▪ There’s no golden way how to implement market research into the
companies’ strategic process
▪ We will not tell you which ten steps to take to reach strategic
relevance
▪ We will tell you about preconditions which need to be fulfilled for
market research(er) to get involved in the strategic decision
process of the company
1. Pre Remarks
▪ Four tasks to be differentiated:
- Primary Market Research
- Secondary Market Research
- Competitive Research
- Forecasting
▪ Three different types of information to be differentiated:
- Business
- Competitive
- Marketing
▪ Three different levels of depth of information handling to be differentiated:
- Information
- Analysis
- Intelligence
2. Areas of Market Research to be covered
2. Areas of Market Research to be covered
Business Competitive Marketing
InformationBusiness
Information
Competitive
Information
Marketing
Information
AnalysisBusiness
Analysis
Competitive
Analysis
Marketing
Analysis
IntelligenceBusiness
Intelligence
Competitive
Intelligence
Marketing
Intelligence
What about Market Research ?
2. Areas of Market Research to be covered
Business Competitive Marketing
InformationBusiness
Information
Competitive
Information
Marketing
Information
AnalysisBusiness
Analysis
Competitive
Analysis
Marketing
Analysis
IntelligenceBusiness
Intelligence
Competitive
Intelligence
Marketing
Intelligence
As a precondition for strategic relevance
Market Research has to cover all these areas
▪ Several Structures are out there for market research departments:
▪ Central vs. decentral ones
▪ Regional via business units oriented ones
▪ Groups in a department specialized by methodologies,
sources or tasks
▪ A global centralized department in a network with the local market
research organizations has a lot of advantages
▪ A central department for global market research eases:
▪ Bundling know how and negotiation power
▪ Information exchange between market researchers
▪ Training programs
▪ Balance out capacities if projects are cancelled etc.
3. Organizational Structure
▪ The roles and responsibilities both of the global and the local
functions have to be defined clearly
▪ There must be a continuously information exchange on data and
sources, reports, results of studies etc. available
▪ Market research plans have to be exchanged or even better to be
developed in close collaboration
▪ Project related meetings or exchange programs of staff between
local and global functions would support this for example
▪ You need an international team at global market research
3. Organizational Structure
A network or kind of market research community
has to be established within the company
▪ There is no (international) job profile or study program for a market
researcher
▪ Especially within the pharmaceutical industry the management
sometimes seems to think that everyone can do market research
▪ And of course this leads to market researchers with a limited
understanding of market research
▪ Market research seems to be in some companies just a kind of
step in the path to future marketing positions with a short stay of
just 1 to 3 years
▪ One of the best speeches at EphMRA outlined the necessary skill
set of market researchers:
▪ John Branston and Alex West from P/S/L in Madrid at the AGM
2003
4. Skill Set
▪ Professional skill set for Market Researchers:
▪ Statistical Know-how
- Sample Drawing Methodology
- Descriptive Statistics
- Multivariate -, Regression -, Factor -, Cluster Analyses etc.
- Conjoint Analyses, CBC, ACA, HB etc.
- Forecasting Methodologies
▪ IT-Knowledge
- Office Programs on a sophisticated level especially in Excel
- Conjoint Software
- Forecasting Software
- Statistical Programs like SPSS
▪ Medical Knowledge
- But please no detailed knowledge because there is a high risk
to loose the focus on the commercial aspects
4. Skill Set
Source: P/S/L Group, John Branston and Alex West, EphMRA AGM 2003 Madrid
Personality
- Business acumen
- Analytical
- Pro active
- Creative
- Cognitive flexibility
- Strong will to convince people and obtain results
- Distinct analytical and conceptual skills, target driven
- Customer orientation and entrepreneurial thinking
Communication Skills
- Ability to communicate with all management levels
- Sensitivity to work in an intercultural context
4. Skill Set
Source: P/S/L Group, John Branston and Alex West, EphMRA AGM 2003 Madrid
HR implications to get to strategic relevance
- Define the role profiles and the different steps in market
research
- Establish the role profile company-wide including local functions
- Get the people with the appropriate educational background
- Have a clear career path in market research with development
perspectives to make some people stay and become seniors
- Define entry / exit points and conditions for the market research
career path
Develop Training Programs
- To train specific skills like methodologies, new tools etc, offer
them as international trainings, invite the colleagues from the
countries
- Establish a market research community in the company
4. Skill Set
Source: P/S/L Group, John Branston and Alex West, EphMRA AGM 2003 Madrid
4. Skill Set - Role Profile(s)
Source: P/S/L Group, John Branston and Alex West, EphMRA AGM 2003 Madrid
Data
Processor
Market Research Analyst
Senior Market
Research Analyst
Market Research Manager
Senior Market
Research Manager
Associate Director Market
Research
Director Market
Research
Identifying information needs and sources
5% 10 % 10 % 15 % 25 % 30% 30%
Analyzing information and reporting
90% 70 % 60 % 20 % 10 % 10% 10%
Forecasting 15 % 15 % 25 % 25 % 5% 5%
Serve as member of Project and Marketing Teams
10 % 35 % 30 % 30% 25%
Personal and professional development
5% 5 % 5 % 5 % 5 % 5% 5%
Coordination Local MR / GMR
5% 10% 10%
Managing people 10% 15%
A career path in Market research with an increase in
responsibility and project involvement (and salary)
5. State of the Art Market Research
▪ The personality of the market researcher is essential to ensure
state of the art market research
- Pro active analyses and recommendations to marketing and
strategic functions, even if they do not like it
- Defend market research appropriate
- Refuse to do under-budgeted studies / analyses, only state of
the art market research should be delivered
- Appropriate communication skills to all management levels
5. State of the Art Market Research
▪ Focus on the strategic important areas
▪ Do not produce nice to know information - if requested, refuse
▪ Before conducting a study, four questions:
- What is the marketing or strategic question?
