Quality Questions beget Quality Answers

Presented by:Michelle Griffin

Eyal Golan

WHY?????WHY?????

Which Question, Which Method Formulating the right research questions is

both an art and science

Surveys vs personal interviews

Surveys Used to track changes over time

Personal Interviews Consumer’sexperience with relatively new

products

Formulating Questions Commonly used questions

What the consumer thinks of a Brand

A more counterintuitive approach What the brand thinks of the consumer

Example Mercedes Benz

Framing Effective Research Questions Determine the generic question Determine whether the basic question should

be specific to Brand, Category, or Problem Pose more general and specific versions Determine whether you need to know

direction, velocity, or both Allow for surprises Convert assumptions into questions Employ a clairvoyant Employ a wizard

Determine the Generic Question By exploring the consumers’ generic

attitudes, the company can identify fundamental thoughts or emotions relevant to many contexts

Attitudes and perceptions that crop up in diverse contexts are likely to be highly relevant and deeply embedded

Firms can also gain by examining published resources or consulting experts

Determine whether the Basic Question should be specific to the Brand, Category, or Problem Decide whether you should ask about the

Brand, the Category, or the Problem making the brand or category relevant

Basic Problem – Creating a new brand story

Specific Brand – Hoe consumers perceive the brand story

Category – Brand positioning

Pose more General and Specific Versions Think of a question…

Rephrase it in more general terms…

Rephrase it again in more specific terms…

Which will yield the most important information?

Determine whether you need to know Direction, Velocity, or Both What is most important

Direction – The attractiveness or appeal of a concept or product

Velocity – The products likely initial unit sales

Direction is essential for launch decisions, Velocity for production decisions

Answer direction first, then velocity

Allow for Surprises

Ask interviewees to share their thoughts

Ask the interviewee to pose a question as if they were giving the survey

Convert Assumptions into Questions

All research rests on assumptions that inform core questions

Identify these assumptions early and test their validity

Employ a Clairvoyant

Imagine you could have one question answered…

Revise your original question to be more complex…

Employ a Wizard

Imagine that a particular decision has proven ineffective…

What would the wizard fix to correct this problem?

What Do Data Tell Managers?

First… What is Data? What Are Answers?

What Do Data Tell Managers? Data Say Very Little

… Without Managers bring meaning to it

People with Different Viewpoints will have difference interpretation for the same data

Example: “do significantly more women than men purchase computers hardware on the Internet?”

What Do Data Tell Managers?

It’s a matter of judgment: The More Important a Manager judges a

question… … The more closely he/she will examine the data

and expend to make sense of it.

Disagreements about interpretation of data typically cover up for disagreements about the importance of the research question

What Do Data Tell Managers?

It’s a matter of judgment: The More Important a Manager judges a

question… … The more closely he/she will examine the data

and expend to make sense of it.

Disagreements about interpretation of data typically cover up for disagreements about the importance of the research question

Many factors contribute to the ultimate data.

How objective Are Numbers?

They are not! Managers decide how to obtain the “objective

numbers” thus influence the outcome Researcher’s expectations influence the results in

+99% Probabilities of answers include flaws in the design

of questions So 95% probability of being “true” may still be wrong

Example: “Definitely will buy” is evenly interpreted by consumers as either 50% chance of buying or as 100% of buying.

Shaping the Meaning of a Number:

Frames Of Reference Without reference, numbers are meaningless. Example:

3 groups of newspaper readers

Region Hours per Week

1 5

2 4.3

3 3.2

Shaping the Meaning of a Number:

Frames Of Reference Example (con’d)

All numbers presented to one professional group Each reader group was described if reference to the other

One number presented to one out three professional groups All readers groups were described roughly the same

Same data worded differently is also perceived differently Disease Example

Using Data as Advisors Numbers can help when are combined with other

information Ask yourself: What Did I Miss? What Can Go Wrong?

(“Consult a Wizard”) Use Your Imagination Use Creativity When Designing a Market Research

Question your questions!