T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Box 217, 197M Boston Post Road West, Marlborough, MA 01752 Phone (508) 691-6004 Email support@ResearchRockstar.com

an eBook by:

WWW.RESEARCHROCKSTAR.COM

WELCOME

Page 1

HOW TO MANAGE THE CLIENTPage 2

HOW TO AVOID COMMON ERRORSPage 5

HOW TO PLAN THE RESEARCHPage 11

HOW TO GET GREAT DATAPage 14

CONCLUSIONPage 19

principles ofRemarkable Research

Principles of Remarkable Research 1

www.ResearchRockstar.com

WELCOME

Market Research is an investment.

With the tips in this eBook, you can protect your investment by avoiding commonmarket research complications.

Of course, you have a choice. You can learn the hard way, through trial and error. Or,you can learn from the experiences of others; in this case, Research Rockstar founderand 25-year market research veteran, Kathryn Korostoff.

This eBook is divided into four main sections, followed by a brief conclusion.

How to manage the client, which covers practical tips for keeping your client(whether internal or external) happy.

How to avoid common errors, which provides practical best practices for dealingwith issues such as global research, the certainty of conclusions and ROI.

How to plan the research, which discusses specific best practices on managingresearch participants and putting some basic systems in place.

How to get great data, which addresses some common market researchchallenges that can impede your ability to get objective, useful customer insights.

If you are responsible for planning, managing or even simply contributing to marketresearch projects, this eBook, based on the recent “Principles of Remarkable Research”series as published on the Research Rockstar blog, will help you avoid many commonobstacles. Is it an exhaustive guide to avoiding all possible market research challenges?No, but it does address some of the most common ones in a very precise, and concise,format. We hope you enjoy it!

�Principles of Remarkable Research by Research Rockstar LLC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-

NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at www.ResearchRockstar.com.

Principles of Remarkable Research 2

www.ResearchRockstar.com

HOW TO MANAGE THECLIENT REMARKABLE RESEARCHERS…

OFFER THEIR CLIENTS OPTIONSIf a client asks for a survey, it’s up to the remarkable researcher to first look at theproject goals and then recommend methodology options. While surveys and focusgroups are great, remarkable research can leverage a diverse range of methods. Whenwe offer clients options, we benefit in three ways:

We thrill the client.Especially if the client grudginglyuses surveys as a better-than-nothing option. Everyone lovesoptions. If I go into a bakery andthere are only two types ofcupcakes on display, I amimmediately turned off. If I walk intoone with too many choices, I mayfeel overwhelmed and leave.Neither too few nor too manyoptions are the goal.

We educate the client.It is important to raise awareness of

alternate methods. This is so business professionals don’t see market research

groups.

We demonstrate integrity.We aren’t just offering what is easy or conventional; we’re showing that we arethinking about the client’s needs. Even if they choose a survey option, now theyknow we are looking out for their best interests.

as unremarkable, old fashioned, or equated solely with surveys and focus

Principles of Remarkable Research 3

www.ResearchRockstar.com

Imagine a six year old who trulybelieves Santa grants all wishes.

Even though he lives in a sixth-floorChicago walkup, this child firmly

believes Santa will come down the(nonexistent) chimney and leave a

pony under the Christmas tree.Imagine the tears on Christmasmorning when there’s no pony.

Most of us have experienced the feelingof being oversold, whether in business orin our personal lives. It’s painful. And it’sthe last thing you want your internalcolleagues, team members, or clients tofeel at the end of a market researchproject. Unfortunately, it happens.Maybe the results were

unexpected, maybe the scope ormethodology ended up being somewhatdifferent than what they’d pictured. Forwhatever reason, the people who shouldhave joyfully embraced your researchresults are unhappy. And after you’veinvested weeks or months of effort andmoney, unhappy clients are the last thingyou want.

With realistic expectations, people willhave the right mindset. We won’t haveto worry about disappointing them in theend, and that saves everybody a lot ofaggravation.

So don’t even try to be an all-powerfulSanta. If that pony won’t be trotting outfrom under the tree, make it clear inadvance. That city child would behappier with a shiny new bicycle anyway.

SET REALISTIC EXPECTATIONSOne aspect of setting client expectations is by distinguishing between confirmingexisting insights and discovering new insights.

