7/28/2019 Marketing Research Consultants

1/5

T h e E f fe c tiv e U s e ofM a r k e t in g R e se a rc hC o n s u l t a n t sRobert A. Peterson Roger A. Kerin

R ela t i ve l y l i t t l e h a s b een w r i t t en a b o u t e f f ec t i ve l y m a n a g in gt h e b u y e r - s e l l e r r e l a t i on s h i p f o r m a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c h s e r v i c e s .T o p ro v id e in s ig h ts i n to e f f ec t i ve l y m a n a g in g th i s r e la tio n sh ip ,a s u r v e y o f b o t h b u y e r s a n d s e l l e r s o f m a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c hs e r v i c e s w a s c o n d u c t e d . M a j o r fi n d i n g s w e r e t h a t p r o p e r p r o b -l em d e f in it i o n , a f a m i l ia r i~ w i th re sea rch m e th o d s b y t h eresea rch b u yer , a n d co n t in u o u s co m m u n ica t io n b e tw een b u yera n d se l l e r w e re c r i t i ca l d e t e rm in a n t s o f a su ccess fu l co n su l ta n tre la t io n sh ip . F o r b es t r e su l t s t h e m a rke t r e sea rch b u yer - se l l e rre la t io n sh ip sh o u ld b e t r ea t ed a s a m u tu a l l y b en e f i c ia l o n e , n o to n e o f co n f l i c t o r a cr im o n y .

I N T R O D U C T I O NM a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c h i s p l a y i n g a n i n c r e a s i n g l y i m p o r -

t a n t r o l e in m a n a g e r i a l d e c i s i o n m a k i n g . N o t o n l y a r em o r e f i r m s e m p l o y i n g m a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c h , b u t m a r k e t i n gr e s e a r c h i s b e i n g i n c o r p o r a t e d m o r e f r e q u e n t l y an d e a r -l i e r i n t h e d e c i s i o n m a k i n g p r o c e s s [ e . g . , 1 , 2 ] . C o i n c i -d e n t w i t h t h is g r o w i n g i m p o r t a n c e i s t h e i n c r e a s i n g u s e o fc o m m e r c i a l m a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c h c o n s u l t a n t s a n d a g e n c i e s .I n d e e d , r e c e n t e s t i m a t e s i n d i c a t e t h a t h u n d r e d s o f mil -

A d d r e s s c o r r e s p o n d e n c e t o : R o b e r t A . P e t e r s o n , P r o f e s s o r o f M a r k e t i n g ,G r a d u a t e S c h o o l o f B u s i n e s s , T h e U n i v e r s it y o f T e x a s , A u s t i n , T X 7 8 7 1 2 .

l i o n s o f d o l l a rs a r e s p e n t a n n u a l l y f o r c o m m e r c i a l o re x t r a o r g a n i z a t i o n m a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c h s e r v i c e s [ 3 ] .

T h e r e a s o n s f o r u s i n g o u t s i d e m a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c h c o n -s u l ta n t s a r e m a n y a n d v a r i e d . I n g e n e r a l , t h e m o r e i m p o r -t an t r easons i nc l ude [4 ] : S p e c i a l i z e d s k i ll s , k n o w l e d g e an d r e s o u r c e s ; M a n p o w e r a n d c o s t s a v in g s ; O b j e c t i v i t y a n d f r e s h p e r s p e c t i v e s ; A n o n y m i t y i n c o n d u c t i n g r e s e a r c h ; a n d M a n a g e m e n t a c c e p t a n c e o f r e su l ts .

