Developing the High-Performance Market Research Function

Market research departments increasingly face this challenge to their primary roles: evolving from providers of support-level data to highly-valued business advisors for strategic decision-making. This comprehensive report examines how dozens of companies have created exceptional market research operations. Performance-critical topics that are covered in depth include optimizing structure for maximum personnel and resource efficiency, ensuring value and relevance in market research findings, managing the performance of career and rotational staff professionals as well as rotational employees, achieving excellence in productivity and process. This report presents proven tactics to improve the impact, influence and efficiency of the market research function.

Pharma Market Research Report cites this study as a valuable tool for market research leaders: "The integrated insights of the "best of the best" create an improvement roadmap for a single company's current performance levels. This most intensive and insightful analysis of MRD activity, prowess and best practices in the last decade focuses notable attention on the global healthcare sector...."

Industries Profiled:
Pharmaceutical; Insurance; Telecommunications; Research; Health Care; Biotech; Shipping; Consumer Products; Diagnostic; Computer Hardware; Computers; High Tech; Chemical; Manufacturing; Electronics

Companies Profiled:
AstraZeneca; Sanofi-aventis; Zurich North American; Towers Perrin; Royal & SunAlliance; Raymond Corporation; Ranbaxy; Penn National Insurance; Alexion Pharmaceuticals; 3M Pharmaceuticals; Aliant Telecom; LexisNexis; Arrow International; aaiPharma; Centocor; Inc.; Abbott Laboratories; DSM Pharmaceutical; Mattson Jack Group; FedEx; GE Financial; Bayer; Genentech; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Hewlett-Packard; DuPont; IBM; Eli Lilly; Janssen; Ortho Biotech; Roche; Mead Corp; Merck; MetLife; NCR; Novartis; Novo Nordisk; Organon; Texas Instruments; Dow Chemical; Wyeth; Xerox

Study Snapshot

High-performing market research departments help senior leaders, brand heads and managers reach critical customer insights, successful new product launches, market growth opportunities and sustainable high performance. Less distinguished market research can confuse managers, cloud decisions, hamper forceful execution and consume valuable resources. This is a central challenge for market research departments across industries and companies.

In a rough-and-tumble global economy, companies and leaders who possess such market insights win an edge against competitors. Consequently, companies are increasingly challenged how to transform their Market Research departments from backward-looking support-service technicians into forward-looking valued business advisors who support growth, brand development and long-term economic health.

With interviews from executives at 11 top companies, extensive survey data and insight drawn from 85 surveyed companies and findings from site visits, this report explains how leading market research organizations increase their impact, influence and efficiency.



Key Findings

Best Practices LLC analysts identified several key elements that provide greater insight into developing high-performance market research functions. Some key findings include:

• Optimize your structure through people, process and technology systems that embrace cross-unit coordination and sharing to enhance business impact and reduce redundancy: Market research leaders engage in a balancing act among three management variables: market research group structure, market research performance processes and market research staff.
  
• Build market research impact through integrated management that balances staffing objectives, product category or therapeutic expertise, crisp market insights and powerful influence skills: The highest performing benchmark partners have developed integrated systems that align essential management factors.
  
• Manage the market research function to leverage resources, balance planned and ad hoc projects, and maintain work productivity and effectiveness: The best market research departments take a comprehensive approach to determining performance and resource needs. These organizations consider a broad spectrum of factors when assessing workload requirements and then they plan accordingly, using templates and benchmark libraries to inform their planning. They also employ project valuation processes and various tools to effectively marshal staff resources and measure how staff professionals perform on each project.
  
• Develop and cultivate people so market research becomes an esteemed career track and training ground for future business leaders: Savvy market research leaders develop integrated performance management systems for both career professionals and rotational employees.