If we promise research clients (internal or external) “exciting” research, but what wedeliver just confirms stuff they already know, it’s a market research bait-and-switch. Theclient is let down. So we need to be careful and position the new research precisely. Is itabout market attributes they already know and we are seeking to confirm or quantify?Or is it about new strategy-altering topics? Both are legitimate types of research. But weneed to set expectations correctly, or we will be viewed as frauds.

Principles of Remarkable Research 4

www.ResearchRockstar.com

DEFINE ASSUMPTIONSRemarkable Researchers understand that markets change—sometimes quickly. Andoften more quickly than do companies. The implication for remarkable research istwofold:

Always let the audience know the expected shelf life of the research.Are the findings likely to reflect reality for one year? Two years? Three or more?

Clearly identify which foundational/underlying assumptions exist.And how, if changed, they could meaningfully influence conclusions.

I am reminded of the arctic fox that changes color ratherdramatically from brown in the spring to white in the winter. Butit is not easy; its fur changes slowly, growing an entire newcoat. In other animals change happensmore quickly. Some species, like thechameleon, quickly change the pigmentsin their skin. Why do I digress? Ametaphor exists here for research.

When markets change, it can require growing a completely newcoat of fur (doing new research), or it can rely on mechanisms thatchange the output to reflect current reality, like changing the skinpigment.

Challenges own assumptions and play devil’s advocate to challenge the way otherpeople are looking at the data.

Recognizes unexpected themes that sometimes appear in a data set.

Resists temptation to embrace the first story the data reveals: they’ll look for multiplestories so that they can determine which ones have truly compelling value.

Delivers bad news honestly and constructively, even when that favorite project,concept or idea is getting negative results.

Principles of Remarkable Research 5

www.ResearchRockstar.com

HOW TO AVOID COMMONERRORS REMARKABLE RESEARCH…

UNDERSTANDS THE GLOBAL COMMUNITYIt is a classic dilemma; many companies that are selling in numerous countries can onlyafford to do research in a subset of them. How does amarket researcher deliver research with this obstacle?Three steps to take are as follows:

Be crystal clear when delivering all researchresults.The results should state the research’sgeographic scope clearly. Is it a specific country?Region? I have seen it happen many times; theaudience assumes that since their company is“global” the research is as well—when in fact theresearch may have been based on 2 or 3countries.

Select the countries carefully.Too often, researchers select countries based onpast projects (“We always do our research in the U.S., UK, France andGermany.”). Challenge old assumptions! What mix of countries will give you theinsights you need for your organization’s current business initiatives?

Educate the audience on how geographic variations impact customerbehavior and attitudes.Customer behavior and attitude variations by geography usually apply morenotably to consumer markets than B2B ones, but issues still arise.

Principles of Remarkable Research 6

www.ResearchRockstar.com

Different colors have different associations by geography. Red is “positive” in somecultures but negative in others. This can impact reactions to ads & product packaging.

Internet access penetration varies by country, and in many cases, within countries.Some brands have enormous word of mouth via online media, which will not have animpact in certain geographies.

The role of male versus female heads of households, or the person driving purchasedecisions for certain categories, varies by country. Thus, research about purchaseintent or price sensitivity based on one country cannot be generalized to others.

By educating the audience on such issues as they apply to the research being done,you can advise them on what findings are likely to be at greatest risk for country-by-country variations, even when you didn’t have budget to actually conduct research inevery country of interest. Ideal? No. But still an important risk mitigation step.

IS DELIVERED USING A MULTI-MODE STRATEGYSo you have a great new market research study completed. Now what? How do youdeliver the findings with both impact and credibility? Take a little time, and craft acomprehensive deliverables strategy. With emphasis on retention building among theaudience, you can avoid the common error of over-relying on slide decks as the soledeliverable. Key components of this strategy will include a mix of components, such as:

Conventional presentation optionsThese include the standard on-site presentations and web conferences (typicallyone to two hours in duration), and sometimes also one-on-one briefings for keyexecutives.

Interactive presentation optionsThese include workshops, where participants engage in data analysis exercisesor strategic implications brainstorming. Such workshops take more time to plan,and more effort to facilitate, but add to retention and adoption of research results.

Principles of Remarkable Research 7

www.ResearchRockstar.com

Written report optionsThese include slide decks, white papers (most common in technology fields),executive summaries (delivered as a slide deck or written in full text), and top-linereports.

Data deliverables optionsThese include tables (showing all data as cross-tabs), and online reporting tools.

