Sound judgement needs sound information
For any emerging problem or opportunity faced by a business, showing sound judgement and making the best decision is heavily reliant on having sound information. Whether it is living up to the statement of “knowing your customer”, assessing the attractiveness of a market, or establishing your core brand values, all these decisions require a degree of high end analysis which means the need for quality data. Employing market research that can be tailored specifically to help address the ambiguity surrounding the decision on whether to act on a problem or opportunity is one effective method where information can provide much needed guidance.
It is important to distinguish that research by itself does not provide the whole answer. Market research is about gathering relevant information, real knowledge rests in the interpretation of the results and how these can be used to judge the best course of action, or moreover, to drive effective decision making. Making a wrong decision is an inevitable part of life, making a bad decision is a failure of judgement. Therefore, it can be suggested that a good decision comprises three elements: gathering facts and analysis, finding insights and judgements, and deliberation leading to decision. To liken the process to a tripod – when one leg fails the whole structure is compromised – if one of these three elements is overlooked, then a bad decision outcome is likely.
At the forefront of this process is being able to sense an emerging problem or opportunity. Sometimes these can emerge very publicly and explicitly, or they can be very subtle. For example, the entrant of a low-cost competitor, like Virgin Blue, was quite an explicit problem for QANTAS. Conversely, the more subtle opportunity or problem tends to lay under the surface of the market, like, for example, the mass urbanisation of China’s rural population that underpinned the country’s extraordinary growth over the past decade. Sensing an emerging problem or opportunity provides the frame or context that can tailor the most effective means of information gathering.
It is imperative when undertaking market research to have a keen understanding of the issue that needs to be addressed. This will ensure that the scope of research is to the point and precise, it will meet your desired objectives, and therefore will provide the most valuable insight. Market research will be least effective when the breadth of scope is too large to allow for any depth in analysis. This will result in insights only touching the surface of the core issue (by not addressing the true objective) and the resulting judgement being too narrow. For example, say your company is losing market share to your nearest competitor and you need to know why. The first question any market researcher would ask is “what is your brand value proposition and do you think you meet those expectations?” Immediately this line of questioning links the symptom of lost market share on the underlying core problem – fulfilling expectations. Conversely, the issue might be “what is it that your competitor does differently, that is, how their business model differs from yours?” Targeted questioning that starts the “thinking exercise” of getting to the heart of the issue is a clear starting point for showing sound judgement, leading to a good decision being made. When the time comes to engage market research, you can be confident that the results will address the ambiguity of the problem or opportunity by presenting sound information leading to sound judgement.