S t i ll , d e s p i t e t h e b e l i e f t h a t m a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c h c o n s u l -t a n t s a r e a p o t e n t i a l l y u s e f u l m a n a g e m e n t r e s o u r c e , r e l a -t i v e l y l it tl e h a s b e e n w r i tt e n o n t h e e f f e c t i v e m a n a g e m e n to f th i s re s o u r c e . W h i l e g u i d e l i n e s h a v e b e e n o f f e r e d f o ro b t a i n i n g a n d e v a l u a t i n g c o m m e r c i a l m a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c hproposa l s , ( e .g . , [ 5 ] , bu t see [6 ] fo r a d i f f e r en t v i ew)c r i ti c a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s i n v o l v e d i n m a n a g i n g t h e i n t e rf a c eb e t w e e n b u y e r s a n d s e l le r s o f m a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c h s e r -v i c e s g o v i r t u a l l y u n c h a r t e d . E v e n t h o u g h e x p e r i e n c e dm a r k e t i n g m a n a g e r s a n d r e s e a r c h e r s o f t e n h a v e t h e i r i n -d i v id u a l c r i t e ri a - - h e u r is t i c s o r " r u l e s o f t h u m b " - - t h en e o p h y t e u s e r o f m a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c h s e r v ic e s m a y e n -c o u n t e r s e r i o u s p r o b l e m s w h e n a t t e m p t i n g t o u t i l i z e r e -s e a r c h c o n s u l t a n t s o r s u p p l i e r s ( m a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c h" s e l l e r s " ) m o s t e f f e c t i v e l y . T h e p r e s e n t r e s e a r c h e f f o r t

Elsevier North Holland, Inc., 1980 IndustrialMarketing Management 9 , 6 9 - 7 3 ( 1 9 8 0 ) 6 90 0 1 9 - 8 5 0 1 / 8 0 / 0 1 0 0 6 9 - 0 5 / $ 0 1 . 7 5

7/28/2019 Marketing Research Consultants

2/5

w a s d e s i g n e d t o t ap t h e c o l l e c ti v e w i s d o m o f e x p e r i e n c e dm a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c h b u y e r s a n d s e l l e r s in d e v e l o p i n g a l is to f p r a c ti c a l t i p s t o a u g m e n t t h e m a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c hb u y e r ' s e f f e c t i v e n e s s i n m a n a g i n g t h e b u y e r - s e l l e r r e l a -t i o n s h i p f o r m a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c h s e r v i c e s .

p o t e n t i a l m a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c h b u y e r s , 1 8 8 ( 3 5 . 4 % ) w e r er e t u r n e d . T h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g f i g u r e s f o r m a r k e t i n g s e l l e rsw e r e 1 9 7 a nd 8 9 ( a r e s p o n s e r a t e o f 4 5 . 2 % ) .F I N D I N G S

M E T H O D

T o c o l l e c t r e q u i s i t e s t u d y d a t a , p o s t c a r d s u r v e y s w e r em a i l e d t o r a n d o m s a m p l e s o f p o t e n t ia l m a r k e t i n g r e -s e a r c h b u y e r s a n d s e l l e r s l i s t e d i n t h e 1 9 7 7 M a rk e t i n gS e rv i c e O rg a n i za t i o n a n d M e m b e rsh ip R o s t e r p u b l i s h e db y t he A m e r i c a n M a r k e t i n g A s s o c i a ti o n . T h e s a m p l e o fm a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c h b u y e r s c o n s i s t e d o f m a r k e t i n g r e -s e a r c h v i c e p r e s i d e n t s o r m a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c h d e p a r t m e n th e a d s ; t h e s e l l e r s a m p l e c o n s i s t e d o f p re s i d e n t s o r v i c ep r e s id e n t s o f c o m m e r c i a l m a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c h a g e n c i e s .

