What Makes For a Good Methodologist?
What makes a methodologist truly valuable? Some thoughts on how analytic expertise, industry experience, and adaptability create insights that drive results for clients.
Deep Analytic Expertise
This means having a broad toolkit and knowing how to select the right tools for each problem, rather than relying on a single approach for every situation (the ‘man with a hammer’ effect). This goes far beyond a superficial understanding of applied quantitative techniques – it helps to have a grounding in the disciplines that gave rise to these techniques - Economics, Marketing Science and Social Psychology, to give but a few examples. Placing problems within a well-defined conceptual framework leads to better solutions. Such well-rounded expertise is crucial for developing high-value outcomes, as discussed below.
High-Value, Custom Solutions
What is good value? Anyone who has purchased the inexpensive, consonant-rich brands from Amazon knows that it isn’t just about low price. Neither is it the $25 Lamb Vindaloo at your local Indian takeout with 3 pieces of lamb in a generic curry. In our world, value has to be defined by the strategic impact and risk reduction delivered. This, by definition, is not priced based solely on man-hours. It is based on the clarity, confidence and executive-ready insight provided, and is related to the opportunity cost of making decisions without this information. The end product is neither a FRNTTOW nor an overpriced Lamb Vindaloo.
Similarly, “custom” doesn’t mean every solution is entirely bespoke. Good methodologists rely on proven approaches but know how to adapt them to address the unique aspects of each problem. For a deeper exploration of this topic, see my article:
Suffice to say, a flexible mindset and knowing how to modify existing techniques as needed are essential elements of a great methodologist.
Consulting and Industry Experience
Working with diverse clients across many industries and markets exposes you to nearly every type of problem. This is when it is easy to slip into a “nothing new under the sun” state of mind. While it is vital to avoid viewing every problem as identical to what you have seen before, the value of the perspective gained from this experience is incalculable. You just instinctively know what works and what doesn’t and how exactly the problem ought to be addressed. And no, experience isn’t about repeating the same task for thirty years; it’s about doing many different things and doing them well over time.
Industry experience provides a valuable addition to this perspective. If nothing else, it helps illuminate the difference between what market researchers think is important versus what decision makers think is important. Anyone who has spent 20 minutes in a final presentation debating a single data point from a screener question can relate: ‘I have an entire deck of insights to share, but we’re stuck on slide 2!”.
This is because the results of your finely crafted market research study are merely one (sometimes, small) piece of the puzzle of marketing in a brutally complex environment. Not everything is relevant to everyone in the meeting. There are discrepancies between what the research shows versus what someone knows to be “true”. There are those that believe that secondary data are infallible sources of truth and that market research data are just elaborately conceived stories. And, on and on. Having an inside view provides you with a more nuanced understanding of where these various perspectives come from and how to manage the inevitable stress caused by these divergent viewpoints. This, in turn, makes you a better methodologist / consultant.
The Takeaway
In the end, great methodologists combine analytic depth, practical experience, and a flexible mindset to deliver insights that truly matter. By balancing proven approaches with creative adaptation, and by understanding the perspectives of both researchers and decision-makers, they create lasting value in every engagement.