This quote on research from Julie Hall sums up where most of us go wrong. We assume we know.

“We haven’t done the research yet but we know anecdotally that it works and is perfectly safe.”

This isn’t a quote from Julie Hall. Rather it’s the kind of comment that makes her shudder when she meets a client. Julie Hall is vice president of The Schneider Consulting Company. They specialise in product launches.
Yet they knew a vast proportion of launches failed. They researched why in 2011.

She explains in more detail: “As partners in a firm that specialises in product launches, we regularly get calls from entrepreneurs and brand managers seeking help with their revolutionary products. After listening politely, we ask about the research supporting their claims. The classic response “We haven’t done the research yet but we know anecdotally that it works and is perfectly safe.” We’ve been fielding these calls for so long we can often tell from one conversation whether the launch will succeed.”

Enough said.