Suz Allen - April lecture series - 2014

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It takes two to tango
building a stronger partnership with your clients
Suz Allen – Campbell Arnott’s

Suz Allen, Campbell Arnott’s, Australia
NewMR Lecture Series April 2014
It takes two to tango: building a
stronger partnership with your clients
Suz Allen
Campbell Arnott’s,
R&D Director, Sensory & Consumer
Science, Asia Pacific & International

A collection of thoughts…
Not just my own thoughts, but rather an amalgamation
of comments from colleagues and friends and posts on
the Internet and social media

Inspire trust – it’s the foundation for everything
Clients prefer to work with people they like – there is some
truth to that. However…
Clients prefer to work with people they trust, and if it’s more
enjoyable as well – that’s simply a bonus!
Just like on the dance floor, a client needs to have trust in
their partner.
As a supplier, how do you go about building that trust?
How do you even get the first dance?

The pitch… how do you
get on the dance card?

Avoid the blind date or the used car salesman!
Making the initial contact
Are you listening or are you selling?
Do your homework - customise
How do I find you?

How to get on the client’s dance card…
Speak at conferences
Have a solid website
Get involved
Be different
Write
Use social media
Build a good reputation
Be clear about what you offer and why
Research the prospective client’s business – understand
beforehand what’s beneficial to them – treat it like a job interview
Word of mouth
Show you’ve
stayed current
Membership

What’s the benefit of a long-term relationship?
Economic roller-coaster
A reduced number of reliable
suppliers is a common strategy
Procurement streamlined
Global standard operating
procedures
Mutually beneficial
Volume and value

Tips for building long-term
client relationships

Have a clear philosophy & positioning…
Don’t claim to be an expert at everything!
What is your one thing?
What is your research philosophy?
How have you positioned your business?
What does your business stand for?
Are you a specialist or a generalist?
How are you differentiated? Really?

Be honest, be yourself, keep it real!
Be honest about your capabilities
Be honest about the size of your organisation
Be honest if you’re wanting to pilot a new technique –
maybe we can partner together (on a less risky project)
Be up-front if you outsource or sub
Have adult to adult conversations (this takes two)

Be likeable… (client / supplier matching)
Involve and own

Have pricing structures I can understand…
This helps with procurement too
What’s included what isn’t included
Report/ presentation/ open ended
coding
Consistency of pricing
Can I predict the cost (in the ball park)
Understanding what impacts the cost
Holden vs Rolls Royce – trade offs
Champagne tastes on a beer budget!
Cost creep – an honest conversation

Know your stuff & how to apply it…
Again, fairly self explanatory!
Solid predictive results
Move quickly to help you stay ahead of your competition
Interested in going beyond the project at hand – knowledge building
Provide solutions
& actionability

Offer alternatives – be flexible, be clear!
A response to a brief that is clear
A response to a brief that is flexible and offers
alternatives
A response to a brief that is thought through –
and not just a “cut & paste”
Clearly plan the project

Challenge me…
We can become too comfortable too…
You don’t know what you don’t know
A different perspective can be incredibly useful
Yes, there are always budgets and time constraints, but
if you truly believe we are compromising results – it’s
important to speak up
Another perspective…
Question and Hypothesize

Manage expectations…
Essential to building strong
relationships
Manage expectations from the start
Don’t over-promise & under-deliver
We are managing internal
expectations
If you under-deliver so do we

Manage your time and meet your deadlines…
OK, fairly self explanatory
If you’re late, then we’re late
Communicate as soon as there’s an issue
We can help prioritise

Communicate openly & communicate often
Communicate openly
Communicate clearly
Communicate effectively
Use more than just one form of communication
Email can be over-used as a medium
Personal preferences for communication
Provide regular updates on projects (particularly
large ones or ones with new methods) – warts &
all
Care though – there is such a thing as over-
communicating!
Spam, spam & no more spam please!

A single point of contact…
It helps build the relationship
It helps prevent Chinese whispers and misunderstandings
It reduces ambiguity
The researcher or the technical sales person / account director?

Follow-up – don’t act like a one night stand
Be responsive and follow-up often…
We have internal clients too…
Don’t be really responsive when you’re trying to
win the business and then disappear once you
get it or delegate entirely to someone junior!
If there truly is scope creep, let’s talk about it!
Yes, it can be an issue
Post a project’s debrief – ask for feedback
Treat research as a knowledge building process
not just a “discrete” project

Make me look good – my butt is on the line!
If a supplier does a poor
job, the client looks bad
internally!
The client chooses the
supplier – they are held
accountable internally.
We both have skin in the
game!
Inspire

No surprises! Never!
No-one likes surprises
Communication is the key
Keep your clients in the loop on all
developments affecting their projects

Internal politics – there’s sometimes a little…
It’s inevitable with different people and different perspectives
We need to work together on what are the different perspectives in
the room
Is this a project with a huge impact for our business – how do we
best influence and present the facts in a meaningful impactful way

Understand your role – understand my role…
Advantages of having experience on both sides of the fence

Set your sights on a true partnership…
Beyond the individual projects
Mutual benefit
Long-term
Understand each others’ businesses
What does a true partnership look like?