E a c h p o t e n t i a l r e s p o n d e n t w a s m a i l e d a p e r s o n a l l e t t e re x p l a i n i n g t h e p u r p o s e o f th e r e s e a r c h a n d r e q u e s t i n g h i so r h e r c o o p e r a t i o n . T h i s l e t t e r w a s a c c o m p a n i e d b y a no v e r s i z e p o s t c a r d q u e s t i o n n a i r e c o n t a i n i n g a s i n g l eo p e n - e n d ( s y n o p t i c ) q u e s t i o n :

"W hat 3 t ips would you give a marketing researcherwhich w ould permi t h im to deal more ef fect ively wi th h isresearch suppl iers?"S p a c e w a s d e s i g n a t e d f o r th r e e r e s p o n s e s a n d a s e c t i o np r o v i d e d f o r c o m m e n t s . W h i l e re s p o n d e n t s w e r e r e -q u e s t e d t o i n d i c a t e w h e t h e r t h e y d e s i r e d a c o p y o f t h es t u d y f i n d i n g s , n o o t h e r r e s p o n s e i n d u c e m e n t t e c h n i q u ew a s e m p l o y e d . 1 O f t h e 5 3 1 q u e s t i o n n a i r e s m a i l e d t o

1 E i g h t y - f o u r p e r c e n t o f t h e r e s p o n d e n t s r e q u e s t e d a c o p y o f t h e s t u d yf i n d i n g s . T h i s s u g g e s t s , a t t h e l e a s t, h i g h s t u d y i n v o l v e m e n t a m o n g r e s p o n -d e n t s .

ROBE RT A. PETERSO N is Professor of Market ing Adm inistrat ion,the U nivers i t y o f Texas at Aust in , and Se nior Research Fellow,the Inst itu te for Cons t ruct i ve Cap i ta l ism. H e is the author orco-author o f over 80 books and ar t i c les and is current ly themarke t i ng ed i t o r f o r Social Science Quarterly and a sect ionedi tor for the Journal of M arketing and t he Journal of M arketingResearch.ROGER A. KERIN is Associate Professor o f Market ing andDi rector o f Research, Southern Method is t Univers i t y . ProfessorKer i n has pub l i shed ex t ens i ve l y in t he marke t ing and bus i nessl i terature; recent ly he co-authored Strategic Marketing: Casesand Comments (A l l yn and Bacon).

R e s p o n s e s w e r e o b t a i n e d f r o m a ll a r e a s o f th e U n i t e dS t a t e s a s w e l l a s C a n a d a a n d M e x i c o . L a r g e a n d s m a l lf i r m s w e r e r e p r e s e n t e d , a s w e r e p r o d u c t a n d s e r v i c ec o m p a n i e s , a n d p r o f i t - n o n p r o f i t o rg a n i z a t i o n s . F o re x a m p l e , s e l l e r r e p l i e s w e r e o b t a i n e d f r o m s i x o f th es e v e n l a r g e s t c o m m e r c i a l m a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c h a g e n c i e s .O n t he b u y e r s i d e , re s p o n s e s c a m e f r o m s u c h w e l l k n o w no r g a n i z a t i o n s a s C h a s e M a n h a t t a n B a n k , U n i o n C a r b i d ea n d B l u e C r o s s - B l u e S h i e l d . I n e s s e n s e , i n v e s t i g a t i o n o fr e s p o n d e n t a n d n o n r e s p o n d e n t o r g a n i z a t i o n s s u g g e s t e dt h a t r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s a m p l e s o f m a r k e t in g r e s e a r c h p r o f e s -s i o n a l s , b u y e r s a s w e l l a s s e l l e r s , w e r e o b t a i n e d .

