© 2007 Derval Research Page 1/3
The 10-Steps of
Successful Marketing Research
January 7, 2008 by Prof. Diana Derval
Let me reveal you the secrets of successful marketing research - in 10 steps:
1. Have a Vision: conduct a marketing research to confirm a vision you have. For
instance "I believe that consumers are more receptive to advertising while they are
waiting". If you notice a lack of vision, make first a preliminary research (have a look
at the internet, magazines) to get inspired and informed on a topic and then (but
then only!) interview one or two experts with very open questions (let them talk, they
know what is important).
2. Get an Overview: I invite you to use a visual search engine such as
www.kartoo.com in order to get all the important links on your topic, for instance
"receptivity to advertising" in a nutshell. Try it! You will become addicted to this tool
3. Explore: Have a look at the most relevant websites (they can lead you to a book, an
article, a company). Be open to new visions (even if you already have your idea) in
order not to ignore "unconsciously" results that do not fit with your vision. Instead of
that, be ready to adapt your vision: that's the purpose of the research! For instance
when you discover that "a TV commercial is memorized by 17% of the consumers
exposed at home and 27% of the consumers exposed in the doctor's waiting room"
you realize that the vision is that when consumers are receptive, which is particularly
the case when they are waiting, they better memorize messages. 1
4. Refine: you can now make some more systematic research in order to make sure
you didn't overlook an important point. Financial websites like yahoofinances are a
good source of information for public companies.
1 Source: Prof. Diana Derval,
Wait Marketing: Communicate at the Right Moment at the Right Place
,
DervalResearch, Amsterdam, J une 2007. Book available on Amazon.com
