ri marketing knowledge handbook

Making Knowledge Make a Difference

Marketing Knowledge is fundamental to the way we should beworking at Research International.

RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL

1

We have some excellent examplesof where we have adopted aMarketing Knowledge approach forclients and achieved great success.

BUT we still need to make sure thatthe principles are appliedconsistently across the business.

Marketing Knowledge Workshops

We have run Marketing KnowledgeWorkshops for specific client teams in a number of countries and out of

these workshops have come a wealthof ideas – primarily simple, practicalways in which we can “makeknowledge make a difference”.They include tangible examples ofwhere this is already happeningacross the Research Internationalnetwork.

The aim of this document is to sharethese ideas and examples with you.Some may be things you arealready doing; hopefully otherswill give you ideas for what youcould be doing.

Next Steps

� Read through the suggestions on the following pages:

� what things could you implement for your client/s straight away?� what can you make plans to do soon?

As a start, why not choose one or two ideas from each section and setyourself a time deadline by which you’ll implement them?

� Think how you can encourage others in your team to adopt thesesuggestions.

If you’d like to think in more detail about applying marketing knowledge toyour client, why don’t you run a workshop session on it? Details on how to do this are available from your local Training Co-ordinator or from Danny Wainin The Learning Zone ([email protected]).

This document focuses on four areas which are crucial to the successful implementation of the Marketing Knowledge approach.


3

1. Developing and managing knowledge internally

1.1 Gaining knowledge of the client’s world1.2 Gaining knowledge of the client’s business

2. Building the client relationship around knowledge

2.1 Analysing the relationship2.2 Building the relationship2.3 Ensuring we can deliver what we promise

3. Using and demonstrating knowledge for the benefit of the client

3.1 In proposals3.2 In managing the research process3.3 In project deliverables3.4 In streams of marketing knowledge

4. Driving Marketing Knowledge throughout the company

In order to offer our clients insights that help to answer their business questions, we need to havea thorough understanding of each client’s business and the environment in which it operates.


5

This means keeping up-to-date with general business issues, or other external factors, that couldaffect your client’s business;understanding your client’s category; being aware of markettrends; knowing who your client’scompetitors are and what they are doing.

� A good starting point inunderstanding your client’s world is to carry out a PESTanalysis. This looks at factors in the external environmentwhich influence, or are likely to influence, the company:

� Political (e.g. government legislation)

� Economic (e.g. consumer expenditure,energy costs)

� Socio-cultural (e.g. demographic changes, attitudes toenvironmental issues)

� Technological (e.g. new technology, transfer of technology from another sector)

“We looked at the impact of recession on going out andentertainment and especially at its impact on the drinks category,the influence of an ageingpopulation, the impact of 4million tourists a year, the effect of sponsorship of the Olympicgames, etc”(Heineken team, Greece)

“We conducted a PEST analysis not only on Pioneer in Europe but also separate ones on theJapanese and US markets”(Pioneer team, Belgium)

� Another model you might wish to use is Porter’s FiveForces. It examines a number of different forces that caninfluence a company:

� Threat of potential new entrants

� Threat of substitute productsor services

� Bargaining power of suppliers� Bargaining power of buyers� Rivalry among existing firms

in the market

1.1 Gaining knowledge of the client’s world

1. Developing and managing knowledge internally

More details on PEST and Porter analyses can be found inthe original Towards MarketingKnowledge training handbook,available from The Learning Zone.However, many of the sources of information you will need toconduct the analyses are given in the rest of this section.

� Keep up-to-date with what ishappening in the internationalbusiness world by reading widely,and encourage your teams to doso as well.

An international businesspaper (Wall Street Journal,Financial Times, The Economist,Business Week, Forbes, etc) will give you good backgroundknowledge of global issues and trends.

If you don’t have time to readthese on a daily or weekly basis,then check out their websitesfrequently. Some have ashortened, or specialised, e-mail version to which you can subscribe. Some can evensend you ‘news alerts’ on clientcompanies or sectors that youspecify an interest in.

Wall Street Journal: http://www.wsj.com

Financial Times: http://www.ft.com

The Economist: http://www.economist.com

- Global Agenda (e-mail)- Business This Week (e-mail)- The World This Week (e-mail)

Business Week:http://www.businessweek.com

Forbes: http://www.forbes.com

CNN: http://www.CNN.com

BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk- Business and Money newsletter (e-mail)

“We have a regular internal trawl through the business press to see what’s happening in the client’s world”(Velux team, Denmark)

� Also read the relevant sectorpress to keep up-to-date with what is happening in the client’s category.

“We now subscribe to Auto-Fax, the Greek weekly newsletter onautomotive-related issues”(Toyota team, Greece)


6


7

“One of our people reviews severalweb-based news services in theenergy sector, and distributesrelevant items to everyone in our Energy Practice”(Energy Practice team, USA)

� Watch out for any special reportson your client’s business sector.These are sometimes done bymore general business magazines(like the ones mentioned above).

� Check your client’s websiteregularly. Also the websites oftheir competitors and any othersthat relate to their business area.Do likewise with client andcompetitor annual reports.

� Attend conferences on yourclient’s business sector.

“We attend industry seminars andconferences to get closer to themarketing people (who are oftenthe decision makers) within theclient company”(Unilever Foods team, Spain)

� Make use of publishedinformation on various business sectors.

Datamonitor: http://www.datamonitor.com

We have a Group agreement withDatamonitor (to which your unitmay have subscribed). You canfind out more about this onKnowledge Navigator (go toCommunities>Business SupportCommunity>Datamonitor)

Mintel: http://www.mintel.com

“We did an audit of databases whichheld relevant information, such asdemographics, consumer behaviour,etc, and produced tailored knowledgerelevant for the client”(Sweden)

� Do some original market sector analysis.

