AMA: Quickbase VP of Product Marketing, Sarah Din on Market Research

Nothing really beats just talking to people. There are tools out there like UserInterviews if you are trying to walk customers through product to get feedback, but if you are just looking to get insights, a zoom call interview is always a great way to do qualitative research. What is helpful is recording these sessions and using transcripts for analysis

I would break this down into these steps: 1. Gathering Data: * This can be a mix of customer interviews, analyst briefings, using sales calls for feedback, doing qualitative expert interviews that map to your ICP, customer or market surveys, etc. * he key is to pick a very specific topic, have a hypothesis and then do the research to gather insights on that specific topic. 2. Analysis * Tag feedback into themes * Prioritize by frequency & business impact * Cross-reference against product strategy * Validate patterns across sources 3. Synthesis & Distribution * The ideal way is to tailor the insights based on your audience. If this is for product, the product team will care about product details vs if its for marketing, you are going to focus on different insights. For executive teams you want to have a summary of key learnings and share a pre-read with the details if they like to see details. * The most important thing here will be actual recommendations and focusing on the "So what".

This depends on what kind of research you are looking to do, but here is a broad overview Here is what you need to get started 1. Set clear research objectives 2. Small pilot study 3. Mix of qualitative/quantitative 4. Focus on one customer segment Budget can look like so: * Low ($0-5K): DIY tools, surveys, interviews * Mid ($5-25K): Mixed methods, basic panels * High ($25K+): Full-service research Some Essential Tools: * Surveys: SurveyMonkey/Typeform * Interviews: Zoom + Otter.ai * Analysis: Excel/Google Sheets Qual Panels & Sources: * Wynter * Respondent.io * UserInterviews.com * Prolific (academic quality) * Industry reports (Gartner, Forrester previews) * Government databases * Academic papers * LinkedIn groups * Reddit communities

This will depend on how your company manages information but a few things always help: * Having a central source of truth where you can post all the research and analysis * Recordings and decks are great way to share insights * Creating bite-sized stats that teams can use for different purposes * Sharing insights in communication channels like Slack - or even creating a dedicated slack channel for that * Doing quarterly readouts can often help keep this in front of mind * if you have any sales enablement platforms like Highspot, i would add materials there in customer-facing assets

Here are some cost-effective resources for both primary and secondary research Secondary Research * Industry association reports * Government databases (Census, BLS) * Academic libraries Primary Research Tools * SurveyMonkey or Typeform or Google Forms * Reddit communities * LinkedIn groups * Facebook groups * Local meetups * University research pools * Professional networks * Customer support teams

Survey & Panel Tools: * Budget-friendly: SurveyMonkey, Typeform, Google Forms * Mid-range: Qualtrics, Pollfish, Wynter * Enterprise: GLG, NewtonX, Bridger Voice of Customer: * Software tracking: Pendo, Heap, Amplitude * Call analysis: Gong, Chorus * Feedback tools: Hotjar, FullStory User Research: * Testing platforms: UserTesting, UserZoom * Analysis tools: Dovetail, EnjoyHQ * Recruitment: UserInterviews, Respondent Competitive Intelligence: * Tracking: Klue, Crayon * Win/Loss: Clozd, Primary Intelligence * Market data: CB Insights, PitchBook

I've been in this situation before and found a few approaches that work well. For cost concerns, I show how we can start small - even a few hundred dollars can get us solid insights through DIY research. No need to spend thousands right away. For the "it takes too long" worry, I map out exactly what we'd do week by week. This helps people see that research can happen alongside other work without slowing things down. What really helps is having someone else in the company (especially in product or sales) who gets the value of research and can back you up. They can share examples of when research helped avoid mistakes or led to better decisions. It's all about starting small, showing quick wins, and proving that research is worth the investment. Once people see actual results from even a small study, they usually come around to doing more.

I would start with immediate validation research - interview existing users and analyze their actual usage patterns. This gives you real data about how the product is being used versus intended use. Next, conduct quick competitive analysis to identify gaps and opportunities. Use these insights to make targeted product adjustments rather than major overhauls. While not ideal to research after building, it's better than continuing without market understanding. The key is to be agile with changes based on findings while minimizing resource waste. Consider this a lesson learned and build research into future development cycles.

Product Marketing needs to be the connector between different teams when it comes to research. With Product Development, start by sharing user insights and involving them in customer interviews - this helps shape the roadmap based on real market needs. Product teams often appreciate sitting in on customer calls to hear feedback firsthand. For R&D collaboration, focus on future-looking research. Share trends and emerging customer needs that could inspire innovation. Help test early concepts with users before significant investment. R&D teams value early market validation of their ideas. Sales teams are goldmines for research - they're talking to customers daily. Set up regular feedback loops to capture win/loss insights and buyer feedback. Use this to refine messaging and spot competitive shifts quickly. Customer Success brings deep understanding of current user challenges. Work together to track satisfaction, identify expansion opportunities, and understand why customers stay or leave. Their daily user interactions provide rich qualitative data. With Marketing, align on target audience research and messaging tests. Marketing teams need validated buyer personas and messaging that resonates. Share research that helps them create more effective campaigns and content. The key is making research accessible and actionable for each team's specific needs. Regular check-ins and a central place to share insights keeps everyone aligned and prevents research from sitting unused.