Irrespective of size, marketing and market research are vital to all businesses. It is expected that you have considered incorporating market research in your entrepreneurial pursuits. However, is your market research approach aligned with current trends?
The changing business models are leading to the discovery of novel approaches to market research, aided by technology. This will have a significant influence on how market research is carried out by companies over the next ten years.
1. Mobile-First Online Surveys
Everyone from marketers to entrepreneurs and researchers are fond of online surveys. They are without doubt the most favored form of market research survey. With their affordability and simplicity, online market research surveys have become extremely popular among the masses.
According to research, mobile phones accounted for approximately 68% of web traffic worldwide in 2020. As an increasing number of internet users opt for smartphones to access the internet, the popularity of mobile surveys will continue to rise.
Market research survey platforms that prioritize conversational surveys and are designed for mobile devices, including TypeForm, SurveySparrow, Pollfish, and others, offer the potential for increased response rates. Given that a majority of people rely on their smartphones for virtually all aspects of life, this comes as no surprise.
Therefore, incorporating a mobile-first approach in survey design can guarantee higher response rates. Numerous businesses opt for in-app surveys that are contextual to extract information from their current app users. In case you intend to create a survey, you could follow these helpful suggestions:
- Plan your survey around mobile screens — keep your questions short and simple.
- Make your surveys visually attractive with minimal prerequisites or requirements.
- Pay attention to building a user-friendly survey navigation and questions flow.
- Highlight incentives throughout the survey to increase completion rates.
If you are in search of ideas, TypeForm can serve as a valuable resource for constructing market surveys that prioritize mobile devices.
2. More Market Research will Happen In-House
The pandemic has caused a significant shift in the way marketing spending is being approached by business owners, leading to changes in the way market research is being carried out. SurveyMonkey’s report indicates that an increasing number of companies are moving towards having in-house teams, rather than outsourcing their market research needs.
Utilizing external vendors to attain insights may expedite the research procedure, however, it significantly diminishes the caliber of those insights. Findings from Qualtrics’ report highlight that data quality presents a significant obstacle, as around 77% of businesses only achieve ‘slightly superior’ or ‘moderately better than average’ insights.
During these times when spending is a major concern, investing in insights that are only slightly better than average is not sufficient. Businesses desire a greater level of involvement in the process, preferring to take ownership and avoid solely relying on externally provided data. As a result, more companies are gradually transitioning to establishing internal teams.
3. Faster, More Cost-Effective Market Research
During times when Elon Musk abruptly takes over Twitter and dismisses all employees, proceeding at a slow pace can be detrimental to any startup. According to McKinsey’s findings, companies are now operating at a pace 20-25 times quicker in the aftermath of the pandemic. Many prioritize implementing modifications that reduce expenses and enhance profitability.
If you need to obtain information quickly, you cannot afford to be patient and wait numerous weeks for participants to respond to your market research questionnaire. Rather, you must remain nimble and collect findings instantaneously. Conventional market research techniques are insufficient in achieving this goal, and this is where technology comes into play.
After the pandemic, around 67% of enterprises are enthusiastic about experimenting with novel and ingenious techniques and solutions for market research. Many are keen on collecting customer feedback to enhance their offerings, tailor their products, and achieve triumph.
Automated research tools are gaining momentum due to the reality of budget cuts and the need to remain relevant.
According to industry research, the majority of market researchers (60%) believe that automation has facilitated faster results and cost reduction. This proclivity towards conducting real-time research through automated tools is anticipated to increase.
4. Use of Social Media Listening for Real-Time Insights
Have you ever come across someone who isn’t active on social media in 2022? With few exceptions, nearly everyone is using social media. As a result, the social media environment has become a hub for gathering information, much like the physical world.
A vast majority of social media users, approximately 80%, enjoy sharing their personal information, including conversations, opinions, interactions, posts, likes, and engagement. This provides valuable knowledge of your customers’ desires and requirements.
