netrashetty
Netra Shetty
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is an energy company with assets in the United States, Canada and Latin America. It is "the biggest nuclear power company in America
e of reaction acknowledges your client’s need to be in control, but you are now managing the amount of control, limiting it to specific issues and only an hour a week of interruption versus daily interaction. If the client starts slipping into his old behaviors, step in immediately and remind him of the agreement you both made to the process for resolving this situation. Ask for his help in allowing the process you’ve both agreed upon to work. Thank him for his ongoing cooperation.
Situation #6: The client is laissez-faire about the project they’ve requested, taking a hands-off attitude until the project is underway, and then begins to challenge everything.
Unlike Situation #5, this one happens more frequently among busy executives who are effective in delegating, but then get nervous that perhaps they’ve put too much trust in the marketing research department and need to get “back in the game” before it is too late.
Suggestions:
Once you’ve been in this situation, you promise yourself it won’t happen again. The best way to manage yourself out of this one is to not point fingers at the client. Don’t suggest that the client should have gotten involved from the get-go — that will only make you feel better momentarily! Instead, work to establish a rapport with the client.
Be clear on what she is unhappy about, what’s bugging her about the project. Pull out the objectives. (Are you getting sick of hearing this one?) Make certain the project is in alignment with the goals. Review the questionnaires, discussion guides, other research materials. Understand where your client is uncomfortable and work towards a quick resolution plan to diminish her level of uncertainty.
Frequently update the client on the status of her project. Identify barriers you encounter. Share the good and bad news about early findings. Make sure the communication lines are open and free flowing. Build her sense of trust in you, your department, and the supplier. The more she believes she can truly delegate to you, the less she may be inclined to continue challenging the project.
Proactive steps
Here’s a list of proactive steps you can take now to diminish the frequency of having to deal with difficult clients:
1. Document and communicate your department’s function. Establish a written departmental functionality statement of how internal clients can work best with the marketing research department. Inform them how you are structured, what responsibilities you have, what services you offer and how they can benefit from your services, etc. Make it short, easy to read, etc.
2. Create/update a short marketing research project request form. It can be an online format, voice-activated, or good old pencil-and-paper. Test it on both some heavy research users and on those who infrequently use your services. Fine-tune the document so it is streamlined, easy and quick to complete and not a barrier to using your department.
3. Use pictures to paint the process. Develop a visual that shows internal clients the process that’s taken once a research request is received. Make it client-friendly — don’t make them jump through too many hoops.
4. Get objectives in writing. Always, always, always insist on written research objectives showing what the project is to deliver and what will be done differently as a result of receiving the research information. This is the place you can always come back to when difficulties arise.
5. Be a partner not a gatekeeper. Many times, people in organizations have said that they resist working with their marketing research department because researchers can be rigid, speak in acronyms others don’t understand and sometimes seem less than helpful at getting the job done. They view research personnel as more concerned about rules being followed than results being achieved.
So relax! All the rules don’t have to followed perfectly all the time. Practice good research skills — ask lots of questions, clarify concerns. Be willing to bow to the client’s suggestions. Look for ways to compromise. Communicate frequently and succinctly. Resist criticism. Ask for support. Your job is to be seen as a valuable resource, not a gatekeeper!
6. Market your department. People like to work with people who can help them. So publicize success stories. Show how research, when done correctly, can make a viable difference to a project’s success. Use numbers as much as possible. Position your department as a winning place to get answers.
7. Innovate! Keep looking for new methodologies, new suppliers, new moderators, new recruiting techniques, new ways to cut costs, new ways to hasten results, etc. Don’t get stuck in doing research the “same old way.” Embrace change, try new things.
8. Be trustworthy. Resist the temptation to bad-mouth difficult clients. Counsel your staff to model your behavior. Keep your professional cool. Be someone the internal client feels they can talk to and trust.