- Are there alternative actions to be taken depending on the
output of the study?
- Can the questions be translated into objectives for a market
research study?
- Has all the available information been checked if it can address
the question?
Never work on nice to know, use your capacities
and budgets for the relevant questions
5. State of the Art Market Research
▪ Focus on the future, not on the past
▪ Sales data, prescribing information etc. is important but it is just
looking back
▪ Data has to be translated into information
▪ Market researchers have to know their markets in and out, the
customers’ perspective as well as the local situation in countries
▪ Primary studies have to be focused, embedded in the context of
projects and the results have to be implemented
▪ Market researchers have to challenge marketing on this
Market Research has to be done from a holistic view
including all Market research sources
6. Interaction with Agencies
Same expectations as for market researchers in the company:
- Multi skilled experienced market researchers
- Refusing to conduct market research which is not state of the art
- Address the problem and do not sell standardized tools trying to
make the problem fit to the tool
- Project manager should reflect the wishes of the internal market
researcher but be a challenging consultant at the same time
- Do not try to get around the market research department to get
in direct contact to marketing, you will loose over the time
because an agency can never do the full job
Market researchers at agencies and within companies have
to accept each other as challenging partners, then both will win
6. Interaction with Agencies
Agencies should accept their limitations:
- They cannot know the entire background of a project
- They do not know all the internal process of a company
- They do not know the relationships of functions and persons
in the company involved, which are essential
- They never cover all areas of market research for a specific
product or indication because they have to cover a portfolio
of customers
Agencies can contribute a valuable part to a project but only
by partnering with the internal market research they can be
really successful
7. Summary
Preconditions for strategic relevance
- Have a vision and a long breath because the implementation of
the preconditions will take years and there will be a lot of hurdles
- Market research has to reflect on its roots and to cover the
described tasks
- Deliver state of the art market research, no compromises
- Focus on the relevant projects
- Hire market researchers with the appropriate educational
background
- Develop a career path in market research which makes
coworkers stay for a longer time
- Establish a network of the global market research function and
the local ones with clear responsibilities
7. Summary
Select carefully the agencies to work with and look always
out for new ones
If the preconditions are fulfilled and valuable results are
contributed, market research will be involved more and
more in the strategic process
Then you might define the process how to integrate market
research systematically in the strategic process, but
never start
with this
The fulfillment of these preconditions will lead to a strategic
relevance and integration into the strategic process
Part II
Six common reasons why MR fails to be implemented
Actions to increase the likelihood of implementation
Agenda
▪ Not all industry market researchers are
well-embedded in the business unit
1. The researchers don’t understand the business problem
▪ Keep asking questions
▪ Encourage and facilitate internal discussion
▪ Only bid when the problem is clear
▪ Kick off: always allow agencies to hear the problem from the
horse’s mouth
Just can’t work out what the problem is all about?
2. The research doesn’t provide answers, only data
Research
questions
Business
problem
Study
design
Research
answers
2. The research doesn’t provide answers, only data
Research
questions
Business
solution
Study
design
Research
answers
Data
Insight
Strategy
2. The research doesn’t provide answers, only data
▪ MR only adds value when implemented in the business strategy
▪ Data cannot be implemented
▪ Recommendations for strategy should reflect a triangulation of
information
➔ Primary MR
➔ Secondary data
➔ Competitive intelligence
▪ Collaboration and time are needed
▪ Limited data for early phase products
▪ Clinical team unwilling to express weaknesses
▪ Lack of focus on the future competition
▪ Risk of “nice to know” syndrome
3. The product’s development course changes
▪ Facilitate a forum for open discussion
▪ Discuss or simulate a range of performance levels
▪ Be transparent about the research caveats
3. The product’s development course changes
0
20
40
60
80
100
1999 2001
Sh
are
ofp
refe
ren
ce
Side effects not allowed to be
included in design
Study repeated, including side
effects
▪ Decision would have been
no go
▪ Huge waste of budget
▪ Early phase products often lack a brand
manager
▪ Disparate, competitive, politically-driven
global launch team
4. There is no product champion to drive implementation
Example
▪ No global brand manager
▪ No clear plan for implementation of positioning research
▪ No global positioning strategy
▪ Underperformance of brand
▪ Global re-positioning study; implemented by brand manager
▪ Improvement in sales
4. There is no product champion to drive implementation
Keep asking questions:
▪ What decision has to be taken?
▪ Who will take it?
▪ How will the recommendations be implemented in
practice?
▪ Make sure stakeholders join kick off and viewing / pilots
5. The stakeholders don’t buy into the research
“I don’t buy it”
Ensure buy in from the internal client right from the beginning
▪ Win belief in your design, but avoid technical
overload
▪ Give early warning signals of negative results
▪ Two-phase reporting: results, then implications
▪ Analytical black box can hamper communicating the messages of
strategy-focussed quant studies
▪ Triangulate pieces evidence
▪ Make sure the compelling voice of the customer is included
▪ Make quant studies come alive
6. The customer’s voice isn’t audible in the recommendations
6. The customer’s voice isn’t audible in the recommendations
A good safety profile is the
most important driver of choice“I want the child to have as few
side effects as possible; then I
can still get a smile out of him”
▪ MR can only add value when it is
implemented
Summary
▪ Agencies can extend their role in ensuring MR
is implemented
▪ A stimulating and challenging partnership, with
a shared goal of implementation in the
business strategy
