subject: About Syndicated Research [print this page] About Syndicated Research About Syndicated Research
Most forms of market research can be lumped into two categories custom and syndicated. Custom research is typically commissioned by a business or entity to answer a question or hypothesis that they have regarding a problem or opportunity. On the other hand, syndicated research is done by the market research firm themselves without prior payment. This research is typically to cover a popular topic or issue that would be of value to multiple business or industries that will then be sold after the fact. While it is little more generic and ambiguous in nature compared to customized research, its greatest value to end users is the ease and quickness (combined with a lower price) that it can be accumulated and analyzed.
Why would a client want to use syndicated research? For starters, it is typically much less expensive than a customized report. A market research is almost always going to charge less for data they already have available than they would for a project that they need to design and start from scratch. While syndicated research may be more generic, not every problem calls for customized results. If a business is interested in census data (age groups, gender breakdown, and economic levels) for a given area of the country before opening a new branch this data may already be readily available from a syndicated report. There is no need for these items to be customized specifically to the client because the question itself is a little more generic in nature. Ease is also an issue. For most research projects, the businesses must vet market research companies in order to best determine which firm will best be able to create their report. If this information is already available, then this can save a great amount of time and hassle. Syndicated data is also available immediately upon purchase. Customized research projects can take weeks or even months to create an accurate report and analysis. Another reason is that many syndicated reports are proven reliable. Syndicated reports that are not reliable tend not to last very long in the marketplace, and can even damage the reputation of the firms that put the reports together. There are numerous errors that can occur in creating a research report. Sampling issues, interviewer bias, interviewee bias, and other factors can all creep into a research project and lead to false data even with the biggest richest companies. Remember that Coca-Cola did not just introduce New Coke on a whim back in the 1980's; they had research that indicated this was the right moveresearch that proved to be worthless in the end.
All that said, syndicated research is often best used for baseline reporting. It can be used to check the potential viability of an area, customer base, or new product. It is best used for exclusionary purposes. If the data tells the client that there is no reason to move forward from the get-go, then much money can be saved in doing further research. However, before making any major strategic decisions, a business should do some research customized to their own products or services. Every business and strategy is different and it is impossible to know exactly how people will specifically react to an idea until that idea itself is tested.
