This will be the last in the series about lessons I’ve learned from working in market research. We’ve talked about defining problems, mitigating risk, collecting stories, establishing decision criteria, and being objectively passionate on behalf of our customers. This week we are going to think about market research, interpreting data, and triangulation.
Let’s pretend for a minute you asked me to do some kind of research project. Let’s say I came back to you and told you the answer was 5. Is that good or bad? Are you prepared to make a decision? I’m guessing that you probably aren’t.
You’re probably thinking that’s a strange opening and you might be wondering what that has to do with anything. Throughout my career I have often heard people say something along the lines of, “The data will speak for itself.” The problem is that data doesn’t speak for itself. Data on its own has no meaning. Data only has the value we assign to it. The power of data lies in how we interpret it. For some situations if the answer was 5 that could be a great thing. If the question was, “By what percentage have your sales increased in the past month?” 5 could be a great answer. In other situations, 5 wouldn’t be so great. For example, if your market share was 5%, but it was forecasted to be 20% there might be an issue.
The longer I’m in market research the more I realize how important it is to be able to interpret data. Also, I continue to learn that part of the skill in correctly interpreting data is triangulating. It’s taking the time to look at the problem and research from multiple angles to make sure that everything is saying something similar. If one thing is telling me the answer is 5, another is telling me it’s 26, and another is telling me the answer is purple there is probably a gap in my understanding. The only way to find the truth is to triangulate.
Now everything above applies to market research, but it also applies to life. How often have you talked to someone who has come to conclusions based on one piece of data or only one side of an argument? How often are you that person? I know I’m that person sometimes. It’s easier to take the data that is readily available, assume that data speaks for itself, and not take the time to triangulate. The problem is that whenever I’ve done this I’ve missed part of the story and have missed the truth as a result.
The challenge: Are you actively trying to triangulate, so you can better interpret the data in front of you?
Have a jolly good day,
Andrew Embry
Striking Matches 