“We analysed car registration figuresand were able to convince the clientthat another manufacturer, whothey had previously ignored, was in fact a major competitor”(Toyota team, Greece)

� Database existing data youhave for the client to help yourteam’s understanding of thecategory, and use it to spot anycategory trends (e.g. attitudinalor purchasing changes).

“We have created a database withresults from all projects for Unileverice cream/frozen foods”(Unilever team, Spain)

� Identify people in your unitwho have an interest in, orexperience of, this productcategory even if they don’t work on your client’s business, e.g:

� Drivers of particular typesof cars / bikes

� Those who like to cook� Frequent international

travellers� Those who’ve recently

changed banks� Computer enthusiasts

Talk to them about any changesthey’ve noticed in the category,particular competitive behaviour,etc.

� Keep running “diaries” of thekey things that happen to theclient’s company / sector. Thesecould be stored as ‘scratchlets’ on the client’s KnowledgeNavigator (KN) site. Considermaking it part of someone’s job to keep these up to date (so that when a proposal has to be written under timepressure, this backgroundinformation is readily available).

� Dedicate a noticeboard in the office to one client, andencourage staff to populate itwith relevant news, advertising,etc. Maybe even consider anInnovation cupboard, whereyou display new products thathave just been launched.

� Visit supermarkets (or otherplaces relevant to your client, e.g. banks) – both at home and abroad. Look out for new products, new types ofmerchandising, new types ofpackaging, different approachesto customer service, etc. Sharewhat you find with your client.


8


9

� Carry out some mysteryshopping (at your own expense).

“We conducted mystery shoppingfor ourselves so that we could get a view from the salespeople on how they view Pioneer products. We could then feed these back to the client”(Pioneer team, Belgium)

“Stopping for coffee and doughnutsat various outlets around the cityhas been a great way to gain insight into the challenges the client faces as they confrontStarbucks and others”(Dunkin’ Donuts team, USA)

� Build up your knowledge of other geographical markets where you are working for a client.

“We increasingly work for Unileverin other African countries but fewpeople in the team knew muchabout these countries and theirconsumers. We split into small teams and each collectedinformation about one country –socio-economic situation and trends,living conditions, habits (for key

categories), etc. We then had an“Africa Day” where each teampresented their findings. It was fun and it increased our knowledge.Since then we have re-used thesepresentations – including at ourannual Unilever ResearchInternational Africa conference.”(Unilever tea, South Africa)

� Build extra time/cost into a project to allow for relevantbackground information to becollected. This is particularlyuseful on international projectswhere each country can pulltogether some relevant local points.

“We ask each unit to give us a feelfor the local market – what types ofbars are most popular, what was themost remarkable ad in the past 2months, etc”(Interbrew team, Belgium)

Having uncovered all this information,you will want to share much of it withyour clients. Please see Section 3.

We need to have a clear understandingof both the client’s business strategy:

� What are the client’s key issues?� What sorts of questions do they

ask themselves?� What are their priorities?

and of the internal workings of theclient’s organisation.

� What is their organisationalstructure?

� What sources of informationdo they use?

� How do they buy it, and whomakes the buying decision?

� Talk to the client to uncover the real issues they’re facing.Don’t just talk about one specific project but about their business in general and their overall marketing needs. For example, ask:

� What are the business issues that are driving the marketing research initiatives?

� How do these business issuesrelate to the challenges facedby the company in general?

“We had a team day away from theoffice to brainstorm ‘What keeps theclient awake at night’. This led to anaction plan for a new piece of work- which we won”(Royal Mail team, UK)

“We’ve scheduled extra meetings,dinners and other events with theclient team, specifically for thepurpose of learning ‘the big picture’of what is going on inside theirorganisation”(AT&T team, USA)

� Make sure you understand thebroad economics of the client’sbusiness.

“We know, for example, thatfourteen brands account for 92% of the client’s revenue”(L’Oreal team, France)

� You are often closer to theclient’s customers than they are.Ensure you make full use of this.

“We carried out a huge segmentationstudy. As we helped the client learnabout their customers, and consumersin general, so did we”(Allied Domecq team, UK)

1.2 Gaining knowledge of the client’s business


10


11

� Look at the client’s websiteregularly.

“The project manager looks at theclient’s website every day”(Telefonica team, Spain)

“We monitor our client’s andcompetitors’ websites weekly, and put this information into a newsletter to update the rest of the team, and the client!”(DHL team, UK)

“Before important meetings withthe client, we always check out theirwebsite to make sure we’re up-to-date on the latest company news”(Exxon/Mobil team, USA)

� Read their annual report, andthose of their competitors.

� Ask the client for other researchdata, e.g. panel or tracking data,which will give you greaterbackground knowledge.

� Ask the client for a copy of theirinternal organisational chart.It will help you to see how thecompany works and may alsoindicate other potential clientcontacts for you to develop.

“We requested the Nokia CustomerInsights team organisation chart andthen asked for direct contact withother key members of that team”(Nokia team, UK)

� Make sure you know who isresponsible for making thepurchasing decision.

“We conducted an audit of whowithin the client company buysresearch, what they buy, from whom and why”(Skanska team, Sweden)

� Get an understanding of anymanagement informationsystems the client is using. Findout how they are used and see ifthe information that we providecan fit into their current system.

