Research, or perhaps more precisely market research, in the business to business (B to B) and business to consumer (B to C) arenas has long been the staple of marketing departments, strategy groups, groups tasked with competitive intelligence, product development, and other business functions that rely on market data to do their job. B to B research needs have spawned a large market research service industry, which comes in many shapes and sizes, as well as many degrees of competency.

While market research can and does take many forms, this text will concentrate on Web-based research designs. This form of research has grown enormously in the past ten years and competes very successfully with other approaches such as phone interviewing. In fact, there are research objectives, which are clearly best served with a Web-based approach. Practicing the art and science of Web-based research is multi-facetted; our focus will be one facet, questionnaire design. However, we will touch on other aspects of the research process such as sampling and analysis.

One of the newer trends is the survey-hosting model that purports to put the tools necessary to do market research in the hands of the user and, explicitly or implicitly, suggests the DIY (do-it-yourself) approach is now available at a fraction of the cost of professional help either, internal or external. While it’s true these services have commoditized aspects of data collection tasks, the Latin phrase caveat emptor (buyer beware) is very applicable and will be discussed in some detail.

Our main purpose, however, is to help serious researchers, whether professionals within a company or consultants to a company, prepare questionnaires that will yield results far more useful than the typical instruments observed in over twenty years of practice. A key element in this quest is to bring interactive question design into the mainstream. The days of linear design are numbered (or should be); companies should demand the development of market research designs and analysis supported by research instruments (RI) based on an interactive approach to question design. An RI is more than a collection of questions; it has an architecture that serves a theme or in some cases multiple themes. A questionnaire’s architecture exists whether it is created thoughtfully or by chance. The difference is a thoughtful architecture will yield well constructed data. It’s similar to a planned community that meets the needs of its occupants. A questionnaire built with no planned approach other than to string questions toget
her is similar to a community that just grows as individuals build one structure after another with no particular plan; it works but it’s not optimized.

The interactive approach requires the researcher to step beyond the descriptive presentation of data into the world of interpretive presentation. It requires forethought regarding the analysis, a clear understanding of research objectives in service of business objectives, and a willingness to test each and every question’s relevance against those objectives—the “so what” litmus test of relevance.

In short, this book encourages the market researcher to raise the bar and add value to the field of market research, which is a highly relevant endeavor in our global economy. Market research should contribute meaningfully to the challenges of helping to make B to B and B to C transactions as efficient and productive as possible.


Three Basic Premises
Here are three basic premises that will guide you through the use of this book and the implementation of all market research efforts. Remember:

1. You can improve your insights by improving the structure and con1. tent of your research instruments (RI).

2. You must focus on the highest value opportunities when you apply 2. survey research resources—survey studies involve high levels of effort and nontrivial costs to execute well.

3. Standardizing various aspects of your survey research approach will 3. pay dividends in efficiency, new staff training, and cross study analysis, which can provide valuable content.

Keep these three premises in mind as you read this book. Review them every once in a while as you learn more about how an interactive questionnaire yields dividends.