S i n c e r e s p o n s e s w e r e f r e e - f o r m , a c o n t e n t a n a l y s i sw a s a p p l i e d t o c a t e g o r i z e a n d s u m m a r i z e t h e d a ta . R e -s p o n s e s r a n g e d f r o m t h e v e r y s p e c i f i c ( e . g . , " v e r i f ys u p p l i e r ' s f i e l d w o r k a s i t i s o n e o f th e w e a k e s t l i nk s i nt h e r e s e a rc h p r o c e s s " ) t o t h e s w e e p i n g ( e . g . , " l e t t h es u p p l i e r d o h i s t h i n g " ) . A f t e r c h e c k i n g f o r i n t e r j u d g er e l i a b i l i t y i n c o n t e n t a n a l y s i s p r o c e d u r e s , i t w a s p o s s i b l et o d e r i v e n i n e c a t e g o r i e s o f a n s w e r s - - - e i g h t t o p i c a lc a t e g o r i e s a n d a p o t p o u r r i " o t h e r " c a t e g o r y . T h e s ec a t e g o r i e s a r e r e p o r t e d i n T a b l e 1 , t o g e t h e r w i t h c o r r e -s p o n d in g p e r c e n t a g e r e s p o n s e s f o r e a c h s a m p l e . T w op e r c e n t a g e s a r e g iv e n f o r e a c h c a t e g o r y a n d s a m p l e - - ap e r c e n t a g e r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e p r o p o r t i o n o f to ta l s a m p l er e s p o n s e s f a l l i n g i n t o t h a t c a t e g o r y , a n d a p e r c e n t a g er e p r e s e n t i n g t h e p r o p o r t i o n o f f i r s t r e s p o n s e s i n t h a tc a t e g o r y . N o t e t h a t n o t a l l r e s p o n d e n t s g a v e t h r e e a n -s w e r s t o t h e q u e s t i o n . T o t e s t th e i n d e p e n d e n c e o f th er e s p o n s e s o f t h e t w o s a m p l e s , C h i - s q u a r e a n a l y s e s w e r ec o n d u c t e d s e p a r a t e l y f o r t o t a l r e s p o n s e s a n d f i r s t r e -s p o n s e s . W h i l e t h e r e s p o n s e d i s t r i b u t i o n s w e r e v i r t u a l l yi den t i ca l wi t h r egard t o f i r s t r esponses , t here was a s i gn i f -i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e ( c~ < 0 . 0 1 ) b e t w e e n t h e s a m p l e s w i t hr e g a r d t o t o t a l r e s p o n s e s . T h i s d i f f e r e n c e w a s p r i m a r i l yd u e t o t h r e e r e s p o n s e c a t e g o r i e s .

M a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c h s e l l e r s m a d e r e l a t i v e l y m o r e r e -s p o n s e s r e l a t i n g t o n o t b a s i n g r e s e a r c h p a t r o n a g e d e c i -s i o n s s o l e l y u p o n c o s t a n d r e l y i n g o n t h e s e l l e r ' s e x p e r -t i se i n a l l s ta g e s o f t h e r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t , f r o m d e s i g n t oi n t e rp r e t a t io n o f re s u l t s. O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , m a r k e t i n gr e s e a r c h b u y e r s m o r e f r e q u e n t l y i n d i c a t e d t h a t r e s e a r c hp r o p o s a l s s h o u l d b e o b t a i n e d i n w r i t in g . T h i s i s a s w o u l db e e x p e c t e d , g i v e n t h e n a t u r e o f th e i n d u s t r y a n d p r e v i -

7 0

7/28/2019 Marketing Research Consultants

3/5

T A B L E 1S u m m a r y A n a l y s i s o f Q u e s t io n n a i re R e s p o n s e s

Response Categories

Percentage of Percentage ofTotal Responses Firs t ResponsesBuyers Suppl ier Buyers Suppl ier

Have clear understanding of problemprio r to contacting suppli er. 13 12 31 26

Get suppliers closely involved, andat an early stage. 14 12 t8 22

Check past clients of suppliers,evaluate prior experience andindustry familiarity. 15 13 19 13

Know what procedures and techniquesare to be employed. 11 7 4 5

Rely upon supplier's experienceand experti se 5 10 3 7

Obtain research proposals inwriting. 7 2 5 3

Inquire into and conductindependent data checks. 5 6 3 5

Learn exactly who will be involved. 5 6 4 3Do not base supplier decision only

upon cost. 4 10 1 1Other 21 22 13 15Limit number of suppliers,

work with same overtime.Always obtain competitive bids.Obtain firm time and completion

schedules, yet be prepared toremain flexible.

Get proposal broken down intocomponents, progress reports.

