Market research brief. How to create one?

A market survey brief is a description of a research project to be carried out in the future. Clients create research briefs to give to the agencies that will conduct the survey. By creating a briefing, clients force themselves to think through all the important details of a survey and document them to provide maximum clarity for everyone involved. And when the agencies receive it, they have a wealth of information to design a project that closely matches the client’s expectations. With a written briefing, misunderstandings are avoided and surveys are more accurate and action-oriented.

Information to include in a market survey briefing

Including all these elements in your briefing will help the agency know exactly what they need to consider in order to tailor their proposal to your needs.

Strategic objectives

The most important thing in a market research brief is to know what you are going to do with the research. If you can imagine the decisions you will make with the survey data, everything else follows from this. When the agency knows what you want to do with the survey, they will be able to help you see things that you may not have noticed and in the end the project can be better and more focused on what is important to you.

In this section, include as much information as necessary so that the agency has a good understanding of your needs. If you are concerned about confidentiality, arrange for a Non-disclosure agreement to be signed. Agencies are obliged to maintain confidentiality about the projects they work on – like lawyers – but an NDA will give you extra peace of mind.

Information objectives

Specify the answers you want the research to provide. Let’s say you are thinking of conducting a brand survey. Here you can list everything you want to know: awareness levels, purchase consideration, purchase intent, brand attributes, consumer profile, comparison with other brands in the market, and anything else that is important for you to know.

If you have any hypotheses to test, this is also the time to share them with the agency. They will make sure to give you a clear answer. And if you have previous surveys with information you want to refresh, also share the details so that when they design the questionnaire, they do it with comparable questions so that you can get the evolution between the two time points.

Research design

This part of the briefing describes what you think the project should look like. Here you can detail everything you think is essential, and give further guidance on the areas where you would prefer the agency to make recommendations.

• Target audience. Indicate if you want to interview a representative sample of the population or if you want to filter by socio-demographic data, buying or consumption habits or attitudes. For example, you may want to target people between 18 and 35 years old. You may want to target buyers of a product category or perhaps people who are considering buying a car in the next 12 months. Note that companies with consumer panels may already have this data collected so you can apply the necessary filters directly. Also indicate the geographical scope (total country, municipalities with more than 200,000 inhabitants, Comunitat Valenciana or whatever is relevant for you).
• Methodology. It is always important to indicate if you have a preferred methodology. If you want to refresh a survey done in the past, the agency will have to stick to that methodology in order to make the survey comparable. If this is not the case, let the agency propose the best methodologies. Research is constantly evolving and there may be new technical possibilities that may be of interest to you.
• Results. Years ago agencies delivered results through reports, data files and tables. Today, many surveys are delivered via online results monitors where you can do all the necessary cross-referencing yourself. But if you want a specific type of file, tell the agency to include it. It is especially important if you want to have a report with the main results, as in that case they will need extra time to distil the findings and present them visually.

Practical information

If you wish, you can add other points:

• Budget. Some agencies ask for an estimated budget. This helps them to make proposals that are in line with your budget. Omit this information if you are not sure what the survey will cost.
• Timetable. If there is a deadline for delivery of results, state this clearly.

Involve your agency

The list of points we have just looked at is extensive, and there may be points that you are not sure how to address. That’s OK. Invite your agency to make suggestions. The most important thing, as we said before, is to be very clear about the objectives of the survey and what you are going to do with it. If you are unclear about technical aspects, ask the agency for advice. Research is a very rich discipline and agencies work for many clients and in many fields, so they can give you new insights and find a validated solution to potential obstacles.

Market research briefings and We are testers

At We are testers we believe in the co-creation of the market research brief and we love working with our clients to find the best ways to provide the answers they need. The research platform is very versatile, so we can propose the most appropriate methodology. Combine surveys with qualitative research, insight communities or UX testing and get all the answers with the best methodological choice. The panel of 130,000 consumers and users will also help you define the most appropriate sample. And our team of research experts will take you through the whole process until you get the answers you need.

Contact our experts today for advice on how to complete your survey briefing.