Being able to listen and ask questions are the most valuable skills
a market researcher has. They're especially needed when you're dealing with
a client who wants you to construct a survey for a new product or service.
You have to figure out just what the client wants.
"I tell my students,
a marketing researcher is like the jury in a court," says associate marketing
professor Subbu Sivaramakrishnan. "You're not going with any predetermined
decisions, you don't already have your mind made up, in which case there's
no point in doing your research. You're going in with a very open mind and
then you're listening to all the data, which is kind of like the evidence
in a courtroom. You take all those data and then you put it all together and
make sense out of it, and then make a decision."
You work for a large
market research firm that provides services on a contract basis. You're sitting
in your office when the firm's biggest client walks in and plunks himself
down. His company, a major candy bar producer, wants to launch a new taste
treat. The trouble is, he's not sure what kind of bar the public wants. He
asks you to design a survey and find out.
Before you go any further,
you should ask him some questions to figure out exactly what he's looking
to find out. What questions will you ask him? Try to come up with at least
six to eight questions.