MiscellaneousNumber of Responses 561 262 188 89

ous research [7]. The cost issue in particular is wellsummarized by one response:

"Don't buy the lowest price all the time. If a re-searcher is well under the bid of another or several others,there is some reason. Either he doesn't understand [theproblem], or he is in [financial] trouble and needs thebusiness . . . . "

Overall, however, the two samples exhibited relativelysimilar response patterns. These patterns can in turn beinterpreted with respect to two distinct perspectives--aphilosophical one and an operational one.

P H I L O S O P H I C A L P E R S P E C T IV E SOne o f the most intriguing findings relates to the philo-

sophical nature of many responses. A common recom-mendation is that the research buyer must possess a clearand complete understanding of the research problem priorto contacting a commercial marketing research agency.

The importance of this advice is underscored by the largenumber of first mentions it received. Nearly one out ofthree marketing research buyers presented it as theirprimary suggestion, while one out of four marketingresearch sellers mentioned it as a first response. Becauseof its relative importance, Table 2 reproduces selectedverbatim comments illustrative of "problem understand-ing" responses.A second major piece of general advice can be suc-cinctly described under the rubric of "Involvement andCommunication." About one out of five respondentsmentioned getting the marketing research seller involvedat an early stage in the research process as a first-orderpiece of advice. "Ad opt the partnership philosophy. Askyour suppliers to become a member of your 'team,'working with you, not fo r you". Comments such as"Communicate completely with your research suppliers.They can't do their best without all the facts," perhapsbest illustrate the intent of both marketing research buyerand seller with regard to the issue of communication.While other response categories can be identified, theabove two dominate. Together they accounted for nearlyhalf the first mentions, a relatively large percentage giventhe open-ended nature of the question posed to the studyindividuals.

O P E R A T I O N A L P E R S P E C T I V E SA n a d d i t io n a l p e r s p e c t i v e w h i c h s e e m s t o b a l a n c e t h e

p h i l o s o p h i c a l o n e i s t h at r e la t in g t o o p e r a t i o n a l c o n s i d e r -a t i o n s . T h e o p e r a t i o n a l p e r s p e c t iv e i s r e f l e c t e d b y s u c h r e -s p o n s e c a t e g o r i e s a s i n v e s t i g a t in g t h e m a r k e t i n g r e s ea r c h

T A B L E 2S e l e c t e d P e r s p e c t i v e s o n I n i ti a t in g t h e B u y e r - S u p p l i e r R e l a t i o n s h i p "I guess the most important tip is to be sure [the buyer] knows and

understands his own ne ed s.. , do as much as you can to know what youwant, why you want it and how you're going to use it before you ask[a supplier] to give it to you. "- - a supplier

"Take the time, effort and discipline to carefully think through and writeou t the problem in as much detail as possible before contacting the indepen-dent research firm. If you don't have a clear understanding of your problemwhen you first meet with the research company, the probabilities are veryhigh that any research that is done will be off target. "--a supplier "Kn ow the problems you are trying to provide information on. Definethe probl em clearly with the client (product management) before approachingthe supplier. "- -a buyer

"Be absolutely sure that you know what information is needed before askingfor a bid. "--a buyer "Deve lop clearly defined research obj ect ive s.. , or at least a concise defini-

