In a world where literally everyone is online and accessible via
social media platforms – how
far is the day where an app can
gather opinions and deliver it to
our clients at lightening speeds
(in fact there are already apps
in the market doing this very
same thing – although we do
require a human researcher to
correctly identify meaningful
information and deliver it in
actionable format to the client –
but soon the human intervention
will be completely negated by
technology).
I strongly believe that market
researchers need to reinvent
their roles and help create ecosystems which will be capable
enough
to
understand
the
complex consumer behaviors.
In the good old days there were
limited numbers of options
provided
to
‘less
involved’
consumers – making the role
of a market researcher much
simplified.
But today there
are web portals just meant
to compare and simplify your
purchase options. All of this
invariably leads to just one thing
– mammoth amount of complex
data which no human brain can
process to extract meaningful
data.
I do accept here that market
researchers
are
leveraging
technology to understand data
but even after the use of the
technology until and unless we
remove the human intervention
completely
can
technology
really be free to assess data and
convert it into information.
Does that mean end of the
role of a market researcher?
No in fact on the contrary it
becomes all the more critical. Here
you have to understand that what
I am suggesting is that a market
researcher has to shift gear from
‘let me help gather information’
to ‘let me help technology gather
information’.
A market researcher understand
as to how information can be
gathered from a haystack of
data – now instead of doing it all
by himself – a market researcher
must
help
create
systems
and
processes
running
on
technology to do the same job
more effectively and efficiently.
There is another side of the story
also which is equally important
to be pointed out here. As I have
mentioned earlier that it is sad
in many cases the research is
‘customer dictated’ – which
means that clients tell what must
be done instead of a market
researcher leading the way –
it has created a wrong trend
where any latest buzzword in
the market is eagerly lapped up
by the clients – who might have
taken fancy for it – and then is
asked by the market researcher
to follow suit.
I have come across clients who
are completely enchanted by
Big data but actually there is
absolutely no requirement for
them to go for it. I believe that
we have to let go clients who are
fancy words driven and are not
willing to heed the researcher’s
advice.
The more a market researcher
is focused on delivering value
to the clients – the better results
can be expected. In today’s
challenging world the role of a
market researcher has changed
– and is more of counselors
who can help clients achieve
actionable results. At the end I
will like to emphasize that yes
technology adoption is MUST
going
forward
for
market
researchers but it is how things
are
implemented
that
will
determine the final results.
I believe that we market
researchers are in one of the
most exciting phases
of our
careers – where there is no ceiling
to what we can achieve. The big
question here that is to be
answered is: Are we ready to fly?
Author Bio: Akshay
Kanyal has been in
the survey research
industry from more
than a decade and
has handled various
responsibilities
from business
development to
panel management.
He has launched
one of the most
popular survey
research blog
“OnlineMR.com” and
has been helping
MR clients with his
content marketing
expertise from the
past 4 years.
You can follow Akshay at
twitter/akshaykanyal