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GREENBOOK RESEARCH INDUSTRY TRENDS REPORT
WWW.GREENBOOK.ORG/GRIT 2015 Q3–Q4
GRIT REPORT
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CONTENTS
CONTACTS:LEONARD F. MURPHY
Chief Editor & Principal Consultant
(770) 985-4904 lmurphy@greenbook.org
LUKAS POSPICHAL
Managing Director
(212) 849-2753 lpospichal@greenbook.org
CHRIS KOSAR
Business Development Director
(646) 840-3427 ckosar@greenbook.org
GREENBOOK
New York AMA Communication Services Inc.
234 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10001
WWW.GREENBOOK.ORG/GRIT
3 Welcome
4 Executive Summary
6 Methodology And Sample
10 Traditional Method Usage
20 New Technology Adoption & Usage
26 Training, Keeping Up &
The Researcher Of The Future
36 Client – Supplier Partnership
39 Research Transformation In Action
48 Financial Outlook For 2016
50 Voluntary Verbatims
62 Final Thoughts
64 Acknowledgments
COMMENTARY
15 Shared Goals Linked By A Shared Challenge
— Melanie Courtright, Research Now
19 Travel Companions — Dan Weber, itracks
21 Behavioral Science For Busines Impact
— Aaron A. Reid, Sentient
23 The Market Research Industry: Early Adopter
Or Laggard? — Matt Warta, Gutcheck
25 Surviving And Thriving In The Wave Of
Automation And Technology Integration
— Patrick B. Comer, Lucid
43 Killing The Error Of Omission
— Brett Watkins, L&E Research
47 What Price Relevance? Research
Transformation And How We Get From Here
To There — Jackie Lorch, SSI
1
OUR PARTNERS...
AMERICAS RESEARCH INDUSTRY ALLIANCE
LEONARD F. MURPHY
Chief Editor & Principal Consultant
lmurphy@greenbook.org
(770) 985-4904
WELCOMEWelcome to the 18th edition of the GreenBook
Research Industry Trends Report, using data
collected in Q3 & Q4 of 2015.
GRIT adapts to the rapid changes in the
insights industry by exploring new topics such as
the nature of partnership, the use of and satisfaction
with panels, the evolution of survey best practices
in the mobile age, training resources used by
researchers, challenges that are keeping them awake
at night, and many other topics.
We keep tracking traditional method usage,
new technology adoption, and financial outlook.
Some results are intuitive but some are quite
surprising, indicating an industry that is embracing
change but struggling to reconcile its traditional role
and techniques with today’s demands.
As with the previous GRIT edition, we
shortened the survey itself, increased engagement
via design, and incorporated a higher proportion of
verbatim responses to allow for more richness and
depth. To a great extent, GRIT is a test case for how
to bridge the gaps between the past and the future
in both design and analysis to deliver an impactful
and insightful report; you, the reader, will be the
judge of how well we achieve that mission.
We continue our series of thought-provoking
commentaries written by a number of thought
leaders in the industry. These views on the
implications of various GRIT findings provide a
wider context for the report’s results.
GreenBook partners with many organizations
to make the GRIT Report evermore representative of
the industry on a worldwide level. While this is still
a challenge in some regions, we are making steady
progress towards that goal.
Our research partners include AYTM, Gen2
Advisors, Lightspeed GMI, mTAB, NewMR,
Q Research Software, Researchscape International
and Stakeholder Advisory Services. Our design
partner is Keen as Mustard Marketing.
All partners have contributed significant time,
energy, and resources to the GRIT effort and deserve
a big THANK YOU for their support.
As always, I think you will find the report
informative, provocative, and useful. Enjoy!
3
Go to www.GreenBook.org/GRIT
to read the GRIT Report online
4
WWW.GREENBOOK.ORG/GRIT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
THE AGE OF PURE QUAL OR QUANT IS OVER
PANEL PROVIDERS COULD USE MORE LOVE
RESEARCH STILL DOESN’T GET MOBILE
TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION: CLIENTS VS. PROVIDERS
THE CALL FOR CHANGE HAS BEEN CLEARLY HEARD
MOST IN-DEMAND SKILLS
Most researchers surveyed (68%) have used both methods in the past year, though pure qual
researchers outnumbered pure quants 2 to 1: 21% of researchers surveyed had conducted only qualitative research, compared to 10% who had conducted only
quantitative research.
What are the most in-demand skills? Here is
the rank order based on all those who indicated their organizations would be
hiring more of these folks.
Over three-quarters of clients and insights
providers say they need to transform all or part of their
business to remain competitive.
When we look at buyers/users and sellers/providers of research we see many similarities and some
interesting differences.
The columns with green arrows show where the tech use figures are higher for the
suppliers (providers) of research. This may reflect
greater awareness providers have about the techniques
that are being used.
The columns with blue arrows show where the users/buyers
of research (clients) have higher numbers for tech use.
These cases may reflect situations where clients are
not buying their services from traditional market research
sources.
Only 40% of survey researchers who use panel
providers are very or completely satisfied with their
providers.
The results show that we stillhave a way to go. 45% of
suppliers and 30% of clientsboth indicate that 75% -100% of
all surveys they deployare designed for mobile participation. That leaves
well over 50% of all surveys NOT mobile optimized.
GRIT respondents divide into three roughly equal groups:
those who say survey lengths are ideally less than 10
minutes, between 11 and 15 minutes, or over 16 minutes.
53%58%63% 53%
35%
10%13%
77%
12%47% 4%
2%
1-5 6-10 11-15 16+
LOI < 10 MINUTES IS IDEAL FOR 52% OF CLIENTS & 36% OF SUPPLIERS
Very or Completely Satisfied
Not at all, Slightly or Moderately Satisfied
SUPPLIERSCLIENTS
10% 26% 29% 35%
70%
55%
30%
45%
LOI (MINUTES)
Social Media Experts
Percentage of organizations recruiting expertise in these categories
Question: Do you think there is a need to transform all or part of the business to remain competitive?
Data Scientists
Designers And Data Visualization Experts
Marketing Or Business Strategists
NOT SURENO
YES
Mobile Surveys
Online Communities
Social Media Analytics
Text Analytics
Mobile Qualitative
Big Data Analytics
Webcam-based Interviews
Mobile Ethnography
Eye Tracking
Micro-surveys
Behavioral Economics Models
Research Gamification
Facial Analysis
Prediction Markets
Neuromarketing
Crowdsourcing
Virtual Environments/VR
Biometric Response
Internet Of Things Data
Wearables-Based Research
Sensor/Usage/Telemetry Data
54 4654 4654 46 53 38 26 26 26 40 27 25 27 25 27 25 28 17 17 12 14 17 17 12 14 17 17 12 14 17 17 12 14 17 17 12 14 17 17 12 14 22 15 16 9 11 10 5 5 5 6
72
50 41
38
36
32
3433 28
2723
21 1916
1511
10 108
9 7
SUPPLIERSn=810
CLIENTSn=212
% of the companies who were using technologyin 2015
WELL OVER 50% OF ALL SURVEYSARE NOT MOBILE OPTIMIZED
Quant only
Qual only
10%
21% A combination of Qual and Quant
69%
5
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
THE AGE OF PURE QUAL OR QUANT IS OVER
PANEL PROVIDERS COULD USE MORE LOVE
RESEARCH STILL DOESN’T GET MOBILE
TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION: CLIENTS VS. PROVIDERS
THE CALL FOR CHANGE HAS BEEN CLEARLY HEARD
MOST IN-DEMAND SKILLS
Most researchers surveyed (68%) have used both methods in the past year, though pure qual
researchers outnumbered pure quants 2 to 1: 21% of researchers surveyed had conducted only qualitative research, compared to 10% who had conducted only
quantitative research.
What are the most in-demand skills? Here is
the rank order based on all those who indicated their organizations would be
hiring more of these folks.
Over three-quarters of clients and insights
providers say they need to transform all or part of their
business to remain competitive.
When we look at buyers/users and sellers/providers of research we see many similarities and some
interesting differences.
The columns with green arrows show where the tech use figures are higher for the
suppliers (providers) of research. This may reflect
greater awareness providers have about the techniques
that are being used.
The columns with blue arrows show where the users/buyers
of research (clients) have higher numbers for tech use.
These cases may reflect situations where clients are
not buying their services from traditional market research
sources.
Only 40% of survey researchers who use panel
providers are very or completely satisfied with their
providers.
The results show that we stillhave a way to go. 45% of
suppliers and 30% of clientsboth indicate that 75% -100% of
all surveys they deployare designed for mobile participation. That leaves
well over 50% of all surveys NOT mobile optimized.