tion of the problem before contacting supplier. "- -a buyer

7 1

7/28/2019 Marketing Research Consultants

4/5

s e l l e r ' s e x p e r i e n c e a n d p a s t c l i e n t p e r fo rm a n c e , a n d b e -i n g p e r s o n a l l y f a m i l i a r w i t h t h e s p e c i f i c r e s e a r c h p ro c e -d u re s , t e c h n i q u e s , a n d p e r s o n n e l t h e r e s e a r c h s e l l e r w i l lu t i li z e . I t is w o r t h n o t i n g r e s p o n d e n t s n o t o n l y s u g g e s t e dtha t l i st s o f pas t se l l e r c l i en t s be ob ta in ed , bu t tha t pas tc l i en t s shou ld ac tua l ly be con tac t ed a n d q u e r i e d a b o u t ar e s e a r c h s e l l e r ' s c a p a b i l it i e s a n d p a s t p e r fo rm a n c e . A l s o ,a n u m b e r o f m a r k e t i n g re s e a r c h b u y e r s a n d s e l le r s m a d ere f e r e n c e to f a l l i n g p r e y t o w h a t m i g h t b e t e rm e d t h e" t e c h n i q u e m y s t i q u e . " A c o m m e n t b y a G e n e r a l E l ec t r icresponden t i l lu s t ra tes th i s po in t :

Insist that approach be spelled o ut by suppliers beforediscussing technique ( there 's a world of d ifference ) . Toomany suppliers are running around peddling techniques.If they can't articulate the rationale of the approach (andappropriate work ing principles) then look elsewhere!W h i l e s e v e ra l o t h e r r e s p o n s e c a t e g o r i e s c a n b e i n t e r -

p r e t e d a s o p e ra t i o n a l i n n a t u r e , o n e i n p a r t i c u l a r d e s e rv e sb r i e f m e n t i o n . Ev e n t h o u g h t h e o v e ra l l r e s p o n s e l e v e l sw e re l o w , t h e r e i s a sl i g h t d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n t h e s a m p l e sa s r e g a rd s r e q u e s t i n g r e s e a r c h p ro p o s a l s i n w r i t i n g :b u y e r s t e n d t o f a v o r t h e m s l i g h t l y m o re t h a n s e l l e r s .I n d e e d , s e v e ra l r e s e a r c h b u y e r s s u g g e s t e d t h a t a llb u y e r - s e l l e r c o m m u n i c a t i o n s b e i n w r i t in g t o a v o id p o s -s i b l e c o n fu s i o n o r m i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g . S e l e c t e d r e m a rk sT A B L E 3Selected O pera tiona l Perspect ives on the Buyer -Supp: ie rRe la t ionsh ip

" B u y V A L U E o f s u p p l i e r ' s c o n tr i b u t io n r a n g i n g f r o m c r e a t iv i t y i n p r o b-l e m s o l v i n g , d e f i n i t i o n , d e s i g n , e x e c u t i o n a n d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . ' ' - - a s u p p l i e r" ' U n d e r s t a n d r e s e a r c h s u p p l i e r s ' c ap a b i l i t i e s . M a n y s u p p l i e r s / c o n s u l t a n t sa r e w i l l i n g t o t a c k l e a n y j o b r e g a r d l e s s o f t h e i r r e s o u r c e s , s k i l l s , a n d e x -p e r ie n c e . " - - a b u y e r" D e t a i l , a g a i n i n w r i t i n g , w h a t t h e s t e p s i n t h e r e s e a r c h p r o g r a m a r e a n dw h o i s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r d o i n g t h e m a n d i n w h a t t i m e f r a m e s . " - - a b u y e r" A l w a y s g e t a g e n c i e s t o w r i te m i n u t e s o f m e e t i n g s . A t t h e s a m e t i m e , t h ei n - h o u s e b u y e r s h o u l d k e e p n o t e s o f a l l a g r e e m e n t s a n d i m p o r t a n t d e c i -s i o ns . " - - a b u y e r" D o n ' t s q u e e z e a s u p p l i e r o n c o s t s n o r e v a l u a t e t h e l e t ti n g o f c o n t r a c t ss o l e l y o n t h e b a s i s o f l o w e s t b i d . C o s t o f a p r o j e c t s h o u l d b e m a t c h e da g a i n s t t h e l e v e l o f q u a l i t y y o u k n o w y o u c a n e x p e c t , t h e d e g r e e o f s e n i o ri n v o l v e m e n t d e s i r e d , t h e t y p e a n d c o m p l e x i t y o f p r o j e c t a n d p a s t e x p e r i e n c ew i t h t h e s u p p l i e r . " - - a b u y e r" P e r s o n a l l y v i s i t s u p p l i e r s ' p l a c e o f b u s i n e s s a n d m e e t t h e i r s t a f f a n do b s e r v e t h e i r c a p a b i l i t i e s t o c o n d u c t q u a l it y r e s e a rc h . " I a b u y e r" W h o w i ll w o r k w i t h y o u - - w h a t l e v el o f p e r s o n n e l , w i t h w h a t b a c k g ro u n d .A r e t h e y s o i n v o l v e d i n numbers t h a t t h e y f o r g e t t h a t ideas a re the r ea ls t u f f o f r e s ea r c h . " ' I a b u y e r" P r o v i d e t h e s u p p l i e r w i t h a s m u c h i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e m a r k e t a n db a c k g r o u n d o f y o u r p r o j e c t a s y o u c a n . G i v e h i m c o p i e s o f p r e l i m i n a r ys t u d i e s , R & D r e p o r t s , e tc . " - - a b u y e r" R e m e m b e r , y o u a r e t h e e x p e r t i n y o u r b u s i n e s s , n o t t h e s u p p l i e r s . H ei s t h e e x p e r t t h er e ; r e c o g n i z e h i m a n d d e a l w i t h h i m a s s u c h . " - - a b u y e r

