Based on my experience over the last three decades, most people reading this book are wasting 60 percent of their marketing investment a year. If you spend $100,000 annually on marketing, that’s $60,000 being wasted every year, and a $300,000 misspend over five years. You can outsource this entire research protocol for roughly $30,000 to $60,000, and most of it will last you, on average, five years depending on how dynamic your industry is. The bottom line is you can’t afford to skip market research. It’s the primary driver of your ability to drive strong, predictable marketing outcomes.

The majority of marketing leaders and CEOs I’ve worked with over the years came to the table skeptical about the need for market research. I’ve heard hundreds of variations of “Why wouldn’t I just put that money into execution?” I get it. If you haven’t seen the power of market research firsthand, disbelief is natural. If you cannot let go of that thinking, however, and embrace quality research as the linchpin to predictable marketing, your odds of success drop substantially.

There are two types of research protocols—qualitative and quantitative—and utilizing both gives you the greatest advantage when building an informed results-guaranteed marketing strategy.

Qualitative research is used to determine the scope of beliefs about your brand and its place in the market that must later be vetted against a statistically valid audience science—which is your quantitative research. This quantitative vetting is necessary to ensure you have sufficient clarity and ammunition – which we can statistical significance – to craft a strategy with predictable outcomes. Think of qualitative research as the perceptions, opinions, and viewpoints that must be validated statistically through the hard numbers, which are your quantitative methods. Your research protocol should generally include these tools.

If you have any additional questions, don’t hesitate to reach out at hello@marketingresultsguaranteed.com. We’d be delighted to assist.

Qualitative research is used to determine the scope of beliefs about your brand and its place in the market that must later be vetted against a statistically valid audience science—which is your quantitative research. To craft a results-guaranteed marketing strategy, it’s crucial to balance qualitative insights with quantitative analysis. Numbers alone are superficial metrics; they may reveal patterns but not the underlying motivations or sentiments that drive consumer behavior. Relying solely on quantitative data risks overlooking the emotional connections and personal reasons that attract people to a brand or sway them to favor one product over another. Combining quantitative and qualitative data provides a more comprehensive overview of market dynamics. These stories contextualize the statistics, providing a more in-depth understanding of the consumer experience.

However, solely focusing on qualitative data, such as interview anecdotes, can be restrictive. While these narratives are rich in detail, they may not reflect the broader market reality. Decisions based solely on these stories and consumer emotions might resonate with individual experiences but could fail to scale up to larger, statistically significant market trends.

A robust marketing strategy requires a harmonious blend of both data types, allowing for compelling narratives drawn from customer experiences to be validated by quantitative data, ensuring that your strategy resonates with individuals and aligns with the larger market context. The result is a well-rounded, evidence-based strategy with the power to guarantee results.

If you have any additional questions, don’t hesitate to reach out at hello@marketingresultsguaranteed.com. We’d be delighted to assist.

While our GO Plan service stands as our hallmark offering for most of our clients, there are times when a more flexible “Test & Pivot” approach is warranted. If your company is just dipping it’s toe into active marketing for the first time and/or you don’t yet have much of a customer base, then you’re a candidate for our Test & Pivot service because there is no past marketing performance to measure and you don’t have a sizeable customer base and prospect pipeline from which our market research team can gather market insights. Instead, we execute a highly streamlined research protocol, and swiftly pivot to crafting an experimental strategy. Our team plunges into dynamic A/B testing, exploring diverse channels, messaging blueprints, promotional strategies, and audience segments to unearth the most impactful strategy. It’s worth noting that while our Test & Pivot Marketing service is more budget-friendly initially, it does not carry our typical results guarantee, though often, Test & Pivot clients are eligible for a results guarantee plan by year two.

If you have any additional questions, don’t hesitate to reach out at hello@marketingresultsguaranteed.com. We’d be delighted to assist.