In today’s competitive landscape, many market research agencies—especially in emerging markets like Vietnam—are constantly asked to justify their pricing. With budgets shrinking and clients demanding more for less, agencies are tempted to lower their prices just to stay in the game. But is this truly a wise strategy?

At first glance, reducing prices seems like a straightforward tactic to win business. Clients love value, and undercutting competitors can seem like the quickest route to a signed contract. However, the long-term implications of this approach often tell a different story.

In Vietnam, flashy advertisements aren’t always necessary to draw a crowd. Sometimes, all it takes is a street corner eatery packed with locals sitting shoulder to shoulder or queuing patiently outside. “A busy place must be good” — this belief is deeply rooted in the Vietnamese dining culture, and it reflects a blend of social behavior, psychology, and culinary instinct.

Survey research is one of the most widely used tools in marketing, social science, and policy analysis. It offers structured insights from target audiences, turning opinions into measurable data. But no matter how sophisticated the platform or how large the sample, every survey carries the risk of error. When unaddressed, survey error can distort reality, mislead decisions, and waste valuable resources. The good news is that most errors in survey research can be reduced—or at least managed—with thoughtful design, execution, and analysis.

In the world of quantitative research, numbers are only as trustworthy as the people behind them. Every percentage, graph, or data table depends on one simple thing: people answering surveys. But what happens when a large group of people doesn’t respond at all? That’s where nonresponse error comes in—a subtle yet powerful threat to research accuracy.