It’s unfortunate but true—context often goes overlooked when examining market research results. All too often, really, market research provides numbers that don’t seem to mean a thing without background information to support them. The important takeaway here is, in order to analyze data for meaning that is actually relevant to your marketing venture, you need to understand its context.

Context matters in everything we do. For instance, spending double digits on a meal seems absurd at a fast food restaurant, but it’s the norm at a sit-down one. Meeting someone who’s a 14-year-old student is typical—until you find out she’s attending an Ivy League University among the most brilliant adult minds in the country. Now, take this idea and apply it to your market research. What does it mean to have a satisfaction rating of 70%? Is this result favorable or not?  

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