Market research often gets commissioned to support a decision that's already been made, rather than to genuinely test whether that decision is the right one. The research comes back confirming what leadership expected, and little changes as a result.
Design research to be able to surprise you
Good research design includes a real possibility of disconfirming the working assumption. If every possible finding would support the same conclusion, the research isn't adding much value beyond confirmation.
Talk to customers who left, not just current ones
Voice-of-customer research often focuses on current, satisfied customers, which produces a skewed picture. We push clients to include customers who churned or chose a competitor, since that group often reveals the more actionable insight.
Segment before you generalize
Aggregate customer data can hide meaningful differences between segments. A finding that looks true on average may not apply to the segment that actually represents the greatest growth opportunity, so segmentation needs to happen before broad conclusions are drawn.
Insight only matters if it reaches a decision-maker
Research that sits in a report nobody reads has no impact. We build research reporting specifically around the decisions it needs to inform, rather than producing a general-purpose document that never gets used.