GRIT respondents divide into three roughly equal groups:
those who say survey lengths are ideally less than 10
minutes, between 11 and 15 minutes, or over 16 minutes.
53%58%63% 53%
35%
10%13%
77%
12%47% 4%
2%
1-5 6-10 11-15 16+
LOI < 10 MINUTES IS IDEAL FOR 52% OF CLIENTS & 36% OF SUPPLIERS
Very or Completely Satisfied
Not at all, Slightly or Moderately Satisfied
SUPPLIERSCLIENTS
10% 26% 29% 35%
70%
55%
30%
45%
LOI (MINUTES)
Social Media Experts
Percentage of organizations recruiting expertise in these categories
Question: Do you think there is a need to transform all or part of the business to remain competitive?
Data Scientists
Designers And Data Visualization Experts
Marketing Or Business Strategists
NOT SURENO
YES
Mobile Surveys
Online Communities
Social Media Analytics
Text Analytics
Mobile Qualitative
Big Data Analytics
Webcam-based Interviews
Mobile Ethnography
Eye Tracking
Micro-surveys
Behavioral Economics Models
Research Gamification
Facial Analysis
Prediction Markets
Neuromarketing
Crowdsourcing
Virtual Environments/VR
Biometric Response
Internet Of Things Data
Wearables-Based Research
Sensor/Usage/Telemetry Data
54 4654 4654 46 53 38 26 26 26 40 27 25 27 25 27 25 28 17 17 12 14 17 17 12 14 17 17 12 14 17 17 12 14 17 17 12 14 17 17 12 14 22 15 16 9 11 10 5 5 5 6
72
50 41
38
36
32
3433 28
2723
21 1916
1511
10 108
9 7
SUPPLIERSn=810
CLIENTSn=212
% of the companies who were using technologyin 2015
WELL OVER 50% OF ALL SURVEYSARE NOT MOBILE OPTIMIZED
Quant only
Qual only
10%
21% A combination of Qual and Quant
69%
For this report, the analysis is
based on 1,497 interviews
Q3-Q4 2015 Q1-Q2 2015 Q1-Q2 2014 Q3-Q4 2013 Q1-Q2 2013 Q3-Q4 2012
GRIT SAMPLE SIZE BY WAVE
GRIT SAMPLE BY CLIENT VS. SUPPLIER
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
IncompleteComplete
Research buyer or clientResearch provider or supplier
Perc
enta
ge o
f Res
pond
ents
Res
pond
ents
590 307 1996 0 0 01497 1551 1342 2229 1375 818
Q3-Q4 2015 Q1-Q2 2015 Q1-Q2 2014 Q3-Q4 2013 Q1-Q2 2013 Q3-Q4 2012
METHODOLOGY AND SAMPLEGRIT respondents are recruited by email and social
media channels via GreenBook and GRIT partners.
These lists are comprised of both research providers
and clients. The sample size for this latest wave
continues to be in line with previous waves, with
more of the respondents coming directly through
GreenBook than all other sources combined.
The mix of respondents has varied during the 13
years of this study, but within fairly narrow bands.
We hold relatively steady at 78% of respondents
identifying themselves as suppliers (n=1,167) and
22% identifying themselves as clients (n=330),
For this report, the analysis is based on 1,497
interviews, although for some questions, base
sizes may be higher or lower due to skip patterns,
rotations, routing, and other factors. Unless
otherwise noted, all analyses should be assumed to
be based on that size.
Here is a comparison of sample size over the last
several waves:
which is generally consistent with the last several
waves of the study. On the supplier side, 44% of all
respondents identify themselves as working within
a full-service market research agency.
6
WWW.GREENBOOK.ORG/GRIT
North America46.23%
South America10.02%
Europe27.19%
Asia7.35%
Africa1.40%
Middle East2.20%
Oceania4.68%
GRIT RESPONDENTS BY TYPE OF FIRM
GRIT RESPONDENTS BY GEOGRAPHIC AREA
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0
44.4% 13.8% 9% 4.9% 4.4% 3.9% 3.4% 3% 2.9% 2.6% 2.4% 2.3% 1.5% 0.7% 0.6%
Full
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-fo
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Perc
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78% of respondents are
suppliers and 22% are clients
As always, we should remind our readers that
despite the robust sample size, the GRIT Report is
not meant to be a census or representative sample
(if such a feat is even possible in our industry!), but
rather a snapshot of the widest swath of insights
professionals we can achieve. The report and its
findings are representative of this sample, and
although we believe it to be broadly representative
of the industry, there are most certainly some
geographical and industry subset gaps. With that
in mind, we consider it “strongly directional” and
recommend that you view it the same way.
With increased international participation, the
percentage of respondents from North America is
stable at 46%. There were some minor fluctuations in
other geographies (within a few percentage points)
with the next largest segment being Europe at 27%,
Latin America at 10% (up from the previous wave),
Asia at 7% (slightly down from the previous wave)
and all other geographies combined at roughly 8% of
the sample (slightly up from the previous wave).
7
Almost 40% of GRIT
respondents participated
via a mobile device
GRIT PARTICIPATION BY DEVICE
37% 63%Mobile PC
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0 Perc
enta
ge o
f Res
pond
ents
Due to the relatively small base sizes outside of
North America and Europe, we have opted not to
show regional breaks other than where we think it
adds comparative value. .
Almost 40% of GRIT respondents participated via a
mobile device (phone, tablet or “phablet”). GRIT was
optimized to be device agnostic in terms of the survey
design, although the length of survey was still around
15 minutes. Interestingly, the drop-off rate was higher
among PC and laptop users, indicating that a “mobile
first” design can mitigate completion rates and
increase respondent engagement.
For this round, we also tracked participation by
mobile vs. PC and the results are quite telling:
Later on in this report we will look at how GRIT
respondents view “mobile first” design, however,
based on our own sample, it must be pointed out
that it is increasingly important to account for a
large percentage of mobile device users within any
sample, whether it be B2B or consumer.
8
WWW.GREENBOOK.ORG/GRIT
The age of the pure qualitative
or quantitative research is over
Qualitative research – unlike
quantitative research – is
still primarily a synchronous,
person-to-person phenomenon
TRADITIONAL METHOD USAGE
We asked a series of questions related to the usage
of “traditional” methods through the dichotomy of
Qualitative and Quantitative research approaches.
When it came to methods that the respondents have
used this year, 9 out of 10 have used quantitative
research methods, while just under 8 out of 10 have
used qualitative methods.
Option Response %
Qual 79%
Quant 90%
Option Response %
Qual only 21%
Quant only 10%
Both qual and quant 68%
Neither 0%
The age of the pure qualitative or quantitative
research is over. Most researchers surveyed (68%)
have used both methods in the past year, though
pure qualitative researchers outnumbered pure
quants 2 to 1— 21% of researchers surveyed had
conducted only qualitative research, compared to
10% who had conducted only quantitative research.
Despite many online methodologies, qualitative
research – unlike quantitative research – is
still primarily a synchronous, person-to-person
phenomenon. Respondents were asked to identify
the research methods they use the most (up to five
methods per respondent). The top four methods are
focus groups (a key method of 68% of qualitative
researchers in the past year), in-person in-depth
interviews (53% have used IDIs significantly),
telephone IDIs (31%), and in-store observations
(25%). Asynchronous, online interactions range
in popularity from interviews using online
communities (25%) to mobile studies (24%) and
bulletin board studies (21%).
Only 8% used blog monitoring as one of their go-to
qualitative methods, which is surprising given the
fact it is conducted passively and with no external
costs outside of researcher’s time.
QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
Option Response %
Traditional (in person) Focus Groups 68%
Traditional (in person) IDIs 53%
Telephone IDIs 31%
In-Store/Shopping Observations 25%
Interviews/Groups Using Online Communities 25%
Mobile (diaries, image collection, etc.) 24%
Bulletin Board Studies 21%
Online Focus Groups with Webcams 17%
Chat (text-based) Online Focus Groups 16%
Online IDIs with Webcams 12%
Monitoring Blogs 8%
Telephone Focus Groups 6%
Chat (text-based) Online IDIs 6%
Automated Interviewing (via AI systems) 3%
Other qualitative methods 19%
I haven’t used any qual techniques 0%
WHICH OF THESE METHODS HAVE YOU USED THIS YEAR?
HOW OFTEN HAVE YOU USED EACH OF THESE METHODS THIS YEAR?
