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Posted by Sherman Whipple on July 07, 1998 at 12:40:39:
In Reply to: Re: writing a market research plan posted by Jennifer on July 06, 1998 at 16:51:11:
That your business is an Internet based company actually makes no difference to the process of developing a curriculum for business information, though, it may make some parts easier because your universe is more defined and you have fewer choices. First, however, we can help you avoid a huge mistake that could seriously impact the value of such a program.
The research plan is the third step in the process, not the first. Many companies make the mistake of conducting research before they have defined how it will be used internally and, more important, reported and analyzed to establish relevance to business decisions. What they end up with is a whole pile of very expensive numbers which, individually, may have some limited or specific relevance, but have no relation to the other numbers collected, or enduring value.
The first step in the process is what we call the management audit. What information does management need to make decisions today, and what information does management need to plan for tomorrow. Here you must determine both the internal information, both generated and collected, then define the external information (lagging, concurrent, and leading), and finally establish the comparisons you will need between the internal and external. This produces a 3x3 information grid. You will also need to determine the absolute segmentation relevant to your market.
Once you have catalogued all of your information needs and categories of sources, the next step is to go back to each department and manager and develop the reporting. How does the manager need to have this information presented. Should it be in graphs, charts, maps, tables, indices, etc. How frequently does he need it. Who else will be sharing this information. Does he need just one standard report or will he require the ability to create "what-ifs", or massage the data. Will the reports require layers by territory, product line, etc.
One you have done all this, you will find that the specifications, framework and curriculum for your research plan literally create themselves. Everything sort of falls into place. You will have the greatest value for the lowest cost. It will be a unique information resource for your business.
As I mentioned, this is a process where WS&A has considerable experience as well as quite a bit of success. We have found that aside from the process described above, no two business' information needs are alike. To illustrate this, I have put up a sample of one of the information request reports up in the "downloads" section of the WS&A website. It is called "Sample Information Opportunities Analysis". Since it was prepared for the Commonwealth of Mass, it is not confidential and will give you an idea of some of the issues involved.
Subject: Re: Re: Re: writing a market research plan