Capturing the fact that research is needed and aspects of its nature
In general, the need for market research is likely to appear quite late on in the development of a marketing project. This is because it will not have been fully planned, or because the need for it was genuine- ly not anticipated. The research manager can become aware of the need for research in a variety of informal ways. Examples include reading it in the minutes of a meeting he or she was not present at, hearing it mentioned by an outside agency (for example the advertising agency), being dropped a few lines of e-mail or a memo, and having it said in passing in the corridor on the way to lunch. Lucky research managers may hear of it through a formal meeting being set up to discuss it.
Whatever the method, a meeting has to be arranged so that the essential facts can be captured. This really means the time the results are wanted, who needs to be involved in the discussions, and a rea- sonable conversation about the issues to be researched. Naturally, within companies that are continuously commissioning research, the research manager will know a great deal of the background for much of the research that is being commissioned, and this can short-circuit a lot of the debate. It is, however, really important to get to grips with the particular aspects of a job (including any politics – which are often benign).
Finally, it is necessary to identify any relevant logistical matters, such as the availability of product, contact lists or stimulus material or the need to get permissions, for example, from an operator to get access to its premises or people. Although these seem unimportant in comparison with the previously mentioned matters, they are generally determining factors in the whole project and need to be started as soon as possible.
Given that the research manager has obtained this information, he or she is in a position to identify any critical points on the timing path and to start working on them right away. Generally this means check- ing the availability of the research supplier and pressing some of the buttons on logistic matters.
Preliminary documentation and awareness that the research may happen
Following on from establishing that research is required, a document needs to be created laying out the dimensions of the research. This normally includes some background, probably the general nature, scope and scale of the research, some thoughts about the budget that is required, and the timings (which are often critical and short). This doc- ument may be circulated among the interested parties for comment, and also in order to raise a consciousness that the research is happening. In some cases it is possible to discover at this stage that non-research information already exists on the research topic, and that in this light, the research is not necessary at all. It is important that the research that is proposed is seen to be that of the company, not of the individual, and that people within the company or its agencies feel able and empow- ered to make critical comments about it. The document may also form the basis for briefing a research agency. On the other hand this docu- ment might be created by the agency if it has been involved at this point. This is one of the variations in process that can occur.
It is very important to circulate the research document as widely as possible, as this aspect of the process is all about ensuring that the ulti- mate design is going to work, that nothing of importance has been left out and that torpedoes (if any) can be dealt with harmlessly. However, it is still important that there is only one internal commissioning client, who ultimately takes the responsibility of agreeing the objectives of the research and the timings of it.
Creation of the research design
Chapter 8 described the basic elements of a research design, and showed that an important aspect of this is to take on board the market assump- tions and hypotheses held within the company, as this is a way to simplify
the research and constrain its costs. This could be achieved by including a draft design within the initial circulated document, although, of course, the design might not have been originated at that point.
The design may be done in the commissioning company to a fairly defined state, or a briefing document may go out to tender among an appropriate set of potential suppliers (which may only be one) selected according to the principles described in Chapter 5. As described, in practice there are a number of ways this can be done, depending upon the complexity of the job and the level of process that the company nor- mally requires. At the most informal end of the spectrum, a single research supplier may be briefed by phone (although it is generally bet- ter to have a face-to-face meeting), and the agency asked to produce a response in the form of a proposal (which may be either an outline or detailed), and this proposal may be the actual paper that is internally circulated. At the briefing of the agency, the internal end-user may or may not be present. This will depend on what the end-user wants – often how interested he or she is in the outcome of the project, or simply the level of his or her interest in research.
Whatever is created as a result of this process is likely to be subject to some alteration, and the proposal will be honed. Once again this may be a long and detailed process, or it could simply be that the initial proposal is accepted in totality.
The research specification
The changes to the initial research proposal will arise from a series of inputs that have been made as a result of discussions with the supplier, or from comments arising from the circulation of the initial documents.
These changes could involve the sample that is to be used, the region- ality, aspects of the coverage, stimulus material and so on.
There is a tendency for these changes to be only informally record- ed. This means that there may be no written final proposal, or to be more precise, no written specification of the work that has been agreed.
This is surprisingly common but generally unsatisfactory as it can lead to confusion as to what the research was supposed to be. Obviously, where there is the possibility for confusion to exist it can do so either because of simple human error or by design. Although the research agency will be very clear what it is going to do, it is possible that with all the to-ing and fro-ing about that has gone on, the various client stake-
holders may not be so clear what is finally going to happen, and this mis- understanding can have dramatic effects in the debrief! For this reason alone, it is always sensible to issue a final research specification as this removes any possibility of doubt – assuming of course that anybody reads it.