Are you sure you can really do your own research?

Why do so many people think they can do their own research? The number of poor quality surveys and discussion groups I’ve seen, hastily put together and served out by a number of the providers I subscribe to is amazing.

The reasons for doing research may be multiple and already it’s necessary to acknowledge that these companies and individuals understand their need to do research, as not everyone does. They might want to better understand their consumer base and increase loyalty, launch a new product or service, understand how they play in their competitive set.

However, you will get little value from a survey or discussion group that is badly constructed : leading questions; an order which corrupts your ‘spontaneous’ responses; closed questions which should be open-ended; single-response which should be multi-response or vice-versa…The list is endless. Not to mention the bias inherent in the fact you are doing a survey on your own product or service. All these factors lead to results that are very questionable and you would be better not to use. I have seen some surveys where it was clear that the results would be immediately unusable. In one case, as it’s a company I am particularly fond of, I wrote them and let them know specifically which questions they should think of changing if they were to make an informed improvement to their service providing.

So please, no matter the size or the stage of your company, invest in the services of a professional for your research. There are many consultants out there and many of us have significant experience, as well as your choice of large or small companies. If you want your research to inform strategic decision making, it's not child's play.