“DP people from both ResearchInternational and the client will beinvolved in the meetings to discusselectronic reporting, and it will helpus to understand their systems”(Mills team, Norway)

� Ask the client if you can have access to their internalreporting systems – forcompetitor data, marketingplanning, etc. This helps us gain a better understanding of their current and futuremarketing needs.

Good service is important in any client relationship but this alone is not enough to distinguishourselves. We must position ourselves as their partners in providing knowledge. The closer weare and the more involved we are in discussions about the business, the more chance we will have to use our marketing knowledge to the benefit of the client.


13

In the original Towards MarketingKnowledge training course, the KeyAccount Management (KAM)model was offered as a means toanalyse and then develop morestrategic relationships with clients.

The first step is an internal analysisand you need to consider:

� How close are you to theclient?

� How good is communicationwith them?

� Do you just have a singlepoint of contact with them?

� Or do you have a number ofdifferent contacts?

� Is your contact primarily with the market researchdepartment?

� Or do you also have good /direct contact with marketingpeople / senior management?

� Are most of the projects one-off ad hoc studies?

� Or do you have regularstreams of work?

� Do you just work for them inone Business Practice area?

� Or across several areas?

� When you are dealing withthem do you concentrate onresearch features?

� Or do you talk about benefitsand solutions?

� Do you only talk to themabout market research issues?

� Or do you have widerbusiness discussions?

� Is there openness and trustwithin the relationship?

� Does the client showreadiness to develop therelationship?

When we know where we arewith a client then we can planwhere we would like to be andhow we can get there. Details onhow to put together a client plan are given in the original TowardsMarketing Knowledge trainingmaterials, available from The Learning Zone.

2.1 Analysing the relationship

2. Building the client relationship around knowledge

“We’ve plotted the client contacts ona decision-making model (gatekeeper,influencer, recommender, decision-maker, etc) so that we can plan ourcommunication strategy to get to thedecision-maker past the gatekeeper”(Masterfoods team, UK)

“We found we needed to restructurethe roles and responsibilities of theaccount team to free up time forMarketing Knowledge and client-focused work”(Nokia team, UK)

“We’ve reorganised our team andoverall approach to the client so wecan more clearly provide them withvalue-added insights in keeping withthe Marketing Knowledge approach”(Intel team, USA)

2.2 Building the relationship

� We need to convince the client of our ability to developknowledge streams for them.Many clients feel they have to do this themselves and thatresearch agencies just deliver data on individual, isolatedprojects. An initial workshopwith the client is a good way of initiating the relationship and demonstrating our wealth of knowledge:

� Present / discuss our learningsand understanding of theirmarket / category

� Encourage them to sharesome of their data (e.g. retailaudit) with us

You should make sure that theclient’s marketing team is involvedin this initial workshop. Once therelationship has developed andwe are doing more work forthem, future workshops can be much more detailed.


14


15

“We have a six step clientdevelopment process:

- Conduct internal review of current relationship

- Develop strategic understanding of client environment

- Hold annual strategy and planning meeting with client

- Present annual integrated research plan to client

- Meet regularly with client to update our understanding

- Obtain feedback from client on state of relationship”

(Marketing Knowledge team, USA)

� Build a good relationship withthe marketing team as well aswith the researchers. They arelikely to be the key decisionmakers and are the key to further penetrating the company.At the same time take care not to exclude the client researchteam – part of our role is tomake the latter look good infront of their internal client/s.

“We presented research results atthe client’s annual internationalglobal branding meeting”(Interbrew team, Belgium)

“We succeeded in getting contactwith the brand people behind theMR contact and were able to go and give them both an EquityEnginesm and Brand Edgesm

presentation directly”(Velux team, Denmark)

“We’re working to get visibilitythrough the client’s internalcommunication systems – intranet,internal magazine, annual report, etc”(Kavli team, Denmark)

� Talk to the clients about the issues they are facing at the moment:

� What are they mostconcerned about?

� What pressures are theyunder from other parts of the company?

� How are these problemsaffecting them (on a personal level)?

� Who are the decision makersin the company and what arethey concerned about?

� How long have theseproblems persisted?

� How much have theseproblems cost the company?

Show that we understand theseissues and suggest ways in whichexisting or future research can beused to help address them.

� If you communicate items about activity in the client’s world to the rest of your teamvia, for example, e-mail (news on launches, merges, etc) thenmake sure you copy the clientas well. They may learnsomething new but, even if they don’t, they’ll know that you are aware of what is goingon, and that you are continuallythinking of them and their issues.

� Meet regularly with the clientso that we are always up-to-dateon the relevant issues he / she is facing.

� Talk to as many people in theclient company as you can. Aninformal chat at the end of ameeting can be very effective.

“When we go to present in theclient’s offices we always walkaround the offices afterwards to chat with the research team. Almostinevitably a brief follows an informalconversation started during one ofthese walk-abouts”(BT team, UK)

� Get together regularly withthe client for non-projectspecific meetings. Use these tofind out more about the client’sbusiness. Try to bring alongsomething new to make it worth the client’s time, e.g:

- A new analysis on someaspect of work you’ve donefor them in previous projects

- External information you’veuncovered which you thinkwould be of interest to them

- New learnings from theResearch Internationaldatabase, e.g. on Innovation(see Knowledge Navigator,QL212299)


16


17

How about taking one of theBusiness Practice Area leaders /Drivers / Champions with you?

“We took the Research International3G presentation to Nokia Networksas an entrée to a part of the businesswe had not previously worked with”(Nokia team, UK)

� Make sure your client is aware of knowledge offerings fromthe Research InternationalGroup, e.g:

� Run a Marketing KnowledgeExchange seminar and invitethem along

� Present new learningspresentations to them, e.g.RIO, People Power, etc.

