Simplifying the Research Tech Journey with MRXplorer

Buying market research technology can feel like navigating a maze with endless paths and shiny distractions. Over 1,700 tools promise to transform your insights game, but, too often, you end up buried under options that either don't deliver or frustrate your team. MRXplorer's approach simplifies this with clear, actionable steps designed to align your technology choices with your actual needs, ensuring they deliver real value.

Here's the heart of the MRXplorer philosophy: you lead the way; we provide the compass. We don't push specific solutions or chase buzzwords. Instead, we focus on frameworks that help you make informed, unbiased decisions based on your business goals.

From Confusion to Clarity: The MRXplorer Framework

The market research technology buying process is broken down into two distinct phases: understanding your needs and finding the right fit. Let's look at each of these.

1. Understand Your Needs (The Assessment Framework)

The first step isn't shopping; it's defining your business objectives - documenting your north star. This will help everyone who becomes involved understand the "why" behind this exercise. Then you continue with the rest of the steps to the assessment.

• Step 1: Define business objectives

• Step 2: Inventory your existing tools

• Step 3: Assess tool performance

• Step 4: Gap analysis and prioritization

• Step 5: Develop recommendations

This needs assessment creates a map of where you are and where you need to go. Think of it as the difference between grocery shopping with a list and knowing what your family wants to eat this coming week and what they won't touch versus wandering the aisles hoping to remember what's in your fridge.

2. Find the Right Fit (The Evaluation Framework)

Once you know what you need, it's time to identify and evaluate the tools.

• Create and use scorecards based on key requirements like usability, interoperability, and vendor support, but also tailored to your priorities.

• Test tools through real-world scenarios to see how they integrate with your team and systems.

• Include external teams like IT, legal, and procurement early to avoid unwanted delays.

This process focuses you on your needs and your requirements, helping you make data-driven decisions about tools rather than being swayed by flashy features or charismatic service teams that obscure missing tool capabilities.

Why This Approach Works

The MRXplorer framework is focused on short- and long-term process building that sets you and your team up for success. With a tech inventory, you are set up to update on a regular basis, keeping on top of evolving tech trends as needed. With a purchasing process, you are able to reuse scorecard templates and evaluation team templates for future tool selection. Whether you're starting fresh or optimizing an existing tech stack, the MRXplorer approach keeps you in control of your decisions.

With these processes in place, you can cut through the maze of options with a strategic focus that produces clarity, objectivity, and alignment with your team's goals.