Impact Brand Strategy with Research Results: Bridge the Gap between Market Research and Marketing
by Melinda Spaulding/ JoAnne Ratermann “My market research department gives me a lot of data but nothing I can act on.” —brand management “My brand team doesn’t use the information I provide; they do what they want.” —market research “I value market research; sometimes I just don’t know why they don’t understand what I’m trying to do.” —brand management “If I had a seat at the table, I could address the brand team’s concerns.” —market research
Sound familiar? On one side is a market research manager trying to get “a seat at the table;” On the other is a brand leader looking for insight to guide decisions and strategy. And before either group can make meaningful headway toward their respective and collective goals, brand management and market research need to be aligned and functioning as an integrated team.
Easier said than done. With working experience—in both camps—we understand.
Remember the book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus? The same concept applies with brand managers and market researchers. These two groups commonly speak different languages; they have different personalities and a different disposition on impacting the business. Nevertheless, it is possible to bridge the gap between these disparate groups.
Let the Expert be the Expert.
It’s readily apparent—in the questionnaire development stage—if a market research group has earned the trust of their brand team or not. This early step in a research project can become a hotbed of contention and can sabotage implementation of a study’s recommendations–no matter how well-designed the project is. So when a brand team begins re-writing a questionnaire, it’s a clear sign of misalignment. The brand manager will say, “My market researchers just don’t get it.” And the market research group will defer to the edits, saying, “If I don’t do what the brand team wants, then they won’t support the results of the
study.” The study can get derailed quickly; timelines get pushed back, and study objectives get lost. Everyone loses. It’s frustrating. And let’s be honest; while no one wants market researchers drafting promotional messages, the average marketing team should not be writing questionnaires. Instead of trying to fill each other’s shoes, it’s more productive if each group focuses on its own area of expertise. The following process can help: 1. Agree to the study’s objectives before the study is initiated. 2. The market research team will draft a questionnaire with its agency to address these objectives. 3. Before the brand team reviews the questionnaire, market research should identify which question numbers address each objective. 4. The brand team will review the questionnaire by objective. 5. If any area or issue is lacking, the brand team needs to communicate what these issues are and how they support the primary objective(s) of the study. 6. Market research will revise the questionnaire based on this discussion. 7. Both groups will review the questionnaire together for final approval. By reviewing questions aligned by objective, the brand team can be sure that research tools will capture their data needs. The market research team can then incorporate the brand team’s feedback on content while making sure the flow and structure of the questionnaire is right. Yet if concerns persist that content will not yield the desired information, market research can conduct a pre-test. That is, respondents who mirror the intended sample can take the questionnaire and then have a 15-minute conversation with a neutral party, such as a professional interviewer. Consider conducting these follow-up interviews by phone, so someone from each group can listen. It usually doesn’t take long to get a feel for the quality of a questionnaire. When done correctly, pre-tests validate that questions are positioned and phrased in a way that elicits appropriate responses.
Just Communicate!
With both groups in agreement on their respective roles in the brand strategy process, meaningful communication can unlock a priceless working relationship. By establishing a good flow of information, a brand team can ensure that market research understands their needs and goals. Since the typical one-on-one meeting can become monotonous and stale—and they are often cancelled when pressure rises on competing projects—market researchers and brand team members need to get creative to make sure they’re communicating. For instance, consider scheduling a phone meeting for the commute home. Or maybe the market researcher can post a white board outside his/ her office for “burning questions from the brand team.” This creates a convenient forum that requires minimal time for a marketer to “voice” concerns, issues, and questions to the researcher; and this method enables the researcher to respond in an appropriate way and with the required materials and information. The board could also include basic status information of various projects. Based on the size and communication structure of an organization, the market research team might prefer to use e-mail to provide a project summary sheet to the brand team. This summary would list the primary objectives of a study in context of marketing strategy. It would also include a timeline of project
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milestones (e.g., data collection start/ end, topline report delivery, final report delivery, presentation of results) to ensure that the brand team’s needs are being met. In the end, it just matters that this communication is regular, open, and top-of-mind; because there is an appropriate study type and methodology for achieving the range of business objectives. And it’s the expertise of market research to select and apply appropriate research tools that yield the necessary information for marketing to act. The researchers simply need to know—before a study is designed—how to make the data come alive once it’s available.
Focus on the Decision—Not the Study.
