Why clients sometimes don't want to hear the truth - and how to work with it as a researcher
“Research is not marketing. It doesn’t always say what we want to hear.”
Sometimes it’s like telling a king that he’s naked. Research will show that the campaign isn’t working. That employees don’t trust management. Or that customers don’t understand the brand’s message. And the client defends himself. He questions the methodology, the data, the sample. Just not the conclusion itself.
It’s understandable that the truth hurts. But the role of a researcher is not to stroke the ego. On the contrary – to provide a mirror, whether the image in it is pleasant or not. And ideally, to supplement it with recommendations on how to work with that image further.
Research that doesn’t change anyone is often research that doesn’t change anything. Sometimes the greatest value is precisely what we don’t want to hear.