I stated in the past and continue to emphasize this – it’s all about the project manager (PM) when you select a sample provider.
What’s the difference between a good PM and your basic run of the mill PM? In many cases, it’s the difference between a successful or unsuccessful project.
Good Project Manager:
- Understands the goals of the project
- Understands market research and sampling techniques
- Proactive and checks in frequently
- Responsive – gets back to you quickly
- Understands their company’s technology
- Understands response patterns and dynamics of online sample (i.e., women respond much faster than men, younger people are slower to respond, etc.)
- Stays with you until the project is successfully completed
Run of the Mill Project Manager:
- Lack of alignment regarding project goals (i.e., what defines a successful project)
- Limited understanding of market research
- A button pusher – more interested in traffic than quality
- Reactive and only responds when you reach out
- Slow to respond
- Limited understanding of their company’s technology
- Limited understanding of response patterns and dynamics of online sample
- Poor or no transfer of project specifications/knowledge for after-hours coverage
- Not overly concerned with reaching stated project goals
The sampling industry has a PM challenge and sadly there are more run of the mill PM’s than high quality PM’s. Not having a quality PM can lead to extended field periods, getting backed into low incidence or mutually exclusive quotas, wasted time and a blown budget. Your path to success is finding a quality PM for every project.
About Brookmark Research:
Brookmark is a data driven consultancy focused on developing powerful marketing strategies to fuel the growth of our clients’ businesses. We leverage primary marketing research, 1st party, 3rd party and proprietary data sources along with proprietary tools and strategy frameworks to develop, test and evaluate marketing driven strategies that deliver exponential ROI. Whether you are an early-stage growth company or a Fortune 1000 company, we help successful companies accelerate, and stagnate companies invigorate growth.