WHICH OF THESE QUALITATIVE DATA COLLECTION METHODS HAVE YOU USED MOST THIS YEAR? (SELECT UP TO FIVE)
10
WWW.GREENBOOK.ORG/GRIT
32% of quantitative researchers
have used face-to-face
interviews as a primary method
62% of researchers use
quota sampling for most or
all projects, 33% weight the
data, and 13% use multiple
panel providers per survey
Quantitative, in stark contrast to qualitative, is
dominated by impersonal, asynchronous automated
methods: 88% of researchers include online
surveys in their top 5, followed by 44% with mobile
surveys. Traditional CATI (Computer-Assisted
Telephone Interviewing) is a prime method of 39% of
quantitative researchers. Postal mail and IVR are not
widely used; 11% cited mail surveys and only 4% have
used IVR surveys.
Personal forms of quantitative research are still used,
despite being supplanted by online techniques: 32%
of quantitative researchers have used face-to-face
interviews as a primary method, and 24% have used
CAPI (Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing).
Option Response %
Yes 88%
No 12%
Option Response %
Online Surveys 88%
Mobile Surveys 44%
CATI 39%
Face-to-Face 32%
CAPI 24%
Mail 11%
Biometrics / Neuromarketing 6%
Automated Measures / People Meters
6%
IVR 4%
Other quantitative techniques 11%
I haven’t used any quant techniques
0%
While 90% of researchers surveyed have been
involved in quantitative projects, 88% have been
involved with survey research (which leaves 2% of
quantitative researchers who did not use surveys).
Option
Response %
No projects Some projectsHalf of
projectsMost projects All projects Top 2 Box
Run cross-tabs 6% 16% 6% 30% 42% 72%
Use quota sampling 5% 21% 12% 44% 18% 62%
Weight the data 12% 42% 13% 25% 9% 33%
Use multiple panel providers for one survey
37% 41% 9% 11% 3% 13%
New to GRIT for this cycle is a question regarding
the frequency of certain tasks related to survey
research projects. For instance, 72% of researchers
run cross-tabulations for most or all of their survey
projects. When it comes to techniques used to
increase the representativeness of those surveys,
62% of researchers use quota sampling for most
or all projects, 33% weight the data, and 13% use
multiple panel providers per survey.
The inference is clear— researchers have adopted
convenience samples via panels. They deploy
multiple techniques to shape the data with the
purpose of being more representative of the target
SURVEYING SURVEY USERS
population. We will leave the debate on whether
that is an appropriate approach to others. For GRIT
respondents at least, these are common practices.
ARE YOU INVOLVED IN SURVEY RESEARCH PROJECTS?
HOW OFTEN DO YOU DO EACH OF THE FOLLOWING ON SURVEY RESEARCH PROJECTS?
WHICH OF THESE QUANTITATIVE DATA COLLECTION METHODS HAVE YOU USED MOST THIS YEAR? (SELECT UP TO FIVE)
11
Only 40% of survey
researchers who use
panel providers are very or
completely satisfied with the
providers that they work with
While some survey researchers can make do with house
lists and their own panel, 79% use panel providers.
Option Response %
Yes 79%
No 21%
Option Response %
Not at all satisfied 2%
Slightly satisfied 12%
Moderately satisfied 47%
Very satisfied 35%
Completely satisfied 4%
Timeliness of fielding
Purchase process
Ease of accessing
panel
Customer service
Quantity of respondents
Cost of panelQuality of
respondents
Not at all satisfied 2% 2% 2% 3% 5% 5% 7%
Slightly satisfied 11% 8% 12% 10% 17% 15% 26%
Moderately satisfied 33% 37% 36% 39% 41% 46% 42%
Very satisfied 44% 44% 42% 40% 31% 30% 23%
Completely satisfied 9% 9% 8% 8% 5% 5% 3%
Top 2 box 54% 53% 50% 49% 36% 34% 26%
Attribute CorrelationShared
Variance
Quality of respondents 0.545 30%
Customer service 0.468 22%
Quantity of respondents
0.441 19%
Purchase process 0.43 18%
Timeliness of fielding 0.385 15%
Cost of panel 0.372 14%
Ease of accessing panel
0.357 13%
A majority of panel customers were very or
completely satisfied with timeliness of fielding
(54%), the purchase process (53%), and the ease of
Which attributes of satisfaction have the highest
correlation to overall satisfaction? The quality
of respondents is the primary driver, with a 0.545
correlation, explaining 30% of the shared variance
between the two measures. Next in importance is
customer service, with a 0.468 correlation (22% of
shared variance). Rounding out the top three is the
quantity of respondents available: 0.441 correlation
(19% of shared variance).
Only 40% of survey researchers who use panel
providers are very or completely satisfied with the
providers that they work with.
PANEL PROVIDER SATISFACTION
accessing panel (50%). Satisfaction was lowest with
the quality of respondents (26%), the cost of panel
(34%), the quantity of respondents available (36%),
and customer service (49%).
DO YOU ACQUIRE RESPONDENTS FROM PANEL PROVIDERS?
OVERALL, HOW SATISFIED ARE YOU WITH THE PANEL PROVIDER(S) THAT YOU WORK WITH?
HOW SATISFIED ARE YOU WITH EACH OF THE FOLLOWING ASPECTS OF WORKING WITH YOUR PANEL PROVIDERS?
12
WWW.GREENBOOK.ORG/GRIT
While the cost of panel will
always inform purchase
decisions, it has less of a
role in overall satisfaction
While the cost of panel will always inform purchase
decisions, it has less of a role in overall satisfaction.
Cost had the second-lowest derived importance,
with a correlation to overall satisfaction of 0.372
(14% variance), just above the ease of accessing panel
(0.357, 13%).
A quadrant analysis of satisfaction vs. importance,
splitting each axis by its median value, provides a
useful way to group attributes (median values are
included in the higher quadrant for that dimension).
Key strengths, which are high in derived importance
and high in top-two box satisfaction, are customer
service and the purchase process. Weaknesses, which
drive overall satisfaction but score in the lower half
of attributes for satisfaction, center around the
quality and quantity of respondents available.
Of those items that are less important, assets
are timeliness of fielding and the ease of accessing
panel. The one vulnerability (lower in importance,
lower in satisfaction) is cost of panel.
Panel companies’ investment in providing
24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week customer service
through a mix of on-shore and offshore customer
service representatives has produced high
satisfaction. So has the development of online
interfaces that automate the purchase of panel for
many common respondent demographics.
However, much of the concern with panels
across social media and the blogosphere centers on
respondent quality, and that issue resonates with
the wider audience of market researchers surveyed
for GRIT.
SATISFACTION VS. IMPORTANCE
Discriminant analysis, also known as derived
importance, has greater predictive validity than
stated importance for understanding drivers of
overall ratings. However, items with low variability
– such as purchase process, which had the lowest
standard deviation of the seven attributes – may
have their real-world importance underestimated by
this analysis.
Weaknesses
Quality of respondents
Quantity of respondents
Higher Importance
Lower Satisfaction
Lower Importance
Higher Satisfaction
Vulnerabilities
Cost of panel
Key Strengths
Customer service
Purchase process
Assets
Timeliness of fielding
Ease of accessing panel
QUADRANT ANALYSIS OF PANEL PROVIDERS: SATISFACTION VS. IMPORTANCE
13
Well over 50% of all surveys
are NOT mobile optimized
Clients in a 2:1 ratio to
suppliers report fielding
surveys of less than 5 minutes
WHAT PROPORTION OF THE ONLINE SURVEYS YOUR BUSINESS PRODUCES ARE DESIGNED TO WORK EFFECTIVELY ON MOBILE PHONES? CLIENT VS. SUPPLER
WHAT PROPORTION OF THE ONLINE SURVEYS YOUR BUSINESS PRODUCES ARE DESIGNED TO WORK EFFECTIVELY ON MOBILE PHONES? TOTAL SAMPLE
76% to 100%
51% to 75%
26% to 50%
1% to 25%
0%
13% 22% 15% 8% 42%0% 1% to 25% 26% to 50% 51% to 75% 76% to 100%
0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
ClientSupplier
40%
30%
20%
10%
0
Perc
enta
ge o
f Res
pond
ents
Perc
enta
ge o
f Sur
veys
Percentage of Surveys
Percentage of Respondents
Also new to this wave of the report was a series of
questions about how GRIT respondents are adapting
to mobile.
First, we asked how many of their surveys are
designed for mobile. This was a verbatim response
where they were asked to enter a whole number, and
for ease of analysis we have grouped responses into
five buckets.
The results show that we still have a ways
to go. 45% of suppliers and 30% of clients indicate
that between 75% and 100% of all surveys they
MOBILE BEST PRACTICES
deploy are designed for mobile participation, which
tells us that well over 50% of all surveys are NOT
mobile optimized.
A few differences standout between clients
and suppliers, perhaps understandably so. If we
accept the proposition that buyers of research
expect suppliers to drive best practice adoption for
all studies deployed through them, then the higher
percentage of suppliers ensuring mobile-friendly
surveys is good news, however it’s still a minority.