Value and reward your loyal clients….
No complacency
Value and volume – back to partnerships
Knowledge sharing
X

Share your knowledge…
Share your knowledge & be a useful resource – extend your client’s team
in a meaningful way
Have you been to an interesting conference?
Have you read an interesting journal article?
Did you think there’s a new approach that might be beneficial?

Continuous learning & a drive for innovation…
Clients and suppliers innovating together
Market research innovation success rates - ROI

The presentation – be
able to tell a good story…

Let’s walk in each other’s shoes…
The Client: “I want to look good! The more senior
people in the room the more nervous I feel. I want them
there, but if the supplier stuffs up – the senior
management pin it on me not the supplier – after all, it
was my decision to choose the supplier! Didn’t I look at
the presentation, didn’t I guide them? If this goes pear-
shaped, I’m going to look like a goose!”
Some snippets from the Net…
The Supplier: “I really need to demonstrate all the
grueling hours of analysis I have done. I know a lot of it isn’t
showing anything new, but I really want my client to know
how much effort I’ve put in. I know I’ve got almost 100 slides,
but it shows I’ve left no stone unturned for them. If I just
show a few slides they’ll think it isn’t value for money or that I
just pulled it together in a few hours rather than a few weeks.”

Hygiene Factors – operating discipline
Timings:
Don’t be late and if
you are, make sure
you phone
Get to the
presentation at least
15 minutes early to
set up
Know how long you
have to present and
stick to it
Equipment:
Are you using your own
equipment or are you
relying on the client’s?
Have a checklist
(projector, screen,
extension cord, spare
lamp etc.)
Don’t be surprised if your
equipment fails – be
prepared!
Multimedia:
Select presentation
equipment that gets the job
done
Don’t go overboard on
animations and slide
transitions.
Multimedia loses it’s allure
if it doesn’t run effectively
• Save time for some questions & think ahead what they
might be
• Get all your ducks in a row – that means practice!

Credibility – question & hypothesise
Credibility of the information is paramount.
Your client needs to have the confidence that
the research analysis has been done well.
Remember your clients are going to make
business decisions based on your work!
Question & hypothesise throughout the
whole research process – stretch your
client’s minds!
Be across the detail
Don’t let someone present who didn’t work on
the project
Don’t let a junior present without prior
agreement
Tell the truth!
If you’re not ready to present – negotiate
with your client

Partnership or monologue – “involve”
Know your client, not everyone wants the same thing.
The amount of detail and style may depend on the
strategic level of the project (one size does not fit all).
Get your client involved early on:
Don’t be afraid to send through early drafts that are
still work in progress.
Your client is able to offer input to help make the
presentation a success.
Send the final presentation back to your client so there
are NO SURPRISES!
Understand your audience:
You need to understand who’s attending
Will there be any hidden agendas or politics?
Ask your clients for feedback for next time

Clarity of thoughts – solutions focus!
Market research is conducted with a specific objective in mind! Have
you actually answered the objectives?
Be logical and be clear with your message
Keep your slides short and succinct
Get to the point and highlight what is important
Balancing the amount of days analysing to
the amount of time crafting your main
message (don’t still be working on the
recommendation in the taxi on the way to
your client’s office)
Present only what the client needs to make a
decision. Don’t inundate your client with
data just to prove you’ve worked hard!
What value are you creating with your
presentation?

Tell a story – inspire!
There is a difference between a presentation and a report
As researchers it can be a challenge not to show all the detail
– realise you need to know the detail behind the scenes but
prevent the “show-up and throw-up” presentation
Tell a story! Think of the presentation as a story and sketch
out the narrative
Be conversational and be a real person (be natural)
Deliver – don’t read! It’s not a bed-time story to put us to
sleep!
Be flexible – look and listen to your audience (verbal & non-
verbal cues). If interest flags, move on. If they’re ready to
wrap up then finish!
Be careful of jargon

Usability – the “so what!” test
The ultimate objective
of research is to help
your client make a
decision!
Research is a tool
your client uses to
help them make a
decision – it’s not the
decision.
It’s important to work
with your client to
understand the
overall business
scenario as you make
your
recommendation.
Don’t leave a client with a
deck that they have to
work out afterwards what
the answer was – have a
clear recommendation.
Have an executive
summary in a reporting
style that can be shared
with senior management.
Have a call to action.
Clients need to understand
the recommendation, what
should be changed/done,
and what the risks and
trade-offs are of any
decisions.

When things go wrong…

When things go wrong… and they will
No-one’s perfect
Things will go wrong
The project goes pear-shaped
The relationship is tested
How you respond
Fess up quickly & work together

THANK YOU
Suz Allen
R&D Director, Sensory & Consumer Science,
Asia Pacific & International

Q & A
Ray Poynter
The Future Place
Suz Allen
Campbell Arnott’s

THANK YOU
Suz Allen
R&D Director, Sensory & Consumer Science,
Asia Pacific & International
Suz_allen@arnotts.com
+61 437 396 986
2014 Platinum Sponsor April Series Sponsor

Suz Allen - April lecture series - 2014

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