Research is Optimism

This was originally published in the Fall of 2021 to the "Our Thoughts" blog on our website. To see what else we've written about, check out our website!

Speaking very broadly about human history, it has only been recently that we have been able to do research at all. Before the scientific revolution, we used to explain the unknown by invoking forces beyond ourselves or our understanding, like the divine rights of kings, numerous gods, spirits, curses, and demons. As we collect knowledge today, we hold it to the rigorous test of the scientific method, seeking to challenge what is already known and to push on the horizons of the unknown.

Research is the part of science where we push on the boundaries of our knowledge and seek to accumulate new facts or challenge old ones. To do research, we must be optimistic about our outcomes, otherwise we’d be crazy to forgo resources now as an investment in something still to be discovered. Further, it is necessary to understand the future if we want to positively influence it more than relying on blind luck alone.

In marketing research, this holds true: We do research because we are optimistic that we will find critical information that will help us make better business decisions, like positioning our product, identifying our typical customer, or developing more eye-catching packaging.

Sometimes our discoveries are nice—the customers love our product or have great things to say about customer service and delivery. Other times, the discovery isn’t so nice. However, the not-so-nice findings could save our business from a costly mistake, like investing in R&D, marketing, distribution, and sales before learning that our target customers think a new concept is entirely unnecessary.

Contact us today to get the conversation started about the future and business goals you’re optimistic about achieving!