If the two teams communicate appropriately at the beginning of a research initiative, then the resulting data set should be spot on. And when market research understands how a particular data set will be applied, the team is better equipped to generate solid conclusions and strategic recommendations. So while the study may reveal a range of interesting “findings,” it’s critical in the reporting stage that market researchers stay focused on the business issues and report only results that matter. There’s simply no way—or reason—for brand teams to absorb all the results from every study. It’s futile for market researchers to present a heavy load of results to them. Instead, the market research team should present only the findings that can help the audience make imminent decision(s). The team can stay focused by adopting the following practices: • Opt for several small presentations of results—possibly by objective, for example—rather than a single large one. This helps focus delivery of results and related discussion to relevant results. It also minimizes the possibility of missing a significant insight because you ran out of time. It also helps appropriately involve the extended team by limiting findings to only those items that concern specific groups. • Following a presentation, the market research team should a hand out a single-page summary slide of all the relevant data. This becomes a meaningful tool that the brand team and other internal constituents can carry on from meeting to meeting. • Set a limit to the number of slides allowed in the findings deck. This will help ensure that results are prioritized and consolidated.
Conduct a Market Review.
When attempting to align the extended team prior to a new study or when it’s time to implement results, the market research and marketing groups should work together to develop a top 10 list of “Things We Know About this Market.” By accounting for existing knowledge, the entire team can identify gaps and focus market research on areas of real need—and thereby avoid unnecessary or misdirected inquiry. The market review summary should include all the basics of the market or situation, including items such as market size, volume by specialty, distribution of patients on each dose of a therapy, etc. Any tangible hypotheses about the market that have been tested to date should also be included. Some of these hypotheses may never have warranted a separate meeting or presentation, but they may impact the overall brand strategy and be helpful in getting someone up-to-speed. Take, for example, the hypothesis: “DTC is no longer a strategic advantage to consider but rather the cost of entry to maintaining market share.” The validity of this statement may be based on a combination of primary and secondary market research findings that alone are not very strong. But in combination, they reveal an insight that should be incorporated into a brand’s promotional strategy.
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Hit the Road.
Finally, a great way for market research and marketing to build rapport is to get out of the office and travel together for qualitative market research. Both teams get closer to the customer, and there is a convenient opportunity to jointly partner with a moderator and brainstorm ideas for further developing the product. In the end, it just matters that brand teams and market researchers do what it takes to get on the same planet—at least for a little while. By working as an integrated unit, brand teams can get the information it needs to develop effective campaigns, and market research gets the floor-time to provide it. It’s a working relationship that improves life for everyone—and the brands you support. Please send comments about this article to info@gs-research.com.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)
Melinda Spaulding is a senior vice president at G & S Research. In this role, she oversees the firm’s analytics and business consulting teams to ensure that clients receive useful statistical analysis and deliverables that help them make better, more strategic business decisions. Ms. Spaulding has a dedicated career in pharmaceutical market research, and she advances the field in meaningful ways. She regularly presents at industry conferences and publishes articles in related publications. In addition, she recently taught the market research portion of an MBA course on branding at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. Prior to joining G & S Research in 2003, Ms. Spaulding worked at Eli Lilly and Company as an analyst and strategic consultant in the market research department. She managed the neuroscience portfolio and implemented research studies such as segmentation, patient charting, and key driver analysis. She also trained new analysts and managers. Ms. Spaulding is a graduate of the University of Georgia’s Masters in Market Research (MMR) program.
JoAnne Ratermann is director of client services at G & S Research. Her strong leadership, interpersonal, and business analysis skills guide clients in appropriate and effective market research strategy and implementation. Her background includes more than 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical market research for both domestic and global brands. Ms. Ratermann’s therapeutic expertise is broad, and her background includes complicated disease states such as oncology and HIV/AIDS. Before joining G & S Research, Ms. Ratermann was an independent market research consultant and had notable tenures with both Eli Lilly and BristolMyers Squibb (BMS). At Lilly, she managed market research and marketing areas, and she contributed to the growth of the company’s oncology agents. At BMS, she led market research for the oncology and immunology business unit.
ABOUT G & S RESEARCH
G & S Research is a primary market research company that focuses on the healthcare industry. With a staff of tenured market research professionals and a steadfast commitment to client achievement, the firm custom-designs research programs and delivers practical outputs and follow-up support to help clients communicate results and influence brand strategy. G & S Research is one of the most trusted and fastest-growing independent research suppliers in the healthcare industry. For more information about G & S Research, visit www.gs-research.com or contact Jenny Brown, at 317-819-4339 or jbrown@gs-research.com.
Article reprinted from June 2007 online issue of Next Generation Pharmaceutical, published by GDS Publishing, a division of GDS International.
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