Multimedia optionsThese include Internal blogs or podcasts (to share key research findings),qualitative research video highlights (often edited to show only the mostimportant parts), and video “reports” (where key results may be set to a narrationor music track). More researchers are experimenting with audio and video aspart of the deliverables process—not necessarily to replace a conventionaldeliverable, but certainly to enhance or augment it.

Find ways to repeat key pieces of informationin different ways and times. In many cases, akey audience member will only “get it” after thethird or fourth exposure. Were they not payingattention earlier? They probably were. Somepeople “click” with charts, others with stories oranecdotes, others with video. If they receivethe information the day they are on a deadlineor dealing with another matter, they may intendto pay attention but are not able. Repetitionusing multiple approaches at multipleoccasions is critical. As a researcher, you mayfeel repeating and repackaging information isredundant, but it isn’t. What seems obvious toyou is not always obvious to an audience.

Research involves delivering results.Remarkable research involves making sure our audience actually uses them. If weexpect people to retain and apply the results, we have to create a more comprehensivedelivery strategy. Presentations, email follow-ups, executive endorsements, podcasts,custom follow-ups, 1:1 briefings, posters, handouts and internal blogs are some of theoptions that can be combined to make sure our audience is reached multiple timesusing multiple modes. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Yes, the project is done &you want to move on to

your next project.However, by repeating key

parts over a few weeks,you will maximize thechances your audiencewill use the research.

Principles of Remarkable Research 8

www.ResearchRockstar.com

IS CLEAR ABOUT THE CERTAINTY OF CONCLUSIONSRemarkable research distinguishes between conclusions, hypotheses, and “directional”results—and is precise about which is which. While it may seem obvious to you as amarket researcher, it is not always clear to the audience. The person receiving theresearch results often makes assumptions, which may be incorrect. Commonassumptions may be about the research’s scope, thoroughness, and suitability forextrapolation. So when delivering research results, be crystal clear:

Are the market research findings firm? Directional? Anecdotal?Or are they just hypotheses that require further investigation?

Is the research based on current customers, potential customers, a mix, orsome other population all-together?Can we extrapolate findings based on one group to other groups? If so, what isthe basis for this?

Communicating both the certainty and context of findings is important; the last thing wewant is to have well-intentioned research turned into misinformation. Even if it isn’tdeliberate; it is the market researcher’s responsibility to communicate precisely.

ISN’T DONE IN A SILORemarkable research projects validate conclusions and enrich context by weaving inadditional data sources. Yes, the freshinsights from your thoughtfully executedproject are great—but they will carry morepower if supported by additional data. Youraudience will have much more confidence,and thus be more likely to use your research,if they have multiple data points. Relying ona single source of market insights often feelslike having a single point of failure. Avoid thecommon error of assuming your audience willtrust a single source of data.

While you may not find other data sourcesthat directly support your findings, you may

Take a lesson from theU.S. FDA: There are

roughly ten clinical trialsfor each new drug the FDA

approves.

Principles of Remarkable Research 9

www.ResearchRockstar.com

find some that provide relevant profiling data for the target population, or insights intorelated or similar markets, which may support your findings. Even adding in somerecent census data that may relate to the target market can add some richness, anddoes so with little effort. There is a plethora of secondary research available thesedays; with a little digging, you may be surprised at what you can find.

REQUIRES CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENTRemarkable research requires assessing every completed market research activity.What worked? What didn’t? Were the clients (whether internal or external) satisfied?Were outside suppliers satisfactory? One way to do this is through a “post mortem”evaluation of the research process. After each project, conduct an objective, step-by-step review to find opportunities for improvement by following these steps:

Quickly capture post mortem information.Do so preferably within a week of project completion before memory fade sets in.

Craft a standard project assessment form to make it easy for you and teammembers to record key information.Just don’t make it onerous (else it won’t get used). Four to six questions aresufficient.

Review all assessment forms at least once a year to look for recurringchallenges (or if you prefer, “opportunities for improvement”).Sometimes these trends are not so obvious during day-to-day projectmanagement.

Too many market researchers skip this step, and end up reliving their past mistakes—often to the detriment of project budgets and schedules.

CAN RESULT IN PUBLICITYMarket researchers often forget about the marketing potential of their insights, thuslosing a potential opportunity to boost research ROI. Fresh research is excellent fodderfor press releases. The media love pretty charts, cool graphs (especially when theycome with a catchy hook), and data-infused sound bites.

