Comments on: Marketing Researchers need to think like marketers http://www.ericksonresearch.com/blog/2010/02/marketing-researchers-need-to-think-like-marketers/ Musings on Marketing and Research Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:42:30 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Rebecca Pearson http://www.ericksonresearch.com/blog/2010/02/marketing-researchers-need-to-think-like-marketers/comment-page-1/#comment-35 Rebecca Pearson Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:19:21 +0000 http://www.ericksonresearch.com/blog/?p=64#comment-35 As former journalist, I use the system of the five Ws and the inverted triangle -- who, when, where, what, and why. Those are the questions I ask the directors (technically, they are 'the clients') that commission my department for a project. Many times, they know *what* they want to know, but the other four Ws are questions they haven't thought through. In drawing out the 5 Ws, I ensure that there is no misunderstanding when I have to present the findings, which is about answering the Ws. On the analytical end, I use the system of the inverted triangle where all the data gathered is up top and then I filter out what's nice to know but not important down to what is impactful and actionable. As former journalist, I use the system of the five Ws and the inverted triangle — who, when, where, what, and why. Those are the questions I ask the directors (technically, they are ‘the clients’) that commission my department for a project. Many times, they know *what* they want to know, but the other four Ws are questions they haven’t thought through. In drawing out the 5 Ws, I ensure that there is no misunderstanding when I have to present the findings, which is about answering the Ws.

On the analytical end, I use the system of the inverted triangle where all the data gathered is up top and then I filter out what’s nice to know but not important down to what is impactful and actionable.

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