per ta in ing to opera t iona l cons idera t ions a re l i s t ed inTa b l e 3 t o " f l e s h o u t " t h i s p e r s p e c t i v e .C O N C L U S I O N S

In b r i e f , t h e r e a r e s i x m a j o r s u g g e s t i o n s - - t h r e e w i t h ap h i l o s o p h i c a l m a n a g e r i a l f o c u s a n d t h r e e t h a t a r e o p e ra -t i o na l l y o r i e n t e d - - f o r e f f e c t i v e l y m a n a g i n g t h e m a r k e t-i n g r e s e a r c h b u y e r - s e l l e r r e l a t io n s h i p :

P h i l o s o p h i c a l1. H a v e a c l e a r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e p ro b l e m b e fo re

c o n t a c t i n g a m a rk e t i n g r e s e a r c h s e l l e r . K n o w w h a ti n fo rm a t i o n y o u n e e d a n d w h a t y o u w i l l d o w i t h i t.

2 . O p e n l i ne s o f f ra n k a n d h o n e s t c o m m u n i c a t i o n w i t ht h e r e s e a r c h s e l l e r e a r l y i n t h e r e s e a r c h p ro c e s s a n dm a i n t a i n t h e m t h ro u g h o u t p ro j e c t i m p l e m e n t a t i o n .P r o v i d e w h a t e v e r i n f o r m a t i o n y o u h a v e w h i c hb e a r s o n t h e p ro b l e m a t h a n d . W r i t t e n c o m m u n i c a -t i o n d u r i n g a l l p h a s e s o f t h e r e s e a r c h p ro c e s s i si m p e ra t i v e .3 . En t e r i n to t h e b u y e r - s e l l e r r e l a t io n s h i p w i t h t h eu n d e r s t a n d i n g t h a t m a rk e t i n g r e s e a r c h s e l l e r s a r ep ro fe s s i o n a l s w i t h e x p e r t i s e a n d e x p e r i e n c e .

O p e ra t i o n a l1 . P e r s o n a l l y c h e c k p a s t m a rk e t i n g r e s e a r c h s e l l e r

c l i e n t s to e v a l u a t e t h e s e l l e r ' s p r i o r e x p e r i e n c e w i t hy o u r p ro b l e m , i n d u s t ry f a m i l i a r i t y , a n d o v e ra l l p a s tp e r fo rm a n c e i n a c h i e v i n g r e s e a r c h o b j e c t i v e s .

