The Most Expensive Excuse In Business

Published
by
Matt
on Sep 10, 2007
in Bad Marketing, Business and Marketers
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Market research is a joke.

Not all of it, but a decent amount.

I’m not condemning all market research. Of course it’s crazy to pump millions or billions into a product on a whim, but with the new product failure rate estimated from 50-75% (think New Coke), something isn’t working. And that’s not even the biggest problem.

It’s beginning to feel to me like market research has become merely an excuse, a way for people to avoid responsibility if a product fails. “Well, we just followed the conclusions from the market research…” has become the mantra of many after a failed launch. That shouldn’t be good enough anymore.

Revolutionary, remarkable products don’t cater well to market research, therefore a lot of great ideas don’t test out well and get shut down. The classic case here is the Sony Walkman. As the business legend goes, the co-founder and CEO of Sony, Akio Morita, ignored the market research that said people didn’t want speakers in their ears. He pushed ahead and released the first Walkman, and the rest is history. The real takeaway here, and what gets mentioned less often, is that Sony didn’t ignore all the research (it followed the results of a 100 unit experience test). It ignored the unimportant research.

I think there’s a real opportunity for people to come up with better research tactics/methods, because with the way things are now, it might be a better idea to take those millions and head to a blackjack table. You might have better odds.

But no excuses…

  • I think you've got a good point. I also see a tendency in most people to spend time "researching" rather than actually creating something (I struggle with this myself). In the Sony example, the 100 unit experience test was critical, but many companies won't make it that far because they're researching an idea to death.
  • Real good points. I just wish marketing was affordable...then I would use it.
  • Todd Benson
    Maybe it's because many, or is that most, executives need to hide behide some form of protection. The marketing research acts as a foil to prevent personal responsibility for making the wrong call. Taking the hit for what went wrong, no way - it was bad research, not a bad call. right ?
  • You're only talking about one small aspect of market research and that's new product testing. Before you make blanket statements about market research you should be a little more specific.
  • Jensen
    -I'm not only talking about new product testing, but any misguided market research attempts. The point I'm trying to make is that market research, including new product testing, finding/switching target markets and consumer feedback, have become ways for project managers to avoid responsibility. I believe that good research can make a difference, but we shouldn't research just for research's sake.
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