Editor’s note: Jake Pryszlak is a market research blogger at www.researchgeek.co.uk and speaker.
It’s no secret to readers of Quirks that France won the World Cup in an exciting game again Croatia.
After England was knocked out by the finalists, I was still proud of the team and I might have said a couple of times … “It’s coming home!”
I am an avid England supporter, market researcher and blogger and I like to continuously learn. To make the learning process easier for me, I usually put it into a sporting context so in this blog I’m going to discuss 11 of the top aspects of market research I feel are apparent within the industry in a 4-4-2 formation!
The key topics I really would like to delve into are:
- people;
- neuroscience;
- artificial science;
- automation;
- video;
- on-demand;
- quantitative;
- qualitative;
- social media;
- ROI; and
- behavioral science.
At left-back I have positioned neuroscience because it’s becoming increasingly important for departments that look at brand strategy and design. With brands and agencies spending more of their market research budgets on neuroscience I feel left-back is a sensible position due to its forward-thinking ideas and opportunities to attack.
Flying up the wing at right-back is video research. Videos are giving consumers an opportunity to provide feedback about a brand or product. Using video, organizations can capture tangible pieces of data at speed.
At center-back, I have paired artificial intelligence with automation. These are two topics of conversation that have caused both positive and negative comments in the industry. Using automation can now let us collaborate more and serve as consultants, working alongside our peers and turning information into actionable insights that can impact the bottom line.
With time, automation will improve research accuracy especially in terms of data collection. While there are benefits, many of our peers feel the worst about their job. When automation was becoming a big player in the market space, I created a quick guide to developing a personal brand in market research which you can see here: http://researchgeek.co.uk/how-to-create-your-niche-within-the-market-research-sector/.
At the true core of my formation are the quantitative and qualitative aspects of our work that will never be lost. While the term market research is being used less, the traditional methodologies and ideologies will still exist with overarching products and tools to enhance the offer.
At left and right wing, I have placed two fast-paced and in-demand wingers that will increase in worth in the market space year-on-year (though maybe not at the speed of Ronaldo).
Next up are on-demand research and sentiment analysis in relation to social media. For the latter, there are many big players in the market space including Crimson Hexagon and Brandwatch.
Consumers are now more aware of what data they give away to brands and organizations from recent GDPR guidelines. This means brands require data and information gathered in a non-intrusive manner that can still tell them what individuals think of them. This is why I think sentiment analysis is one of those flying wingers that can offer brands an alternative to traditional online surveys and focus groups.
In the front I have positioned ROI and behavioral science. The latter is becoming more important in the fast-changing research world. And I predict those tools, methods and organizations which take behavioural science as their foundation and core will be able to offer their clients and even customers more accurate predictions, opportunities and customer-centric products in the future.
ROI is an area where the industry faces a dilemma. Every business decision hinges on ROI. For the majority of researchers, market research is a means to an end and it does not necessary generate revenue
Finally, my goalkeeper is no Jordon Pickford but something much more important – the people behind everything we do as researchers and this is something we often forget about. Everything we conduct is around people and how they interact with brands, products and even peers. We are overlooking all of the developments in the sector. It needs leaders and influential individuals to lobby together and help others develop.
You can see from my formation and topics that there is nothing new or striking but there are three key things to think about:
- Are you using any of my top 11 in market research?
- Out of my top 11, what are you struggling to implement the most?
- What would be in your top 11?