Choosing The Right Organisation To Conduct Your Market research
You want to find a market research company, but are not
sure how to go about it? There are so many companies around that it can be hard
to work out which one to choose. There are a lot of factors to consider when
choosing a market research company, including what sort of market research you
need carried out, and what level of market research software you require. Here
are a number of things you should consider when choosing a market research
company:
Level of service required
Before you can search for specific market research
companies, you need to decide what level of service you require. Are you simply
looking for advice about market research, or something more? If you only
require advice, you are probably best to look for a market research company
that specialises in consultancy. If you require something more, will you just
need the raw data, or detailed reports to go with the data? Of course, a
full-service market research company will cost more, but will save you time and
effort.
Writing a research brief
Once you have decided on the level of service you require,
in order to choose the right market research company for your needs you must
draw up a research brief. This brief will be passed on to possible research
agencies so that they have an idea of what your requirements are regarding
elements such as appropriate market research software. The more information you
can put into your brief the better, as you will get back a more accurate
response from the market research company.
Your brief should contain:
- A
summary of the background and motivation for the research
- An
outline of possible opportunities and problems that need to be explored,
and what you wish you do with the completed research.
- The
respondents that you wish the research to target
- A
list of possible questions that might need answering
- The
way in which you want the data collected
- What
exactly you want the market research company to provide to you in terms of
analysis, use of market research software, and reports.
- The
timeframe in which you want the research to be completed
- Any
contractual factors that you will require be met
- The
estimated budget for the work
- The
deadline for the proposal from the market research company
Obviously, you will also want some information about the market
research company as a whole, and the experience of its staff.
Submitting your brief
Once you have completed your brief, you need to submit it
to a number of market research companies who will prepare a proposal in
response. It is a good idea to send your brief to 2 or 3 agencies so that you
can compare their responses. However, it is unreasonable to submit your
proposal to more than 3 or 4 agencies, because writing proposals takes time and
money, and if each company has a small chance of winning it is unfair to expect
them to submit a detailed proposal. Furthermore, if you have clearly defined what
you want, submitting to 2 or 3 agencies will give you a good response.
Choosing between agencies
After you have received proposals from 2 or 3 agencies, it
may be hard to pick which market research company is the right one for you.
There a number of questions you can ask yourself to help you decide:
- Which
company best understands your needs?
- Which
company has added to your brief by coming up with good ideas of their own?
- Does
the research proposal match up with your expectations, and if not are
alternatives offered?
- Does
the market research company have the relevant experience in the areas of
methodology you require such as market research software?
- Does
the market research company have the relevant experience in the research
subject you require?
- Which
company seems to offer the best value for money?
- Which
company do you feel has shown the best attitude towards your project?
If you use these questions to help you, then you will
eventually come to a decision as to which market research company is for you,
and then you can let the others know why you decided not to choose them, as
this will help with their future service.
Useful information
If you are still having problems deciding which market
research company is for you, then a good place to find way more information is
through the British Market research Association (BRMA), who are available
Freephone on 0800 801 785. The BRMA can help you match your needs to a relevant
market research company.