The role of a researcher is to provide opportunities for transformational change

By Quirk's Staff | March 1, 2021

Reading time: 3 minutes

Abstract

Perspectives from quantilope Co-Founder Thomas Fandrich

Research Topics:: Automation | Consumer Research | Data Quality | Research Industry – COVID-19
Industry/Market Focus:: Consumers | Information Technology (IT) | Research Industry
Content Type: Magazine Article | Sponsored Article

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How is technology shifting the responsibilities of insights managers from metric providers to agents of change?

Technology is moving researchers from the passenger seat (buying and handing over insights) to the driver’s seat (generating and interpreting insights on their own, faster than ever before). As a result, insights managers are experiencing more influence and impact on the direction of their company and are solving more unique, challenging business questions. Repetitive number-crunching and analysis should now be done by machines and algorithms, allowing researchers to focus on developing the right questions and the interpretations and storytelling of data that technology provides them.

By focusing on the creative – not the repetitive – side of research, insights leaders can act as agents of change for their organizations by having the time to uncover hidden consumer needs, gaps and unexpected opportunities. Keeping a constant pulse on your consumers empowers researchers to leverage real-time, high-quality insights to influence marketing and senior leadership teams to take action and develop competitive advantages.

The fundamentals of how and why brands do research were flipped upside down last year. What does the post-COVID-19 researcher look like?

COVID-19’s biggest impact on the market research industry is just how much it accelerated it. By the end of 2019 and early 2020, many brands had already begun dipping their toes in advanced automated insights solutions, insourcing vs. outsourcing their research needs. However, when the pandemic hit, brands quickly realized just how vital it is to have full control over their research, to be able to run research quickly and efficiently – and in a budget-friendly manner! Being dependent on third-party providers results in hurdles, not opportunities, for today’s leading brands. Outsourcing essential functions makes organizations less resilient in tough times compared to organizations who have the tools to operate autonomously.

The post-COVID-19 researcher will be resource-efficient with the tools to be remote work-ready. While the digitization of market research may be intimidating, it also provides the uncapped opportunities for brands to adopt new workflows (less fragmented work) and new platforms (automation of repetitive work), to take control over their data and to use even more consumer research in their business decisions.

What advice do you have for brands to optimize how their research departments work?

There are a few simple questions to begin optimizing how the insights functions within an organization work. And it all starts with why – why do we think we need to optimize how we are working as an insights team? What’s wrong? Where is the friction, failures and bottlenecks? These questions will provide clues into what problems need to be solved to increase efficiency. The next step is to audit your full end-to-end research process and see where technology can replace mundane tasks.

Leading researchers of tomorrow will be those who prioritize technology to do research better, faster and more efficiently. We’re at an exciting time in marketing research and it’s up to us to be the driving force of change.