The numbers don’t look much better when looking
at the total sample (N=1,497), with respondents
confirming that only about 50% of all surveys are
designed to be mobile. That is certainly progress, but
we as an industry still have much work to do to fit
well in a mobile-first world.
14
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GRIT COMMENTARY
SHARED GOALS LINKED BY A SHARED CHALLENGEMelanie CourtrightEVP, Products and Client Services, Research Now
Email: mcourtright@researchnow.com | Twitter: @melcourtright | Website: www.researchnow.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/melanie-courtright/6/28a/42b
B etter, cheaper, faster. That’s what buyers want from panel
companies. And guess what? It’s what panel providers
want from buyers. Here’s the catch… These shared objectives are
inextricably linked by the survey instrument. Because there is a
third partner in this relationship that is often ignored – the survey
taker. If buyers want better, cheaper, faster data, then it’s time for
the survey to evolve to meet the needs of the survey taker -- Better
designed surveys, that are faster for respondents to complete, and
that are cheaper to field because they don’t result in expensive survey
abandons and panel attrition. It’s the only way everyone wins.
Online panels are no longer the new kid in town. With the first
digital panel established more than twenty years ago, the space has
matured quickly. You can now reach survey participants in nearly
every country in the world in moments, and count on them to give
you opinions that help shape business decisions great and small.
From billion-dollar due diligence, to food packaging feedback, to
advertisement testing, and most recently with helping elect our
world leaders, online panels are making an incredible contribution to
market research. They have lived up to the speed and cost promises,
and continue to disrupt with the addition of advanced technology.
Room for ImprovementGiven the amount of work conducted with panels every year, GRIT
dedicated a portion of their research to asking participants questions
about their panel relationships, including overall satisfaction, cost,
the purchase process, time in field, feasibility, customer service, ease
of access, and quality. Overall, scores were relatively similar between
agencies and corporate clients, with heavy use of the neutral point
for all measures. Buyers want more. Much faster. Still better. Even
cheaper. All while maintaining great service and yielding data that
has predictive power. The area with the largest opportunity for
improvement is the quality of respondents.
Quality data is a shared responsibility, and requires buyers and
sellers to truly partner. This is no different than it was for phone, in-
person, and mail survey research, but for reasons that we cannot fully
understand, when it comes to online research, our industry is quick to
blame the participant rather than analyse the research process.
A Simple FormulaResearch Now has spoken about quality from every aspect we can think
of, but today we want to boil it down to two simple steps: Reach people
where they live and ask them to do things they can and will do. It’s really
that simple. And this advice is no different than what we tell our clients
selling goods and services to these same consumers — Reach people and
understand them, then engage them based on that understanding.
z Reach people where they live – on their mobile devices. Globally,
this is the absolutely best place to reach them today, but requires
true understanding of where they are and how they use it. Re-
designing every interaction to respect that understanding is crucial.
z Ask them to do things they can and will do – which can be quite
a lot if we are open and honest. Panel members all over the world
are incredibly generous with their time and information if we
help them understand why we need it, and make it easy for them
to participate.
Both of these points mean shorter, better surveys. So while buyers
push for better and faster, survey participants and panel providers
are demanding the same in return. Better surveys that are shorter and
faster to complete; it’s no longer a good idea – it’s required to survive.
Research Now is more committed to the panel model than ever
before, investing more in 2015 than in our entire history. We are bullish
about the types of data and insights that can be gathered when you
combine a willing participant with a reasonable request for data.
Integrated data solutions, combining survey answers with matched
and appended data, as well as behavioral information from cookies,
tags, pixels, and meters has real appeal and potential, but requires a
healthy, trust-based relationship with an extremely large number of
people globally. The only thing standing in our way is finally learning
how to engage people in data collection that actually makes sense.
Being reasonable in our survey process. Asking them to do things they
understand. Being transparent about our activities and trustworthy
with the data. We all win, or we all fail, based primarily on how well we
design the survey.
15
The average length of
survey is 15 minutes
COULD YOU ESTIMATE THE AVERAGE LENGTH OF A TYPICAL ONLINE SURVEY YOUR COMPANY FIELDS?
COULD YOU ESTIMATE THE AVERAGE LENGTH OF A TYPICAL ONLINE SURVEY YOUR COMPANY FIELDS?
CLIENT VS. SUPPLIER
over 30
21 to 30
16 to 20
11 to 15
6 to 10
1 to 5
10% 26% 29% 19% 13% 3% 1 to 5 6 to 10 11 to 15 16 to 20 21 to 30 over 30 minutes minutes minutes minutes minutes minutes
0 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
ClientSupplier
Percentage of Respondents
Min
utes
The next question indicates that we may have
uncovered the reason why mobile is still not the first
thing surveys designers focus on; the average length
of surveys being fielded is also of concern.
In general, GRIT respondents are roughly
equally divided into one of three groups: their
company typically fields surveys of less than 10
minutes, of between 11 and 15 minutes, or over 16
minutes long. To dive a bit deeper, here is a full
breakdown of the specific brackets we identified:
Perhaps most surprising is the finding that clients in a
2:1 ratio to suppliers report fielding surveys of less than
5 minutes. Suppliers seem to be mostly conducting
longer surveys of between 6 and 15 minutes.
Overall, the average length of survey is 15 minutes, but as the range of responses clearly show more than a
third of all surveys are still longer, which means they are likely unsuitable for a mobile participant.
16
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0 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Higher percentage of
research clients feels
that surveys should take
less than 10 minutes
WHAT DO YOU THINK SHOULD BE THE MAXIMUM LENGTH OF AN ONLINE SURVEY?
over 30
21 to 30
16 to 20
11 to 15
6 to 10
1 to 5
ClientSupplier
Percentage of Respondents0 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Finally, we asked GRIT participants what they
thought the maximum length of an online survey
should be. Importantly, we did not ask specifically
what the maximum length should be on a mobile
device, so it is perhaps our own oversight in making
that clear. The results might have been different if
we had explicitly stated that. However, since this
question followed a previous question specifically
related to mobile, we do expect that mobile was at
least a consideration in the responses.
The results could perhaps best be summed
up with “whatever we answered previously as the
average length, is the maximum length”, since the
results do in fact closely mirror one another overall,
although a higher percentage of research clients
feels that surveys should take less than 10 minutes
versus what is currently being deployed.
Again, 15 minutes is the average for what
should be the maximum length of a survey.
Considering the myriad studies by both
panel and survey software providers that support
the notion that the optimal length of a surveys
in a mobile-first world is less than 10 minutes, it
is encouraging to see that 52% of research clients
report that 10 minutes should be the maximum
length. However, only 36% of suppliers report a
similar goal, while another 32% of suppliers state
that somewhere between 11 and 15 minutes should
be the maximum length.
Often we hear suppliers stating that their inability
to migrate to a mobile first or shorter survey design
is due to client demand. GRIT data shows that this
might be true to some extent, but a large contingent
of clients seem to be embracing shorter, mobile-
optimized surveys.
Perhaps the key implication here is that suppliers who
are not responding with mobile-optimized, shorter
survey solutions to client requests are doing the client,
themselves, and the industry a disservice.
18
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GRIT COMMENTARY
TRAVEL COMPANIONS
Dan WeberCEO, itracks
Email: dweber@itracks.com | Twitter: @itracks | Website: www.itracks.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/itracks
A s a software supplier to the market research industry, I
sometimes find myself describing our company as the
manufacturer of “research” vehicles. Researchers drive those vehicles
while panel providers serve as the gasoline that fuels them. Research
could not happen without the contribution of each party and the
research journey can be positively or negatively affected by the
quality of each component.
Over the past 15 years, I must admit that the quality of the
research design, fielding, and reporting has caused the vehicle trouble
when making it to its destination. Online software can also present
challenges! Thankfully there are many drivers willing to provide
feedback to optimize performance.
How does the gasoline affect the research journey? When
online panels first emerged, there were evident issues in terms of
accessing quality participants. Thankfully, our industry implemented
programs (e.g. ESOMAR ’s 28 Questions/ MRIA Gold Seal) to establish
standards. Now GRIT’s most recent survey data indicates nearly 80%
of researchers use panels. However, only 40% of researchers who use
panel providers are satisfied with their providers. The two weaknesses
of high importance were respondent quantity and quality.
Running Out of GasThere is nothing more frustrating to a researcher than being
told that their project is feasible only to find it languishing in field as
deadlines loom. Quantity of panelists and feasibility remain a sticking
point amongst researchers. Only 36% of researchers are satisfied
with the quantity of panelists provided. Individual panel breadth will
remain an area of focus for panel companies to succeed.