� Send them a copy of ourclient magazine, The Issue

Details of all these are available inthe Marketing area on KnowledgeNavigator (QL205124).

� Consider spending a day or twodays with the client (ideally outof the office) to discuss all theissues he / she has and how wecan help. This offers us an insightinto the client’s thinking; it givesus a chance to show what wecan do (beyond the traditionalresearch agency role); and it can help to build stronger inter-personal relationships.

� Enquire if the client runs anyinternal sessions (on thedevelopment of the brand,category, etc) which it would bepossible for our people to attend.Again this gives us greater depthof understanding, it gives us anopportunity to show the wholeclient team that we know a lotabout their brand, and it canprovide good introductions topeople within the client teamthat we might not otherwisehave the chance to meet.

� Invite clients to an away-dayto discuss generic categoryinformation or trends we’vepicked up from other sectors.

“We’ve invited the client’sMarketing Manager to accompanyus to a sector seminar”(Mills team, Norway)

� Take the client mysteryshopping and discuss theimplications of what you find.

� Offer to run training for theclient company – possibly marketresearch training for newemployees in the client’scompany. The Learning Zone isalways willing to provide adviceand support on how to do this.

“To help new Unilever marketingpeople, we hold short trainingsessions for them on market research.These are highly appreciated by theclient and give us a chance to form a relationship with them beyond theprojects we are doing for them”(Unilever team, South Africa)

� Offer briefings for new peopleat the client’s company. Manyclients have a high turn-over ofstaff and our team may offerconsistency.

“We provide an introductorypresentation for new staff whichincludes consumer insights. We runworkshops which cover key findingsfrom the research we’ve done andalso looks at the market situation.We’ve pro-actively set up anelectronic archive for them”(Toyota team, Greece)

� If you find items in newspapers /magazines which you think are ofinterest to your client, then sendthese to them. You can also usethese newscuttings as anopportunity to contact the clientduring a period when you are notdoing any work for them. Showthem that you are thinking ofthem and their business issuesbetween individual projects. By keeping in touch in this way,you will increase the client’s trustand improve the likelihood ofreceiving further briefs fromthem. You may even get to thepoint where you help them writethe brief!

� Offer to work with the clientoutside the usual researchprovider role.


18


19

“We’ve offered to work with theclient’s PR company to maximise thesuccess of the advertising strategy”(Citroën team, Norway)

� Make sure you build a relationshipbased on trust. One of the waysyou can do this is by saying “no”to unnecessary work if you feel it’sreally not what the client needs orfalls outside our Business PracticeAreas.

� Establish if there is scope forbuilding the relationship inother countries, using the localResearch International contacts.

“We proactively found out contactnames within the client’s companyworldwide, in order to build businessoutside Europe. We introduced ourUS and Japanese colleagues to therelevant contacts at Pioneer”(Pioneer team, Belgium)

Note

You may find situations where themarketing people at the clientcompany are receptive to a Marketing

Knowledge approach but theresearchers there are resistant.

You should talk to them about the Marketing Knowledge approach,about what we’re now trying to offeras a company and you should relate it to their situation.

One approach which has beensuccessful in these instances is:

For us to help the clientresearchers to re-inventthemselves to cope with the needs of their internal(marketing) client’s newdemands. In other words, we help them to look good internally.

At the same time, we provide the marketing clients withsmart, marketing knowledge-based answers to their business issues.

The research client can then benefit from “reflected glory” – he is seen to have hired a very smartresearch firm, which in turn makeshim look good to his internal(marketing) clients.

We need to ensure that everyone on the client team has the requiredknowledge, and the capability andexpertise to deliver it to the client.

� At the end of each project theteam should get together to pullout a list of the main learningsfrom it.

Some will relate to product /category findings, such as:

� The factors which mostinfluence behaviour inthe category

� Unexpected findings onproduct usage

� Evidence of increasing ordecreasing brand loyalty

There could also be methodologicallearnings, e.g:

� The difficulty of askingcertain types of questionsto certain people

And these can provide crucialinput into the design of futurestudies. Therefore ensure that allrelevant members of the team

participate, includingoperational colleagues.

You should also find out what the clients did with the research and what impact it had on their business. All ofthese points should be written up and kept for future reference.

“We have a team meeting immediatelyafter each client presentation”(Mills team, Norway)

� These learnings need to be storedin an accessible manner wherethey can easily be found infuture. The nuggets database on Knowledge Navigator is ideal.

� Set up databases:

� To keep track ofinformation

� For norms� For 3rd party data

(e.g. tracking)

If the client is a key internationalone then these databases /learnings should be available for

2.3 Ensuring we can deliver what we promise


20


21

everyone to see. If there is not aKey Client Director, then find outwhich other units work for thisclient and share your informationwith each other.

� Make sure your IT infrastructuresupports knowledge sharing.Can all people access the files ofothers working for the same client?

“We’re setting up a central archivewith directories / folders for all BTproposals and executive summaries;examples of good presentations; and news nuggets”(BT team, UK)

� Get together regularly withother people from your unitwith whom you can shareknowledge.

Arrange regular meetings betweenthe qual and the quant researchersworking on this client’s business, soyou can keep each other up-to-date.

Also get together regularly withothers who:

� Work on the same client’sbusiness (perhaps in a differentbusiness practice area)

� Work in the same category(confidentiality issuespermitting)

� Work in the same businesspractice area (e.g. on Branding)

Even small teams can benefitfrom good formal communicationprocesses.

