lower response rates

"Nice to know" questions increase the length of the questionnaire or the length of the interview. Facing a long survey form or a half hour interview, more respondents tend to become non-respondents. The lower the response rate, the less valid your data.

Poorer responses

Properly structured surveys lead the respondent logically through the questionnaire or interview, keeping the thought process focused. Too many topics or questions, particularly unrelated ones, interrupt this process and often produce less carefully thought out or incomplete responses. Poorer and incomplete responses reduce the reliability of your data.

Increased costs

More questions increase interview time and questionnaire length. They increase the data analysis requirements. More questions, more time, greater length, more analysis: all increase the costs of the project.

Lowered usage

The more information, the greater the complexity and length of the report. It may have increased value as a bookend, but unread reports are unused and have little information value.

Resisting temptation

Ask yourself whether all the information and questions are "nice to know" or "need to know." Ask whether the "nice to know" is worth the additional cost. Is it worth the additional time to do the research. Is "nice to know" worth the risk of lower and poorer response, accompanied by risking reliability and accuracy. Ask yourself whether "nice to know" is worth risking failure to achieve the main objective of the project.

Resist the temptation of "nice to know." Tie yourself to the mast. Put wax in your ears. Stay on course. Like Odysseus, you’ll achieve your information objective. And you’ll do it more efficiently, more accurately, and more cost effectively.

Michael T. Brandt
February 2003

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Updated:
15-Jul-2003