Social media can be considered the equivalent of the “voice of the customer”, providing valuable information on their preferences, attitudes, and interests through their social media feed. As businesses require immediate insights, they have begun to explore social media research techniques to gain a better understanding of their audience.
To capture customer sentiment in real time, businesses utilize tactics such as social media listening. One such instance is an airline monitoring the positive and negative conversations about their service on Twitter.
The pace of social media listening will only accelerate as the number of social media users increases. It is important to consider that utilizing social media for market research surveys may produce biased outcomes, mainly due to the herd mentality phenomenon observed with TikTok trends.
An improved method would be to gather customers’ feedback by examining various platforms such as online portals and social media posts.
5. User-Generated Content (UGC) as a Data Source
The collection of data through online surveys is hindered by widespread apprehension about data privacy, causing some users, even those who have willingly enrolled in market research surveys, to withhold their answers.
Various market research experts claim that it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain valuable data. This issue is compounded by the restrictions placed on online tools used for tracking activity, as well as third-party cookie tracking. This creates a problematic situation for analysts who depend on these sources for conducting market research.
As complexity increases, companies are placing greater emphasis on obtaining genuine insights through non-invasive means. One approach is to prompt users to create and share content about the company, commonly referred to as user-generated content.
The issue of data privacy is resolved in user-generated content as it is willingly shared by the user, hence allowing for unrestricted usage.
Utilizing artificial intelligence tools, it is possible to perform sentiment analysis on user-generated content to gain insights into a brand’s perception, identify areas of dissatisfaction, and more. By utilizing GapScout or similar tools, extracting value from user-generated content such as online reviews becomes easier, allowing businesses to get a better understanding of their customers.
The future and foresight are influenced by people’s opinions.
During the session, Kellogg’s and Ipsos presented a verification process that they used for evaluating advertisements. This process assists in determining the return on investment, reducing unnecessary ad expenses, and improving the utilization of ad budgets.
Effective ads are primarily driven by creativity, whereby stronger creative results in increased effectiveness. Conducting creative tests can provide a return on investment, as even eliminating poor-performing ads avoids wasting money and redirects resources towards more productive ones.
Start conducting research as early as possible to prevent investing time and money in subpar creative output. Keep in mind that ads may not perform equally on various platforms, such as television or in-feed, which is why analysts must evaluate their efficacy across multiple formats.
Investing in ad testing, even with a limited media budget, yields better results than relying solely on passive metrics. Treat creative quality as a valuable business resource. Relying solely on behavioral metrics for digital advertising can distort ad effectiveness measurements, thus conducting research tests can provide a more accurate evaluation.
Establish a compelling business case and lead effectively to exert influence on stakeholders.
Moving from the point of asking “what is the significance?” to the stage of determining “what should be done next.”
During the session, representatives from Colgate-Palmolive, Pepsi, and Reckitt discussed their endeavors towards prioritizing customer needs and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. They also provided actionable suggestions to take into account.
It has been discovered that millennials and Gen Zers are the most historically diverse groups, and this is an important consideration not only in research but across all professional fields.
To effectively implement DEI initiatives in the market research sector, it is crucial to prioritize representation. Researchers should take responsibility to guarantee that respondents are truly listened to. This can be achieved by developing internal research guidelines that promote contemporary questioning strategies, which include inclusivity to prevent the disaffection or marginalization of certain groups or compromising their voices.
Take into account whether your research is excluding particular perspectives and explore ways to remedy this. Keep in mind that DEI is a complex and ever-changing issue that cannot always be fully resolved. Focusing solely on the majority population disregards marginalized groups, which introduces intricacies and overlooked opportunities.
Collaborate with supplier partners present in the market you are studying to guarantee that you include and consider marginalized groups. It is not sufficient to simply verify the accuracy of your survey translation; it’s crucial to verify if your assumptions regarding the applicability of the survey to all members of the market you are researching are correct.