“We find out each week what eachperson on the team is doing, andshare that information”(Whirlpool team, UK)

“We have a regular ‘interest group’session every six weeks. We shareclient news, latest findings and othermaterial, which is then put on theKnowledge Navigator site”(DHL team, UK)

“3–4 times a year the whole teammeets together to share knowledgeabout the client, to discuss newbusiness and new contacts. The teamincludes qualitative and quantitativeresearchers and representatives fromthe various relevant sectors”(SEB team, Sweden)

“We have an e-mail community forthose involved in the drinks market”(Guinness UDV, UK)

� Establish internal ‘client days’when all executives working onthat client team get together toreview their knowledge of thebusiness. This is particularlyhelpful to new members of the team (and helps to preventknowledge being stored only in the heads of a few people).

� Set up regular meetingswith an appropriate group ofcolleagues to discuss countryoverviews, competitor andindustry trends. Each person /team could prepare, in advance,a background analysis of a client’sbusiness, its competitors, abusiness sector, the economicsituation in a specific country, etc. Executives could present their findings to each other and then store them for futureuse. You could offer prizes for the best ones.

“We run specific MarketingKnowledge days with variousResearch International peoplepresenting project findings

in the morning, followed by groupbrainstorming on consumer trendsand key issues for Danone in theafternoon. The output is then givento the client”(Danone team, France)

� Conduct an annual “what’snew” presentation for thewhole Research Internationalteam, looking at the client’sbrands, products, advertising, etc. Look at their objectives – and therefore at ours.

� Bring along an industry expertto help enthuse the client team,as was done by the Shell team inthe UK.

� Keep up-to-date in the relevantbusiness practice area, e.g.Innovation. Use this information toextend the client’s understandingof issues they may be facing, e.g.our knowledge of line extensions.

� Have a team visit to retail outletswhere client’s products can befound (e.g. supermarket, bank,etc). Look at promotions, in-store


22


23

offers, advertising, etc for yourclient’s product and for competitors(and perhaps also in a second,similar category). Sit down withyour team and discuss theimplications of what you saw.

“We hold internal product lunches,at which we rate new products”(Mills team, Norway)

� Keep track of activity on theclient’s brands both locally andinternationally. Ask internationalResearch International colleaguesto send you examples of any newproducts / packaging for this clientin their country (you may find thatyour client hasn’t yet seen them).Also keep up-to-date with yourclient’s advertising (internationallyas well as locally). Display the newproducts or advertising in highlyvisible areas.

� Consider opportunities for onemember of the team to go andwork at the client company for a short period of time.

“It’s an opportunity to learn moreabout the client, their culture andtheir style”(Bacardi team, UK)

� Make sure all the team is awareof any cultural differences thatmay affect work on the client’sbusiness in different countries,e.g. religious attitudes to certainfoods or times of the year whenit is more difficult to carry outresearch.

You’ll find some of thisinformation on Country Notes on Knowledge Navigator. Go to Communities>BusinessSupport Community>ResearchInternational general companyinformation (click on Documentstab).

� Help the interviewers to do thebest job they can by giving thembackground information on theclient and the purpose of theresearch. This helps them toknow why the questions arebeing asked.

Use the same interviewers forrepeat studies, where possible, to improve cross-study knowledge.

The same applies for thoseinvolved in data handling –especially those cleaning orcoding the data.

This is the key aspect of the marketing knowledge approach – making knowledge make adifference when we use it to benefit our clients.


25

This is our first opportunity toshow clients that we understand their business and that we canprovide the knowledge to address the issues they face.

Some general points

� Find out as much as you canfrom the client before you beginto write the proposal. Ideally havea face-to-face briefing.

“We always try to meet with theclient to discuss a new piece of work.Face-to-face briefing helps to avoidlater confusion / misunderstandings”(Telefonica team, Spain)

� Proposals should be well written,clearly expressed, concise, wellstructured and should demonstratea logical argument.

� Encourage a team approach topreparing proposals. Several peoplecan get together and brainstormideas, although the writing of itmay be done by just one person.

“Built into our research process is an internal meeting at the briefingstage (with all people that could add knowledge / expertise to theproposal). This helps to createknowledge streams and is a greatway for juniors to learn and beinvolved right from the beginning”(South Africa office)

� Ensure that every proposal isseen by at least one seniorperson (in addition to the writer)before it goes to the client.

� Business managers / UnitHeads should review allsignificant proposals (even if not before they are sent out)and give feedback. This will helpto ensure that all proposalsfollow the guidelines.

“A new proposal review process has been established for all largeprojects to make sure we take theextra time needed at the beginningto strategically think through whatwe really want to propose and write”(East Coast Offices, USA)

3.1 In proposals

3. Using and demonstrating knowledge for the benefit of the client

� There may be an opportunity toput together a proposal whichoutlines how the ongoingbusiness relationship between us and the client will work.

“The proposal outlined a ‘modusoperandi’ for the future businessrelationship between BA and ResearchInternational, with the aim of agreeinga common approach to deliveringmarket research so that it meets theneeds of BA’s business, and deliversinsight rather than just data”(British Airways team, UK)

Specific pre-proposal check-list

Below is a check-list of points fromthe document “Towards a MarketingKnowledge Approach – ProposalGuidelines” which can be found onKnowledge Navigator (QL100439).We strongly recommend that you go through these before sending out a proposal to your client.

� Has the Client Director (KCD ifthere is one) been notified ofthe proposal - to identify whatthe client’s current macro-business issues are, what theirgoals and objectives are, whatissues have affected their

environment in the past 6 months, etc?