Leaded or UnleadedI recall my Grandfather’s opinion about the virtues of leaded
gasoline and the perceived lack of quality being forced upon them by
the removal of leaded gas. Similarly, telephone sample was once the
most representative option, but now may be less desirable than online
sample due to landline removal, call display and other factors. Yet, a
general perceived lack of quality remains amongst research buyers of
online panel. Only 26% of the GRIT survey respondents were satisfied
with the quality of the respondents when purchasing online sample.
Better EnginesAs software providers, we must work with panel companies to
provide easy options for panelists to fuel the research. For instance,
some panelists prefer to respond using mobile devices and we must
offer “working” options to meet that demand. Far too often when
technology does not work, the onus falls on panel companies to
continue to sample to meet project requirements. Nothing is more
frustrating to a participant than putting in the effort to record a
video and then have the video upload fail. Therefore, itracks invested
heavily in developing technology to create a product that will reliably
upload large mobile videos in and out of WIFI zones. Additionally,
itracks’ new IDI technology makes it easier for panelists to access the
interview with an integrated telephone and easy access media view.
Another example is the qualitative recruiting process. More
immediate research opportunities, better reminder systems, more
device options, and quicker rewards fulfillment could increase
show and participation rates and ultimately the perceived quality
of panelists. Challenged with this, itracks and Research Now have
developed an on-demand recruiting method to capitalize on the
availability of participants at the moment they complete the screener,
allowing more panelists to participate when they are available.
Becoming Better DriversBeyond the obvious actions researchers can take such as reducing
survey length and monotony, researchers could perhaps step back
and ponder their own definition of quality. Far too often researchers
determine quality with such attributes as articulation, written
grammar, spelling, and even aesthetics. If we hand select “quality”
participants for our video interviews and focus groups, some panelists
may not look camera-ready, nor be grammatically and politically
correct, yet they may represent a significant portion of the client’s
market share. By determining our own version of quality, are we
ultimately robbing these panelists of their voice?
Journey TogetherWhile the numbers speak for themselves, it is my hope that the
combined efforts of all three parties will improve the opportunity for
online panelists to fuel quality research for our clients. While research
often takes us down the road less traveled, may we continue to be good
traveling companions.
19
Mobile Surveys
Online Communities
Social Media Analytics
TextAnalytics
Mobile Qualitative
Big Data Analytics
Webcam- Based Interviews
Mobile Ethnography
Eye Tracking
Micro-surveys
Behavioral Economics Models
Research Gamification
Facial analysis
Prediction Markets
Neuromarketing
Crowd sourcing
Biometric Response
Virtual Environments/VR
IofT/Sensor based Data Collection
Wearables Based Research
Sensor/Usage/Telemetry
TECHNIQUE USAGE
0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%-70% -60% -50% -40% -30% -20% -10%
Not Expected No Interest Not Sure In Use Considering
Percentage of Respondents
NEW TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION & USAGEWhen reviewing the market research approaches
and techniques in use or under consideration, we
need to keep in mind that the GRIT sample generally
consists of researchers with above-average interest
The chart below shows GRIT participants’ usage of various techniques and produces four categories of
adoption: Already Mainstream, Wide Level of Interest, Third Tier, and Niche.
FOUR CATEGORIES OF ADOPTION OF NEW TECHNIQUES
in change and new approaches. This means the data
do not necessarily provide an “audit” of the whole
research industry; rather, the data offer indication of
change and rate of change.
20
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0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
GRIT COMMENTARY
BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE FOR BUSINESS IMPACTAaron A. Reid, Ph.D.Founder and Chief Behavioral Scientist
Email: info@sentientdecisionscience.com | Website: www.sentientdecisionscience.com
Twitter: @sentientinsight | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/sentient-decision-science
A nd yet for all this help of head and brain, how happily
instinctive we remain… — Robert Frost, 1960
We all hear the critical cries in our industry to hone our analytics, to ad-
vance our storytelling skills in order to create impact from our insights,
and to be viewed as business consultants not “researchers”. And we see
the rise of mobile research and social media analysis providing us with
new sources of data to synthesize.
But what if the data that we’re analyzing to inform our impactful
storytelling is based on a fundamentally flawed understanding of
human behavior? What if our analyses place too much weight on the
role of reason and too little on the emotional and instinctive nature
of our non-conscious processes, thereby providing only surface level
insights and weak correlations with business results? Should we really
expect to become long lasting business consultants to our clients?
For more than forty years, behavioral scientists have known that
humans are systematically irrational and are driven by non-conscious
processes in the mind (and apparently the poets knew it long before
that!). And yet, the vast majority of methods we use to collect data rely
on conscious recall, and worse, the models we use to forecast future
behavior are still based on the rational economic theory of behavior.
You would think that an industry tasked with revealing the why’s
behind behavior would be falling over itself to incorporate insights and
methods from the behavioral sciences as our standard practices.
So does the 2015 GRIT report reveal researchers rushing to adopt
behavioral science based techniques?
Not exactly. From a new product adoption curve perspective,
behavioral science research techniques such as “neuromarketing” and
biometrics have yet to “cross the chasm” from an early adopter (3-16%)
to an early majority (16-50%) stage. The average adoption rate has
remained fairly constant over the past three years.
However, it is important to note that these data do not provide
clear insight on how uses of implicit association research are being
classified (some may be coded “neuromarketing” or missing). The
growth in the demand for Sentient Prime® implicit research technology,
coupled with the fact that implicit association testing is the most
broadly scaled and applied non-conscious technique would suggest
that its penetration is understated.
Nonetheless, we believe the keys to even broader adoption of behavioral
science based research techniques fall into four broad categories:
1. Sound Science.These techniques are very alluring: the non-conscious is cool, and
quantifying emotion sounds like a holy grail in consumer decision-making
research. But to avoid the shiny-new-object syndrome of trial without
recurring use, suppliers must practice sound science to produce the kind
of foundation that the industry can stand on for decades to come.
2. Market ValidationSentient invests significantly in both the scientific and business
validation of its non-conscious measurement techniques. Validation
should be judged according to a technique’s ability to provide greater
depth of insight and/or increased accuracy in predicting real market
behavior. Suppliers and clients partnering and publishing papers will
accelerate adoption.
3. Awareness of ApplicationsThe most common application associated with “neuromarketing”
is ad testing. However, Behavioral Science based research is currently
being used to great effect within: brand positioning, brand tracking,
package testing, concept testing, customer experience, attitude and
usage tests, and more.
4. ScalabilityThe increased penetration of biometric enabled wearables is
beginning to lower the hurdle of scalability for some techniques. But we
need not wait. Several techniques are already mobile and scaled globally.
Sentient Prime® implicit research technology measures non-conscious
associations on any smart device anywhere in the world, and online eye-
tracking is now available and easily coupled with implicit techniques
and facial coding.
So which will it be? Will behavioral science for business wither with
early adopters, or will it cross the chasm to broader industry adoption?
With sound science, continued validation, awareness, and scale we think
we’ll see the chasm crossed in future GRIT reports, however…
…if you find you must repent, from side to side in argument, at least
don’t use your mind too hard, but trust my instinct – I’m a bard.
— To a Thinker, Robert Frost, 1936
21
Analytics/big data and mobile-
enabled qualitative techniques
score well in terms of “In
Use” and “Considering”
Already MainstreamThis group consists of mobile surveys and online
communities, which as the trend data shows, has
already been the case for a couple of years.
Wide Level of InterestThis group has two elements, the first is the
analytics/big data group and the second is the mobile-
enabled qualitative group. Both of these groups score
well in terms of “In Use” and “Considering”.
The table below illustrates the trends in use of new techniques over the last 2.5 years:
% In Use Q1-Q2 2013 Q3-Q4 2013 Q1-Q2 2014 Q1-Q2 2015 Q3-Q4 2015
Mobile Surveys 42% 41% 64% 67% 68%
Online Communities 45% 49% 56% 59% 50%
Social Media Analytics 36% 36% 46% 45% 43%
Text Analytics 32% 33% 40% 38% 38%
Big Data Analytics 31% 32% 31% 34%
Mobile Qualitative 24% 22% 37% 43% 34%
Webcam-Based Interviews 26% 27% 34% 38% 33%
Mobile Ethnography 20% 21% 30% 35% 31%
Eye Tracking 22% 26% 34% 28% 28%
Micro-surveys 19% 25% 30% 25%
Behavioral Economics Models 25% 27% 21%
Research Gamification 15% 16% 23% 21% 20%
Facial analysis 9% 13% 18% 18% 18%
Prediction Markets 17% 17% 19% 21% 17%
Neuromarketing 9% 11% 13% 14% 15%
Crowdsourcing 13% 14% 17% 19% 12%
Virtual Environments/VR 17% 14% 17% 15% 10%
Biometric Response 7% 8% 13% 10% 10%
IoT/Sensor based Data Collection 12% 10% 9%
Wearables Based Research 7% 7% 8%
Sensor/Usage/Telemetry 7%
THE TRENDS
Third TierThis group shows substantive levels of adoption and
interest, but lack of mainstream breakthrough. This
group is comprised of eye tracking, micro-surveys,
behavioural economics, and research gamification.
