The Importance of Rank for Shorter,Smarter Surveys 1

Abstract

The traditional market research paradigm believes that, the more data you measure, the more potential for insight the data will hold. However, this paper takes the counter-intuitive standpoint that ‘less is more’. Drawing on the authors’ familiarity with neuroscience and behavioural economics, as well as five years’ worth of panel behavioural data in three categories and data from 2,769 studies across 1.9 million respondents, the paper argues that, just as it is important to ask the right questions in a survey, it is similarly important to measure ‘just enough’ but not too much information about brands. We show that measuring too much data is unnecessary and can even be detrimental to the richness of your data. Readers should take away practical guidelines for creating shorter, smarter surveys that still maintain the integrity of their data … and perhaps even improve it.