� Has Knowledge Navigator (ora local database) been referredto – to see whether we havecarried out similar or related workfor this client in the past thatmight be used to save the clientwasted effort, and that mightimprove our understanding of the issues?

If this is your first proposal for this client, check the ProjectClient Database (Bradley Bloomanin Group Office currently looksafter this) to see what, if anything,we’ve done for this client before.

� Has input from colleagues,particularly those with specialistknowledge in the businesspractice area, been soughtthrough a brainstorming session – to ensure that Research International brings our experience or expertise in the practice area to bear?

“The Business Practice Leader co-wrotethe proposal with us”(Guinness UDV team, UK)


26


27

� Are you aware of the criteria that the client will use toevaluate the proposals?

� Does the proposal provide a punchy impactful headline that makes clear what the overall problem is and how it will be solved?

� Does the proposal make clearwithin the first two pages ofcontent what the client’sissues are, and what ResearchInternational’s offering is toprovide a service to answer those issues?

� Does the proposal offer thebenefits of using ResearchInternational and / or theapproach, rather than simplydetail what the features are ofthe company / its approach?

� Is the proposal interesting for aclient to read - i.e. can a colleaguepick up the proposal and find thediscussion and proposed answercaptivating and clear (for example,using graphics wherever possible toexplain a concept)?

� Have you challenged thethinking of the client, either in the document or client discussion, to ensure that our response is not simply a regurgitation of the brief?

“We always try to be pro-active andsuggest alternative solutions, even ifnot taken up by the client. At least itshows understanding of their issues,and flexibility”(Kavli team, Denmark)

� Have you explained clearly andsuccinctly what our thinking ison the topic of discussion – i.e.our rationale or our beliefs as acompany that will help to justifyour suggested route?

� Have you made clear what theclient will get from us as aresult of giving us the go-ahead –both by way of relationshipvariables such as client service,and also by way of reportingdeliverables such as suggestedanalysis outputs? Does the clientclearly see what they get at eachstage of the project?

“In many proposals we includeexamples of how our final reportswill look, especially those for topmanagement that focus on theirbusiness needs, not our researchissues”(East Coast offices, USA)

� Have you spelt out theexperience and skills of theproject team, what functionsthey will perform on the project,why they will perform in that role?

"We emphasise the strong globalnetwork that exists for this client,and how it is (and will be) effectivelyutilised to their benefit. The clienthas very strongly communicated to us that what we do makes a difference and we stress this when pitching for further work"(Nippon Lever team, Japan)

� Have you shown clearly andsuccinctly where ResearchInternational’s experienceshows synergies with therequirements of the client – i.e. moulding our set of skillsaround the client, not presentinga standard “this is who we are”portfolio?

� Have you provided examples of projects which demonstrateclearly the skills that will berequired for this project?

� Are you happy to send out theproposal as our contract tothe client? The proposal shouldstate exactly what they will getfrom us for the quoted fees, evenif you then add an itemised menuof additional options.

� Is the document no more than20 pages in length, with furtherdetail confined to technicalappendices?

You should also look at the ProposalTemplate (along with a summary ofthe type of content desirable undereach heading) which can be found inthe ‘Proposal Guidelines’ documenton Knowledge Navigator (QL100439).


28


29

Managing the research processremains a high priority in ensuringthat we plan, gather, check, analyseand present research findings thatmeet the client’s expectations. Unlesswe have accurate data, delivered atthe time we have promised, wecannot draw reliable conclusions andanswer the client’s business questions.

Much of this involves basic goodresearch practice and advice on this is available separately; for example, in the Core Research Skills trainingprogram offered by The Learning Zone.

While the Marketing Knowledgeapproach is most evident at theproposal and deliverables stages, it also has a role at this stage of the process.

� Hold regular team meetingsthroughout the course of the project.

“We convene six project team meetingsthroughout the lifecycle of each project:

- Initial briefing- Deliverables planning meeting- Pre-field meeting- Report-story meeting- Key insights meeting- De-brief”

(Marketing Knowledge team, USA)

� Keep the client informed of how the study is progressing

“We have a weekly contact meetingwith the clients – even if just by phone”(Kavli team, Denmark)

� Provide the client with anorganogram with clear roles and responsibilities of the ResearchInternational people working ontheir business, so that they can seehow the team works. For eachproject give them a time schedule(possibly in MS Excel or Project) sothey can see exactly how thingsare progressing.

� For large projects you shouldideally hold regular meetingsbetween the ResearchInternational team and the client team.

“We had weekly meetings betweenthe Research International team andthe client team to review progressand to keep the entire joint teamupdated. Our internal team structuremirrors theirs (different people fordifferent brands) so this gave us allthe opportunity to meet and share news. It also helped to develop the program – suggestions for new things to look at, etc”(Allied Domecq team, UK)

3.2 In managing the research process

The above quote relates to a verysuccessful study carried outinternationally for Allied Domecq.Notes on what made it so successful(and which very much relate to thiswhole topic of managing the researchprocess) can be found on KnowledgeNavigator (QL216785).

In project deliverables

The section below deals primarilywith presentations – and thecontent of them. See the end of thissection for details on where to findfurther input on other forms ofdeliverables.

In line with our Marketing Knowledgeapproach, the presentation should be an accumulation of our thinking,discussion and understanding. You need to focus on deliveringknowledge to the client, and not just ‘PowerPoint charts with data on them’.

Some General Points

� All presentations should bechecked by a senior managerbefore being given to the client.Where possible, and certainly for large presentations, a fullrehearsal should be held.

� Don’t be frightened to askclients what they think aboutthe presentations you give them.Consider setting up a workshopwith the client to discuss ways inwhich they might be improved.