2 . F a m i l i a r i z e y o u r s e l f w i t h t h e m a rk e t i n g r e s e a r c hp ro c e d u re s a n d t e c h n i q u e s t h a t a r e t o b e u s e d , i n -c l u d i n g t h e i r a p p l i c a b i l i t y t o y o u r p ro b l e m , t h es e l l e r ' s e x p e r t i s e w i t h t h e m , a n d w h o i n th e a g e n c yw i l l a c tu a l l y b e r e s p o n s i b le fo r p e r fo rm i n g t h e m - - i nwri t ing . Main ta in a hea l thy in te res t in researcha c t i v i t i e s ( e x p e c t p e r i o d i c r e p o r t s , c o n d u c t i n d e -p e n d e n t d a t a c h e c k s ) , b u t f o r e g o u n n e c e s s a ry in t e r -f e r e n c e .

3 . M a t c h t h e c o s t o f m a rk e t i n g r e s e a r c h s e rv i c e s w i t ht h e p ro b l e m u n d e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n . Th e a b s o l u t e c o s to f r e s e a r c h m u s t b e e v a l u a t e d w i t h r e g a rd t o t h eo p p o r t u n i t y c o s t o f n o t o b t a i n i n g p ro b l e m - re l e v a n tda ta .

W h i l e t h e s e s u g g e s t i o n s a r e n o t g u a ra n t e e d t o l e a d t oo p t i m u m m a n a g e m e n t o f th e m a r k e t i n g r e s e a r c h b u y e r -s e l l e r r e l a t i o n s h ip , g i v e n t h e i r o r i g i n s t h e y w o u l d a p p e a rt o p o s s e s s c o n s i d e ra b l e v a l i d i t y a n d u s e fu l n e s s . M o re -o v e r , f o r t h e m o s t p a r t t h e s u g g e s t i o n s a r e i n t u i t i v e l yp laus ib le . Perhaps the mos t in te res t ing adv ice i s thes t r e s s g i v e n t o fu l l y u n d e r s t a n d i n g a p ro b l e m b e fo re

7 2

7/28/2019 Marketing Research Consultants

5/5

consulting a commercial marketing research seller. Onemarketing research supplier stated, "The key is tospecify in writing how the results of the research areexpected to be used."

While some readers may object to the implications ofthe term "managing" the marketing research buyer-seller relationship, "m ana gem ent " is not meant to imply"abusing" or "getting the most from" a marketing re-search seller. Rather, as several respondents noted, aninitial step in effectively managing the buyer-seller rela-tionship is to learn the seller side of the relationship andbecome familiar with the research seller's perspective.These respondents emphasize the importance of honestyand integrity during all phases of the relationship. Onebuyer of marketing research stated this idea rathereloquently:

Realize that your supplier must make a profit--at leastover time, if not on every project. Encourage him tomake that profit in ways that are visible to you so that youcan see the data implications of cost and profit decisions.

The marketing research buyer-seller relationship shouldbe treated as a mutually beneficial one, not one of con-flict or acrimony.

REFERENCES

1. Twedt, Dik W., 1978 Survey o f Marketing Research. American MarketingAssociation, Chicago, 1978.2. Small, Robert J. and Rosenberg, Larry J., The Marketing Researcher as a

Decision Maker: Myth or Reality?, Journal of Marketing 35, 1-7 (1975).3. Honomichl, Jack H., Research Top 20: Companies Posted 16% Gain Last

Year, Advertising Age, April 11, 3, 82 ff (1977).4. Usin g Marketing Consultants and Research Agencies, National IndustrialConference Board, New York, 1966.5. Blankenship, A. B. and Barber, R., The Buyer's Side of MarketingResearch, Business Horizons 73-80 (August 1973).6. Twedt, Dik W., Authorization, Control, and Education of Marketing

Research Projects, Journal of Marketing Research 12, 86-92 (1975).7. Haynes, Joel B. and Rothe, James T., Competitive Bidding for Marketing

Research Services: Fact or Fiction?, Journal of Marketing, 38, 69-71(1974).

7 3