The Murray Consultancy wins top European award for the second time

Earlier this year two members of The Murray Consultancy Ltd attended the BIG Market Research conference which, on this occasion, was held in Athens. Before the conference you are invited to submit a paper on a recent case study for the BIG European Market Research Award. The Murray Consultancy chose to submit a paper on recent work the company has done with a major UK sporting brand on how to increase corporate hospitality revenue.

The submission was chosen as one of the finalists, which meant we were invited to present the case study in more detail at the conference itself. The presentations were then marked by all of the other conference delegates based on: interpretation of the brief, methodological process applied, research findings and the impact of the study on the client’s business.

After a nervous 24 hour wait The Murray Consultancy were delighted to be presented with the 2013 BIG Award on the last day of the conference, beating off considerable competition from Russian and German entries in particular. Commenting on The Murray Consultancy's success, the chair of BIG, Marcin Rezpka, said: “We are delighted the Murray Consultancy Ltd have received this well-deserved recognition for the second time. “Their approach to this particular piece of research reflected the outstanding levels of quality and professionalism we expect from David and his team.”

The award now sits proudly in the office alongside the previous BIG Award the company won in 2006. Feel free to pop round to the office and we will be happy to show it off!

As a general rule the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information.

The above is a quote from the very quotable Benjamin Disraeli on the importance of having as much information as possible to guide you through life. Its good advice. We’ll forget about the other more famous quote he said about lies and statistics...

I was reminded of this quote this week by none other than Primal Scream who were complaining about Theresa May walking off stage to one of their songs at The Conservative Party Conference. "Didn't they research the political history of our band?" they shouted incredulously, or as incredulously as you can shout in a written statement. If Theresa May had then surely she would have thought twice about choosing a song about drugs and debauchery by a very left wing band for her grand stage exit

Well it turns out she didn’t. It was a song by someone else. And besides it very unlikely that Theresa May picks her own soundtrack. Which all kind of ruined the story a bit. But the point is if wide ranging public figures as Benjamin Disraeli and Bobby Gillespie are telling you to gather as much information as possible before making your decisions then it’s perhaps wise listening them. Because I doubt they would have agreed on much else.

For more information visit
http://www.murrayconsultancy.co.uk/new-business-start-up-research.html

You may know your business, but how well do you know your market?

A common misconception of Market Research is that if you know all about your industry, then you don't need to conduct any research into your market.

Take Terry for example. Terry sells tyres. He's always sold tyres. He knows everything there is to know about tyres. He slept in a tyre cot as a baby. On holiday he goes to a tyre factory. Terry knows tyres. So what could a Market Research company possibly tell Terry about Tyres that he doesn't know already?

Well the answer is, probably nothing. But does Terry know what his competitors are doing? How much they charge and the ranges of services or products they offer? Terry might know all of his customers by their first name, but does he know anything about his potential customers? Who they are using and what might convince them to change supplier?

This is the difference between understanding your business and understanding your market. And if you have the knowledge your competitors don't, it might be enough for you to get ahead.

JG

For more information visit
http://www.murrayconsultancy.co.uk/

Don't lose sight of your existing customers in the search for new ones

All businesses look to maximise sales and revenue, and to do that they will normally look to grow their market share by as much as they can. So businesses will formulate ‘sales strategies’ and ‘growth strategies’ which will focus on how to win new customers, but less frequently on how to make sure they are satisfying the customers they have.

An often quoted example of a growth strategy gone wrong was the ‘Coca Cola’ re-launch in 1985. To combat falling sales figures and strong competition Coca Cola launched ‘New Coke’, not as an alternative but as a replacement to the existing flavour. It was a sweeter taste, aimed at winning over customers of Pepsi, but it ignored those fiercely loyal to the Coca Cola brand. Many customers protested and boycotted the product and sales dropped, leading to Coca Cola having to embarrassingly go back to re-launching their original formula.   