9. Ask for support when you truly need it. When a situation is clearly going south and you’ve tried everything, ask for management’s support. Be clear on what you want and how it will benefit the project. Don’t call in the cavalry just as back up. Use management clout rarely — when it is critically important.
10. Keep a sense of humor. The business world is rapidly changing and in a state of nearly constant flux. You will have problems. Things will not go smoothly. Not every internal client will like or respect you. Keep focused on your goal and take time to laugh a bit on the way. You can be successful without being stressed out.
11. Treat your internal clients like your best customers. Even when they are difficult, think of your internal clients as customers you need to better understand to “make the sale,” to “get the business.” Thank them for their business. Ask them to refer your services to their colleagues. Survey them to measure their satisfaction and implement ideas they have for your department.
12. Keep learning. In today’s changing business environment, your challenge is to keep growing and learning more about your company’s business and encouraging your staff to do the same. Go to trade shows, read industry literature, research your competitors, tag along on sales calls, listen in on service calls, have lunch with an engineer, visit with your external customers. Keep on top of what’s happening in your department, your internal client’s world and in your external customer’s mind.
any marketers mistakenly believe marketing research, while important in helping make marketing decisions, is something that is far too expensive to do on their own. While this is true for some marketing decisions, marketers should also know that not all marketing research must be expensive to be useful.
For the rest of this tutorial we discuss secondary research sources that are easily obtainable and relatively low cost (often free). Many of these inexpensive sources hold great potential to aid marketers in several ways. First, for marketers seeking information to help with marketing decisions, the material found through these sources can be extensive and, on many occasions, will meet the marketer’s needs. Second, even in situations where the available information is not sufficient quantity or quality to be used for marketing decision-making, the information could still be used to fill smaller needs, such as the need to enter a metric in a slide presentation. Third, the information located through these sources may suggest to the research seeker that conducting their own primary research is necessary in which case the secondary research could serve as a guide for how this can be done.
Despite these advantages, inexpensive research carries many disadvantages making it unsuitable for some situations. As we noted in the Planning for Market Research Tutorial , these problems include:
e of reaction acknowledges your client’s need to be in control, but you are now managing the amount of control, limiting it to specific issues and only an hour a week of interruption versus daily interaction. If the client starts slipping into his old behaviors, step in immediately and remind him of the agreement you both made to the process for resolving this situation. Ask for his help in allowing the process you’ve both agreed upon to work. Thank him for his ongoing cooperation.
Situation #6: The client is laissez-faire about the project they’ve requested, taking a hands-off attitude until the project is underway, and then begins to challenge everything.
Unlike Situation #5, this one happens more frequently among busy executives who are effective in delegating, but then get nervous that perhaps they’ve put too much trust in the marketing research department and need to get “back in the game” before it is too late.
Suggestions:
Once you’ve been in this situation, you promise yourself it won’t happen again. The best way to manage yourself out of this one is to not point fingers at the client. Don’t suggest that the client should have gotten involved from the get-go — that will only make you feel better momentarily! Instead, work to establish a rapport with the client.
Be clear on what she is unhappy about, what’s bugging her about the project. Pull out the objectives. (Are you getting sick of hearing this one?) Make certain the project is in alignment with the goals. Review the questionnaires, discussion guides, other research materials. Understand where your client is uncomfortable and work towards a quick resolution plan to diminish her level of uncertainty.
Frequently update the client on the status of her project. Identify barriers you encounter. Share the good and bad news about early findings. Make sure the communication lines are open and free flowing. Build her sense of trust in you, your department, and the supplier. The more she believes she can truly delegate to you, the less she may be inclined to continue challenging the project.
Proactive steps
Here’s a list of proactive steps you can take now to diminish the frequency of having to deal with difficult clients:
1. Document and communicate your department’s function. Establish a written departmental functionality statement of how internal clients can work best with the marketing research department. Inform them how you are structured, what responsibilities you have, what services you offer and how they can benefit from your services, etc. Make it short, easy to read, etc.
