Terra Nova Market Research
Yesterday we had a talk with a lady from TerraNova Market Strategies. It turned out to be a talk about how to conduct market research...YAWN! Right? It started that way. We all took over the last two rows of the room. The guy behind me instantly fell asleep. The guy next to him was engrossed in his sandwich. My two friends on my left opened up a laptop, plugged in headphones and started watching an episode of 24. I just kicked back and started figuring out my schedule this week...Slowly...After about 15 minutes, I began to take notice. hmmm...This lady is actually saying some good stuff! With each passing minute I was growing more intrigued. What first caught my ear's attention is when she said how her firm refuses to conduct focus-groups. I was like..huh,interesting. So I started paying real attention.
The main idea is that market research has become to companies, "what a lamppost is to a drunk; for support and not for illumination". Everything a company wants to justify a proposition, it just throws money at it to do 'market research'. The result of that is a stack of information that doesn't really answer the question. So, what does the company do? More market rescues!
Wrong!
Market research should be exploratory not evalualative. What companies do all the time is go to customers and ask them what do you think of our products. Most of the time, they have some idea of what customers are currently thinking and are using market research to support that information. That is evalualative market research. Exploratory market research discovers new realms for innovation. A market research report should not be a source of dread but a source of inspiration!
Therefore, TerraNova does not conduct focus-groups, but 'discovery workshops'. In addition to that, there was a host of other methods. I also loved how in-depth their analysis goes. For example, she went on explaining the drivers and challenges of innovation. I have requested her slides, so I might post them some time =)
posted by SunShine @ 6:55 p.m.
5 Comments:
I've been conducting focus group sessions for a long time..sometimes they work and sometimes they dont..
do you mind sending the ppt slides to me once you got them?
this is my email;
a7mad.ff@gmail.com
thanks
sure will do. Of course, during Q&A someone defended focus-groups and she kind of yielded in. Anyways, it's this new approach that is interesting.
dude u gotta read Blink! it talks about that! amazing stuff!
Sounds interesting and fun..
I mean I truly believe that all kinds of research help people develop and nations flourish..
Without research we will not know the real truth behind things..
THe researhc that she does is more qualitative, which means it starts without a hypothesis, and is exploratory, and the opposite is quantitative research which starts with a hypothesis to prove?
But how many companies are willing to actually implement 'discovery workshops' instead of the traditional focus group?
I'm not sure i agree that the current marketing research strategy is like what 'a lampost is to drunk'. Companies have been conducting this form of analysis for years and years and from what I have seen I think its unfair to say it hasnt been effective.
But anyways, her theory is interesting though.
Lol reading this post is like hearing my dad talking in one of his classes at uni. Deja vu!
Anyways take care!
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