Can't pay or won't pay? Whither the upfront fee?

An experienced South African researcher has asked the country’s marketing research association to step in and investigate the “phenomenon” of research buyers who do not pay 60% of the agreed fee when a contract is confirmed between client and agency.

A South African researcher with the best part of 50 years experience has asked the country’s marketing research association to step in and investigate the “phenomenon” of research buyers refusing to pay 60% of the agreed fee when a contract is confirmed between client and agency.

Jean Green has written to the South African Marketing & Research Association (SAMRA) to express concerns that qual companies are facing “frightening cash flow problems” as research buyers do not adhere to the practice.

She argues that research agencies need the upfront payment to cover out-of-pocket expenses, including incentives for respondents, venues, taxis, translators and moderators.

In her open letter to the organisation, Green asks: “What is to be done about it? … I believe that until research practitioners (particularly the qualitative practitioners) can organise themselves into a cartel which refuses to start work on a project until the upfront amount has been paid the problem will never be solved.”

We’re interested to hear from other researchers who may have experienced this. What’s caused this situation to arise? Bad habits or bad economy? How does it compare to what’s going on in other countries? Let us know.

We hope you enjoyed this article.
Research Live is published by MRS.

The Market Research Society (MRS) exists to promote and protect the research sector, showcasing how research delivers impact for businesses and government.

Members of MRS enjoy many benefits including tailoured policy guidance, discounts on training and conferences, and access to member-only content.

For example, there's an archive of winning case studies from over a decade of MRS Awards.

Find out more about the benefits of joining MRS here.

0 Comments


Display name

Email

Join the discussion

Newsletter
Stay connected with the latest insights and trends...
Sign Up
Latest From MRS

Our latest training courses

Our new 2025 training programme is now launched as part of the development offered within the MRS Global Insight Academy

See all training

Specialist conferences

Our one-day conferences cover topics including CX and UX, Semiotics, B2B, Finance, AI and Leaders' Forums.

See all conferences

MRS reports on AI

MRS has published a three-part series on how generative AI is impacting the research sector, including synthetic respondents and challenges to adoption.

See the reports

Progress faster...
with MRS 
membership

Mentoring

CPD/recognition

Webinars

Codeline

Discounts