Principles of Remarkable Research 10

www.ResearchRockstar.com

Conduct a fresh piece of research and then interview someone about their take on theresults such as a consultant, a business partner or maybe your own CEO. Thenpackage the results as a news release, podcast, blog posts, newsletter fodder, orYouTube video.

In some industries, survey results are commonly repurposed in the form of whitepapers. Typically seven to twelve pages long, white papers are used to share primaryresearch with target customers or business partners. Once written, they are promotedthrough press releases, company web sites and sometimes even used as a call-to-action incentive in print advertisements.

Original research is excellent fuel to position your brand as an expert or “thought leader”in its field; in fact, some companies have formal thought leadership initiatives whichinclude original research as a key component. Sure, some research is confidential (andtherefore not suitable for public sharing)—but not all of it.

Principles of Remarkable Research 11

www.ResearchRockstar.com

HOW TO PLAN THERESEARCH REMARKABLE RESEARCH…

IS WELL-DEFINEDDocumenting an agreed upon, and small, set of precise objectives is vital to theremarkableness of your market research. Don’t let conflicting agendas or a broad,unrealistic scope with too many objectives put your project at risk.

Sometimes this means that the remarkable researcher has to be tough. You may haveto say “no,” diplomatically of course, to theclient who wants too much from a singleproject. A good way to handle these stickysituations is to offer the client options: “We cando all of this, but it will require a second phaseof research….here is the time and budgetimplications.” Or, “Some of these objectivesrequire a different population—so can youprovide the extra $10,000 we will need toincrease our data collection budget?” There’snothing like being precise about the budgetimpact to get people to prioritize their needs!

DOESN’T HAVE TO BE PRICEY

Market research exists on a continuum ranging from “quick and dirty” to “meticulous andcomplete.” And these days, there are some quick and inexpensive methods that aren’tthat “dirty” at all. So let’s not miss the boat clinging on to old dogma! Instead, let’schallenge old assumptions and the industry’s tired dogma of research being “great,cheap, and fast—pick any two.” Why can’t research be great, cheap, and fast?

Principles of Remarkable Research 12

www.ResearchRockstar.com

Before assuming that a new market research need requires a 3-phase, qual-quantmethodology supported by a team of expert moderators and stats PhDs, ask yourself:What are all of the options? Low-cost survey tools have automated reporting (some arequite good). New sample sources reduce the cost per complete and in some cases giveaccess to more qualified participants. New methods allow us to conduct “phase 1”research in days instead of weeks. Therefore, if you do decide a research need can bemet by a quick, inexpensive approach, consider:

Secondary researchMore resources are available than ever. Don’t reinvent the wheel—see whatexists; you may be surprised.

Social media researchUsing one of the free or lower cost tools (as opposed to some of the moreelaborate tools which do come with bigger price tags), you can get directionalinformation on what the buzz is on brands, products, cultural trends, etc.

Facebook or LinkedIn pollsFacebook and LinkedIn polls are free and can be fast (assuming you can pushthat poll to a large enough network).

New ToolsMany services now integrate online research tools with panels such as AYTM(disclosure: Research Rockstar does have a relationship with AYTM),Zoomerang, and SSI (via its QuickTake offering).

Sure, some projects warrant the big bucks. But when big budgets and long timelinesaren’t an option, useful information can still be gathered using creative methods.

REQUIRES SYSTEMSGreat research requires efficiency, and efficiency requires processes and systems.They don’t need to be onerous, but here are the basic ones:

Project request formsHow your clients (internal or external) request a project, by documenting keyparameters.

Standardized survey templatesUsed in their entirety, or at minimum, standard questions for collectingdemographics.

Principles of Remarkable Research 13

www.ResearchRockstar.com

Vendor evaluation formsUsed to evaluate sample or market research agency providers so that youdocument which ones work well for your needs, and which ones need to be usedwith caution—if at all.

Project evaluation formsUsed for gathering feedback from internal clients. Use this as an opportunity tolearn, how well did the project go? What could have been better? Let’s practicewhat we preach.

REQUIRES QUALIFIED PARTICIPANTSFor many market research projects, success can be foiled by unqualified or disengagedparticipants. Many online survey projects start with excellent intent, stellar questionnairedesign…and then get thwarted by weak participants.

One option to avoid this pitfall is forcompanies to build an in-house panel. Forcertain target markets and populations ofinterest, this can reduce data collection costsand pay for itself quickly. Can initialinvestments to build a panel be high? Yes.But of course, it is all relative. How muchtime and money do you waste by collectingdata from weak sample sources? How manytimes have results been questionable—because the participants’ qualifications orauthenticity was dubious? Panels cost lessto build and maintain than MROCs, and inmany cases deliver the needed ingredient forsuccessful research.

