Market Research: Action Oriented and Method Neutral——iLab Workshop III by Dr. Zou Deqiang on March 20th, 2015
We all already have work experience, but still, we are IMBA students. That is our big advantage, as Prof. Deqiang Zou brought out tonight. We have the freedom to focus on the relevant market problems, instead of being just data driven. We can use, what we learn in school.
The iLab Lecture with the motto “Market Research – Action Oriented and Method Neutral” tonight lecture taught us the most important and innovative aspects of doing market research for our clients. Our iLab projects are about satisfying our customer needs. In our iLab projects the customers often want us to advise them in market questions, so we are all convinced that we need to do market research. “Research” in our mind is almost immediately translated into “questionnaire / survey / sample” – but is that what we need to solve the clients’ problem? Tonight we learned how we can understand and analyse the market based on vivid and colourful examples. We learned that the milkshakes concurrent are bananas, doughnuts and chocolate bars and that it’s impossible to spread jam on the far too dry bagel while driving a car. We learned that airline customers’ satisfaction is partly dependent on their seat size, while this size can be measured in many possible ways.
We understood how important the perspective, with which we examine the problem, is. We understood that we needed to think in a creative way. We understood that it is all about the problem, not the data. We need to be empathic.
By 2014 IMBA Birthe Quebe
March,2015
