Even McKinsey has got the survey virus — what’s the antidote?

July 27, 2016 Resources 0 Comments

Originally published in Source Global Research Newsletter, July 2016

We often ask senior executives what business issue they would like help with and never have any of them ever said, “You know what I really want? A survey. “But that’s what they appear to be getting. Have a look at most consulting firms’ content and you’ll find the word “survey” appearing in many titles or as a way of denoting the type of content being presented. Take McKinsey for example: alongside ‘Article’ and ‘Report’, ‘Survey’ is actually a key category of content, as if it’s a thing considered likely to catch people’s attention.

But that’s what they appear to be getting. Have a look at most consulting firms’ content and you’ll find the word “survey” appearing in many titles or as a way of denoting the type of content being presented. Take McKinsey for example: alongside ‘Article’ and ‘Report’, ‘Survey’ is actually a key category of content, as if it’s a thing considered likely to catch people’s attention.From the firm’s perspective, this abundance of surveys isn’t entirely surprising. There’s comfort in the well-trodden path: design a questionnaire, get it completed (usually with the help of an outside agency), analyse the results, write a report, distribute. And, because surveys are often well-established, there is little questioning of the resources required. Creating this year’s version of the sector or service survey is very often the path of least resistance.

From the firm’s perspective, this abundance of surveys isn’t entirely surprising. There’s comfort in the well-trodden path: design a questionnaire, get it completed (usually with the help of an outside agency), analyse the results, write a report, distribute. And, because surveys are often well-established, there is little questioning of the resources required. Creating this year’s version of the sector or service survey is very often the path of least resistance.But, like most paths of least resistance, it can quite often be suboptimal. While survey data can be useful in evidencing a point, in highlighting differences between key groups such as ‘leaders’ and ‘laggers’, and in generating statistics for PR purposes, we would struggle to point to a great piece of thought leadership that has at its core the desire to do a survey. Great thought leadership is motivated by ‘Here’s something that is really important to our clients–and something we can help them with’. And in great thought leadership, a survey is used when it is the best option for evidencing or exploring a specific issue–not as the driving force for content.

But, like most paths of least resistance, it can quite often be suboptimal. While survey data can be useful in evidencing a point, in highlighting differences between key groups such as ‘leaders’ and ‘laggers’, and in generating statistics for PR purposes, we would struggle to point to a great piece of thought leadership that has at its core the desire to do a survey. Great thought leadership is motivated by ‘Here’s something that is really important to our clients–and something we can help them with’. And in great thought leadership, a survey is used when it is the best option for evidencing or exploring a specific issue–not as the driving force for content.