In challenging economic times the allocation of marketing budgets must face heavy scrutiny and marketing departments have an obligation to ensure that only commercially pragmatic activity is undertaken.
History has shown that in periods of economic decline, marketers all too often take a short-termism approach and vital research and development for existing and new product development is often sidelined.
This is a lesson which Ford learnt only to well in the last recession.
The reduction of overall marketing spend saw product development suffer and as a consequence Ford emerged from the recession with products inferior to that of its competitors.
Mistakes such as these can have a detrimental impact on a business for many years and in Ford's case it took five years to regain a competitive footing.
Therefore the quandary for marketers is how to understand what market research is essential for a brand, and its future business survival, and what activity can indeed be decreased.
Firstly my advice to clients is that a commercial realistic approach needs to be adopted when considering any marketing activity.
With market research in particular though, it should be a fundamental prerequisite that the marketer understands how the research will deliver results that are grounded in the commercial context of the challenge faced.
This means providing results that either lead directly to the strategic decisions that need to be taken or demonstrate the ROI implications of a different decision.
At times, it is indeed entirely possible to undertake research that can deliver against both of these objectives.
If we now consider the process for arriving at an output from market research; our experience has shown that all too often clients already can have the big ideas hidden in pages of reports which are held internally.
One thing that most companies are not short of is information.
By applying a different methodology and innovative thinking to re-cut this existing data it is possible to bring these ideas to life.
At times this must be supplemented with different reports to effectively harness the wealth of information but fundamentally this approach can reduce research costs significantly.
As a result, we are now actively encouraging our clients to consider switching from primary research towards re-sighting existing information that the business already owns; we call this "energy efficient insight".
The current economic climate undoubtedly presents challenges to marketers. Conversely I would suggest that these changes are necessary and I am surprised that it has taken a rapid downturn in consumer spending to challenge existing thinking.
Market research which simply provides intellectual stimulation and learning, yet lacks the commercial rigor now required, should become redundant.
What it must do from this point onwards is inspire action to ensure big ideas are developed and brought to life. So before you commission any new insight work, stop and think "should I be knowledge recycling?".
It can save time, money and help get you to a better result.
Damian Symons, senior consultant, Clear.