A great way to get systemsin place is to take advantageof slow times of year such as

summertime and holidayseasons. Use these periodsto create standard formsand survey templates for

use year-round.

Principles of Remarkable Research 14

www.ResearchRockstar.com

HOW TO GET GREATDATA REMARKABLE RESEARCH…

IS NOT ABOUT ABANDONING PROVEN METHODSRemarkable research is not about replacing well-tested, proven methodologies (such assurveys and focus groups). It’s often about augmenting them. Alas, we see many caseswhere people eagerly embrace the “hot-new-thing.” The temptation is understandable: itcan help with research audiences (internal or external clients) who may find newermethods more interesting than the results of another “boring” survey. In reality, cool newmethods are often best at augmenting the tried and true, but not always for replacingthem.

Stand by the old aphorism: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. So before youabandon proven methods, do some serious pilot projects first.

We recently worked with a clientwho used an idea managementplatform to collect preliminary

feedback on some productenhancements. This led to an

amazingly well planned survey as aPhase 2.

As a bonus, because we were able toweek out several ideas in Phase 1, thesurvey was nice and short—which madefor a compelling survey invitation to hisin-house panel (invitations to a 5-minutesurvey generally out-perform those to a15-minute one).

Principles of Remarkable Research 15

www.ResearchRockstar.com

AVOIDS JARGONDon’t let excessive jargon stand in the way of your remarkable research. When youdesign surveys or discussion guides, use simple language. It’s very easy for those whodevelop areas of expertise (in an industry, product category, etc.) to forget that othersdon’t use the same language to discuss the same topics. Your organization may uselanguage that your target market does not (we see this frequently in technologycompanies and financial institutions).

Even within a specialty field, use of jargon can vary a lot. For example, consider thetask of conducting focus groups with IT managers. How they talk about their systems,installation processes, daily tasks and even their budget strategies can varydramatically. Let’s take the case of products they have in use: some IT managers referto a given technology by a technical name or IEEE standard. Others refer to a commonbrand or product model and don’t even know the more technical terms. Both types of ITmanagers may be valuable for your research, so you need to use language both willfind familiar.

Be vigilant when you’re creating surveys to use friendly language. Go for the lowestcommon denominator in terms of who is taking your survey. Use language that they arelikely to use in daily conversation. Excessive jargon turns people off and leads todropouts, or worse: if they don’t know what a term means they might guess, and you willget inaccurate data in return.

CAN USE SIMPLE FORMATSRemarkable research isn’t just about asking the right questions; it’s about making iteasy for respondents to give you the right answers. Anyone who designs online surveysquickly learns that to get good data, you need to take a hard look at how you chooseyour answer options and scales. Avoid over relying on 5-point scaled questions andconsider all of the options: semantic differential, constant sum, rank order, even open-end. There are many options, but don’t go too crazy. A patchwork of many differentanswer options and scales in a single survey becomes burdensome for participants.

A simple approach is often a kinder approach for online survey participants, whichmeans they will be less likely to reject your next research request (you don’t want

Principles of Remarkable Research 16

www.ResearchRockstar.com

customers who receive your research requests to think, “Oh no! Not again! Thesesurveys are nightmares!”). Here are two examples:

For brand perceptions, a quick and easy way to collect data is to ask,“Which of the following words would you use to describe our company?”Then give them a list of varying words and allow them to pick up to three (betterstill, ask this open-ended). It’s a simple format and gives you useful insights intohow people perceive your brand’s personality. There are many similarly simplequestions that can be asked, that feel easy to participants. Too many brandperceptions studies force participants through a lengthy barrage of grid-stylequestions.

For product concept testing, doyou really need to dragparticipants through 15+ screensof brain-numbing trade-offchoices?Unless you really need that level ofdata for product concept testing tocreate a simulator, you may find asimpler approach sufficient. Try amonadic approach. Or, if in reality,there are only 3 ways your productwould be configured (in terms offeatures, style, or price), ask forfeedback on those items. A simple“mock” trade-off can give you greatinformation at a fraction of the costand without torturing respondents.

Do some projects require a more complex approach? Yes. But not all. Consider allof your options.

