In today’s competitive business climate, it’s often desirable to go it alone rather than hire outside consultants. But even a superb in-house staff can’t safeguard you from potential internal bias. For example, one of the top three global contact lens makers conducted a $500,000 study to determine what makes a great contact lens brand. They came back with 17 key brand qualities and narrowed the list to the top three. Six months after implementing the program based on this research, there was no movement in sales. Why? Because they forgot to ask what contact lens brand respondents currently use. How many people know which contact lens brand they use? The answer is less than 18%.
