Why should we hire you? It’s a question that any firm providing professional services is bound to hear, and it’s no exception for market research firms like ours. A quick Google search will bring up free tools for conducting online surveys. And it shouldn’t be too hard to find 8 individuals to sit around a conference room for a focus group and ask them some questions, right?

So what’s the value of hiring a professional marketing research firm?

At Evolve, we love it when potential clients ask us this question because it allows us to demonstrate our expertise in the field and show how our combined 50 years of experience in the research industry leads to more accurate and actionable insights. If you don’t use the right methodology, ask the right questions in the right way, and know how to make sense of the results, you’ll at best have mediocre data only telling part of the story, and at worst base major business decisions on faulty data.

In a nutshell, here are a few of the key reasons why it pays to hire a professional marketing research firm over doing it yourself:

• Using the right methodology – Often clients approach us by saying they “need” an online survey or they “need” a focus group, but once we start talking to them and learn about their project and the insights they need to uncover, the methodology they thought they needed won’t actually be the best fit. Our team is experienced in numerous qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, and we love helping our clients find the perfect fit for their study.
  
  
• Asking the right questions – Designing a questionnaire or discussion guide is both an art and a science. Professional researchers know how to ask the right questions, in the right order, and in a way that will not “lead” the respondent and bias the results.
  
  
• Employing the best data collection techniques – Every research study is unique, and the best way to collect the data will differ depending on the subject matter and goals of the research. Whether it’s using a bulletin-board focus group to provide an extra layer of anonymity for qualitative research of a sensitive nature, or using conjoint or MaxDiff exercises in an online survey to obtain the right product or messaging mix, a professional research firm like Evolve can help ensure that the right data collection techniques are used in your study.
  
  
• Analytical and reporting expertise – Data is only as good as the team analyzing it, and the Evolve team loves to nerd out and dig deep into the data. To us, data is fascinating, as it holds the secrets to the insights our clients need. Once we’ve unlocked those secrets hiding within the data, we love reporting back to our clients what that story is and consulting with them on how to take their marketing efforts to the next level.
  
  
• Unbiased results – One of the pitfalls of doing research yourself is that you must exercise extreme caution to not allow your personal biases to influence the results. If your CMO or marketing director wants a particular outcome from the study, it can be tempting to skew the data in that direction. If you work at an ad agency and you’re trying to determine which campaign or messaging mix to use, it’s tempting to steer the results toward the campaign you prefer. Partnering with a professional research firm removes that layer of bias. We have no skin in the game when it comes to which campaign you use or which direction you take your marketing efforts. We provide an extra level of trust that you can market to your clients or CMO, knowing that the insights and recommendations provided at the end of the study are truly the best for your campaign or business.

Evolve understands that marketing campaigns are expensive and time-consuming endeavors. Partnering with a professional marketing research firm is an investment that can pay dividends by giving you actionable, accurate, and unbiased insights, ensuring your marketing efforts and business decisions are right the first time.