Selling Market Research in Tough Times

Jennifer Dennard, E-Media Marketing Specialist
May 3, 2010

Though the Federal Reserve has stated that the economy is improving, many markets are still in the thick of feeling the recession's effects, and recent financial volatility on the world stage has not lessened the recession's hold on many business segments.

Businesses, such as market research firms, whose profits rely on the patronage of other businesses, are now more than ever compelled to find ways to both convince prospects of the need for market research, and then to work with those clients' diminished budgets to deliver the same if not higher level of quality product - all while dealing with a decrease in their own expenditures.

"Selling the need for marketing research is tough anytime, especially during a recession," explains Don Graham, general manager of marketing, research and consulting services firm Porter Research. "Selling need is basically an educational sale and the time and effort to do that during a recession is unlikely to be successful, especially in the short-term. Therefore, the focus should be on prospects who believe in the need and have the budget to support the work."

"The other key element," he adds, "is to be able to articulate the value of marketing research. The results of the research should increase revenue or decrease operating costs for a client. The client should be able to look at the report from the research and be able to clearly understand the benefit of taking actions recommended from the data."

An article published earlier this year in Quirk's Marketing Research Review, entitled
" Recession Lessons: How Research Buyers and Suppliers Can Cope," advises that the key to remaining competitive and even successful during a recession is to "consult with colleagues and trusted business partners to define the mission and vision for your work, and formulate a plan to make that happen effectively and affordably."

The authors advise sticking with trusted partners through tough times: "Marketers and research suppliers who trust each other and have established long-term relationships can jointly plan how to extract more insights and make better decisions based on lower expenditures."

Graham agrees. "Having expertise at a consulting level in a given industry provides credibility to marketing research. Unless one can align and relate to the clients' pains, confidence - both to do the research and in its results - is difficult to generate. Flexible pricing helps as well."

As the end of the recession slowly creeps closer, market research firms must keep in mind that true relationships - those that will last beyond the next project - may be cultivated during profitable quarters, but are truly fostered during the lean ones.

"In reality there is no substitute for hard, smart work and good working relationships," Graham says. "Contacts and proposals carry through good times and bad."

About Porter Research
Porter Research is a marketing, research and consulting company that helps clients become high-performance businesses within their industries by delivering actionable market intelligence and research insight. Over the past 20 years, Porter's research team has conducted over 150,000 interviews with executives in a variety of industry verticals: banking/financial services; consumers goods; high tech; healthcare; life sciences; retail; and utilities. Porter has significant experience in the healthcare vertical - technology, provider, payer and life sciences stemming from the depth of knowledge resident within Porter's leadership team with Fortune 500 healthcare clients and emerging ventures.

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