Talking to your stakeholders can be a useful way to source new marketing ideas. We have hosted very successful brainstorming sessions for clients that comprised of suppliers, staff, business partners and marketing professionals from other industries.

One may also be tempted to ask consumers for ideas. This is where we need to tread cautiously. Depending on whom you ask, how you ask and in what context, there is always a danger of arriving at misleading answers.

Misleading results

Let us give you an example. In a Synovate AsiaBUS survey in October 2008, 1,000 local consumers in Hong Kong, aged 15 to 64,  were asked for their opinions on the marketing of ‘green’ values.

In one question, respondents were given a choice of channels that best communicate green values. The majority (38%) chose advertising campaigns as the medium they would use, compared to packaging (9%) or websites (6%) for example. (See chart above - click to enlarge)

In another question in the same survey, the results were somewhat different. 57% of the same respondents indicated that packaging, design, materials, colour as well as messaging on products are equally important in communicating green values (environmentally friendly brands), as advertising campaigns. (See chart on left)

This seems to imply that advertising campaigns (1st survey question result) are not necessarily the first and most effective way to communicate green values after all.

As this illustration shows, one has to be cautious when interpreting survey results.

Misleading questions

As we mentioned earlier, you need to consider who you asked, how you asked and in what context you asked. Importantly, you should also review how the questions were phrased. Some questions may lead to subjective, ill-informed or narrow answers.

For example:

Avoid: What do you think of “X” brand?
Try: What do you expect from products such as “X” brand?

Avoid: What do you like and dislike about “X” brand?
Try: If you are the brand manager of “X”, what aspects of it would you keep and what would you throw away? Why?

Avoid: What is the best way to advertise a product such as “ABC”?
Try: What sources of information do you refer to before buying “ABC” product?

These are just three common examples.

Marketing managers should be extra vigilant when reviewing their survey questions, to ensure their budget set aside for the purpose is well spent. There is always a danger of following the wrong cues!

See our other post on Secondary research – tips and warnings.

For more information, please contact Manifesto.