Bottom line: Tis a Gift to Be Simple (as the song says) applies, and it isn’t “Stupid”(even if KISS is a handy mnemonic). Just because we can jam a lot of questions into asingle grid, or can create complex trade-off exercises, doesn’t mean we should.Sometimes a simple approach is just fine.

Other great resources are

The Handbook ofMarketing Scales

and

Why ‘Thank You’ Is MoreThan Just Good Manners

Principles of Remarkable Research 17

www.ResearchRockstar.com

IS POLITEA remarkable use of manners goes a long way when practicing remarkable research.Remember to be respectful of those who are participating in the research; an occasional“please” or “thank you” helps keep them genuinely engaged. In the invitation or surveyopening, use polite text to set the context and invite them to participate (remember,they’re doing you a favor). The same applies at the conclusion of the research process.Always thank the participant for their time and let them know that their input is valuableand will be used.

Common things that strike participants as rude:

An online survey closes abruptly after the last question.Shows no expression of gratitude.

A customer feedback session ends without advising the client how theresults will be used.Leaves participants with the suspicion that their valuable time was wasted.

An online community discussion that demands a lot of typing byparticipants forgets to repeatedly thank the participants for their help.Shows no expression of gratitude and leaves participants feeling unappreciated.

An online, single question poll simply closes after a vote is submittedinstead of sharing the results to date on the next screen.Leaves respondents wanting more. Many poll participants say they like seeinghow their peers voted. That is their incentive, and your way of saying thanks.

INCLUDES LISTENINGRemarkable research is closer to our fingertipsthan ever before. And it often involves listening,not asking.

One of the most efficient options is throughsocial media research. By monitoring socialmedia conversations using tools such as thosefrom BuzzMetrics, Crimson Hexagon, NetBase,

Principles of Remarkable Research 18

www.ResearchRockstar.com

Radian6 and Trackur, researchers can discover customer attitudes without having toask. This dovetails with the current hot topic of behavioral economics, which amongother things, points out that research participants cannot always report their attitudesand behaviors accurately. For some topics, listening and observation is the key togathering accurate data.

Ethnography is another option for projects where observing will yield better insightsthan asking. But be careful: ethnography is a nuanced discipline. Videotaping a bunchof interviews is not ethnography.

EMBRACES CROWDSOURCING AS AN OPTIONTwo categories of software tools are available to turn crowdsourcing into a practicalmarket research option: idea management platforms and prediction markets. Whilethese categories are distinct, they have a common theme: creating web-baseddestinations to generate, prioritize, and assess ideas (or predictions). IdeaScale,Infosurv, and Inkling are just three of the platforms that offer trials. Again, newtechnologies are allowing remarkable researchers to gain customer insights,collaboratively and quickly.

There are some confusing semantics flooding the twittersphere and market research journals.Words like:

Collaboration • Crowdsourcing • Co-creation • Open Innovation

are all popular words that in reality overlap a lot. The idea is simple: inviting a “crowd” (abroad public network, a list of customers, employees, or a set of business partners) to easilyshare and vote or comment on ideas. The mechanics may vary but the fundamental concept isthe same: engaging a group of people of your choice to participate in virtual brainstormingsessions resulting in a prioritized set of ideas. The ideas may be product options, tag lines,sales forecasts, or just about anything else you can think of.

Principles of Remarkable Research 19

www.ResearchRockstar.com

CONCLUSIONMarket research projects are complex. There are a lot of steps involved in planning,executing and delivering a project successfully. Hopefully with this eBook, youdiscovered some practical actions you can take in your next projects, so that you canavoid common challenges and feel like a Research Rockstar.

We welcome your feedback. If you have any questions or comments, please contactInfo@ResearchRockstar.com. Thanks for reading!

About The Author

Kathryn Korostoff is a market research professional with a special interest in how organizations acquire,manage, and apply market research. Over the past 20 years, she has personally directed more than 600primary market research projects and published over 100 bylined articles in trade magazines. Currently,Kathryn spends her time assisting companies as they create market research departments, developmarket research strategies, or otherwise optimize their use of market research. Prior to ResearchRockstar, Kathryn completed the transition of Sage Research—an agency that she founded and led for13 years— to its new parent company.

For online training on 15 marketresearch topics, please visit

www.ResearchRockstar.com

For information on our Rent-A-Researcher program, click here.

www.ResearchRockstar.com For more expert tips on market

Sales@ResearchRockstar.com www.ResearchRockstar.comRockstar’s free newsletter at

For sales: Please contact research, subscribe to Research