THINK ABOUT IT: How Sound is Your Marketing Research and Interpretation?

As we move toward election day in the United States, there is an increasing focus on polling.

A poll among registered voters released today shows President Biden and former President Trump in a dead heat, 46% to 46%.

What does this mean?

Should Joe Biden and the democratic party be relieved that they are in a dead heat despite the president’s disastrous debate performance?

It depends. How sound is the polling design?

There’s a lot to unpack here.

Is the poll a representative sample of the voting population (e.g., socio-economic status, race, gender, age, etc.), including party affiliation?

Does it assess voter intention at the state and local level and impact on winning electoral votes?

Did it include the presence of a third-party candidate?

These are only a few of the many questions regarding the research design and what the poll indicates.

Then there’s the analysis.

What are the conclusions? How do you explain what it means?

After all, both parties will claim victory and spin the poll results in their favor.

Sound marketing research is critical to sound decision-making.

We must also be able to accurately interpret what the research suggests within the context of the design.

Look, I'm not a marketing researcher. However, I've employed marketing research many times throughout my more than 50-year career in brand marketing.

One of my cases is the REACH Toothbrush from Johnson & Johnson. We acquired it from DuPont.

I introduced the brand in 1977, taking it nationally from a controlled store test of 20 stores in Milwaukee and Chicago.

This case deals with the interpretation of findings.

My predecessor on the assignment—in the "basis for interest" stage—did one thing that caused me significant issues. He undertook a blind, in-home use test versus Oral-B, the leading, premium-priced brand.

You may recall that the REACH Toothbrush had a unique design—angled like a dental instrument, compact head, and bi-level bristles.

There was nothing else like it in the category.

Oral-B was a straight-handled brush with a conventional head and bristle design.

The research design specified removing the name from each brush. It did not utilize concepts to explain the design of either brush. Test subjects used each brush in their home for one week.

The results? The findings showed REACH Toothbrush lost 60% to 40%!

As I pitched the acquisition, I was confronted and challenged to defend the overwhelming “statistically significant” loss.

My interpretation was that it was not a loss to Oral-B!

Instead, it was a victory! Victory?

Yes, victory. Forty percent of the test subjects understood and preferred the unique design—without the benefit of a concept—over conventionally designed toothbrushes.

My conclusion won the day(s)—as I presented in turn to every functional area and management level—and the REACH Toothbrush became the number-one selling brand of toothbrush in its first Nielsen bi-monthly store audit despite double-digit out-of-stocks.

We must get the research design right and interpret the findings accurately.

We need both for sound decision-making.

THINK ABOUT IT

• What would your conclusion have been regarding the blind, in-home product use test? REACH Toothbrush versus Oral-B? Or uniquely designed versus conventional toothbrush?
• Do you understand the proposed design your marketing research team prepared to address your issue?
• What research have you approved and conducted that you would have either revisited or changed your conclusions?
• What specific actions—favorable and unfavorable—have you taken based on research learning?
• What do you make of today’s poll results between Biden and Trump?

MAKING YOUR MARKETING MATTER MORE

• First, know what your issues, objectives, and potential actions are before proposing marketing research.
• Collaborate with your marketing research manager to define each of those above.
• Do not request a specific research design. Let your marketing research manager—who has the requisite expertise—propose an appropriate design based on the issues, objectives, and potential actions.
• Make sure you understand the proposed design.
• Conduct a beta test of the design before launching it.
• Work with your marketing research manager to ensure that your findings are technically correct and that your conclusions are consistent with them.

Interested in reading my follow-up article on this subject? Please follow me on LinkedIn https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/richarddczerniawski/ , where I share my perspectives from more than 50 years of successful worldwide “brand” marketing experience across many business sectors.

Make your marketing matter even more! Please read my most recent book, AVOIDING CRITICAL MARKETING ERRORS. It will not only identify errors of omission and commission but also provide scores of specific actions to help make your marketing matter (even) more. Order here: https://www.amazon.com/AVOIDING-CRITICAL-MARKETING-ERRORS-Marketing-ebook/dp/B084YXVWFY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3GK7L6C5ZFK2J&keywords=Avoiding+Critical+Marketing+Errors&qid=1704215761&s=digital-text&sprefix=avoiding+critical+marketing+errors%2Cdigital-text%2C118&sr=1-1 .

Peace and best wishes in making your marketing matter (even) more,

Richard D. Czerniawski