The individual in an entry-level position in a user firm is expected to contribute significantly to the work of the research group. Typically the candidate for the job has worked in a supplier firm for several years prior to switching over to the user. User organizations place a premium on broad experience in coding, questionnaire design, interviewing, report writing, and presentation.
An in-house project director in marketing research is a staff member of a corporation who initiates research studies and oversees and administers the marketing research conducted by the company. There are a number of differences (and some similarities) between in-house and "out-house" project directors.
The in-house project director has four main functions: (1) communication with management, (2) marketing research design, (3) selection and administration of suppliers, and (4) analysis and presentation of results.
A major part of the project director's responsibility is to maintain contact with the management-the users of marketing research. This contact takes a variety of forms, but the purpose remains constant and is to recognize the need for marketing information and "to get the ball rolling." Frequently there are regularly scheduled meetings for this purpose, during which requests for research may come from either the management or from the marketing research department. Obtaining information about costs, feasibility, timing, and so forth is part of the role of the project director. In many instances, communication is more informal, occurring over the phone or in the elevators, but the job is still either to respond to demands for information or to initiate research by showing how it might help.
Having agreed that a marketing research project should be undertaken, the second function of the project director is to design the research. This part of the job requires a sophisticated level of expertise on the part of the project director. Contrary to common belief, the project director need not be a statistical wizard (although a few minor incantations might be helpful). What is needed is an understanding of the types of marketing research that are available, what can and cannot be accomplished, what it will cost, and how long it will take. It is important to understand the limitations of the various forms. (Can't make a silk purse out of a chi-square.) The actual design of the questionnaire, the questions themselves, and the analysis are all part of the project director's functions. Frequently the final form of the research instrument is achieved only after several iterations and consultations up and down the line.
The actual conduct of the research project is rarely the effort of the project director. Instead of meeting 1,234 left-handed people in Billings, Montana, the project director calls several marketing research suppliers. The suppliers actually conduct the research, tabulate the results, enter them into the computer, and print out the tables and charts to order. Typically, several suppliers bid on a particular job, and one is chosen based on a variety of factors including price, reliability, experience in that type of study, and so forth. It is the project director's job to select the supplier, generally from an approved list. There are three types of suppliers: advertising agency research departments, marketing research "boutiques," and full-service marketing research firms. Having selected a supplier, the project director is responsible for communicating the necessary research instruments and instructions to the supplier and for overseeing the actual conduct of the study. Thus, despite the continuing relationship maintained with most of the suppliers, the project director will probably have to go to Billings, Montana, anyway, but only to make certain that the study is being done the way it ought to be.
Once the supplier has completed the collection and computer analysis of the data, the results are reported in the agreed form, tables, computer output, and so'forth. It is now the responsibility of the project director to interpret the results in terms of the original problem definitions, to package the results in an appropriate form, and to present them to management. This may mean written reports, or it may mean formal presentations.
If there is one thing that I stress, it is honesty. I will tell a client flat out if he or she proposes something impossible. For instance, I will explain that a certain study will not pull well or is too complicated, or that these are not the right people to reach. I had one client call me up and say, "Well, I have to tell you, you definitely are honest. Nobody else would have ever told me this." I said, "Well, sir, I told you in the beginning that I was telling you the truth. It might hurt, but this is what it shows."
In my experience here, never, ever has someone come back and said, "The data is wrong. I want you to rewrite the report based on my viewpoints." It can happen, but I wouldn't say it is common. I've heard stories where the data has been "massaged," but I think those are the rarest of exceptions. It has never happened at any of the jobs on which I have worked.
You don't do a very good job if you don't have people's respect and if you haven't built up the credibility of what your particular field of expertise can do for them. In a lot of cases, I think too much money and time are spent on marketing research. In a lot of instances, I would prefer judgment over another piece of research. Somewhere along the line in our business schools today, we are teaching people to get away from judgment and to hold off on making a decision as long as possible. They say to wait until you have more data and more facts, when you can get there a lot faster with all the facts you do have plus a little thought. I guess I am one of the few marketing researchers who will tell you we are doing too much. They are postponing decision making, postponing the risks that they are going to take. They would much rather say, "Go out and do another piece of research." That is just nonsense.
