Market research consultants can help you in developing your marketing plan. Their work can include gathering and analyzing data, Their methods may include telephone, personal, or mail surveys or focus group interviews. They can assist in areas of promotion, distribution, design, and pricing of products or services. Remember though that they make recommendations. You need to make the final decisions.
To help judge the quality of a market research consultant’s work, use these questions:
- What is your cost?
- Can you provide examples of past work and previous customers?
- How will the respondents be recruited? You want responses from consumers who fit your target market profile.
- How accurate have their sales forecasts been in other projects? Remember that research indicates that purchase intention perform poorly as a predictor of sales. The best results would be a range of revenue and/or sales.
- How will your work help me identify and reach my target customers?
- Examples of past recommended advertising, promotion, positioning, and distribution strategies.
For help with marketing plans, check the frequently asked question #36689.
