• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Random Dynamic Resources Ltd

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About Us
    • About Us

      Random Dynamic Resources is a frontline market research company providing field research services across Africa. We develop field research tools that enhance productivity and optimize market research values via the use of up to date consumer– oriented technology, in–built strict quality control … Continue reading... about About Us

  • Methodologies
    • Quantitative
    • Qualitative
    • Quality Strategy
    • Data Management and Analytics
  • Our Reach
    • Our Reach

      We have explored most urban and rural communities across the Sub Saharan Africa with diverse local languages and rich cultures: we make use of local staff in each country we fieldwork to bring about the best approach. In Extreme difficult environment, we strive for improvement while learning new … Continue reading... about Our Reach

  • Resources
    • Articles
    • Blogs
    • Webinars
    • Related Links
  • Careers
    • Careers

      If working with a team of highly successful people who are making a positive difference in our business and our community ranks topmost in your mind, look no further as Random Dynamic Resources Ltd. offers you an exceptional career opportunity to achieve great things! At Random Dynamic Resources … Continue reading... about Careers

      • Job Openings
      • Submit Resume
      • Make Enquiry
  • Focus Group Facility
    • Viewing Facility
    • Live Streaming
  • Contact Us

Ask Questions Like a Detective

My partner and I got called to a local business where a bank deposit had gone missing.

When we arrived, the manager of the store told us that he had given the deposit to one of the delivery drivers to take to the bank. We spoke with the driver, who was fully cooperative. He said he took the deposit to the bank, put it in the after-hours dropbox, and came back to the store.

We spoke with the bank and they said the deposit never got there.

So…

Whodunnit?

Great detectives ask great questions. 

But questions alone aren’t enough. But the secret sauce for detectives is structure. I.e. asking directed and specific questions. Detectives just don’t question aimlessly; they question to understand. To do this, detectives use a framework to guide their questioning. 

The basic framework that guides a detectives question is simple—who, what, when, where, why, and how. 

The interesting thing is that you can use this framework to understand your customers and markets also.

The question of who.

When a detective is asking who, they are asking who are the victims, who are the witnesses, and who are the suspects. In short; who are the players?

A good detective doesn’t take things at face value. Knowing the backgrounds of the people you are investigating matters. This applies to both victims and suspects. People can be motivated by strange things. Because of this, you quickly learn that not all victims are actually victims. You also learn that not all suspects are actually suspects.

Want evidence of this?

Look no further than Amy Parker, the white woman who called the police on Christian Cooper, a black man in Central Park. Cooper had asked Parker to put her dog on a leash. She got pissed off and called the police to report a crime.

His crime? WBWB (watching birds while black).

This is what she actually said (caught on video):

“I’m going to tell them there’s an African-American man threatening my life.”

As we all know, this was bullshit.

The reality is that people sometimes lie about crimes. What detectives are looking for when asking “who” is simply an identification of who the players are. Their roles begin to take form as they continue to ask questions.

How this applies in business: It always pays to know who you are working with. Here are a few key who questions:

  • Who are your customers? 

  • Who are your competitors? 

  • Who are potential business partners? 

  • Who are key stakeholders?

The question of what.

One of the primary things a detective seeks to find out is the chain-of-events, i.e. they need to know what happened. After we have identified who the key players are, we need to understand the role each of them played. We want to get their stories. We want to understand what happened from their perspective. 

Do the stories from the people we identified align? Where are they similar? Where are the different? 

This is the point where we can start building a fact pattern. These are the things that we can (hopefully) all agree on. This will be the framework or narrative. 

As Joe Friday has famously (actually not said), “Just the facts.”

How this applies in business: You must be aware of what is happening. Here are a few key what questions:

  • What happened?

  • What happened to our sales?

  • What is the customer journey?

  • What are people doing when they visit our website?

The question of when.

Detectives want to know when something happened. The timing of an event starts to build out the context. 

This enables detectives to begin to make connections to other events. These connections are crucial in identifying causal relationships or correlations. Causal relationships occur when A causes B. Correlations occur when A and B happen around the same time, but aren’t related. 

How this applies in business: You must be aware of the timing of things.Here are a few key when questions:

  • When did most customers purchase?

  • When did our sales decrease?