NicheThe remaining items are all niche techniques at the
moment. Only a few of the GRIT participants are
using them and relatively few are considering them.
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GRIT COMMENTARY
THE MARKET RESEARCH INDUSTRY: EARLY ADOPTER OR LAGGARD?
Matt WartaCEO & Co-Founder, GutCheck
Twitter: @mwarta | Website: www.gutcheckit.com
A ccording to the GRIT Report, the market research
industry is a strong adopter of new technologies and, in
many cases, embraces them. However, anecdotes and empirical
data suggest otherwise.
Technology Adoption Life CycleTo assess technology adoption in market research, Geoffrey
Moore’s timeless work called “Crossing the Chasm” provides a useful
model. He describes the Technology Adoption Life Cycle as having
five segments:
z Innovators (2.5% of market) – The Innovators are first to adopt.
They are intrigued by fundamental advancement and curious
about new technologies.
z Early Adopters (13.5%) – The Early Adopters buy products early
in their life cycle because they may address a need. They are
okay with “beta” products.
z Early Majority (34%) – The Early Majority focus on practicality.
They wait for innovations to be vetted by earlier adopters. Their
business is required to grow significantly and profitably.
z Late Majority (34%) – The Late Majority wait for an
established standard.
z Laggards (16%) – Laggards aren’t concerned with new
technology, whether for personal or economic reasons.
Adoption but Immature OfferingsThe data in the GRIT report suggests that our industry is
a strong adopter of technologies. Two thirds of the technologies
highlighted would fall in the Early Majority stage or better. If you
include those considering using these technologies, 57% are in the
Late Majority.
To many in our industry, the analysis above may not resonate. All
you need to do is read an industry blog or listen to conversations
at conferences, and the conclusion is there is not enough adoption
of innovation.
As another proof point, there aren’t any new technology
providers in market research generating $10s to $100s of millions in
revenue within a ginormous $40B industry, which you would expect
to see based on the aforementioned adoption data. So, what gives?
I argue that most of the offerings that are being adopted are seeing
limited use, because in Moore’s words, they are too “Generic” and they
have not achieved “Whole Product” status.
Moore defines the Whole Product as that which is required to
fulfill on the marketing promise. And for new technologies in market
research, that often means doing things faster, more affordably, at
scale, and with quality results – a lot to accomplish. And, the reason
the purveyors of the technologies listed in the GRIT Report haven’t
scaled is they can’t deliver on that promise. They are too Generic.
Clients Are Looking for the Whole ProductObservations and data suggest there is ample trial of
new technologies. After all, there is no shortage of conference
presentations or webinars where technology companies and their
innovator clients are giddy over the results from their isolated,
controlled experiments, and I’ve been there myself. It’s clear people
want to use these new technologies, or the data wouldn’t be what
it is. However, suppliers must provide the Whole Product in order
to move toward being a $100MM company capable of owning their
segment of technology. These companies must mature past a bare-
bones offering leveraged by early adopters to one that can deliver
on the marketing promise clients demand. The clients want to adopt;
it’s the supply that is lagging.
23
There are situations when
clients are not buying
services from traditional
market research sources
Base: Buyer/User=212, Provider/Vendor=810
When we look at research buyers/users and research
sellers/providers, we see lots of similarity and some
interesting differences.
USERS AND PROVIDERS ARE NOT THE SAMEThe cells with client/supplier differences highlighted
in blue show “In Use” figures higher for research
providers. These may reflect the greater awareness
about actual use of many of the new techniques. For
example, it could be an indication of awareness that
a mobile survey was used in conjunction with an
online survey or that research gamification has been
employed to optimize the research design.
The cells with differences highlighted in red
show “In Use” figures higher for research buyers.
These instances may reflect situations when clients
are not buying services from traditional market
research sources. This could be the case for social
media analytics and big data analytics. Prediction
markets and crowdsourcing have a vibrant and
growing supplier pool outside of the mainstream
research industry and therefore appear in this group
as well.
The implication here may be that research
suppliers are missing in out on both new revenue
opportunities and a larger client base by not offering
these capabilities credibly.
% In UseBuyer/User
Provider Gap
Mobile Surveys 54 72 -18
Online Communities 46 50 -5
Social Media Analytics 53 41 12
Text Analytics 38 38 0
Mobile Qualitative 26 36 -10
Big Data Analytics 40 32 8
Webcam-based Interviews 27 34 -8
Mobile Ethnography 25 33 -8
Eye Tracking 28 28 0
Micro-surveys 17 27 -10
Behavioral Economics Models 17 23 -6
Research Gamification 12 21 -9
Facial Analysis 14 19 -5
Prediction Markets 22 16 6
Neuromarketing 15 15 0
Crowdsourcing 16 11 5
Virtual Environments/VR 9 10 -1
Biometric Response 11 10 1
Internet Of Things Data 10 8 2
Wearables Based Research 5 9 -4
Sensor/Usage/Telemetry Data 6 7 -1
The key change over the last 2.5 years has been the
arrival (in Q1 of 2014) of mobile surveys as the most
widely adopted new technique.
The most recent data suggests that researchers
begin to specialize by choosing the techniques that
best suit them. For example, the average number of
techniques mentioned as “In Use’ in Q1/2 of this year
was 5.8 but had dropped to 5.2 by Q3/4.
The data show no sign that the newest or
“hottest” techniques, such as wearables or internet
of things, are gaining any widespread traction yet.
24
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GRIT COMMENTARY
SURVIVING AND THRIVING IN THE WAVE OF AUTOMATION AND TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATIONPatrick B. ComerCEO, Lucid
Email: pcomer@luc.id | Twitter: @comerpatrick | Website: www.luc.id
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-comer-80845
O ne of the largest challenges that modern companies face is
handling the onslaught of new technologies that are both
automating and improving their core products and processes. Every
day another salesperson from a SaaS (Software as a Service), API, and
cloud-based platform is asking for 5 minutes to discuss the next big
thing to change the organization. The problem is that most of them
are really, really good and might actually improve the business. But
how am I going to vet, onboard, train, and maintain all these different
platforms that rarely play well together? It’s easy to throw your
hands up in despair, but those companies that are up to the challenge
will find huge advantages.
So why aren’t we drowning in a sea of SaaS? We’ve largely designed
our business around the opportunity:
Trends of the modern tech-centric company1. Integration – Typically, technology developers spend the majority
of the time building the core product of the business… in our case
Fulcrum. While this is still the case, we find more and more of the
engineering time is spent with integrations— product integrations
like connecting Fulcrum to ZappiStore but also process integrations
such as Fulcrum to Salesforce and NetSuite. Multiple months
of effort can be eliminated if that connection has already been
released by one of the companies: Desk to Slack for example or
Namely to Netsuite.
2. Hiring researchers that can code – Historically, there was a specific
divide between the tech team and the business units… those that
can code and those that cannot and ne’er the twain shall meet. We
are seeing a huge shift away from this model in two ways— first,
the tech teams are more integrated with the business units. It’s
hard to build a product if you don’t understand the client needs.
More interestingly, we are hiring more coders into the business
units because they can pull together MVPs or integrations before
they become fully productized.
3. Stitching it all together – What used to be the domain of the CTO,
IT, and Product Development, is now core to the long-term viability
of the modern business. Now it’s the CEO’s job to understand and
maintain that vision. Companies will succeed on their ability to
support multiple 3rd party platforms, stitched together by APIs and
managed in the cloud. The pain of onboarding and training the next
SaaS platform is now a strategic advantage, and Lucid is positioning
itself to be one of many platforms and products in the mix.
How to approach SaaS onboarding in your business1. Automating your core product – Over the past 15 years, numerous
platforms have developed to automate the research process.
Everything from Qualtrics to ZappiStore gives researchers and their
clients high value capabilities. In fact, each manual function now has a
robust toolkit – Reporting, Sampling (Fulcrum), Survey Programming,
and Visualization. The challenge is not in the tools themselves but the
cost of ownership beyond the licensing fees: onboarding and training,
maintenance, and integration with existing infrastructure. The cost of
a failed onboarding is extraordinarily high, which is why Lucid invests
so heavily in those teams.
