The question of the week and, to be honest, of my entire market research career is: What the heck do you do for a living?
I have tried for years to come up with a succinct, easy-to-process answer. I am convinced there isn’t one. (If I am wrong and someone out there has that answer, please share it with me. Thanks!)
The best way I have found to explain market research and my job is through stories. I have two.
Analogy
When people learn I am a market researcher, they often say: ‘Oh, you do focus groups,’ or ‘so you call people and interview them.’
Well, yes. However, focus groups, survey panels, and IDIs (in-depth interviews) are just tools we use in market research. These powerful tools help us gather insights that answer our client’s questions. Then our clients can take those answers and make educated, strategic business decisions.
Market researchers help clients get from questions to answers to decisions. We are like architects.
When you see a house or office building under construction, it is easy to see the carpenter. Same with the plumber and electrician. The work they do is critical, but it is just part of the overall construction.
The architect, on the other hand, is involved in the entire process. Here are just some of the tasks architects and market researchers have in common:
- Meet with the client to determine needs, requirements, and challenges.
- Manage the project from start to finish.
- Design a plan.
- Adjust the plan as necessary.
- Comply with all local, state, and federal regulations.
- Determine and stay within budgets and timelines.
- Collaborate with other professionals. (This is where the carpenters / focus groups come in.)
- Ensure the finished product looks good, meets all needs, and exceeds expectations. (Hand over the keys.)
It’s a lot of work, but it is so rewarding to design and execute a study, and then see the results come to life long after the market research project is done!
Personal experience
I had my first experience with market research when I was 18 years old, and I didn’t even know it.
A market researcher interviewed me about my preferences on new car features. She wanted to know if I expected to have antilock brakes or an airbag as a standard option in a new car purchase. (This was before either option was standard, and car makers were trying to learn what people would pay for.)
I wanted both, but that wasn’t an acceptable answer. I remember being really frustrated because the interviewer was making me pick just one response. How do you that when both are equally important?
Thankfully, I was allowed the opportunity to explain my answer. So, I told her,
- “I like my face, and an airbag will stop it from slamming into the steering wheel.” (I was 18 and a bit of a punk.)
- “If my car has anti-lock brakes, then my face might not be in jeopardy in the first place.”
The very next year, both safety features were included in new cars for this automobile company. I’d like to think it wasn’t a coincidence that the survey’s insights led to creating this change. Who knows.
That is what market research does. It makes companies think about things in a way that can move the needle. It effects change.
It never gets old
When I first joined The Olinger Group in 2000, I didn’t really understand what market research was. I also didn’t expect to stay more than three or four years.
In fact, I told Jude: “The day it is not interesting anymore, I am out of here.”
Now, all these years later, I laugh when I think about that. I haven’t hit that wall yet. I am always learning new things and get to be in the know for what’s next – new products or new services.
The other engaging factor is hearing and learning from the different perspectives and layers of the human experience. And I get to carry those stories with me. It’s amazing.
This is the coolest job ever.
Ever!
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