There are several morals to the story, including understanding your own uniqueness and specialities as a business.  But also it shows the dangers on focusing too much on chasing other people’s customers and not enough on satisfying your own. American research studies have shown that on average businesses lose 50% of their clients in a five year period, often because they take their existing customers for granted.  Having regular dialogue with your own customers and looking for ways to improve their experience is vital to ensuring this doesn’t happen to you.

Keeping customers happy and coming back for more may be less exhilarating than bringing in a brand new account, but it could be the key to stability in challenging economic times.

For more information visit http://www.murrayconsultancy.co.uk/customer-satisfaction-survey.html

Don’t take a punt with the future of your business

The city of Liverpool is beginning to buzz with excitement for the Grand National this week, as dress shops report bumper trade and city centre establishments from beauticians to restaurants announce special offers for the races. Its one of the best weeks of the year to be in the city.

For many of us it’s also our yearly go at trying to beat the bookies. Over half of UK adults will have a bet on the big race on Saturday with over £600m likely to be gambled on that race alone. Those gambling novices will normally abandon complicated form guides and jargon filled racing supplements and just have a punt on a horse we fancy.

There are many methods people use to choose a horse for the race. Some pick a name they like (how many reds like me lost money betting on ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ in 2003?), some will choose a jockey wearing their favourite colours, whilst others will have favourite horses from past years, even if it may have seen better days. Many Manchester United fans will no doubt have a bet on Alex Ferguson owned horse ‘What a Friend’ this year whilst presumably many Manchester City fans will be having a bet on just about anything else! Of course, if all that fails, there is also the long standing method of sticking a pin on the page and betting on whoever it lands on.

However those of us choosing such methods to pick a horse never really expect to win. It's only fun after all. However many of us will take a similar punt when starting up our own business. Instead of a tactic of ‘look before you leap’ we will dive in head first and take a gamble on success or failure, without any of the necessary knowledge that could be the difference between profit and loss

A new entrepreneur may have lots of knowledge about a particular product or service, but how well do they know their potential customers or the current state of the market they are entering? For example do they know there is a market out there for the product? And if there is who is their likely target market and what is the best way to reach them? It is also useful to find out ideal pricing levels for a product or service and whether this is a sustainable amount for the business.

As well as ascertaining the demand for the product, research can also help with the ideal location of a business, how you should be promoting your business and an evaluation of your competitors, including what they are doing well, what they are possibly falling back on and how you can differentiate yourself from them. All of this information will make sure you are successfully delivering a product or service that the customer wishes to buy and that you are correctly placed within the market to capitalise on this.

Just like the best gamblers will try and gather as much information as possible about a race as they can before parting with any cash, so too will the most wise businessmen before making any big decisions on the future of the business. My father used to warn me of the fact that there is “no such thing as a poor bookmaker”. But far more worrying is the fact that 85% of new businesses are thought to fail within the first five years. Doing as much research as possible before the launch of a new business, or indeed before taking an existing business in a new direction, will increase your chances of being one of the 15% who thrive and prosper.

Now, where is that Racing Post?

JG

For more information on new business start up research visit

http://www.murrayconsultancy.co.uk/new-business-start-up-research.html

How can you be the best? Your customers know!

Ok, here is a quick game for us all to play! First of all, think of your favourite restaurant that you have been to.  It can be anywhere in the world. Think about how good the food was, the setting and anything else that makes it special.....Done? Good!

Now think about your ideal restaurant. Think about the food it would serve, where in the world it is, the exact location, the decor of the room, the service, even the size of the bill if you like(!), and anything else that might make it extra special.

Now, back in the room. Did anyone think of the same place on both occasions? If so you have a very limited imagination! 99% of us will have thought of a different restaurant the second time. Even though the first restaurant is the best we have ever experienced.