Shuffle the answer choices for demographic questions.
How Samsung is involving Generation Z with Insight Community Evolution.
The session’s summary highlights that though Gen Z constitutes 20% of the population and desires to have a voice, they are the least inclined to take part in surveys. Consequently, how can brands effectively involve Gen Z warrants consideration?
Strategic communication outreach can be used to tackle this problem, as suggested by the highlighted market research industry trends. Reaching Gen Z through email could prove to be tough and expensive. Hence, alternative mobile communication methods such as text, app, and others should be considered.
It’s important to explore conversational research methods that feel natural and genuine, as they can help participants break out of the test-taking mindset. Keep in mind the adage, “Everyone wants their voice to be heard but no one wants to be analyzed.” Additionally, strive to make the research process easy, enjoyable, and engaging.
By incorporating mobile app survey software, research can become more conversational and yield 7 times more detail in open-ended responses, as well as offer innovative output such as video clips to enrich narration, and divulge profound insights.
“Strategic Approaches for Times of Great Importance”
In this session, we will discuss how brands are making rapid decisions on important values and social initiatives, and explore strategies for staying ahead of changing consumer attitudes.
Brands need to cater to the safety and serenity concerns of young consumers by finding ways to appeal to them. Sustainability is a topic that consumers are actively discussing, and it will be intriguing to observe and comprehend the choices consumers make during times of inflation. Brands should persist in conducting research on this matter.
Nowadays, the usage and recognition of QR codes have increased significantly. Brands can utilize QR codes to establish a connection with consumers based on their interests and demands. The perspectives of brands and consumers regarding sustainability may vary. To effectively communicate about sustainability with consumers, it is crucial to bridge the gap and ensure mutual understanding.
The timing and messaging of a brand can have lasting consequences. Avoid being opportunistic and prioritize consistency.
The Significance of Anticipation in Research
Summary of the session: Although it may seem uncomplicated, having the foresight to plan ahead is a continuous trend in the field of market research. Ipsos emphasized the significance of being prepared for uncertainty and shared approaches researchers can employ in order to accomplish this.
When conducting research, it is important to incorporate foresight into your approach and to factor in human influence. It is crucial to acknowledge that the decisions made in the present can have long-lasting effects. Rather than focusing solely on change, it is advisable to make preparations for unpredictability and adapt accordingly. In order to effectively anticipate future circumstances, it is vital to consider the thoughts and beliefs of individuals. They are the key ingredient in the formula for foresight.
Developing products in real time.
During the session, Darren Stoddart (BEHR Paint’s Senior Director of Innovation) and Mike Billingsley (OnePulse’s CEO) will talk about how BEHR Paint’s team responsible for product design and innovation managed to cut down their research and development time from several weeks to under 24 hours.
Emphasizing objectivity during the initial phase, effective product development is among the significant market research trends for 2023. OnePulse specializes in conducting bite-size research and limiting users to ask only three questions at a time.
This platform employed by BEHR enables them to confirm ideas, experiment with concepts, comprehend behaviors, and obtain feedback in under an hour.
One possibility for more efficient and streamlined research is to try using bite-sized portions when testing advertisements, concepts, messages, and other elements. By doing this, it becomes easier to make changes and create new content quickly since research can be carried out on-the-go.
The importance of emotions in the creation of product concepts.
The session provides an overview of the numerous psychological and emotion-driven tactics that can be utilized to impact consumer expenditures. The design of products, packaging, and ideas can create predictable emotional responses in buyers.
By conducting research focused on emotions among consumers, it is possible to create more impactful communications and claims, and also gain a competitive edge. Emotions play a key role in decision-making, as they serve as a powerful indicator of brand loyalty and preference.
Stimulating emotions can improve the customer’s experience. The research aimed to comprehend the significance of emotions for establishing a personal relationship with products. According to the study, generating favorable emotions contributes to ensuring repeat purchases.
