Voices: the CMB Blog

The new year is a time for reflecting and looking forward to the next 12 months. And for businesses, as we enter the last weeks of 2011, it is critical that companies in all industries reflect upon the past year’s decisions and peer into the future.

There is little doubt that the economic strain of the past three years will continue to affect companies across industries. Yet, 2012 will hold both opportunities and challenges for market researchers.  More than in the past, our clients will need the ability to manage, analyze, and integrate massive amounts of data while gleaning insight and recommendations within very constrained budgets. 

Price sensitive clients will be asked to choose between mountains of data at low prices, or more targeted consultative approaches focused on insights, action and outcomes. To differentiate ourselves, research companies will need to create true partnerships that work to address the core needs of our clients. My prediction is not that 2012 will be an easy year, but that we as a company will continue to evolve and perfect practices that help our clients make sense and use of the data we collect.

We are urging our clients to read Drinking from the Fire Hose; authors Chris Frank and Paul Magnone effectively detail the issues related to having too much data and how effective companies and managers can ask the right questions to insure focus on their companies’ goals and decisions. Take the time to explore the “7 Questions” that they outline and revisit these questions throughout the year.

As with every year, 2012 will have its own set of challenges, but success lies in our ability to channel the lessons of the past year and make smart decisions for the coming year by asking the questions that count.  At Chadwick Martin Bailey we believe more than ever, in the importance of being true partners with our clients, so together we can connect the data points and develop strategic insights that lead to better business decisions.

For more on Drinking From the Fire Hose, read Christine Gimber's take on our recent event with Chris and Paul here.

Posted by Anne Bailey Berman. Anne is the President of Chadwick Martin Bailey and enjoys volunteering in the community, traveling with her family and spending time in her vegetable garden.

Last week CMB hosted Chris Frank and Paul Magnone, authors of Drinking from the Fire Hose, at our Boston office and invited our local clients to join us. Chris, Vice President at American Express responsible for advertising, brand, and business-to-business research, and is a long-time CMB client. Paul added the internal client perspective to the discussion, having been a consumer of research at IBM for 21 years and now heading business development and alliances at Openet. As the book’s title implies, the conversation centered on how to sort through the massive amount of data we, as researchers, are confronted with to get to that moment of truth.

As it turns out, it is not about the information, but about asking the right questions. The book outlines seven “essential questions” that will keep you focused on only the information that you need. The first question is “What is the one vital piece of information needed to move forward?” That may sound obvious, but during the discussion we heard from many of our clients that identifying and focusing on what really matters isn’t easy. The challenge is to re-focus clients on the business decisions being made. As we heard from Chris, Paul, and our clients, this requires a major effort.

Focusing not only on why you need the information but what you are going to do with it is also key. One of my favorite stories of the evening was about an internal client who was faced with the question “If the results of this research dictate it, will you close the business unit?” He retorted that if research came up with that result, then they were talking to the wrong people. With no intention of closing the business unit, it was clear he was asking for answers to questions that were not actionable.

It was interesting to hear the authors talk about what we at CMB call a “business decision focus.” At CMB we spend a great deal of time helping our clients (and their internal clients) stay focused on the decisions that they are making with the story the data tells. It was exciting to hear how that simple focus can change the paradigm.  It was a great event, and if you attended we hope you enjoyed it. If you were unable to attend, stay tuned, we’ll be posting more highlights and video of the event. And of course we recommend reading the book.

Posted by Christine Gimber. Christine is an Account Executive with the Financial Services and Healthcare teams, and loves great questions, essential or otherwise. When she is not at CMB, you can find her running or biking, which also helps keep her in shape as she tries to keep up with her three small kids.

The company that walks together gives back together! And on October 13^th, thirty CMB employees walk as part of The Annual Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night Walk in the Boston Common.  The walk is one of a dozen held across the country by The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) to raise money for the thousands of people affected by blood cancers each year.  LLS funds life-saving research and provides much needed services to patients and their families.

While CMB employees give their time to countless causes, Light the Night has special meaning for us. Our Director of Finance Catherine Shannon is celebrating her second year of remission, and will walk with us this year—our 4^th participating.

Since we began walking in 2008, CMB has raised over $20,000 for LLS.  This year we have both our largest team of walkers and our biggest goal yet of $12,000! Team leader Lynne Castronuovo sums up why giving back to the community in this way means so much:
“It’s been extremely gratifying to watch what started out as a very meaningful but modest effort four years ago grow into something so substantial.  This year, we are fielding a team of 30+ walkers and over 50 employees participated in our largest fundraiser.  Everyone in the office is thrilled to rally around this cause because we realize that Catherine’s cancer-free status is due in part, to ground-breaking treatments that were initially funded by LLS.”

We’d also like to give a special thanks to our partners at Decipher who have joined in to donate $10 for every “like” on their Facebook page.

We’re a small company trying to make a big difference, if you’d like to join us in the fight against cancer please donate here.

Thank you,

The CMB Light the Night Team