A Market Research Skill For the Next Decade

New communication modes in the online and wireless world challenge traditional data collection approaches. To remain viable, market researchers must learn new methods of approaching and measuring qualitative and quantitative research.

 

The Times They Are A'Changing...

These changes are happening more quickly than ever before and at a pace that can only increase over time. While we, as researchers, focus on making sense of consumer decision-making by gathering information on needs, attitudes, and behaviours, we are facing increased challenges posed by communication modes which defy our traditional arsenal of data collection approaches.

On top of that, the changing and growing assortment of marketing vehicles require measurement approaches and tools quite different from those which have historically been the mainstay of qualitative/exploratory and quantitative survey research.

To remain viable participants in the marketing milieu, those of us who design and analyse research to aid our clients' marketing decisions must broaden the scope of how we view the marketing landscape and gather our information. Simply asking questions, whether it be by qualitative probing or via surveys, while still useful, can no longer address the breadth of what we need to understand about consumer influences, motivations, and purchasing activities.

More passive approaches are being introduced which harness technology to observe behaviour by tracking online surfing, monitoring social media conversations, and even videotaping in-person shopping. Rather than replacing the traditional repertoire of approaches, these techniques add to the palatte of what can be used to understand marketplace dynamics.

The new tools provide insightful aid in defining product and service opportunities; assessing customer satisfaction and loyalty and anticipating competitive threats.

As younger researchers enter the field of marketing research, they bring with them an innate understanding of the new marketing paradigm - steeped as they are in communications via mobile devices and social media, online transactions, YouTube, etc. Their reality is online access anywhere, anytime with immediate response.

Some of us who have been in the marketing research field for a longer time are also embracing this new marketing world, and are eager and willing participants in these ever-evolving wireless and online activities. Our active participation places us in a strong position to understand the possibilities and figure out how to rise to the challenge of capturing data about and from these new vehicles.

Whether we grow these capabilities from within or work with partners, who are already ahead of the curve in figuring this out, we recognise that to remain viable in our industry we need to be able to measure the usefulness and impact of the 'new marketing.'

In the end however, all data no matter how gathered, must be analysed by seasoned researchers who understand how to use information to tell the marketing story. That ability is something that the new technology cannot replace.

 

This content was provided by M/A/R/C® Research. Visit their website at www.MARCresearch.com.