Writing a Successful Market Research Brief
Posted on 28 May 2020 Catherine Chipeta
A good market research brief helps agencies lead successful projects. Learn what to include and how to write a detailed brief with our template guide.
A market research brief is a client document outlining all the relevant information that a research agency needs to understand the client’s specific research needs to propose the most suitable course of action.
A clear, informed brief will ensure the market researcher can deliver the most effective research possible. It also streamlines the project by reducing the need for back and forth between your company and the researcher. A good brief will leave no confusion and provide a meaningful framework for you and the researcher, maximising the accuracy and reliability of insights collected.
Start your project faster with our market research brief template!
In this article, we’ve broken down the key components of a well-written brief, with examples. Using this template guide, you can confidently equip the researcher with the right information to deliver exemplary research for your next project.
Business Background / Project Background

Business Objectives / Marketing Objectives

Research Objectives

Target Market

For example:
Option 1:
- Market: Canada
- Sample size: 200 – 1000
- Demographics: Household income of $150k and above a year
Option 2:
- Markets: Malaysia (priority), Thailand, Singapore
- Sample size: N=200 (Product Variant Selector) + N=500 (Conjoint)
- Demographics: 16 – 50 years old
- National representation: Age, gender and location
- Target definition: Bought electronics online in the past 12 months
- Reads on: 16 – 30-year olds vs. 31 – 50-year olds
Option 3:
- Market: South America
- Sample size: 1800
- Target definition: Main and joint grocery buyers
- 5 target groups: Income, urban/rural, age, family status, shopping frequency (divide each into 3 subgroups, e.g. low, medium, high).
Action Standards / Decision Rules

For example:
- Nestlé’s 60⁄40 action standard which prioritises preference and nutrition, by aiming “to make products that achieve at least 60% consumer taste preference with the added ‘plus’ of nutritional advantage”.
- Pricing is seen as credible by at least 40% of the target market.
- Product has at least 50% acceptance from the target market.
Methodology

For example:
- Monadic test: Monadic testing introduces survey respondents to individual concepts, products in isolation. It is usually used in studies where independent findings for each stimulus are required, unlike in comparison testing, where several stimuli are tested side-by-side. Each product/concept is displayed and evaluated separately, providing more accurate and meaningful results for specific items.
- Discrete choice modelling: Sometimes referred to as choice-based conjoint, discrete choice is a more robust technique consistent with random utility theory and has been proven to simulate customers’ actual behaviour in the marketplace. The output on relative importance of attributes and value by level is aligned to the output from conjoint analysis (partworth analysis).
- Qualitative research: Qualitative forms of research focus on non-numerical and unstructured data, such as participant observation, direct observation, unstructured interviews, and case studies.
- Quantitative research: Numbers and measurable forms of data make up quantitative research, focusing on ‘how many’, ‘how often’, and ‘how much’, e.g. conjoint analysis, MaxDiff, Gabor-Granger, Van Westendorp.
Deliverables

For example:
- PowerPoint presentation
- Crosstabs of data
- Raw datasets
- Excel simulator
- Online dashboard
- “Typing tool” for future research
Timing and Cost

Contacts and Responsibilities

Ready-to-use market research brief template with examples
Start your research project faster and get better results.

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