Don't spin your wheels solving the wrong Puzzle......

General Mills Case

Defining the wrong marketing research problem is probably the single most detrimental factor to deriving sound findings.  

The marketing research road map starts by defining the problem, any mistakes at the start filter through the whole research leading to wrong findings, wasting resources and in extreme cases development of products that completely flop. 

Precise definition of the problem without management bias is imperative. 

BN a subsidiary of General Mills in France fell into the trap of defining their marketing problem as 'what the competitors are doing that we are not' after declining market share three years in a row of their cash cow product the gouter (chocolate filled cookie - a favourite after school snack for the French).

Management bias closely aligned their failures with the success of the competitors narrowly defining their marketing problem and research hence, disabling a wider view of the problem. The company decided to put more weight into their advertising to remedy their problem and to their chagrin the situation worsened. 

When a fresh pair of eyes from the head office came and looked at the research data, they realised that the product was no longer desirable, the French subsidiary had changed the ingredients to cut costs as they were directed to increase profit margins by the Americans. 

The Americans were surprised to find the product was altered and the French were surprised that the Americans were surprised, since it seemed obvious that cost cutting would change the product mix to a lower quality alternatives!

Once the problem was redefined as 'what taste do the customers favour' then a new selection was introduced reversing the decline in market share.

Common Mistake 

Decision makers often give researchers a verbal brief as they do not think it's their job to write down the problem and analyse all the factors that may have contributed to their problem and herein one of the main mistakes are made. 

When decision makers spend sufficient time writing and analysing, the market research brief becomes clearer, targeted and easier for the research team to navigate. 

The channels of communication between the research team and decision makers need to be open, honest and based on mutual cooperation in order to design the right market research survey and derive the right answers. Decision makers have to be ready to invest an abundance of time feeding the researchers information about the market, industry, products and competitor products as well as personal hunches in order for researchers to put the pieces of the right puzzle together!