So what was the point of the game? Apart from making everyone hungry? It shows that even the best companies will always have ways it can improve, and that there will always be ways to improve the services we offer to a customer to make our customers even more delighted and even more likely to use us again in the future (and tell all their friends of course). And the best way to find out how to do this?? Ask your customers!!

JG

For more information please visit

http://www.murrayconsultancy.co.uk/

The Census highlights problems with Postal Questionnaires

The nation’s biggest research project is here!! That’s right, the Census! Everyone excited?? No? Come on, the census is great. It’s a piece of history. There was first a census in China over 4000 years ago! We've had one every ten years since 1801! (apart from in 1941 when presumably everyone decided there were more important things going on) , and if it wasn't for a census then the start of the New Testament would be a lot less exciting (boy is born in house, Wise Men find with street map, Herod knocks round but can't get past over eager aunties).

But despite all this lots of people, for a variety of reasons ranging from moralistic to suspicion to inertia, won't bother filling it in this year. And many of those who do will, intentionally or otherwise, make a bit of a mess of it. All these issues are ones which reflect just some of problems with self completion research in general

The first problem with self completion research is that you never get as many responses as you'd like to. Even for the Census which has a £1,000 fine for not completing (which I have looked into bringing in for our research projects, without success as of yet), it was still estimated in 2001 that only 94% of the population filled it in. Inevitable lower response rates than the client envisaged means you normally end up having to employ staff to chase people up, which for the census was a whopping 81,000 people in the UK in 2001, and a marginally lower number for self completion projects we have done in the past. This of course means that the job ends up costing a lot more than it should to finish.

But even if you get a satisfactory return rate you still have the problem that once you hand a questionnaire over to someone to complete (be it on paper or online) you are surrendering control of the document and can't be sure what you get back is what you envisaged.

Firstly questions can be misunderstood and therefore answered incorrectly. On the census questionnaire the ‘number of rooms’ question is certainly up for misinterpretation (and snobbery, I’ll be honest I feel they want me to count my kitchen and living area as one room, but I want future generations to think I had more than 3 rooms in my home!), and will everyone read correctly that they should not include their bathroom? Also the religion question is a minefield. If I am christened but not going to church am I of ‘no religion’? Is this potentially going to count against me at the Pearly Gates? If you are doing a questionnaire with a professional Market Researcher these queries can be explained to you. But with a self completion questionnaire we normally just guess.

A researcher will also ensure all questions are answered properly and not mischievously as can be the case with self completion. Famously 390,000 people in 2001 listed their religion as Jedi Knight. In 1911 one occupant of a household was listed as “Peter Tabby”, nationality “Persian” and occupation “Mouser” (although this respondent may have been getting his own back for being previously asked if he was ‘lunatic, imbecile or feeble minded’....and they say today’s questions are intrusive). Although these are humorous stories they do somewhat reduce the Census’s claims as a reliable historic document.

A researcher will look to keep the respondent interested and engaged and make sure each answer is given reasonable thought. This can’t be done for a self completion questionnaire, although Q17 in the Census “This question is intentionally left blank – Go to 18’ did keep me on my toes. A researcher will also make sure it is the correct person filling it in, and so the correct information is gained. What is to stop someone handing the Census over to their 11 year old child because they’d rather be doing something else? Only trust.

Finally you have to be sure with self completion questionnaires that the database you use to send them is correct and up to date as this will affect your response rate greatly. For the 2001 Census it transpired the Manchester database was two years old (far more up to date that some we have been given) and therefore anyone with a newer property was missed out. In particular it seems to be young males who seem to be missed. On this occasion they have presumably decided it is better to be safe than sorry...and sent a questionnaire to a car parking ticketing machine in Hampshire.

Self completion is still seen as the least intrusive and most anonymous way of being surveyed. And it allows respondents to complete at their own leisure. However because of the problems listed, UK research companies often persuade clients away from using self completion questionnaires as a research method. Which is possibly why the government has employed a US arms manufacturer to collect and process the 2011 Census data...

JG