2. Create/update a short marketing research project request form. It can be an online format, voice-activated, or good old pencil-and-paper. Test it on both some heavy research users and on those who infrequently use your services. Fine-tune the document so it is streamlined, easy and quick to complete and not a barrier to using your department.
3. Use pictures to paint the process. Develop a visual that shows internal clients the process that’s taken once a research request is received. Make it client-friendly — don’t make them jump through too many hoops.
4. Get objectives in writing. Always, always, always insist on written research objectives showing what the project is to deliver and what will be done differently as a result of receiving the research information. This is the place you can always come back to when difficulties arise.
5. Be a partner not a gatekeeper. Many times, people in organizations have said that they resist working with their marketing research department because researchers can be rigid, speak in acronyms others don’t understand and sometimes seem less than helpful at getting the job done. They view research personnel as more concerned about rules being followed than results being achieved.
So relax! All the rules don’t have to followed perfectly all the time. Practice good research skills — ask lots of questions, clarify concerns. Be willing to bow to the client’s suggestions. Look for ways to compromise. Communicate frequently and succinctly. Resist criticism. Ask for support. Your job is to be seen as a valuable resource, not a gatekeeper!
6. Market your department. People like to work with people who can help them. So publicize success stories. Show how research, when done correctly, can make a viable difference to a project’s success. Use numbers as much as possible. Position your department as a winning place to get answers.
7. Innovate! Keep looking for new methodologies, new suppliers, new moderators, new recruiting techniques, new ways to cut costs, new ways to hasten results, etc. Don’t get stuck in doing research the “same old way.” Embrace change, try new things.
8. Be trustworthy. Resist the temptation to bad-mouth difficult clients. Counsel your staff to model your behavior. Keep your professional cool. Be someone the internal client feels they can talk to and trust.
9. Ask for support when you truly need it. When a situation is clearly going south and you’ve tried everything, ask for management’s support. Be clear on what you want and how it will benefit the project. Don’t call in the cavalry just as back up. Use management clout rarely — when it is critically important.
10. Keep a sense of humor. The business world is rapidly changing and in a state of nearly constant flux. You will have problems. Things will not go smoothly. Not every internal client will like or respect you. Keep focused on your goal and take time to laugh a bit on the way. You can be successful without being stressed out.
11. Treat your internal clients like your best customers. Even when they are difficult, think of your internal clients as customers you need to better understand to “make the sale,” to “get the business.” Thank them for their business. Ask them to refer your services to their colleagues. Survey them to measure their satisfaction and implement ideas they have for your department.
12. Keep learning. In today’s changing business environment, your challenge is to keep growing and learning more about your company’s business and encouraging your staff to do the same. Go to trade shows, read industry literature, research your competitors, tag along on sales calls, listen in on service calls, have lunch with an engineer, visit with your external customers. Keep on top of what’s happening in your department, your internal client’s world and in your external customer’s mind.
any marketers mistakenly believe marketing research, while important in helping make marketing decisions, is something that is far too expensive to do on their own. While this is true for some marketing decisions, marketers should also know that not all marketing research must be expensive to be useful.
For the rest of this tutorial we discuss secondary research sources that are easily obtainable and relatively low cost (often free). Many of these inexpensive sources hold great potential to aid marketers in several ways. First, for marketers seeking information to help with marketing decisions, the material found through these sources can be extensive and, on many occasions, will meet the marketer’s needs. Second, even in situations where the available information is not sufficient quantity or quality to be used for marketing decision-making, the information could still be used to fill smaller needs, such as the need to enter a metric in a slide presentation. Third, the information located through these sources may suggest to the research seeker that conducting their own primary research is necessary in which case the secondary research could serve as a guide for how this can be done.
Despite these advantages, inexpensive research carries many disadvantages making it unsuitable for some situations. As we noted in the Planning for Market Research Tutorial , these problems include:
Last edited: