How Marketing Researchers Can Be Better Buyers of Marketing Research

In our roles as marketing researchers, we are consumers of marketing research products and services as well as sellers of them. Perhaps we can become more adept at practicing what we preach and become smarter consumers on the job, too.

MR Realities is series of podcasts in which Dave McCaughan and I discuss a wide range of topics important to marketing researchers with special guests. We ask our guests questions you would want to ask, the way you would ask them, not just what we’re interested in. And, we let our guests speak for themselves even when we disagree.

For this installment of MR Realities we’ve invited Mark Earls, a veteran marketing and advertising consultant, author, well-known speaker and true marketing guru. It’s time to do a little judo on ourselves and apply what we’ve learned about how consumers make decisions…on ourselves. Mark will give us some valuable pointers on what to think about when we purchase marketing research products and services ourselves.

Below are links to the podcasts we’ve done so far including our discussion with Mark. They’re audio only and no registration is necessary:

• “How Marketing Researchers Can Be Better Buyers of Marketing Research” (Mark Earls, Herd Consultancy)
• “Data, Analytics and Decisions: Rhetoric versus Reality” (Professor Koen Pauwels, Ozyegin University and University of Groningen)
• “Data Science Uses, Excuses and Abuses” (Eric King, The Modeling Agency)
• “Will you still need me? Marketing to Seniors” (Professor Florian Kohlbacher, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University)
• “The Coming Deluge of Analytics Malpractice” (Randy Bartlett, Blue Sigma Analytics)
• “Semiotics: The Problem Child of Qualitative Research” (Sue Bell, Susan Bell Research)
• “Tips for Marketing Researchers, Young and ‘Old'” (Professor John Roberts, University of New South Wales)
• “When Bringing Technology To MR Is No Longer About Being MR Driven” (Greg Armshaw, marketing technologist)
• “Thinking Mistakes Marketers Make” (Terry Grapentine, Grapentine Company)
• “When Everyone is a Single Child??” (Kevin Lee, China Youthology)
• “Is There Too Much Gloom and Doom About MR?” (David McCallum, Gordon & McCallum)
• “AI: Reality, Science Fiction and the Future” (Mei Marker, ai-datascience.com)
• “Conjoint Analysis: Making It Work For You” (Part 1) (Terry Flynn, TF Choices LTD)
• “Conjoint Analysis: Making It Work For You” (Part 2) (Terry Flynn, TF Choices LTD)
• “Social Media: Promises, Challenges and the Future” (Professor Raoul Kübler, Ozyegin University)
• “How to Choose the Right Online Qual Method?” (Jennifer Dale, InsideHeads)
• “Market Research in 2025” (Ray Poynter, The Future Place)
• “Where Behavioral Economics Fits in the Customer Insight Landscape” (Bri Williams, People Patterns)
• “New MR Tech We Can’t Ignore” (Leonard Murphy, GreenBook, Gen2 Advisors)
• “Ethnography: Making Meaning from the Mundane” (Gordon Milne, Ipsos)
• “Shiny New BS is Still BS” (Steve Needel, Advanced Simulations)
• “‘Healthy’ Research in India” (Pravin Shear, krea)
• “Shopper Research – What’s It Really All About?” (Mike Anthony, engage ltd)
• “Real Survey Tips for Real Marketing Researchers” (Annie Pettit)