What are the Challenges to Market Research?
Today, there are many great resources available that can help you when it comes to conducting market research. For one, the internet is a wonderful place with millions of pages to comb over for valuable information about any given topic. For example, Google has an incredible search engine that not only lets you find content on your favorite search topics but will also provide links to other sites with even more specific answers. Additionally, social media sites like Twitter and Facebook enable you to reach out to so many people in a short period of time or simply message other people based on whatever criteria you feel like filtering. Lastly but certainly not least, YouTube is another amazing resource when it comes to finding video content discussing popular topics or specific websites and their capabilities.
Market research is no longer a job that only inspires insight, it has become the strategy base on which the marketer is able to support an organization’s entire business model. Market research & analysis have become a vital component of every company’s growth and development.
These are of course, early days, and many organizations are still finding their footing — but those that are aware of and combating these challenges are the leading the charge.
1. Agility is essential
We are living in a period of rapid change, where new products and services are appearing almost instantly. The business decision-influencing power of survey results and analysis is not dependent on waiting weeks or months. It is imperative that market research agencies can conduct surveys within hours so that business owners can target new opportunities as soon as possible, and results need to be available on demand. To deliver quick turnaround times, feedback platforms that are simple and flexible are needed from the initial idea all the way through to the end of the sales funnel at the speed that modern businesses require.
2. A crowded market requires you to stand out
Having a research provider is not as difficult as one might think. The main barriers of having any kind of business or organization is getting funding and understanding some logistics which are necessary in maintaining a set level of demand amongst the market. It’s important to understand how to find your niche and how to keep up with marketplace trends when it comes down to any type of business because at the end of the day, consultants are essentially in demand regardless of what industry they choose to work in.
Traditional agencies are currently threatened by a growing number of rivals, which means that they need to separate themselves in some new ways. Research agencies need to become “data chefs” who know how to combine different approaches in order to get the best result. The solution involves the implementation of new technology platforms that can easily be adapted as needed according to specific needs, as well as data mobile web and social media data that third party sources provide. This allows them to launch new services and solutions much more quickly without being slowed by legacy systems that might not be able to keep up. Locking this into place means they will have an edge over other research firms and an opportunity to prove their worthiness and expertise in people’s minds!
3. Automating and cutting costs
In many cases, departments across businesses are under pressure, as there is a demand to do more with less. This means that agencies and departments need to increase efficiency by focusing on high-value elements of their business such as research design and insight delivery at the expense of low-yielding manual and operational tasks where possible.
When it comes to managing your business’ finances, more often than not it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to manage the number of accounts and the data from them because there are so many different tools being used. Not only do you have to spend money on acquiring the best tools and hiring staff for maintenance and training but integration between each tool is a hassle as well.
Not only does it take up unnecessary time but reduces quality data as well.
We would recommend replacing all of your tools with a single comprehensive platform that is maintained externally from here on out. This option has the potential to dramatically reduce costs while ensuring access to the most modern technology. Research experts can focus on what they are good at – planning campaigns or delivering data and insight to businesses and customers, rather than having to divert attention to working with outdated technology that impedes their ability to work effectively.
4. The protection of consumer data
Consumers aren’t the only ones who are becoming more wary about their personal information. Businesses are too! These days, companies understand that if they don’t protect their client or customer’s personal data from hackers and thieves – then they may be facing a hefty legal fine to pay for all the damage their negligence might have caused. That’s why we should take extra precautions to social media about how our business does things in order to stay compliant and legitimate with our clients. We all know there’s always one person piping up whenever we’re asked, “how do you know where my credit card details go?” However, having a team of people who genuinely know what they’re doing is not enough to say “we don’t have anything to hide” because no matter how transparent we are there’s still going to be doubt swirling around in people’s minds until they can see your potential weaknesses clearly and completely explained!
5. Consciousness Of Data Is Entirely Consultative
We live in an information age. Most of the information we have available to us in our daily lives is not derived from books or other written documents, but rather data that is generated by either computers or smart mobile devices. Traditionally, such data was used primarily to try and solve large-scale problems like curing disease or putting humans on Mars. But with the rise of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, the amount of data being produced has increased so dramatically that researchers are struggling to use it all effectively. The danger here is that many companies rely on inaccurate information because they aren’t able to process their large amounts of IOT and Social Media data effectively any time soon – which means making bad decisions for their company and potentially missing out on lucrative opportunities because of poor timing.
Market research is moving at an increasingly fast speed these days and it’s become necessary for the profession to get much closer to their audiences, who are either customers or employees in organizations. We all know how crucial market research can be when making business decisions, but only if it can overcome the challenges that hinder its efficiency, particularly when it comes down to improving speed of reporting along with a heightened ability to process massive amounts of information from multiple sources. However, if we’re going to do this successfully there needs to be a re-evaluation on technology’s role in safeguarding data against problems like system crashes and other security-related issues. This is the best way to make sure that these tools are up-to-par with today’s standards and will continue making strides forward in meeting future challenges too while also keeping us efficient enough as researchers.
We hope you enjoyed our blog post about the different challenges to market research. With this knowledge, we know that you can make the most of your market research by being aware of the challenges and overcoming them. So, what are you waiting for? Take the first step and contact us today by visiting www.philomathresearch.com .