Specific Presentation Check-list

� A presentation is an opportunityto deliver knowledge to theclient and every presentationshould add to their knowledge.

� Don’t focus on themethodological research detail –you probably only need one chartto provide the audience with anidea of the basic framework.

� Don’t present information “simply because it was asked in the survey”. If information isincidental to the survey objectives,or did not produce a useful orinteresting result, it could simplyform part of the appendices.


30

3.3


31

� Before starting the presentation,you should view the data from beginning to end (ideally in agroup brainstorm to develop thekey charts, around which thestory will be built).

First check how it relates to thehypotheses developed at theproposal stage (if these don’talready exist then they should bebrainstormed before beginning to work on the presentation).

Then review the original businessobjectives of the client, theresulting research objectives, andthe overall context of the researchproblem. The presentationcontent needs to be mindful ofthese throughout and present astory that closely follows whatthe client wants to find out,and is not distracted intoincidental information or detail.

“The Research International team satwith the client and asked what theywanted, both in terms of contentand format”(Masterfoods team, UK)

� The presentation must “tell astory”, in other words follow alogical approach to answeringthe project objectives. Don’tsimply present information in the same order that it was askedin the questionnaire / discussionguide.

“The presentations put the findingsinto context (including learning fromother projects, sector knowledge andcomparisons to other sectors). Theslides were put in an order that tellsa story – only showing slides thatwere relevant to that story”(British Airways team, UK)

� In order to “build a story”, thefollowing process may help:

- Draft a presentation slide(maximum one page, nonumbers) saying what are the three (or four, or five...)key things you have learnedfrom the study.

- Next draft another threepresentation slides (again nonumbers) elaborating on thelearnings.

- Then draft up to a maximumof another 16 pages(preferably no more thanthree numbers per page)supporting the first fourpages. More charts, numbers,etc. can be put in theappendix and shown, asappropriate, at the end ofthe formal presentation.

- You should discuss these withcolleagues early on. Morethan one input into apresentation is extremelyvaluable.

- Finally you should discussyour draft with the client,finalise the presentation and then give it.

“For more senior managementpresentations where we are given a short time limit, we’ve taken anidea from our ad agency colleagues.We create a storyboard of ourpresentation as we prepare it, to see how it flows, tells the ‘story’ ofwhat we have learnt and why it isimportant”(East Coast offices, USA)

� Every presentation should give,early on, a summary of thekey findings related to theobjectives – in a one to two hour presentation the audience is most likely to be alert for thefirst 15 minutes.

� The purpose of a presentation of data should be to present afinding (one slide) and then thedata that has been collectedthat we believe supports thisfinding (1-5 slides).

In the case of qualitativepresentations, it is necessary to include several significantverbatims which support thefindings. Further verbatims /consumer language can beappended to give the client a more detailed picture.


32


33

“Presentations are now designedand delivered on an ‘issue-based’framework – i.e. each issue, then the findings, then therecommendations”(Heineken team, Greece).

� In addition to this project’spresentation, you should alwayspresent existing informationthat will add to the knowledge of the client or their interest inthe presentation. For example:

� other study findings that helpunderstand the current results

� background to the researchissue we are aware of that willadd richness to the results

� If possible, while presenting asurvey’s results, you should alsobe presenting our expertise as a company on the topicin question. For example, if we are presenting results on a new product test, we could insert slides that indicate our viewpointon conducting new productresearch, based on the experienceof many similar projects. (SeeLearnings areas on KnowledgeNavigator for more details.)

� The presentation should ideallyconsist of no more than 40slides – remember, the key focusof the presentation should be todeliver key findings that answerthe study objectives.

If the presentation is to be the onlydeliverable then consider a shorterversion that is presented and alonger version that is left behind.

“We aim for 30 slide presentations,summarising key measures andbenchmarks. They are issue-basedpresentations. Knowledge not data.Visuals not words. Findings notmethodology. We do two versions –one for the market research teamand one for the CEO”(Guinness UDV team, UK)

� Chart headings need toindicate clearly the findingthat we are trying to conveyto the client. A marketingfocussed heading is almostalways preferable to a researchfocussed one.

“For larger presentations we havecreated easy-to-understand graphicvisual headers that help the readerto know what is on each page andhow it fits in with the narrative ofthe whole report. This is in additionto a business-oriented heading”(T Mobile team, USA)

� Ask yourself if each chart is animaginative way of showingdata – could you, for example,use pictures to present profiles of a brand user?

Especially for qualitative research it can be very powerful to visualisethe research findings. However, it is important that people whodon’t attend the presentationunderstand the “visualisation”.Therefore if it is not self-explanatory, you shouldincorporate an additional writtenpage into the final documentation.

“We have inserted video verbatimsinto presentations”(Unilever Foods and Coca Colateams, Italy)

� Slides need to be visually clear,and not too busy. There shouldbe no more than 4-5 bulletpoints on a page.

Remember to check ourPowerPoint presentationguidelines (in the Our Brandsection on Knowledge Navigator).You can always use the ‘NotesView’ option in PowerPoint toelaborate on each bullet point.

� If possible take the core clientthrough the presentation inadvance of it being shown to awider audience at their company.

“Wherever possible we have pre-presentations (or dry-runs) with thecore team from the client. This is agreat way of getting initial reactions,feedback as well as internal clientinformation that can be used for amore in-depth understanding of theresults. In most cases it brings the final presentation closer to the client’sactual business issues (and it allowsfor very recent developments on the client side to be incorporated)”(South Africa)


34


35

More on Deliverables

The PowerPoint chart deck presentationshould not be considered in isolation asthe only client deliverable.

