What challenges do marketing researchers face while conducting their research?
The insights industry is evolving. How information is gathered and analyzed changes on a regular basis, from basic person-to-person interviews to online studies, group panels and survey rewards. Today’s market research firms are very different than in years past, and if they want to remain at the forefront of their industry, then they’ll have to continue to evolve and adapt. One of the best ways to do that is to look at the problems currently facing market researchers. Show Today, there are three key ones: 1. Automation 2. Engagement 3. Expectations One of the questions I am often asked relates to the challenges facing market research and insights. The first thing to highlight is that the world of market research and insights is a very diverse group, including leaders of client-side insight teams, leaders and entrepreneurs from research agencies, leaders of suppliers to the research industry (e.g. panel and software companies), and employees of all of these (ranging from neophytes to veterans). Some of the key points are the same for all of these groups, but for some situations the emphasis is different. Here are six key challenges.
The Need for Speed Most of the projects that organisations undertake are not research projects. They are projects where research can provide help, but they are not research projects. A new product is not a research project, the management of 160 stores is not a research project, and optimising the media mix from a new advertising campaign is not a research project. The speed of business is getting faster; agile product development, real-time, big data integrating with the management of stores, and programmatic advertising is taking the human out of the process. If research is going to expand its role, to promote the use of evidence-based decision making, it needs to operate at the speed of business. Things that will help deliver increased speed are standardisation, automation, AI, and new business models. Curation There is too much data to handle in the ways we used to handle data. The data streams that are available today are not being adequately blended to maximise their usefulness. There are two key aspects to curation:
Curation is one of the key skills that needs to be taught to insight professionals. Curation is the art and the science of extracting answers that help businesses make better decisions. There is also a need for a major change from the suppliers of analytic and visualisation software. At present most software providers highlight how much they can produce, but they need to find a way of highlighting how little they need to produce to provide the relevant answer. One of the interesting developments in AI is the growth in summarising techniques (including topic modelling). The Decline of Science There seems to be a decline in the confidence in science and an increase in the acceptance of opinion. The rise of interest in the Dunning-Kruger effect is perhaps a symptom of this change. It is clear that there are many leaders, followers, and others who feel their views on climate change, the impact of trade tariffs, and the economic consequences of Brexit are equally valid to those of the experts. The challenge for insight professionals is that evidence from research that contradicts the views of stakeholders is likely to be ignored. This change means that the rise of tools such as video and storytelling even more important. Insight professionals may choose to use science to find their answers, but they need to utilise emotional techniques to convey their results. The Human Dimension In the rush to big data, automation, and AI, the human dimension is becoming increasingly important. The more we know what people do, the more we need to know why they do it and what interventions might cause people to change what they do. Market research has always focused on understanding people, and since the 1940s has sought to do that by utilising both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Key elements of this human-centric focus will include:
What AI? When? How? Automation is now a mainstream component of market research and insights, but there are a large number of questions about how and when AI is going to be deployed more widely in market research. We are seeing some early steps in areas like panel management, the coding of open-ended comments, speech-to-text translation for video, sentiment analysis, and chatbots. However, none of these have made major changes, yet. For example, companies not using AI are still able to compete. Coming back to the issue of speed, I think the key developments will be those that facilitate faster research. I foresee three levels of AI
New Business Models The traditional research model was that a client would speak to a small number of agencies, and issue RFQs. The agencies would bid for the project, centring their timeline and costing on the data collection process, and one agency would be appointed. The project would then be conducted and debriefed, with the focus of the presentation being the research that has just been conducted. Clients are increasingly finding this business model, based on commissioning data collection, does not work for them. Data is cheaper, data is plentiful, data sources need blending, and the value is in the answers, not in the process. Models with low marginal costs (for example a simple, automated project from a self-serve portal), or a DIY project, or a project that is part of a subscription (e.g. an online community) are all more attractive than the traditional model. Perhaps other new models will appear, for example, perhaps somebody will get the market place model to work. Or perhaps a gig economy system where an app or company sits between end clients and large numbers of skilled freelancers will evolve. But I think it is clear the old business model will decline. Advice to Young Researchers Whilst the picture is different for different people, the group I am most often asked about are the people new to the world of market research and insights. Here are my thoughts specifically for them. What are the problems faced by the researcher while doing research?Objective Problems faced by researcher during research Lack of scientific Training Insufficient Interaction Lack of Confidence in researchers Lack of Code of Conduct Dissatisfactory Library Management and functioning Difficulty of timely availability of published data Plagiarism Conclusion References Questions.
What are three challenges facing the marketing research industry?The 3 main problems facing today's market researchers. Automation. For starters, the first problem is automation. ... . Engagement. Market researchers have historically had a difficult time engaging with consumers. ... . Expectations. Consumers – and the companies that need market research – want more.. What is the most challenging step in marketing research?Defining the problem is often the most difficult step in the marketing research process. It is very important for the objectives of the research to be clearly defined, because the best research job on the wrong problem is a wasted effort, time and resources for the company.
What is one of the significant challenges for marketing research?Which of the following is one of the significant challenges for marketing research? It can be difficult to research new product ideas when customers have never thought about them before.
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