Editor’s note: Simon Glass is CEO of market research firm Discuss.io, Seattle. 

2020 was a year rife with challenges that wove themselves throughout every aspect of our society. COVID-19 upended nearly every day-to-day activity, requiring governments, businesses and citizens to adapt quickly to catch up to an ever-changing world. And through it all, there was a single, prevailing trend: a search for connection.

Throughout the pandemic, workforces have been forced into atomization and isolation, needing to rely on technology to facilitate remote interactions. A year ago, video communication was a tool at our collective disposal, able to put us in touch with friends, loved ones and colleagues. During 2020, it became our lifeline. The digital transformation that occurred was monumental, and a true testament to our ability to adapt personally and professionally. 

This striving for connection and the associated rapid digital response is what we call agile empathy; using the tools at our disposal to adapt to new challenges, all in service of learning more about each other – or for brands to learn more about their clientele. In this article, I’ll break each of these components down individually to fully understand what we saw this year and what we can expect going forward, potentially for years to come. 

A breakthrough in agility

As the dust settles on 2020 and we’re able to look at it with a sense of clarity, we may realize that we have just lived through an epochal technological revolution. There are few major shocks to the system that have occurred in the last century: the advent of TV as well as the rise of the internet and smartphones are three of these big shifts. The emergence of the remote workforce and the necessity for video platforms may become the next phase in this evolution. These tools have the capacity to change population disbursement and alter the way we view cities and how we structure our relationship to work.

With an increasingly remote workforce, technological advancement will need to continue apace to meet the moment. Suburban, exurban and rural populations now seeing an influx of workers exiting cities will need increased access to high-speed internet in order to foster emerging talent pools. And this trend isn’t just limited to the U.S.; as the global economy becomes further connected, these strides to bridge the digital divide will become even more prominent.

It may be a coincidence that 5G cellular networks saw massive launches in 2020, or it may be telecommunications companies recognizing this new push toward a more connected world, enabling faster speeds on mobile devices for large portions of the country and world. 

But the main story of this revolution in technological agility has been the prominence and adoption of video platforms in nearly every facet of our work and personal lives. What felt like a novelty when we started using video communication platforms early in the year became – at a pace none of us could have imagined – the cliched “new normal.” Not only were individuals turning to video platforms to connect with friends and family, it became the engine behind corporate interactions and the preservation of corporate culture. Video was leveraged in major ways by brands and agencies to understand customers at a time when traditional qualitative research was all but impossible.

An emphasis on empathy

Throughout 2020’s digital transformations, there was a desire to replicate the in-person interactions of which we found ourselves deprived. Video platforms were quickly adopted because they allowed us the closest thing to personal contact we could get in a pandemic.

Once it became clear that video was the future of interactions, brands, agencies and insights professionals quickly caught on to the importance of these platforms as a way to understand the changes in consumption and lifestyle and how it affected consumer buying decisions. Many researchers have turned to video platforms using a range of structured, integrated workflow tools for gathering insights and facilitating customer conversations. Brands and agencies are able to extract valuable qualitative data to understand customer motivations and act on them in near real-time. 

Discovering consumer thoughts, feelings and motivations – and meeting those concerns with empathy and understanding – was essential in 2020 and will continue to be in 2021 and beyond.

Smart video platforms allow researchers to meet respondents in their homes, where they’re most comfortable, and gear questions to uncover deeper underlying emotions and motivations. Mindful approaches to moderating allow researchers to tap into newfound levels of empathy and speak to customers one-on-one to uncover more meaningful insights. 

Empathetic agility is the future of market research

This deeply human, yet profoundly technology-first approach to market research is positioning itself as the way forward. Even with a COVID-19 vaccine on the horizon, the way our lives have been upended and refashioned around a more remote society may be an enduring feature.

Brands, agencies and market research firms are now planning two and three years in advance to leverage smart video as a main driver of qualitative insight gathering efforts, which indicates a commitment to this technology for the future. 

Other players in the industry are choosing to get into the teleconferencing and qualitative insight field as well. Cisco’s WebEx division recently acquired audience insight company Slido, and other big-name mergers like Salesforce’s purchase of Slack and SoftBank’s $700 million investment in Sinch have demonstrated an industry-wide interest in omnichannel engagement and insight gathering. 

This deployment of smart video is resonating in part because it enables more autonomy and authority among market research team members. Instead of having to go through one main point person, individual moderators are able to take on more organizational responsibility. And with enhanced roles like meeting observer and translator, additional tasks are taken off of a moderator, which enables them to focus on the interview subject and engage in more meaningful ways.

Essential to the future

Brands and agencies are not only leveraging smart video to tailor messaging, but to determine broader strategy. Conventionally, the channels of communication would be thought of ahead of time and qualitative insights would be tailored toward those channels. But now, insights gathered through smart video can be used to determine which channel is ideal for messaging; the entire paradigm of omnichannel marketing may be shifting.

  • 2020 may be seen for years to come as a technological revolution surrounding video communication on par with the rise of the internet and smartphones.
  • The agility showcased by brands, agencies and consumers in 2020 will continue into 2021 and beyond as remote workforces and emerging global markets require broader access to technology.
  • The technological revolution was significant, but it also came in conjunction with an emphasis on empathy. In a year where society was dominated by strong emotions, the ability for brands and agencies to understand their customers’ wants and motivations will be essential in the future.

2020 was a period of intense emotions, and intense transition. The agility and empathy showcased by individuals and institutions alike was inspiring; but not only that, it may serve as a harbinger of how we interact remotely for years to come.