Keeping Your Market Research Project On Track

No: Not if your team has been changing direction about priorities and scope during the design process.

Yes: If you, the client, has stayed true to original objectives and your hypotheses were clearly laid out. A delay in this case might indicate the agency is overbooked.

No: Not if the agency is using a specific indirect method. For example, there are certain ways of constructing questions such that the most objective data can be gathered. Sometimes it might seem indirect—but there is a reason.

For example, let’s take the example of a project on brand preferences. Instead of asking people what they think of Brand X, we might ask what they think of Brands X, Y, and Z. Do we care about Y and Z? Maybe not. But we don’t want to tip our hand to the participant that we do care about X. This is a simple example, but hopefully demonstrates why you might find a question off point. It might, in fact, be a good choice.

Yes: If the draft reveals a clear lack of understanding about the topic, ask about it. If you feel that a survey taker would find the flow confusing, ask about it. If brand names are misspelled or other sloppy work is evident, escalate it.

No: Not a real red flag if a legitimate roadblock has come up. Examples of common, legitimate issues: (a) you provided your own list, and it is not performing well; (b) you are collecting data in a country that is experiencing a political event, labor strike, national holiday, or other disruptive event.

Yes: If the agency had at least a week prior to data collection beginning with your approval on screening criteria and quotas, this could be a legitimate red flag. Ask about it. There could be a valid explanation, but it is worth asking.

Possible: This can be a very legitimate red flag. Are they showing up to important meetings ill-prepared? Unable to answer questions on the fly? That suggests they are overbooked.

If you feel that the resources assigned to your project are not being given adequate time, escalate it. It is perfectly fine to remind the agency that you hired it with the understanding that it would adequately staff your project—and that you now feel this is not happening.

Possible: If you find any data suspicious at all, ask about it immediately. Most likely, the data were not labeled clearly (such that you were unable to interpret correctly). Professional research firms have QA processes that really do minimize the chance of data errors.

Still, it happens, and if you feel at all uncomfortable or suspicious about data you see, you should immediately identify the specific data points and calmly ask for clarification. Don’t risk antagonizing the hard-working researcher by overreacting; chances are, there is a logical explanation.

Very likely. If your project includes a final presentation upon conclusion, the agency will have been working on it for at least a week prior to delivery, and more likely for two weeks (especially for large projects). Will it be 100 percent complete three days before the presentation? Not necessarily, but it should be at least 80 percent complete.

Very often, the last few days are spent polishing and editing, so the agency should at least be able to send you the management summary or some subsections. And you should ask for it. The last thing you want is to find out—too late—that the agency rushed to pull together a haphazard presentation. Let it know you will want to see it at least three days before, and it should be able to comply. If it can’t comply, escalate the issue.

An experienced researcher will not expect to reveal a research study’s results to your internal clients without having given you ample opportunity to preview it.

An important exception: If you have given the agency a very short deadline, it may be unreasonable to ask for a preview of more than a day in advance. Don’t ask them to generate a final presentation in less than five business days and expect a preview two days later.