Know-How Exchange : Research/Metrics

Questionnaire development is as much art as it is science. We help our clients to define the problem they face and develop solid research objectives. These two key steps will drive the research including design of the questionnaire. In defining your problem, make sure you're focusing on the actual problem and not the symptoms. For example, some might think that a drop in sales is due to a non-competitive price. The drop in sales is not the problem but rather a symptom of the problem that could include deficiencies in customer service or products etc.

Determining the problem and establishing objectives will also help you to determine who you will be asking your questions, in other words who will be included in your sample, how you will get the information from them and so on.

Realize that simple yes/no questions do not lend themselves to statistical analysis that will enable you to develop predictive models around those metrics you stated.

There is a fair amount of work to consider before getting to questions. In the end it will be well worth it. I can't tell you how many folks put questions on a survey, distribute it and then get back data that provides little information that is useful.

Brand positioning research is important and usually requires a 360 degree approach. I realize this may not have answered your question specifically, but I wanted to give you some tips to help you come up with the best survey instrument that is possible. Would be glad to provide additional assistance if you need it.

I recommend you try two approaches:

First, you could consider doing some qualitative research. Talk to at least 5-10 current customers and at least 5-10 customers of the competition. (You don't mention your industry, so I'm not sure how easy it would be to find customers of the competition.) You'll want to ask them about how they perceive your brand, how they perceive the competition's brand(s), what made them choose you (or them), etc. Most importantly, you will want to be a good listener in these sessions - don't get defensive about your brand - just let people talk while you take notes. Then, if budget permits, look into conducting some formal focus groups to explore these perceptions in a more in-depth manner, and understand the role that group dynamics might play in brand perception.

Second, you'll want to develop a questionnaire that specifically addresses some of the perceptions that arose from the qualitative research you did, to test out how widely these perceptions are held in the general population. This will also give you the opportunity to try out some positioning statements on your target audience, measure reactions to various positions your company might try to stake out based on what you've learned, and how well these positions might be received. In this way, the research can help guide you towards a unique selling proposition for your brand.

A word of caution, though: it is very difficult to research pricing. Instead you may want to ask customers about they value they perceive in your brand, and approach the pricing issue from that end. All of this depends upon your industry, the inherent price-sensitivity, differences in competitive pricing, etc.

A qualified professional can help you with some of the specifics here (e.g., methodology, questionnaire development, analytical perspective, etc.), but this information should give you some direction on how to get started.

Good luck!