When to commission market research and what to ask for

Do it yourself when

Desk research, a basic retail audit and a handful of interviews are all work a founder can do. They cost time and they teach you the market. If the decision is small or reversible, a rough answer is enough.

Doing some of it yourself is healthy for another reason: you will understand the result better.

Commission it when

• The decision is large or hard to reverse, such as a plant size, a first-year range or a lease.
• You need numbers others will trust, for a lender, investor or partner.
• Bias is a risk, because you or your team are too close to the product.
• You need a sample you cannot reach alone, in another city or among trade buyers.
• You lack the skills to design a survey or a panel properly.

Write the brief

A good brief fits on a page. State the decision, the question that sits under it and what you will do with each possible answer. Name the target group and area. Say what you already know, the budget range and the date you need results.

If you cannot say what you would do with the answer, you are not ready to commission. Spend an hour writing down what changes if the answer is yes and what changes if it is no.

Questions to ask any researcher

• How will you choose and recruit the sample? How many will you reach?
• How will you screen for age and category use?
• Who writes the questions and can I see them before fieldwork?
• How will you handle people who do not answer?
• Will I receive the raw data and the questionnaire?
• Who owns the findings? Who sees my data?
• What will the result not be able to tell me?

A good researcher welcomes these. Be wary of anyone who promises certainty, quotes a market size without a method or guarantees what the research will find.

What you should receive

A clear report that states the question, the method, the sample and the limits. Findings tied to your decision, with a recommendation where the evidence supports one. The questionnaire, a summary of data and, if you asked, the data file itself.

Responsible research also means opt-in participants, no under-age respondents and personal data kept private and used only for the study.

A simple test of readiness

Before you commission, check four things. You know the decision. You know the area and the group you are studying. You have a date by which you must decide. And you have agreed who will act on the answer. If any of these is missing, the study will drift.

It also helps to agree early what a surprising result would mean. If the study says nobody wants your lead product, are you prepared to change it? If the honest answer is no, save the money.

Cheaper ways to start

If budget is tight, split the work. Run the desk research and the audit yourself with our guides on competitor analysis and consumer surveys, then pay for the one part where bias or sample design matters most, usually the survey or the panel.

Another option is a short scoping call. An hour with a researcher before you spend anything can save you from a study that asks the wrong question.

Finally, plan how the findings will be used. Share the key points with your team, put the decision and the evidence in one note and set a date to check whether the decision worked. Research that is read once and filed is the most expensive kind.

If your question is about entering India from abroad, the same rules apply, with the extra step of checking state-level differences. Agree early which states are in scope and who will check the local rules.

What we offer

Our market research service covers consumer surveys, retail audits, competitor and price research and location research, led by Ankur Napa, a Master Brewer who also works in data. We can work remotely by video call and shared data, with site visits by arrangement. We do not quote fees or timelines in guides because they depend on the work. For wider planning see SEO for breweries for the marketing side of the same launch.

Common questions

How much should I budget?

Set the budget against the cost of a wrong decision. If a bad guess would cost many times the study, the study is cheap. We discuss scope and cost on a call.

Can I commission only part of a study?

Yes. Some businesses ask for the design and analysis and run the fieldwork themselves, or the other way round.

How do I know the result is reliable?

Check the sample, the question wording and the limits stated in the report. Ask to see the questionnaire.