On Knowledge Navigator (QL102777)you’ll find a document entitled “AMarketing Knowledge Approach toClient Deliverables”. In addition to thepresentation check-list given above, ithas a section on Presentation OptionsAvailable at Research Internationaland a further one on how to giveyour deliverables The “Wow” Factor.

Remember, the PowerPoint deck is a functional and non-interactivepresentation. Some presentationsrequire a more interactive, orinvolved, approach.

In streams of Marketing Knowledge

The final activity in this area refers toall those snippets of knowledge thatwill provide added value to the client.We want to build up knowledgestreams for each client and not justreport individual projects in isolationfrom previous findings and fromgeneral market knowledge.

Regular contact with the client toshare wider knowledge will enhanceyour relationship with them and giveyou the opportunity to show howwell you understand their business. Inaddition, we may have been workingon a client’s business for longer thanthe individual client contact has.

Many suggestions on how to do thishave been listed above (for example,in the section on Building ClientRelationships) but here are someadditional suggestions:

� Build a database with resultsfrom comparable questionsacross all surveys.

“We have created a databasecontaining the comparable questionsand results of all surveys conducted forthe client, which we share with them”(Unilever Foods team, Spain)

3.4

� Meet with clients every 3-6 months to deliver newlearnings and also to find out what the client did with past research findings – sohelping us to give them better proposals in future.

� Gather news items that relateto the client and their business.

“Each month the client team meets to exchange information on the clientand its world (from TV, magazines,word-of-mouth, etc) and then sendsthe most interesting topics to theclient (and their ad agency)”(Toyota team, Greece)

� Share with the client…

“We produced a Golden Nuggetspresentation for the client onaggregated learnings”(Citroën team, Norway)

� Run a learnings day for the client.

“We gave a trends presentation tothe client, linking their business tothe wider picture. They can be usedto identify areas for growth”(Heineken team, Greece)

“This not only helped the client build their knowledge but also led to them considering us for differenttypes of work – our innovation teamgot an introduction to the client’sinnovation team”(Allied Domecq team, UK)


36


37

� Workshops (usually half a day or a full day) have been usedsuccessfully. The following is a typical agenda:

� We highlight key findings fromthe main studies we’ve donefor them (“what we’ve learntabout your brand”)

� These are put in the context ofour knowledge of otherbrands / other categories

� Clients join in a discussion onthe key issues that are facingtheir brands and the actionsthey are going to need to take

� We provide further perspectiveson some of the challenges theyface, e.g. RIO findings on theimpact of new media, how webelieve brand loyalty is builtand maintained, what webelieve helps make aninnovative new product, etc.

� We may even offer anInteractive Innovationsm session.

� If the client is a fragmentedcompany (e.g. different parts of it in different locations) and weare working for several parts ofit, then set up an interest groupto share learnings and get anoverview of what’s happening in the client’s world.

“We have a newsletter for theResearch International team onwhat’s new in British Telecom’sworld. We often know more, andquicker, than the client”(BT team, UK)

Everyone in the company should know about the principles of our Marketing Knowledgeapproach to work. What we need to ensure is that everyone consistently puts it into practice. To encourage this we hope you will set up / take part in Marketing Knowledge activities that go beyond the work done for an individual client.


39

Here are some suggestions:

� Have regular gatherings for allstaff to discuss successes they’vehad in adopting a MarketingKnowledge approach.

“One person from each client teammeet together monthly to shareknowledge and best practice”(Business and Technology group,UK)

“We hold an annual trainingprogram through which intra-office learnings of the past year can be shared to cross-pollinate and transmit ideas, experiences and best practices”(Marketing Knowledgeimplementation team, USA)

“We have an MKMAD (MakeKnowledge Make a Difference)session which ties in with themarketing theme for the quarter. For example, during the Brandingquarter, we had a pub quiz onbranding. To support the Innovationquarter, we had an innovation quiz

which focussed on creativity – and we all had to design a new product”(UK)

� Offer awards for people whohave shown particularly goodMarketing Knowledge behaviour– it could be on a specific projector a more general approach with a client.

� Consider giving a monthly orquarterly prize for the bestMarketing Knowledgeapproach proposal orpresentation in your team / unit.Share the main points of thewinning proposal or presentationwith the rest of the company andhighlight the points that showedit was based on a soundMarketing Knowledge approach(so that others can learn from it).

� Take full advantage of any trips to another ResearchInternational unit. You canlearn about their clients and howthey approach work for them,whilst sharing knowledge aboutyour country.

4. Driving Marketing Knowledge throughout the company


40

Six Key Points for Marketing Knowledge Success

� Understand your client's world and demonstratethat understanding.

� Keep up-to-date with what is happening in thebusiness world and how it impacts upon your client.

� Build solid relationships with clients and colleagues.

� Ensure your client is aware of the ResearchInternational offer via marketing activity i.e. Events, Client Newsletter.

� Provide and share Knowledge not information.

� Take personal ownership for driving MarketingKnowledge – be an MK role model!

Ingrid Allen – to share best practice MarketingKnowledge examples.

The Learning Zone/Danny Wain – for support with internal Marketing Knowledge events.

Group Marketing – for support with externalMarketing Knowledge events.

Contact:

Research International6/7 Grosvenor PlaceLondonSW1X 7SH

TEL +44 (0) 20 7656 5000FAX +44 (0) 20 7201 0700

www.research-int.com

ri marketing knowledge handbook

Education

wall street

east coast

british airways

allied domecq

guinness udv

driving marketing

research international

unilever foods