Question

Topic: Research/Metrics

Research Dept. And Its Budget

Posted by Anonymous on 11/30/2010 at 1:14 PM ET 500 Points
Hi everybody,

I'm a recently-appointed Consumer Insight Manager employed by the Italian subsidiary of a large FMCG company.

What makes my job rather difficult is the fact that my dept. doesn't 'own' a budget. Mostly we do research when briefed by a specific Brand/Marketing Manager (happens very rarely since our company has a culture that relies more on gut feelings) or when I manage to convince the Marketing Director that we absolutely need to investigate some issue (which happens more often, the only problem is that the Mktg Director usually asks me to check with the BM+Marketing Manager team whether we do have a budget...and the discussion that follows, with the brand team trying to 'save money', blocks the process or at least slows it down severely).

Now, since the global HQ have sent us clear guidelines concerning the need to rely more on actual insights and less on intuition, I'd like to make my dept. 'the agent of change'. My idea is too rely 50% on education (running quick presentations where we show, with concrete examples, how research can really help you in your job...please consider that most of the marketing team is really junior) and 50% on a new governance that would give the Research dept. its own budget.

As part of the bottom-up marketing plan development process, we'd try to spot the key research needs (the big knowledge gaps we have), estimate the cost of the studies needed to explore those and make our case for the subsequent budget.

This is just a rough idea but my question is: how does it work in your companies? Which is the best way to manage this area of the business in your opinion?

Thanks in advance for your (insightful) answers,

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RESPONSES

  • Posted by koen.h.pauwels on 11/30/2010 at 1:58 PM Accepted
    Great question, as a lot of companies I know are in a similar situation. Having to ask for money every time there is something important to analyze is just no longer sustainable for several reasons:

    1) today's world is changing fast, so you have to knock on the money door more often than eg 30 years ago
    2) you may miss important opportunities and threats that you do not see coming before it is too late

    For this reason, instead of one-off studies, i recommend continuous marketing performance measurement. Some people call this a marketing dashboard (eg https://jsr.sagepub.com/content/12/2/175.abstract) as it signals what is going well and what needs further attention, eg in a follow-up study. In the process of dashboard development, you will need systematically with issues such as training and governance, spot the knowledge gaps and how much you should spend to fill them, etc

    Hope this helps; if you are interested we can share several references and companies specializing in these very issues

    Cheers
  • Posted on 11/30/2010 at 4:54 PM Accepted
    I guess old brand manager habits don't die so easily. If I were still a brand manager, I wouldn't want some other department "helping" me when I don't think I need help.

    If my brand is ultimately paying for research that I didn't commission, I'd squawk to management: "Not fair. If I'm to be accountable for marketing, then I don't want someone else making the resource allocations on my brand."

    So how about this approach: Meet with each brand manager and ask them to identify the question(s) that are most important to them, the answers to which would have the greatest value to their business. Help them identify the high-gain questions and the monetized value of the answers. Then develop a research plan that will get them those answers at a cost lower than their value.

    Brand managers are the people who are responsible for brand performance. Market research is a support function. While I can understand your desire to be more pro-active, I would urge that you do so in collaboration with the brand managers, not in a parallel silo.

    Once you demonstrate the value you can bring, they'll be lining up to meet with you and pick your brain.
  • Posted on 11/30/2010 at 8:44 PM Accepted
    I agree with mgoodman's advice about meeting with each brand manager. They'll probably react most favorably when you're able to help them understand how getting answers to their key questions can help them operate, manage, and market more profitably. To maximize these meetings, try for the following:

    1 - Really listen to what they have to say about their key challenges and questions. Minimize the amount of talking or advice-giving in these meetings, and take lots of notes.

    2 - Follow up your meetings with a summary of the key points they raise.

    3 - Continue to follow up on a regular basis. Search the internet for existing or secondary studies that address some of their concerns to illustrate how research can provide high-quality answers and actionable data for others in similar situations.

    You probably won't get results overnight, but the relationship-building you do in the long term will probably provide a more satisfying payoff for all parties.

    Good luck!
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