In most cases, when even just one or two people in an organization believe they’re in need of some new and/or more current business intelligence, they’re usually right.  But, developing and executing market research requires a serious commitment.  So, before going down that path, ask yourself these questions to ensure you’ll get a reasonable return on your research investment. 

Is a decent amount of the required information already available?  Depending on the nature and scope of the areas in which you need to be better informed, it may be that much of that information is already available in the market.  If you believe this is possible, investigate potential secondary sources such as trade publication articles, internal customer databases, government documents and reports, syndicated studies from analyst groups and research firms, and so forth.  Even if not all the information you need is readily available, you may discover that a decent amount is accessible for a fraction of the cost of conducting primary research.  From there, you and a trusted research partner can assess if it’s worth conducting primary research to fill in the gaps.

Can we afford to conduct research the right way?  If sufficient budget is not available to conduct a study with the methodology and sample size required to deliver reliable data, it may be smarter to forego the research until it can be properly funded.  In some cases, cutting corners on the research could actually produce invalid results that lead decision makers down the wrong path.  Your research partner can help you scope and price an appropriate study based on measurable and attainable research objectives as well as advise on how much you’ll compromise the validity of the data if the program is scaled back to fit a pre-determined budget.

Is management willing to act on the results?  Consider this one very carefully.  For example, customer and employee satisfaction surveys sometime reveal performance deficiencies or other issues that require serious change.  While many progressive leaders seek out and actually embrace opportunities for improvements, we all know people who don’t like a lot of change – especially if it requires substantial investments of time and money or if it takes them too far out of their comfort zone.  Be realistic with management decision makers about what the research results could potentially reveal, and seek their candor on the types and scope of improvements they’d willingly support.  It may be that they’ll be open to only certain types of improvements, which could seriously influence how the survey questionnaire is scripted or even if it makes sense to conduct the research at all.

Is it even possible to act on the results?  More often than not, this issue relates more to specific research questions rather than whether or not a study should be conducted at all.  For example, why ask employees about their training needs if your organization’s budget can’t accommodate training programs?  And, why ask customers about their preferences on your office location if your organization is in the middle of a 15-year lease that it can’t break? 

Be realistic when assessing these issues.  And, seek the input of a research partner.  A good one will be happy to assist with a reality check on whether conducting the research you have in mind makes sense or not.