Choosing between alternatives quickly and decisively without solid information is a major management problem, especially in a financial services organization. However, an effective market research support system can provide the market and competitive intelligence to facilitate sound and informed management decision making.

“Research is about seeing what everyone has seen and thinking about what no one else has thought.” These words from Nobel Prize winning biochemist Albert Szent-Gyorgyi wisely convey both the importance and the proper role of research in any creative process. This is especially true in the world of marketing. Positioning initiatives use market research to identify (or create) relevant differentiation for a company and / or its products. Market research can also provide valuable information in the areas of product development, messaging, channel effectiveness, and campaign tracking.

Market research is also a valuable tool in ensuring that an organization remains “market-driven,” the mantra of a flood of management books over the past decade. Experience shows that being out of step with the market can make financial services companies

• Ignore major market changes and don’t realize when a market has peaked.
• ditch core customers and focus on a tempting new niche.
• launch products but have no goal in sight.
• fail to successfully reach target segments and lose valuable marketing opportunities

Results-oriented market research begins with the identification of a specific objective and the determination of the necessary resources. It is important to remember that there are many paths to the top of the mountain, but when you arrive, the view is the same. Before undertaking extensive research, it is important to examine alternative approaches. It all comes down to working smart instead of hard, and taking the right market research approach to get the right answers in a timely and cost-effective manner. Often when the answer is found, it is simple. For example:

• Rather than launching an extensive research study, a company trying to measure the potential of a new product should review the historical successes and failures of similar competitive products to uncover very strong and immediate clues as to the fate of the product. As Lord Byron said, “The best of the prophets of the future is the past.
• Rather than spending research resources for site selection studies, a company could identify the best area for a new branch by examining the competition. The fact that a Burger King appears around the corner from almost every successful McDonalds is evidence of how they have minimized the costs of their site selection activities.

The purpose of market research, regardless of how it is accomplished, is to collect the data necessary for responsible analysis and then gather the insights that will support sound decision making. Too many executives support their decisions by stating, “The research shows …” and then pulling out a series of statistics and graphs. They believe that if they invoke more statistics, the research will be perceived as more scientific. The truth is that no research is accurate, and those who use this imprecise art as a hammer rather than a management guide are losing its benefits and putting their organizations at a disadvantage.

The focus and essence of pragmatic marketing research is to inform and support management decision making and provide insights to develop new, relevant and differentiated marketing solutions. The primary goal of the research is to help ensure that the right distribution channels deliver the right product to the right markets using the right courier. But, if conceived and executed correctly, it can do much more. For more information, visit Suasion Resources.