The Market Research industry does not seem so large, until you Google ‘Market Research Company’ and about 19,000,000 results show up in less than a second! Of course, this is not the number of the agencies that conduct market research, however, there is a great number of companies that could assist you with your next project.

To pick a supplier that will carry out your project the way you want, you would need to consider several aspects. Therefore, we decided to put together a list of things you should consider before hiring a market research agency.

Is Your Project Feasible?

Before you wrap up the project preparations and hand over materials to the agency – conduct a feasibility check, make sure that your project is doable. Most suppliers do offer feasibility checks, ask them for further insight on how these procedures are carried out. Are they based on previous experience with the members of their panel, or is there a certain degree of desk research involved in the process?

We are proud to say that Field Scope International Team is very thorough when it comes to conducting feasibility checks.

Working on various studies helped us explore different industries and types of respondents, therefore we can tell right away if any challenges will arise during the study. After this initial evaluation, the team gets on to the desk research, which includes talking to the targeted group of respondents to get as much information as possible on how likely it is to recruit the targets client wants as participants.

Quality Research Requires Quality Respondents

You should have information on how your supplier is planning to recruit the people you need. Are you providing the list? Do they have those respondents on their panel? Will they use social media or any other tools for the recruitment? It is important that you know where your respondents are coming from, and if they are being properly verified.

A market research agency that will provide recruitment services should verify all respondents, especially those in healthcare and B2B studies. When Field Scope International is recruiting HCPs (Health Care Professionals) we are collecting and checking their registration numbers. In case that your study involves patients, you can rest assured that Field Scope International will provide the people you need, as we always request the proof of diagnosis before completing one’s profile.

Even when recruitment goes smoothly and all participants are a perfect match, it can come to cancellations. Last-minute cancellations are not unusual, especially in the medical field, therefore, your supplier must be prepared to provide proper replacements on the day.

Insights Are the Heart of our Industry

The debriefing process is essential, as it can give you insights and feedback you can use for the next stage of the study, or for your new project. Can your agency provide participants’ observations? Respondents’ inputs after the study are as valuable as those you get during the study. They can change your perspective on the concept of the project – maybe those attendees will agree that there should have been more visual aids, or that certain subjects could have been approached with more details.

Insights you and the market research agency working on the project share with each other is just as important. Transparency and honest communication are fundamental for the nurturing of a healthy client-agency relationship. Suppliers should know if there was anything they could have done better, additionally, you should get as much feedback as possible about the project itself, so you would know how to plan the next one.

Conclusion

The list we created is not an extensive one, however, we decided to provide you with what we believe are some of the most important things you should know before choosing and hiring a market research agency.

Do you need help on your next project? Give us a call at +44 (0)2037 907222 or contact our team via this website form.