Now Tell Me the Truth – Top 10 Reasons to Use a Market Research Company

We’re all for doing-it-yourself – when it makes sense. If you can fix your own water heater and save some money, more power to you. And what’s more gratifying than making your own Halloween costume or Christmas decorations?

But there’s a time and a place for DIY. We’ve all seen that homemade Halloween costume gone very, very wrong.

When it comes to business research, it’s tempting to try and go it alone. Asking a few questions about your brand or product seems easy on the surface. But when your company’s revenue, market share, or reputation is at stake – it might not be the best time to wing it.

Top 10 Reasons to Use a Third Party Market Research Company

Here are our top 10 reasons why market research is best performed by a professional market research company:

1. Self-assessment is often colored by internal politics, blind spots, beliefs and assumptions. Too often, companies think they know what customers want. As a result, they leave out important questions.
2. An “inside-out” perspective is rarely as accurate and objective as an “outside-in” point of view. Think of it as looking at the problem with fresh eyes.
3. Employees don’t always provide the full story when asked by someone within the company. When you use  a 3rd party, surveys are confidential and anonymous – two very necessary factors for getting honest and vital input.
4. Customers are not as candid when questioned by a vendor or supplier.  Often, they’re hoping to get better prices by providing less-than-stellar feedback. Or, they’re holding back criticism for the sake of the relationship. Either way, you end up with feedback that doesn’t tell the whole story.
5. Internally-created customer surveys don’t always ask the right questions. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up with the (completely unhelpful) answer that “everything is fine”. A professional research firm knows how to create surveys that tap into perceptions, needs and expectations.
6. Internal efforts do not have access to all the necessary sources.  Lost customers and competitors are often the best source of information. A trusted research partner helps you gain access to these fountains of insight.
7. Internal teams have a “day job.”  And doing research is generally not part of it.  When you add focus groups or surveys to their plates, employees may not give them the attention they deserve.
8. Professionals get better results – it’s their job! Professional researchers are highly trained in research-specific skills. This expertise, combined with paid software and other tools, often yields the best results. Professional insights tend to be much more accurate and meaningful than data obtained by using a DIY system (sorry Survey Monkey).
9. A knowledgeable and skilled research professional won’t just hand you a pile of numbers. They’ll “put the pieces together” through detailed analysis of various sources.  You’ll receive a cohesive set of recommendations and strategies. Effective data analysis is difficult, if not impossible, to achieve from the inside-out.
10. Internal teams may not see opportunities for change. Employees are very knowledgeable about the business as it has always been. An outsider can see things from all points of view, including the customer’s.

For those times when internal research (or “DIY research”) simply won’t get you where you need to go – you have options. A research firm can help if you’re considering a new direction, responding to a competitor, trying to save a failing business or product, or simply don’t know where to begin.