The Silver Linings Playback: Insights from COVID-19 Industry Leaders Roundtables

Amid the turbulence of this pandemic, there is a silver lining for the market research industry.  On the bright side, many opportunities are now available to us as research providers and consultants.  Of course, there are also numerous threats we are facing that will force our hand to make changes in the way we do business.  Here’s the playback of insights curated from the first ten weekly series of COVID-19 Industry Leaders Roundtables from March 31 to June 9, 2020.

Starting with our clients, objectives are changing (notice I did not use the past tense since the expectation is an ongoing state of change as long as we remain under the threat of this virus).  As a result of our clients’ shifting needs, research execution has undergone a massive rethink, most obviously in the form of a 100% move to digital, but also regarding the type, frequency, and turnaround time of projects.  Overarching these client and research execution shifts is a new requirement for client-supplier relationships.  Greater empathy and more meaningful connection (to be explained) are at the heart of what is now regarded as the optimal client relationship.  The path forward must be taken with a resilience mindset, for as uncertain as the world has become due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is certain that we must adapt to this changing reality.

 

 

Opportunities: “What’s on the fast track?”

Certain market sectors are in “opportunity” mode.  They are either in a position to grow their business or to make a big shift in how they service their customers as a result of the pandemic – both requiring insights to help them succeed.

• Growth:  automotive, spirits, healthcare, CPG
• Shift:  travel, tourism, hospitality

Client Objectives: Understanding New Realities

Several business areas seeking opportunities for insights work.

• Gig economy
• Manufacturing
• Supply chain, logistics & distribution
• Teleworking enablement
• Virtual entertainment
• Education
• Legal & business operations

Opportunities:  “What’s on the fast track?”

In this time of crisis and halt of economic activity, clients need to stay abreast of an evolving consumer via in-depth research and ongoing monitoring of issues that affect consumer attitudes and behavior.  This presents an opportunity for the market research industry to seize these challenges and turn them into opportunities.  Aside from the obvious transition from face-to-face or onsite research to digital research, the major rethink of methodologies perhaps lies in the now more prescient need for optimization and foresight work:  using what we already have on hand (data curation & synthesis) and figuring out what’s to come (data science).

The COVID-19 pandemic also created a need for insights work around path-to-purchase, NPD (product, packaging, distribution) and HR (WFH effectiveness, corporate culture, employee satisfaction).  Understanding these new realities involves a of whole new set of client objectives, each which has a corresponding impact on research execution (outlined fully below).

 

Threats:  “What’s losing steam?”

In sharp contrast to the key takeaways around opportunities, the Roundtable leaders presented several areas as threats to the MR industry.  Specifically, any product or service that has a backward perspective is losing credibility amidst the changes in our world.  So tracking studies, use of norms and trend predictions prior to the pandemic, are all being dismissed.  The conversation focuses on the urgent need to understand and predict the “next normal”.

The resulting impact on research execution is a suspension of tracking research and ad hoc research that isn’t about COVID-19.  The final threat is the one facing traditional MR firms, who are neither in the space of data science nor in the space of consulting/providing holistic views.

Client Objectives

• Tracking data (can’t trust data given changing environment)
• Predicting the future
• Trend Reports prior to COVID-19
• Benchmark norms

Research Execution

• Tracking studies of historical data and norms
• Ad hoc studies
• Traditional MR Firms

We can always find the silver lining in any challenge.  In the case of this pandemic, our industry needs to take the view that it’s an opportunity for positive disruption.  We must seize the moment, minimize the threats, and evolve as quickly as possible to stay afloat and serve our clients well.

“Crisis has created an environment ripe for positive disruption”