Hints and Tips

Selecting a Professional Firm or Consultant

If you do decide to seek out the service of a professional marketing
research firm or consultant, the following steps will save you both time
and money:

Think and rethink the question or problem to be solved. In many
instances, clarification of the problem will solve the problem itself.
Write down on paper the general purpose of the research and the specific
objectives you wish to accomplish. Indicate the target market and describe
it as completely as possible. Make a list of the questions you need
answered. The research study should be absolutely clear in your mind before
you share it with a marketing researcher.

Prepare a Request for Proposal (RFP). An RFP outlines all aspects of
the research and asks a research company to respond with a proposal and
bid. It should include all background information on the problem and
proposed project, the purpose and objectives, and what you hope to do with
the results. If you have budgetary limitations, spell them out.

Talk to several research companies or consultants. As with any other
type of professional, marketing researchers vary according to size, price,
areas of expertise and even personalities. Contact several companies, using
the Yellow Pages or through your local chapter of the American Marketing
Association (AMA) or the American Association of Public Opinion Research
(AAPOR). Talk to enough firms until you find several with which you are
comfortable. Don't hesitate to ask for background materials, references or
examples of past work.

Send RFPs to three firms. While it might be appealing to send RFPs to
a dozen or more firms with the hope of getting back an excellent proposal
at a very low price, remember, you have to review and evaluate all of them.
Three should give you a perspective on the range of prices and ideas. Ask
to have a written proposal returned to you on a set date, including a bid
and work schedule.

Evaluate every aspect of all the research proposals. When you first
look at the proposals, you may be inclined to select a company based solely
on price. This may be a big mistake, and you will learn first-hand that
"you get what you pay for." Evaluate the approach each firm has suggested,
determine how well the problem is understood, and see if the price makes
sense. If one of the three firms claims it could conduct 150 personal
interviews for you at $125 each, while the other two suggest telephone
interviews at $25 each, you might want to call the first research firm and
verify the project was fully understood.

Select a research firm and notify. Once you have made your decision,
respond in writing to the firm and set a time to meet and further discuss
the project. Make sure you stay involved throughout the project, and that
communication channels are open between the researcher and yourself. There
is nothing worse to have a major "surprise" at the end of the study, such
as cost over-runs or incomplete or incorrect data.
As with any business tool, the more you understand the proper application
of marketing research, the more valuable it becomes to you and your
company.

How to Sound Like You Mean Business

There comes a time in life when we need to throw our weight around. To be taken seriously. To command attention. Not to intimidate or manipulate others (I hope) but to take a powerful stand for something we believe in.

Actors, orators and politicians have been using these techniques for centuries. Now you can learn them too. Here's the basic idea: You can't communicate effectively without emotion. To express yourself fully and congruently you merely need to access the proper emotional state. You do this by giving yourself cues, which are auditory (heard), kinesthetic (felt), and visual (seen). Here's how:

Every tone of voice has a corresponding:

1. Key word- auditory cue

2. Mental image- visual cue

3. Body language- kinesthetic cue

KEY WORD: Your auditory cue. Using a single word, name the over-riding “feeling” you'd like to convey in your presentation. For an authoritative tone of voice choose a dynamic active word such as: "power," "strong," "win," "go," or "yes"(my favorite). Say this word aloud over and over with gusto!

MENTAL IMAGE: Your visual cue. As you say your authoritative key word out loud, a movie will begin to form in your mind. Keep saying your key word over and over, making the image clear and bright. For an authoritative tone of voice, some people see themselves as a coach, an executive or a military officer. Find the image that works for you. But notice all the cinematic details, the colors, the set design, the supporting players.

BODY LANGUAGE: Your kinesthetic cue. The fastest way to change the sound of your voice is to change your physiology. Make your body language BIG. To sound more authoritative, stand up! Erect posture. Strong hand gestures. Firm gaze, even when you are on the phone. In fact, when speaking on the phone, don't let your eyes wander. If you are alone in the room, fix your gaze on the eyes of a person in a photograph or magazine. This technique may sound a little strange, but it really works!

How to make money with a market research job

Have you ever been wandering the shopping mall and had someone stop and ask you if you would like to take part in a market research survey? Market research and advertising is big business today. There are people asking questions in election polls over the phone, stopping viewers outside movie theatres and even giving away free products on commercial TV, if you simply call their 800 number and tell them what you liked or didn't like about their candidate, food product or commericial advertising - and these people will pay some serious money for your responses!


Pinecone research, formerly Acorn, does market research surveys on-line. You can make money and receive free products for doing 10 minute surveys on everything from cereal to furniture polish. I found out about this through Consumer Opinion Services (the market researchers at malls and grocery stores). If you go to Pinecone's home page, you will find a toll free 800 number to call to get started. Your first on-line survey, about you, will pay five dollars in cash. Once you are in the system as a surveyor, they pay you $5 by check for each survey. You also may receive free products, anything from shampoo to cereal to try out at home. These researchers are serious about the questions. Based upon your answers, they will change the product, the packaging, the price, or even the advertising campaign.



Pinecone's web site is specifically formatted to your computer equipment at sign-up even if you are a WEBTV user, so the product displays and questions are easy to read and respond to in a hurry. One note of caution however, you must have a working telephone and email in case of additional follow-up questions, but they almost never call unless a question has been skipped. Also, personal information such as income, race, and ages of family members are asked to determine demographics or target audience of sales.


Sometimes these little surveys will put you on a major list if you are a registered voter for a "focus group" - if you are asked to go to one of these, usually for political candidates and issues, they can pay over $50 and feed you dinner or lunch! So the next time you are stopped at the mall, remember the market researchers are asking you to make a difference in their advertising.


Often a researcher will ask your age or source of income. Anyone who works for a grocery store, advertising or market research are excluded. This is because many of the products have not yet been introduced to the market and they do not want a professional in the field to give away their secrets. This makes many of the surveys fun and adventurous since some of the products are SO new they appear bold or even funny at first presentation to the public.


Radio and TV stations often do "listener" or "viewer" surveys. After an initial phone call, they send you a packet to keep track of what stations you hear or watch often and they also pay a small stipend for your trouble or send demo records/videos for your review. In order to find out more, go to FREE STUFF in your search engine or look for Pinecone Research, Greenfield, or observe closely those 800 numbers on the products that you buy. Even a short letter to a company whose products you appreciate can produce a coupon or free sample from the company.

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