A market research brief that gets you a useful proposal

Start with the decision you are willing to change.

“We want to understand our customers” is a good intention. It is a difficult thing to quote. “We need to choose which buyer problem should lead our new positioning” gives a research team something more concrete to design around.

Write down the decision, the options currently on the table and what evidence would make you choose differently. Include who owns that decision and when it must be made. If the answer has already been decided, be honest about whether the assignment is research or a search for supporting material.

Share what you already know: previous studies, sales objections, lost-deal notes, support themes and website behavior. Ask the agency what can be learned from existing evidence before commissioning fresh fieldwork.

A brief needs these six answers.

Give respondents a clear definition. “Senior buyers” could mean users, budget owners or people who sign contracts. Include exclusions as well as desired participants. Otherwise two agencies may quote different audiences while appearing to price the same work.

Ask why this method fits this question.

Interviews can explore language, experiences and reasons in depth. A survey can structure responses across a defined sample. Existing data can reveal patterns worth investigating. None of those methods automatically resolves every question.

AAPOR’s survey guidance emphasizes clear objectives, appropriate methods and careful sample design. Ask the agency how recruitment and question design affect the conclusions it can support. A large response count does not, by itself, make a sample representative.

Our guide to customer interviews versus surveys explores the method decision. This brief is about commissioning the work: who participates, what is delivered and how the findings will be used.

What changes a market research quote?

Recruiting a hard-to-reach technical role can require more effort than inviting an accessible customer list. Markets, languages, interview length, incentives, fieldwork, analysis and review requirements also affect the work. Ask for those assumptions rather than a single unexplained price.

Separate research design, recruitment, participant incentives, fieldwork, analysis and delivery. Confirm whether the proposal includes usable data, a written methodology, recommendations and a working session with decision-makers. Check what happens if recruitment is slower than expected.

Compare costs only after reconciling these differences. A lower quote may use your team for recruitment or omit analysis across important segments. That may be acceptable; it should be visible.

Turn a broad question into a buying brief.

Consider a fictional manufacturer choosing between a speed-led and engineering-led message. A useful brief asks which buyers value each benefit, in which circumstances, what evidence they need and which alternatives they consider.

The agency might recommend exploratory interviews before a wider test. Ask what the interviews will establish, how participants will be selected and what would justify the next stage. Do not write the desired winner into the questions.

Carbon’s buyer-study findings show how findings can be presented with scope and limitations. Existing research can frame a question; it should not be presented as a custom study of your customers.

A few questions before you brief the crew.

Do we need to specify the sample size ourselves?

Describe the audience and decision first. Ask the research team to justify the sample and explain which comparisons and conclusions it can support within your constraints.

What should we receive besides a presentation?

Agree the methodology, appropriate data access, limitations, findings and decisions to discuss. Specify confidentiality and participant protections. The handoff should make the work usable after the presentation ends.