‘What’s the Question’: The Book

A step-by-step guide for more effective and efficient market research

What is ‘excellent’ market research? The obvious answer is that it should produce reliable and valid results. This is the craftsmanship of a good market researcher, as described in hundreds of market research handbooks. But it’s not enough. Users of market research require more. They need relevance, meaning that results of market research can be used as a solid foundation for marketing decisions. Market research should delivers insights. And to do so, researchers need to answer the right questions instead of merely focussing on collecting and analysing data.  


The book ‘What’s the Question?’ contains a practical, stepwise approach and powerful tools for setting up effective market research that can deliver real new insights, supporting decision makers to make better decisions. And by only answering the right questions, research will become more efficient as well. 
Delivering solid information is a craft, delivering insights is an art.
In 2011 two Dutch market researchers started writing. Their goal was to bridge the gap between what market research delivers and what marketing needs. In 2012 their book What’s the Question? was first published in Dutch.  Almost any Dutch market researcher knows the book and many of them use it in their daily work. Several Dutch universities include the book in their curriculum.

Market Research Architect
This book is about the work of the market research architect. We present a step-by-step approach that will lead to more useful and efficient market research. The underlying idea of our approach is that market research is always done in order to be able to make a marketing decision or some other type of decision. We call this the management problem. This decision is translated into the research objective and the research questions. This is the informational need; in other words, what information is needed to make a good decision? The research questions are then used to create the best research design. By consistently following the steps of this process you ensure that the relevant research questions are answered. And each answer to each research question is useful for the client. 
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Some reviews:

A wonderful source of inspiration with many well placed case studies and examples. Glad they have translated in English.

(Manuela Zaffarana, Unilever Innovation)


If you are after a fantastic book covering the fundamentals of Market Research, with loads of great case studies, then I would recommend ‘What’s the Question’ by Erik De Kort and Durk Bosma. There are some great thoughts on framing questions well, and using target audiences effectively. I would recommend this for marketeers as well as insights professionals.

Fiona Hall, ​Head of Insights UK&I at AkzoNobel Decorative Coatings at AkzoNobel

By employing a simple, still comprehensive and consistent language, ‘What’s the question’ presents a 360 approach over all the MR tools today, helping especially to a wise selection among them and avoiding possible pitfalls down the road, via a large number of real case studies.

Yiannis Karalis, Independent Market Research Professional, Greece

Wij helpen marketeers om de juiste keuzes te maken, op basis van helder en gedegen inzicht in de doelgroep en de markt.

We zijn gespecialiseerd in duurzaam consumentengedrag en maatschappelijk relevante vraagstukken. Op deze manier helpen wij impact te maken.

+31(0)6 1423 2441
durkbosma@inzichtimpact.nl

Wilhelmina van Pruisenweg 35
​2595 AN  Den Haag