Is That Multinational Research Project Multinational Enough?

It's kind of a trick question. After all, how many countries is required to be 'multinational' in scope? Is three countries sufficient? Four? Or does it really need to be ten or more for truly global company?

The brutal reality is that most companies selling in numerous countries can only afford to do research in a subset of them. How does a market researcher deliver appropriate insights with this obstacle? Here are three steps that help mitigate the risk:

• State the obvious. What's obvious to you is often less
  so to the client. Even if you think the geographic scope is clear, state
  it clearly and multiple times. What is the geographic scope of the
  research? A specific country? Region? How many languages were involved? I have seen it happen many times;
  the audience assumes that since their company is 'global' the
  research is as well'when in fact the research may have been based on just 2
  or 3 countries.
• Break with convention. Too often, researchers select
  countries based on past projects ('We always do our research in the U.S., Canada
  and France.'). Challenge old assumptions! What mix of countries will give
  you the insights you need to inform current business initiatives?
• Illustrate the importance. Educate the audience on how
  geographic variations impact customer behavior and attitudes. Here are a
  couple of examples that help increase sensitivity to the importance of
  geographic variations:
• Different colors have different associations by
  geography. Red is 'positive' in some cultures but negative in others.
  This can impact reactions to ads and product packaging.
• The role of male versus female heads of households as
  relates to purchase decisions for certain categories varies by country.
  Thus, research about purchase intent or product attribute preferences
  based on one country cannot be assumed for all.

This post is by guest blogger Kathryn Korostoff of Research Rockstar LLC (Training.ResearchRockstar.com)