Question

Topic: Website Critique

Suggested Improvements - Market Research Agency

Posted by Anonymous on 8/2/2005 at 8:17 PM ET 250 Points
Being from Eastern Europe, I face the opposite dilemma to most KHE users, that is, I need to 'globalize' a local website. Our fairly successful local site has been praised by many clients and helps us to build the image of a 'company that knows it' . After over 12 months of hard work, I think I understand what my visitors like and need. To be sure, this is different from what I learned about American behavior patterns.

Now we are launching the English version. It is basically a copy of the Polish website, with the important difference that we were not able to develop enough high quality resources so far and therefore the archive is much poorer in content (Polish version contains now over 20 different papers + press releases etc.). This will be gradually improved. And of course there is no need that the English content matches the Polish one exactly.

We want to create an email campaign promoting our company but we want to have a really compelling website before we do that.

Now, my questions:

1) does the layout and content suggest a professional, serious company?

2) for those of you who might consider buying MR services: is there anything missing at our website? what would you change?

3) what topics would be useful for our Resources section?

4) what would make you open an email and act on it if you receive a message from an agency like ours (assuming you at least tentatively consider doing research in Europe)

5) any other suggestions or advice? Again, we are targeting a market that is foreign to us!

The website to evaluate: www.inquiry-mr.com




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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 8/2/2005 at 9:38 PM Accepted
    Nice site, impressive professional credentials, all the right buzz-words and concepts. Content is solid.

    Site could use some color, images, more visual interest. There's a lot of gray copy, paragraph after paragraph, page after page. And a few interesting case studies would add readability (even if they're just a paragraph or two).

    If I were a market research firm in the US and I wanted a partner in Eastern Europe to conduct a quantitative study for my client in the US, I'd definitely want to talk with you.

    If I'm a client in the US, however, I want someone who will come to my office, find out what my needs are, help me ask the right questions, and show up with the results and explain them to me in plain English. I don't think I'd trust a website or someone I'd never met. At a minimum, I'd want local (i.e., US) references and a few detailed phone conversations.

    Market research is so important to corporate decision making, that I can't take a chance that I'll get the wrong answers, make a decision based on those answers, and end up losing a pile of money. I need to feel good about my market research firm, and a slick website just isn't enough. It's necessary, but not sufficient.

    There is still widespread skepticism in the US that Eastern Europeans are really competent/sophisticated when it comes to marketing and marketing services (including market research).

    Your credentials indicate that you're very well grounded and have the necessary skill set, and your English is excellent, so that's not a problem. If YOU showed up in my office, I'm sure I'd understand quickly that you're the right people to handle my market research needs in Eastern Europe.

    But that's a lot different than trusting a voice on the other end of the phone, a website, or some hired salesperson who claims to have contacts at a reliable market research firm in Poland.

    It's all too remote, too important, and too foreign -- even if I am interested in doing business in Eastern Europe.

    Net, I think your marketing strategy needs help. It's not a question of the website quality, or the right email contact. It's the strategy. It may not deliver your objective.

    I think you need a US-based partner to open some doors, and I think you need to plan to spend some time making the rounds in the US yourself. If you do both of those, then your website will be an important reference. And what you have there is an excellent start. Just needs more visual interest.

    As for resources, you might want to have a few white papers that educate Westerners to the differences/difficulties with doing market research in Eastern Europe, and some case studies that clearly demonstrate how you've applied the various types of studies.

    Hope this helps. If you want to discuss off-line, contact me directly.
  • Posted by adammjw on 8/3/2005 at 5:25 AM Member
    Agnieszka,

    mgood is absolutely right saying that either strong company presence or a valuable alliance or partnership with a strong local US or British( depending on your focus) MR company could do the trick. I have participated in a couple of inroads of major multinational companies into Eastern Europe and always the scenario was the same.The started out contacting their trusted local MR partner to find out and probe the market they were interested in.That's when local East European companies step in.
    Your website content,colors, copy can support your position but will never replace what I've mentioned above.

    Hope it helps

    Adam
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