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Martin, Thank You DNO
> Hi Taylor,
> You have asked a mighty big question. One to > which there are a thousand answers! > Research is vital, I agree, but beware of > researching yourself into a hole. > Look at what happened to Coca Cola. They > researched, and researched and decided that > what the public REALLY wanted was a new > flavor. Of course, the public wanted no such > thing and the company had to make a > humiliating and expensive stand-down. > Over the years I have been involved with > dozens of major companies that have spent > vast sums of money, time and effort on > research into marketing strategies. > Sometimes it works, but often it is a > resounding failure. > Take British Airways, for example. Three > years ago research indicated that the ONLY > way for them to make money long term was to > effectively ignore the tourist 'back of the > bus' traffic and to concentrate all of their > marketing efforts on the more lucrative > business travelers. > And it worked. Until three unforeseen > factors became more important: low cost, > no-frills carriers walked away with almost > all of BA's short-haul tourist business, > September 11th decimated transatlantic > passenger numbers, and the global recession > (coupled with an increasing emergence of > electronic communications) stopped the few > remaining businesspeople from wanting or > needing to travel. > So what value was all that research? > All research into marketing and markets can > tell you is about the situation RIGHT NOW, > based on the quality of the questions asked. > Ask the wrong question (as Coca Cola did) > and you get a very misleading answer. > Before you start any research, ask yourself > what you want to know. Give yourself a > focus. The five 'W's' and two 'H's' are a > perfect starting point: > Who > What > Where > Why > When > How > How Much > Ask each one as many times as you like until > you can't find another way of asking it. > Then conduct your research to answer those, > and only those questions. > How do you research? Any way you can. > You have a great resource - your > subscribers. Ask them. > The most valuable research tool that > advertising agencies use (sometines > over-use) is the focus group. You get 8 > people together and get them to focus on > your problem. The solutions often jump right > out. And usually, because they are being > thought up by real live consumers, rather > than marketing whizz-kids, they are > eminemtly sensible, practical and do-able. > Finally, never be afraid to throw a golden > nugget of a research finding out if it runs > contrary to everything you know and believe. > You can test stuff in the market until the > cows come home, but the first and most > important test should be inside your brain. > If it feels totally wrong, the odds are that > it is. > Now, get yourself back to the library and > focus on what it is you REALLY need to find > out! > Have fun! > Martin nm |
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