A Company runs a seemingly very effective social media marketing campaign on one item X and a very expensive mainstream media campaign on item Y. The sales for Y soared while sales for X plateaued. In a subsequent meeting, an argument was made that mainstream media advertising was worth every penny, due to the correlation between the media campaign and high sales. An expert, however, informed the company that the high sales were a consequence of one of the company’s foreign competitors going out of business and would have happened with or without the media campaign. In business, many factors will affect sales and marketing, thus only proper research will tell which factor has caused a certain outcome.
Rentrak Corporation and MarketCast are two media-related research organizations both based in the USA but with a global reach. Rentrak is based in the city of Portland in Oregon and specializes in viewership. The company has algorithm based software programs that are able to estimate viewership of any video-based content globally. When a company releases content, Rentrak can accurately assess how the product has been consumed across the globe, through box office, multiscreen television or home video. The company is also able to give an accurate evaluation on how consumers have appraised the product. Indeed, Rentrak is the only company in the world to use access to set-top-boxes to tell viewership as well as assess box-office ticket sales globally (Rentrak Corporation, 2017).
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MarketCast is based in Los Angeles and uses a complex global network of the researchers to evaluate the global entertainment industry. They utilize both qualitative and quantitative research methods through researcher who have the capability of assessing the impact that content is likely to have on the market. As the company’s collaborating researchers are in actual contact with the populace, the company is able to give accurate exit polls, concept and positioning studies, test how different aspects of the populace are reacting to certain content and also conduct studies on different social and commercial phenomena (MarketCast, 2017). Therefore, MarketCast focuses on qualitative and quantitative tools through interaction for their research while Rentrak relies on technology and algorithm based research software.
Advantages of Using Research Firms
The aforementioned scenario about a project involving the use of social and mainstream media on two different products as a test on which medium is better is an example of a scenario that faces entrepreneurs constantly. A single decision can cost or save a business millions of dollars based on how much information was available to the decision-making organ. Research companies such as Rentrak Corporation and MarketCast have developed expertise in collection of information in different areas kindred to the global industry. This specialization comes with a high level of skill and understanding of what a company needs and how to get it (Zikmund et al, 2013). Further, collection of information can be a complex process more so when the information needed is on a global scale. Issues such as regulations and licensing on a global scale can also be a pecuniary challenge for any company. It is, therefore, economical in the long run, to hire a research company.
Why Use an In-house Team as Opposed to a Research Company
Without a doubt, having in-house researcher is exponentially cheaper per research item than retaining a research company. However, some secondary factors will have to come into play for a company to elect to take this option effectively. The first is if the research is being conducted in an area where a company is well conversant with or where the company has the necessary infrastructure to conduct the research. In this instance, it would be more economical for the research to be done in-house (Zikmund et al., 2013). Secondly, if the research being conducted is on a relatively small scale, then it would be more economical for it to be conducted in-house. Finally, if a company undertakes activities whose resources mirror those necessary for research, then the company can undertake its own research. However, some circumstances would require research to be undertaken in-house in spite of basic costs. This is because corporate espionage has become the order of the day due to the understanding of how important information is. Further, for many companies, any negative information, credible or otherwise can be extremely detrimental. The best way to protect a company’s secrets is to keep it as much within the company as possible and avoid any inordinate contracting (Zikmund et al, 2013).
Unless a company is seeking to expand into an entirely novel geographical area or product line, a majority of necessary research can be carried internally as well as through the use of the internet. Interactive social media is a great way to carry out research about a product yet may not require the expense of hiring out a research contractor. A video posted on YouTube then advertised in multiple social networks such as Facebook and Twitter can be an effective tool, based on how many views it gets and what comments are made under at. Further, some social media platforms such as Facebook are interactive and can be used for research that requires a question and answer format (Neti, 2011). For commodity companies, sending out postage paid questionnaires for the consumers can be a good way to conduct in-house research. A product can also include a question and a toll-free number for text or voice responses. Internal experts can also use political and economic research tools. This includes information such as electioneering routines, the stock market dynamics, the money market and even weather patterns. All these factors affect an element of the supply chain from raw materials through to the production process. Finally, the situation analysis, mainly conducted through SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis is yet another important tool for conducting research for a company (Zikmund et al, 2013).
References
MarketCast. (2017). MarketCast. Retrieved May 15, 2017, from http://www.mcast.com/solutions/
Neti, S. (2011). Social media and its role in marketing. International Journal of Enterprise Computing and Business Systems , 1 (2), 1-15
Rentrak Corporation (2017). Movies worldwide. Retrieved May 15, 2017, from http://www.comscore.com/Products/Movies-Worldwide
Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B. J., Carr, J. C., & Griffin, M. (2013). Business research methods . Boston: Cengage Learning