2. Automating your core business functions – The same can also be said
of business processes – you know, the standard back office of your
company: accounting, recruiting, IT, payroll, communications. Here at
Lucid, we’ve onboarded multiple platforms: Jazz, NetSuite, Namely,
Salesforce, Github, Slack, AWS, Gmail, Concur, and many more. Each
of the platforms can dramatically improve the efficiency, speed, and
cost structure of the business, but each additional platform also
compounds the total cost of ownership.
Integration, integration, integrationClients are continually asking for more speed and efficiency while
maintaining quality. Eventually, most research will literally be ‘real-
time’ and automated from end to end. We started our approach to
this opportunity by integrating our product directly into the related
research platforms. We quickly realized that all our core business
functions also needed a platform and that these functions in addition
must be integrated into the overall research and business ‘stack’. For
example, in order to compete on speed and efficiency, accounting
needs to be streamlined and integrated with the research process.
Strategically, those companies that can ride the wave of integrations
will be well-positioned to compete in the global marketplace.
25
It’s a good time to be a
designer, data scientist
or strategy consultant!
MOST IN DEMAND SKILLS
TRAINING, KEEPING UP & THE RESEARCHER OF THE FUTURE Just as virtually every other aspect of the insights
industry is changing, human capital needs and
related resources are evolving as well. GRIT asked
a series of questions related to this broad topic,
focused on specific roles, general skills, training
We asked GRIT respondents to tell us if they
expected to be hiring more, less, or have no change
at all in several broad skill descriptions. When
comparing client vs. suppliers, minimal differences
were noted, so we’re opting to instead look at the
totals. The lack of differentiation between client and
Designers and data visualization experts 62.80%
Data scientists 57.64%
Marketing or business strategists 53.47%
Social media experts 52.58%
Bilingual (or poly-lingual) employees 47.52%
THE MOST IN-DEMAND ROLES
resources, information sources, and advice for young
researchers. The responses provide a compelling vision
for the emerging skills and support needed for success.
Experts in the mechanics & technologies of data collection 40.18%
Sociologists or anthropologists 25.50%
Neuroscientists 21.33%
Process (e.g. supply chain) Strategists 21.13%
Moderators or field interviewers 19.44%
supplier hiring projections is interesting, as it means
that they will likely be competing against each other
for the same key personnel in the future.
What are those most in demand skills? Here is
the order based on the total responses that indicated
their organization would be hiring more:
26
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WHAT CHANGES DO YOU EXPECT TO SEE IN THE MIX OF PEOPLE
WORKING IN YOUR ORGANIZATION IN THE FUTURE?
Experts In The Mechanics &
Technologies Of Data Collection
Sociologists Or Anthropologists
Marketing Or Business Strategists
Process (eg., Supply Chain) Strategists
Data Scientists
Moderators Or Field Interviewers
Bilingual (Or Poly-Lingual) Employees
Designers And Data Visualization Experts
Social Media Experts
Neuroscientists
More The same Less
0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%Percentage of Respondents
At the other end of the spectrum, niche specialists
such as anthropologists, neuroscientists and
traditional qualitative workers will certainly still
have roles, but likely won’t be in massive demand. In
fact, as the chart below shows, this same group has
more to be concerned about, because they were also
ranked as the profession that would be hired for less
than any other by an almost 2:1 margin.
27
Ability to understand,
analyze, and use various
types of data stands out as
the most necessary skill
CLIENT SIDE SKILLS SUPPLIER SIDE SKILLS
SKILLS NECESSARY FOR SUCCESS
We asked “If you had to identify one new or
emerging skill necessary for the researcher of the
future, what would it be?” We received 705 verbatim
responses to this question. A basic word cloud
of both the client-side and supplier respondents
shows that the ability to understand, analyze, and
use various types of data stands out as the most
Suppliers more often suggested that design
capabilities, general comfort with technology,
understanding of complex business issues,
awareness of new media, and general business skills
were also vital.
necessary skill, while understanding the process of
research is a close second common theme.
Beyond the first and second most common
themes, some differences arise as clients focus on
storytelling, visualization, analytics, data science,
and business impact.
Digging a bit deeper, we decided to look at the word
or phrase occurrences in these verbatims rather
than traditionally coding them to get to a “hierarchy
of concepts” within the responses. For all intents,
this produces a “Top 50 Skills” list— the most in
demand skills that research organizations will be
hiring for in the future.
28
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TOP 50 MOST IN DEMAND SKILLS
Concept
Occ
urre
nces
Ver
batim
s
% V
erba
tims
Data synthesis 196 166 23.75%
Technical ability 60 57 8.15%
Research fundamentals 60 51 7.30%
Business leadership 42 39 5.58%
Advanced analytics 39 36 5.15%
Insights 38 37 5.29%
Multiple skills 35 34 4.86%
Anthropologists 35 35 5.01%
Business acumen 34 31 4.43%
Understanding humans 33 30 4.29%
Design Thinking 31 27 3.86%
Media focused 30 30 4.29%
Nontraditional data 30 30 4.29%
Storytelling 28 26 3.72%
Recommending 26 25 3.58%
Use social media 25 25 3.58%
Technology 23 21 3.00%
Omnichannel 21 21 3.00%
Relationship analysis 20 20 2.86%
Thinking 19 19 2.72%
Digital expertize 18 17 2.43%
Big Data analytics 16 16 2.29%
Client service 15 15 2.15%
Client understanding 15 14 2.00%
Concise findings 15 14 2.00%
Concept
Occ
urre
nces
Ver
batim
s
% V
erba
tims
Flexibility 15 15 2.15%
Understand business 15 14 2.00%
Data visualization 14 14 2.00%
Knowledge 14 13 1.86%
Survey design 14 13 1.86%
Emerging techniques 14 14 2.00%
Presenting 14 14 2.00%
Information aggregators 13 12 1.72%
Integration 13 12 1.72%
Marketing expertize 13 13 1.86%
Consensus building 13 13 1.86%
Social analysis 12 12 1.72%
Social Researcher 12 12 1.72%
Scientists 12 9 1.29%
Influence 12 12 1.72%
Strategy 12 12 1.72%
New methods 11 11 1.57%
Common sense 10 9 1.29%
Visual analysis 10 9 1.29%
Actionable insights 9 9 1.29%
Communication skills 9 9 1.29%
Consumer-centric 9 9 1.29%
Data source agnostic 9 9 1.29%
Category experts 9 9 1.29%
Multiple sources 9 9 1.29%
29
Suppliers are almost twice
as likely to offer internal
training as clients
DO YOU CONDUCT ANY SORT OF RESEARCH TRAINING FOR YOUR STAFF?
WHAT COMPANIES OR ORGANIZATIONS DO YOU HIRE FOR TRAINING?
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0
ClientSupplier
Perc
enta
ge o
f Res
pond
ents
44% 70% 33% 26% 34% 22%Yes, internal
trainingYes, we use 3rd party research
training courses No
MOST USED TRAINING RESOURCES
Also new in this GRIT edition, we asked participants
about their use of training resources in their
organization. The traditional wisdom regarding
career paths in market research has been to start
as a supplier and eventually make the jump to the
client side, and based on these results it is apparent
why: suppliers are almost twice as likely to offer
internal training as clients, and clients are more
likely to not offer any training resources at all. Both
parties use 3rd party research training courses at
about the same rate.
Does this mean clients value training less? Not
all. It seems that within client organizations there is
perhaps a greater assumption that you simply have
the requisite skills necessary to do the job, and of
course, there is a stable of suppliers to support you
in doing so, and those suppliers are the experts with
the needed training.
This is borne out by responses to the follow-
up question we asked: “What companies or
organizations do you hire for training?”
The number one response was “Research
Suppliers”, with the important nuance in the
verbatim of the responses that generally training is
assumed to be part of the supplier engagement. No
mention was made if that was truer for technology
solutions vs. service offerings.
Consultants, The Burke Institute, online
learning programs, and unspecified university
programs make up the rest of the top 5 training
resources, with the remaining 15 being a mix of
various trade association or specialized research
training sources.
Resource Number of Mentions
Research Suppliers 41
Consultants 26
Burke Institute 22
Online courses 16
University Programs 12
RIVA 11
University of Georgia 10
AMSRS 8
Training Software 8
Webinars 7
AMA 6
ESOMAR 6
CEB 5
Conferences 5
MRA 5
Research Rockstar 5
Sawtooth 5
SPSS 5
Independent Trainers 5
MRIA 4
With rapid changes in technologies, best practices,
and use cases it’s safe to assume that credible training
offerings from multiple providers will continue to be
needed by both clients and suppliers.
30
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Getting experience on the
job is the number one advice
to young researchers
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUNG RESEARCHERS?