  • When did customers leave our website?

  • When did customers decide to repurchase?

The question of where.

Location matters. It helps build out the story. Detectives need to prove that suspects were actually at the scene of the crime. The location also helps identify witnesses and victims. Where things matter helps you further build the story. 

How this applies in business: You must be aware of where things happen. Here are a few key when questions:

  • Where was the customer when they first realized they had a problem?

  • Where did customers bounce from our website?

  • Where (in our store) did customers decide to purchase?

  • Where are customers spending most of their time?

The question of why.

If you’ve ever watched a crime show, you have heard of motive, i.e. “what is his (or her) motive for killing Mrs. Peacock with the candlestick?” Motive is often elusive. What seems like the motive at face-value is often only a small piece of the puzzle.

To get to motive, sometimes you have to dig deep. People don’t need money. They need what money can get them. People don’t generally commit the crime for crime’s sake. They commit it for some other reason. That is the motive.

How this applies in business: You must be aware of why things happen. 

  • Why do customers choose us over the competition?

  • Why did the customer leave our website?

  • Why did our customer churn?

  • Why are customers spending less this month than last?

The question of how.

How questions identify the catalyst for something happening. These questions give you background. They tell you how something works, or how something doesn’t work.

How this applies in business: You must be aware of how things go down.

  • How are customers landing on our website?

  • How do customers become aware that we exist?

  • How do customers choose our product or service?

  • How do customers make purchasing decisions?

Detectives ask focused and targeted questions to understand things. 

They use a framework because it works.

Do you?

P.S. If you are interested in learning more about how conducting interviews can help your business, check out InterviewUniversity.com.

NewsTechniqueHow a framework for asking questions can help you solve your most burning customer questions.

Share to: LinkedIn Twitter Google Plus Facebook 

Dr. Ari Zelmanow – Panasonic

November 2, 2020 By art.flanagan

RDR

Random Dynamic Resources Ltd

Some of Our Clients

  • mindlab
  • mmr
  • ask-afrika
  • nexim
  • samsung
  • ipsos
  • visioncritical
  • airtel
  • tns
  • dialego
  • nielsen
  • ifis
  • cola
  • gfk
  • pepsi
  • clearpath

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

News Update

  • E-Tabs Launches Enterprise Cloud

    January 17, 2022

  • Letter from WAPOR President (January 2022)

    January 11, 2022

  • IPC Q&A: Tim Kunkel of Suzy

    January 11, 2022

  • Aksel Bedikyan Named Vice President of Leger Analytics

    January 11, 2022

  • In Memoriam: Naomi Henderson, Founder & CEO of RIVA

    January 11, 2022

  • InSites Consulting Acquires Gongos, Inc.

    January 11, 2022

  • New Director Robert Santos Takes Over U.S. Census Bureau

    January 07, 2022

  • Opposing Expanded FTC Enforcement Power in the Build Back Better Act

    December 23, 2021

  • Labor Market Competition and Non-Compete Agreements

    December 22, 2021

  • IA Announces 2022 Events Calendar

    December 20, 2021

  • Smarty Pants Adds Davison to Team

    December 20, 2021

  • Dynata Acquires Optimus Analytics

    December 15, 2021

  • CIRQ Announces ISO 27001 Certification of P\S\L Group

    December 15, 2021

  • Resolutions and Revolutions for the New Year

    December 15, 2021

  • CIRQ Announces ISO 27001 Certification of P\S\L Group

    December 09, 2021



read more...

RDR in just 2 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1o9Vt934FA&sns=fb

Stay informed

The Core of Market Research In Africa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Npc6UbUg4s

Footer

Key Sectors

  • ICT & Telecom
  • FMCG
  • Automobile
  • Manufacturing
  • Pharmaceutical
  • Financial Services
  • International Development and social Research

Our Expertise

  • Qualitative
  • Quantitative

Get In Touch

  • Contact Us
  • Join Random Dynamic Resources

We are corporate member of

  • esomar1
  • insight-association
  • pamro
  • World Association for Public Opinion Research
  • American-Association-for-Public-Opinion-Research
  • Nigeria-Marketing-Research-Association
  • International Trade Council

Copyright © 2022|. Random Dynamic Resources Ltd. All rights reserved.