1. Name six key deliverables for a marketing research project and explain why each would be useful for the client.
Answer: Any six of the following
• Research plan
• Questionnaire*
• Sampling plan
• Field plan
• Field disposition reports
• Tabulation plan
• Raw data
• Data tables*
• Topline report
• Final report*
• Presentation*
• Workshop
2. List the most common sections of a marketing research report and describe the primary function of each of them.
Answer:
• Title page – provides project name and date, client name and supplier name. Could also have key contact information, copyright notice and project number. Should catch the eye and draw the client in.
• Table of Contents – makes it easy to find what you are looking for
• Background – provides the client’s context and reason for the research. Describes the business decisions to be made. Sets the scene for the analysis.
• Research objectives – A description of the information needed to make the decisions; serves as a check list to make sure everything is covered in the analysis.
• Methodology – outlines how the project was conducted and who provided the data (e.g. sample). Helps readers understand who is represented in the study. Makes it easier to replicate the research when need be.
• Executive Summary – a one or two page summary of key findings, conclusions and recommendations suitable to be circulated beyond the immediate client team.
• Detailed Findings – the full analysis and story-line that emerges from the analysis to guide the client in making decisions.
• Conclusions and Recommendations – Overarching insights that have emerged and the recommended action that the client should take towards their business decision
• Appendix – key information and proofs that were not needed to tell the main story. Added depth that might be useful for those who want more detail.
• Contact information and project number – to ensure someone looking to ask a question or repeat the study months or years later can easily find the right research team.
3. a) What are the key characteristics of a good executive summary?
Answer: It is a short summary of the key findings, conclusions and recommendations for a project, that can be circulated to others in the client organization. It is often a series of bullet points, without elaboration.
b) Why is an executive summary the most critical part of the report?
Answer: It will be read first, intensely and in many cases, nothing else will be read. It is likely what the most senior decision makers in the client organization will see.
4. List 5 key pieces of information that should appear in the Methodology section of a quantitative marketing research report.
Answer: Any 5 of the following
• Nature of the research (e.g. ethnography, focus groups, online or telephone survey, etc. )
• Definition of relevant population
• How the sample was selected and why
• Size of the sample and expected accuracy
• When the fieldwork was conducted
• Where the fieldwork was conducted
• Success of the fieldwork (response rate, incidence rate)
• Methods used to clean / weight the data
• Analytic methods used
5. Why is an appendix an important part of a marketing research report?
Answer: Helps keep the report short by removing information that is less central to the story line. Provides detail and statistics that are helpful for those who want them without cluttering the main story-telling purpose of the report. A storage area for information that might be useful in the future (e.g. secondary research). Key analytical outputs that provide credibility but are represented in a different way (e.g. infographic) in the report. Includes alternative views of the data, the questionnaire and if a short survey, perhaps the data tables.
6. Which of the following are not recommendations for formatting PowerPoint (or similar) slides for marketing research reports?
a) Use the headline to summarize what the reader needs to know
b) Make the graph or chart the focal point
c) Put the question wording and sample size in the appendix
d) Write detailed descriptions of what the chart says in a sidebar text box
e) Cut out all non-essential words
f) None of the above (all are recommended)
g) c and d
h) a and e
Answer: g
7. Explain the difference between writing analysis in the active voice and the passive voice. Which approach should be used in marketing research reports?
Answer: In the active voice, the subject acts directly on the verb. For example “Teens clearly prefer the cherry flavour over all others” is written in the active voice. The passive voice implies the subject. The same sentences would read “Cherry is the flavour that was preferred”. The active voice should be used to make report findings clearer and more immediate.
8. When a graph is used to convey the analysis, which of the following is generally needed?
a. A legend or labels
b. A title
c. Question wording
d. Base or sample size
e. Numbers or a numbered scale
f. All of the above
g. a, b and e
Answer: f
9. Which of the following is not a basic principle of communications when writing a marketing research report?
a. Use plain language
b. Avoid redundancies
c. Use short sentences
d. Avoid the passive voice
e. Use an attractive format
f. None, all are basic principles
Answer: b
10. What does ‘chunking’ mean in the context of writing a marketing research report?
a. Avoiding 3-dimensional graphs to provide clearer spatial relationships
b. Separating complex information into smaller logical units
c. Using larger, bold fonts for headlines to ensure the story is easy to follow
d. Organizing analysis into related units by storyboarding
e. None of the above
Answer: b
11. Multiple choice option: Which of the following are reasons why attention must be paid to how a marketing report looks?
a. An attractive report is an invitation for a reader to read it.
b. A badly laid out report requires more effort to read
c. Key points are easier to absorb if the report is well laid out
d. Readers might judge the quality of the research based on how the report looks
e. An attractive report reflects well on the company and will lead to more work
f. All of the above
Answer: f
Short answer option: Why is it important that attention be paid to how a marketing report looks?
Potential Answers:
• Readers often make judgements before they read one word, based on how it looks.
• Anattractive report is an invitation for a reader to read it.
• A badly laid out report requires more effort to read and key points may not be absorbed.
• A badly laid out report is less likely to be read.
12. Should a presentation deck be different from a report deck? If so, how?
Answer: Yes, a presentation deck will have someone explaining it. It should:
• be shorter (less than one slide for every 2 minutes of presentation time)
• focus only on telling the main storyline
• have very few words, simplified charts or infographics
• be used to emphasize the point being made by the presenter, not distract from him or her
• use larger font sizes so it can be seen from the back of the room (minimum 24 point)
• serve as a marker to remind everyone where we are in the presentation flow.
13. Create a series of PowerPoint (or similar) slides that demonstrate the following principles of creating a visually more attractive report. Explain what you’ve done in each case.
• Create an inviting, attractive, professional deck
• Use white space to ‘lighten the look’ of each page
• Ensure the background doesn’t make the text hard to read
• Use images only if they reinforce the message
• Use an easy-to-read font
• Don’t overdo emphasis like bolding or underlining
• Simplify charts as much as possible.
Answer: Instructor to evaluate slides
14. Which of the following are principles behind ‘knowing your audience’ when presenting marketing research findings?
a. How many people will be in the room (live or virtual)
b. How senior they are in the client organization
c. How much they know already about the findings of the study
d. Whether they are looking for the topline story or need to know details
e. How much time they really have for the presentation
f. All of the above
g. c and d
h. a, b and e
Answer: f
15. Explain some of the things a marketing researcher should do to improve his or her presentation style?
Potential Answers: Any of the following;
• Know your stuff
• Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse
• Turn your back to the screen and speak to the audience
• Practice stillness
• Speak clearly and accurately
• Slow down
• Use pauses
• Look into their eyes, everyone’s eyes
• Acknowledge questions
• Make your point and stop
16. Why are workshops an important deliverable when completing a marketing research project?
Potential Answers:
• Ensures the findings are absorbed, integrated and acted on
• Gets all stakeholders onto the same path, with shared understanding and language
• Leaves the client with an elevated sense of the usefulness of the research
• Helps the client do an important part of his or her job
• Will get you invited back to do more work
