Why Engage an Outside Marketing Research Supplier?

Hiring the wrong outsourced research firm can be as disastrous as hiring the wrong employee – and often more expensive. With some planning and advance work, however, hiring an outside vendor for certain projects both makes for better research and better business.

Set Expectations First

Even before you send the details of your study out to potential vendors, set some initial guidelines. The suppliers should be:
1. Familiar: Either from previous professional contacts or through referrals
2. Able to provide one main point of contact
3. Willing to stick to the budget
4. Willing to disagree

Unless your project is one that is ongoing, such as customer satisfaction or advertising tracking, have several vendors submit bids. This will not only enable you to consider pricing options, but it often can provide you with insights about different methodologies you could use. The cheapest proposal is not always the best option. Likewise, an expensive one does not always mean that the supplier is a research guru.

Writing an Effective Request for Proposal

Written proposals are a must for a successful project. A request for a research proposal should include the following:

- A brief background of the study
- Your primary objectives for the study
- Your specifications for the research
- Your timing for the research
- Specific contact and RFP response information
- Required deliverables

Ethical Considerations in the Proposal Process

Ethics are important in any business deal and research is not an exception. However, in an outsourced vendor relationship you have responsibilities as well. Consider the following items when dealing with a market research supplier:

- Be forthcoming.
- Be genuine.
- Negotiate pricing professionally and honestly.
- Meet your deadlines.
- Be prepared to stick to your end of the deal.

Presenting the Proposals

In some instances, you should consider having the vendors present their proposals to you and your team. The following situations usually require face-to-face presentations before selecting a vendor:

- You are undecided between one or more vendors
- When the project is extremely detailed and requires a great deal of expertise both in terms of research methods and in terms of your industry.
- The project includes several geographic regions or is global in scope.
- One or more of the firms bidding on a high profile, large budget project has not worked with you before.

Evaluating vendor proposals

Evaluating proposals is a two-step process. First is an objective appraisal of whether the vendor can meet the project's requirements. The second is more subjective – can you work with them?

While the rating scale is simple, the list of items to rate is detailed:

- Timeliness of vendor’s response to your request for proposal
- Experience of project team assigned to your project
- Appropriateness of methodology/sampling plan recommended
- Past experience of vendor with similar projects
- Past industry experience of vendor
- Cost estimates
- Proposed timeline for the project
- Vendor’s proposed plan for vendor/client communications over the course of the project
- How well was the methodology/sampling plan is explained?

Once you've narrowed the field to those firms that can meet the technical requirements for the project, start sorting through the subjective issues.

Selecting a research supplier may seem like a daunting task, especially to the uninitiated. On the contrary, it is simply a matter of applying common sense. Think of it as interviewing a prospective employee; what are your expectations and how well does the supplier seem capable of meeting them? That is your final decision factor.

A more complete article can be found on MarketingPower.com

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