"We Don't Get Any Respect" -- The Rodney Dangerfield Factor

One of the underlying themes of comments I have heard during the past few months is that we in the market research industry are not respected by our management.  We are finding our budgets are slashed, our head count is shrinking and our involvement in company decisions has lessened.  Why?

From a broad perspective, it could be that management sees market research as the villains in the failure rate of new products entering the market.  A 10% success rate is nothing to be proud of and there is no good reason we should expect a rate that low.

Could it be that management expects too much of us?  I remember in my early years that we would be expected to develop an idea and get it to the market in five years.  At the end of my career, management was expecting the timeline to be no longer than two years.  I now hear that some companies expect timelines to be as short as six months.  What is it that makes management believe that all the steps in a product launch model could ever be achieved with any degree of effectiveness in that short a time?  Has our profession in general been at fault in creating the impression that six months is acceptable?

I don't have the answers but I do have some thoughts on the subject.  From a personal perspective, I think we need to look no further than the mirror to identify many of the problems.  Yes, there is a lot of blame to go around.  We can blame our management's expectations, our clients, field services, interviewers, staffing, etc.  But we are still responsible ourselves, and should be held accountable.

Here are a few observations and possible starting points for change.
 

• We need to understand why our research is misleading us and correct the problems.

 
• We need to become more involved.  At present, too many of us are order-takers and delegators.  We have grown to be a group of order-takers.  A task is presented to us and we pick up the phone and call someone to design and execute the research.  if that is all the good we are to our company, why should they keep us?  Get a clerk to handle the phone calls.  it will be cheaper and probably faster.  It may sound far-fetched, but I know of one major company that is doing that and another one that will shortly.

 
• We have let our tool box of methods dwindle to relatively few methods.  We do not conduct methods research.  We leave that to our suppliers.  Let's face it, anything they find of value will be peddled to the world.  If we structure our organization to handle methods research, we can gain a proprietary position over competition.  During the past month, I have been reading about this great, new resource called "ethnography."  Actually this is a technique that was (and still is) used at Procter & Gamble in the early 1980's.  My first exposure with the method was through Pat mcCoy, at that time a very young and creative researcher.  Those of you who have heard my talk on "Unique Methods" may remember the "Expert Director" method.  That was Pat's creation.

 
• We have Preferred Suppliers (usually one or two).  Does that make much sense when we think about quality of research.  I have never found a supplier that was the best at everything.  I believe we should identify a supplier's strengths and weaknesses and use them accordingly.  The preferred supplier concept is like using your plumber to correct your electrical problems.

 
• We in market research have gotten lazy.  We sit in a lot of meetings talking but seldom do we venture into the field to see and understand the changes in the real world.  When was the last time you went out to see if your research was conducted in the manner in which you had expected?  When was the last time you did any actual interviewing yourself?  (Something I felt I had to do at least once a month to keep on top of my profession.)  We don't even answer our phone calls; we let the answering machine answer the call and if the caller is really lucky, the person may return the call.

 
• We look for remedies and not solutions.  We have gotten so far from the action that we do not understand the REAL problems nd importantly the CAUSES of our problems.

 
• We don't look for better research that improves validity,  we look for faster and easier research regardless of quality.  I remember when the objective was reliability and validity.  Just this past week I have heard a new term for a new research protocol.  That term is "Useable."  More on this in the future.

 
• We justify Mall research because it is easy and fast regardless that with the wave-off rates and refusal rates, we are left with a population sample of less than 6%.

 
• We seem to be concerned with the 30% participation rate of a population of about 94% (telephone ownership) but have no qualms with proposing using a population sample that covers 27% of the population (at home internet users).

 
• Our interviews and questionnaires continue to grow in length.  We seem to think that the addition of questions has no effect on the study.  We add a few more questions here and there without thought of the consequences.  I have participated in one study in the past month that included a 96-page questionnaire!  More on this later.

It seems like a great time for a New Year's Resolution.  What do we need to do to regain the respect of our management for our profession?

SOME THOUGHTS TO FILL THE PAGE:
 

• If I have a dollar and you have a dollar and we trade dollars, then we both have a dollar.  But if I have an idea and you have an idea and we trade ideas, we will both have two ideas.
• The trouble with following the herd is stepping in what it leaves behind.
• Talking is easy, action is difficult.
• After all is said and done, more is said than done.
• It is easier to have self pity than it is to have self discipline.
• Families are like fudge, mostly sweet with a few nuts.
• You have to wake up in order for your dreams to come true.
• If you are lonely when you are alone, you are in bad company.
• Definition of a neurotic:  a self-employed person who doesn't get along with the boss.
• The starting point for improvement is to recognize the need.  (Looks like the right one with which to end.)