Remember the scene from the Marx Brothers’ classic Animal Crackers, where Groucho as Captain Spaulding and Chico as Emanuel Ravelli discuss the price for his band to perform at Mrs. Rittenhouse’s party:

 Spaulding: What do you fellows get an hour?
Ravelli: Oh, for playing we getta ten dollars an hour.
Spaulding: I see…What do you get for not playing?
Ravelli: Twelve dollars an hour…Now, for rehearsing we make special rate. Thatsa fifteen dollars an hour.
Spaulding: That’s for rehearsing?   And what do you get for not rehearsing?
Ravelli: You couldn’t afford it…Heh…you see, if we don’t rehearse, we don’t play…And, if we don’t play…That runs into money!

I was reminded of that when reading a recent Story of Telling post from thought-leader Bernadette Jiwa entitled the “Value of Unknowns.”  She writes:

Jiwa continues, “The truth is that we can’t know for sure. That doesn’t stop us trying to act as if we do.  There’s nothing more seductive than confirmation and validation.

“We actively seek them out, and yet we will do anything to avoid what we don’t know about our customers, the marketplace or the difference we hope to create.”

It’s human nature to pay attention to information that reinforces what we believe and to block data that doesn’t.  We think we are saving money and managing our budgets carefully by not seeking out more information that may challenge our ideas.

“We will do ANYTHING to avoid what we don’t know about our customers, the marketplace or the difference we hope to create,” says Jiwa.  Instead of knowing, we choose ignorance.  But in business, that is a price you can’t afford to pay.

So we move forward with our business plans, based upon data that confirms our beliefs and validates our biases.  We don’t invest and dig deeply to get the real answers to these critically important questions.

We start to “play,” but without paying the price for “rehearsing.”  Then we sadly discover, as Ravelli says, “That runs into money!”

The truth is: we can’t afford not to research thoroughly, dig deeply, and question our assumptions. 

The value of market research is to make the unknowns known.  And once the facts are known, we’ve got to be ready to turn the findings into action, which may require a change in strategy, a shift in tactics, or a new direction.

Time and money invested in market research at the beginning avoids costly mistakes at the end.  It delivers a huge return on investment.

To be actionable, market research must be accurate, reliable, in-depth, authoritative, and forward-looking.  Unity Marketing is committed to making the unknown known, to giving you the data, information and insights you need to “play” confidently with enough “rehearsing” to avoid costly mistakes.

The right market research can deliver a huge return on investment by helping you create more effective marketing pinpointed to the precise needs of the customer.  Don’t choose ignorance in the name of saving money.  You simply can’t afford it!

Download a new white paper, Marketing Consulting for Businesses that Want to Get BIG!, to avoid costly mistakes.