Be prepared. We do our
homework. We need to be ahead of our respondents. So we read
a lot, ask questions, dig for information. We aim to start every
project with a “Meeting of the Minds” workshop.
This is an opportunity for us to meet with you and gain an in-depth
understanding of the project background, objectives, key issues
and deliverables.
Recruit ruthlessly. Good
answers only come from good recruiting. So we set a high standard,
plan the screening criteria carefully, work with a handful of
excellent recruiting companies, carefully screen and re-screen.
Then we listen to the feedback we get from the people being
considered and the recruiters, adjusting as needed.
Create the right environment.
Respondents will tell you more - and more candidly - if they
enjoy the exchange, feel they are being listened to, and know
they can express themselves negatively when they wish. We encourage
that freedom.
Ask the right questions.
If we are focused, then our respondents will also be more focused.
We carefully consider your objectives and plan each question
that we ask to address a key issue. “Everything including
the kitchen sink” is simply not allowed to be part of
any project.
Manage respondents. They
react better to stimulus material that looks professional and
doesn't speak down to them. They get bored when we bore them.
They know when we are attempting to manipulate them. We anticipate
all possible problems and deal with them before the research
begins.
Celebrate spontaneity.
Each respondent's experience is a first shot
at this subject. They can get pretty excited about something
a researcher may have heard about eleven times already. We listen
carefully to what we hear, because this time there might be
a new motivation, insight or connection that breaks a project
wide open.
Adapt. We often end a project
with a totally different perspective than when we began. It
means that we have learned enough, fast enough, to push to a
new level of understanding.
Tell a story. Data is
data. But in the hands of the right researcher, it becomes a
compelling story about your consumer and the motivations that
drive interest in your brand or your product. Every analysis
that we do is aimed at bringing out a story and finding a pattern
in the learning that is not only insightful, but actionable
as well.