Get on-the-job experience40%
38%
Get training, read books and blogs
27%
23%
Mentoring / shadowing / learn from others
21%
22%
Gain a solid understanding of methodology
21%
14%
Be a good communicator / storyteller
3%
2%
Learn new, innovative research methods
3%
2%
Be curious and think outside the box
7%
1%
Other0%
0%
0 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%
ClientSupplier
Percentage of Respondents
N=149 Clients, N=664 Suppliers
ADVICE FOR YOUNG RESEARCHERS
When we think about the future of research, we
often focus on the evolution of the methodological
mix employed by clients and research firms. But
the future of our industry depends very much
on the next generation of practitioners. What we
teach them today will affect how they do business
tomorrow. We wonder how young researchers are
being introduced to the world of market research as
they enter the workforce.
In this edition of GRIT, we asked both clients
and suppliers what advice they would give to
young researchers. Their open-ended answers
were remarkably similar to one another. Getting
experience on the job is the number one advice to
young researchers, mentioned most often by both
clients (40%) and suppliers (38%). “Roll your sleeves
up and jump in” was a typical response. Same as “No
substitute for involvement in varied projects at a
junior level.”
About a quarter of clients (27%) and suppliers (23%)
mentioned getting some form of internal or external
training and reading books or blogs. Mentoring and
learning from senior researcher was cited by about
one in five clients (21%) and suppliers (22%). Gaining a
solid understanding of methodology was mentioned
by 21% of clients but only 14% of suppliers.
Interestingly, both clients and suppliers were
much less likely to mention non-traditional skills in
their advice, like focusing on storytelling, learning
new methods and thinking outside the box, than
traditional skills.
31
Researchers rate conferences,
webinars, websites and white
papers as the most important
sources of information
Sem
inar
s O
r C
onfe
renc
es
Web
inar
s O
r V
irtua
l Eve
nts
Tech
nolo
gy W
ebsi
tes
Or
Pub
licat
ions
Indu
stry
Web
site
s
Whi
te P
aper
s
Face
-To-
Face
Bus
ines
s N
etw
orki
ng E
vent
s
Trad
e O
rgan
izat
ion
Even
ts
Blo
gs
Bus
ines
s N
etw
orki
ng
Com
mun
ities
Lik
e Li
nked
In
E-m
ail D
eliv
ery
Of B
log
Subs
crip
tions
Indu
stry
Prin
t Jou
rnal
s
Soci
al N
etw
orki
ng S
ites
Like
Fa
cebo
ok &
Goo
gle+
Twitt
er
MOST IMPORTANT SOURCES OF INFORMATION
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0
Most Important to ClientMost Important to Supplier
Perc
enta
ge o
f Res
pond
ents
STAYING ABREAST OF CHANGES IN THE INDUSTRY
We continue to track the information channels that
GRIT participants consider to be important for staying
abreast of changes in the industry, an important
part of ongoing education and awareness of learning
opportunities for both clients and suppliers.
The majority of both segments rate conferences,
webinars, websites and white papers as the most
important sources of information, with some relatively
small variations between them. Slightly fewer
consider events by trade organizations, blogs, and
LinkedIn as most important. At the bottom of the
list, rated most important by less than one third of
participants, are social networks like Facebook or
Twitter, although they still capture roughly 25%
of the “Most Important” vote, as you can see in the
chart below.
32
WWW.GREENBOOK.ORG/GRIT
New media channels, especially
Twitter, have seen solid growth
compared to the 2014
Seminars Or Conferences
Webinars Or Virtual Events
Face-To-Face Business Networking Events
Industry Websites
Technology Websites Or Publications
White Papers
Trade Organization Events
Business Networking Communities Like LinkedIn
Blogs
Industry Print Journals
E-mail Delivery Of Blog Subscriptions
Social Networking Sites Like Facebook & Google+
IMPORTANCE OF STAYING ABREAST OF DEVELOPMENTS IN RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES: TOTAL (N+642)
0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Very Important Important Moderately Important Hardly Important Not Important at all
Social Media, blog subscriptions, print journals and
blogs don’t receive much recognition from GRIT
respondents overall, as they are rated “Hardly
important” or “Not important” more frequently than
other sources by wide margins.
However, new media channels, especially Twitter,
have seen solid growth compared to the 2014 wave
when we last asked this question.
White Papers 15
Blogs 12
Webinars Or Virtual Events 11
Twitter 10
Social Networking Sites Like Facebook & Google+ 8
Technology Websites Or Publications 5
Seminars Or Conferences 5
Trade Organization Events 4
Business Networking Communities Like LinkedIn 4
Industry Websites 0
E-mail Delivery Of Blog Subscriptions 0
Industry Print Journals -4
33
Sem
inar
s O
r C
onfe
renc
es
Web
inar
s O
r V
irtua
l Ev
ents
Face
-To-
Face
B
usin
ess
Net
wor
king
Ev
ents
Indu
stry
Web
site
s
Whi
te P
aper
s
Tech
nolo
gy W
ebsi
tes
Or
Pub
licat
ions
Trad
e O
rgan
izat
ion
Even
ts
Bus
ines
s N
etw
orki
ng
Com
mun
ities
Lik
e Li
nked
In
Blo
gs
Indu
stry
Prin
t Jou
rnal
s
E-m
ail D
eliv
ery
Of
Blo
g Su
bscr
iptio
ns
Soci
al N
etw
orki
ng
Site
s Li
ke F
aceb
ook
&
Goo
gle+
Twitt
er
2014 VS. 2015 MOST IMPORTANT SOURCES
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
Top 2 Box 2014Top 2 Box 2015
Perc
enta
ge o
f Res
pond
ents
The key takeaway here seems to be that when it
comes to networking, researchers prefer it face-
to-face and when it comes to learning, curated and
structured virtual channels are at the top of their
lists. Social media and social networks are growing
in acceptance, but are not considered mainstream
resources yet.
34
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“A partnership is a relationship
between two individuals with
different reasons for wanting
a common outcome.”
CLIENT – SUPPLIER PARTNERSHIP“Partnership”– What is it? How do you get there?
These are some of the questions that we tried to
understand in this edition of the GRIT Report. And
like with all partnerships, there is no single clean,
decisive answer.
In defining a partnership, suppliers and clients
generally agree that a partnership is “mutually
beneficial”, a “win-win” or some other version of that
idea. The following quote explains it further:
“A partnership is a relationship between two
individuals with different reasons for wanting a
common outcome.”
The quotes showed a number of these different
reasons— from timely payment of invoices to
research that conforms to client protocols to cost
efficiency to meta-analysis to improved actionability.
One can only infer the common outcome of meeting
the wide spectrum of client needs.
HOW CLIENTS DEFINE PARTNERSHIP
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WWW.GREENBOOK.ORG/GRIT
Partnerships are difficult to
define, but the key themes are
time, trust, communication,
cultural fit, and risk
Clients and suppliers see the same situation two
different ways— most suppliers say they have
partnership with clients, many clients say they don’t.
There are perceptual differences, as well as practical
differences in this dichotomy. There is a good
amount of transactional work in our industry and
this isn’t necessarily seen as “partnership worthy”.
In contrast, there are times when both the supplier
and client are truly engaged:
“Yes – I work with organizations that challenge
me and my team to be better, stronger insights
professionals” or “we include the key suppliers in
strategic plan discussions so they can bring more
value to our organization. We also partner with them
in developing innovative methodologies and tools”.
These two examples show a deeper client/supplier
engagement – one that seems to get a step closer to
“mutually beneficial”.
HOW SUPPLIERS DEFINE PARTNERSHIP
37
KEY ATTRIBUTES OF SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIPS These kinds of partnership, where they exist, are
built over time and lead to trust. But how does one
start and maintain such a relationship? Here a list
of key attributes of successful partnerships that
were identified from the richness of the verbatim
responses:
We think we can boil these attributes down to
three core ideas that are vital for any partnership
to thrive:
1. Communication — is important on both sides;
suppliers must show that they are actively
engaged and clients must show a desire to
support the supplier. As one supplier said:
“If clients do not want to or are unable to
communicate with you informally outside of
running projects, there is little partnership
potential”.
2. Cultural fit — no matter how good the work is,
time must be spent getting to know each other to
make sure that there is alignment for both sides.
“A lot of buyers make the mistake of going only
for price or only for brand – there needs to be a
balance between cultural fit and price/ brand, plus
real empathy between both parties”.
3. Risk — if there is no need to change, there
is no need for a new partnership. Each new
partnership is shaped by a certain amount of
risk associated with change. Each side needs to
recognize the nature and level of risk aversion
within each other’s organization.
All in all, partnerships are difficult to define, but the
key themes are time, trust, communication, cultural
fit, and risk.
Themes
Occ
urre
nces
Ver
batim
s
% V
erba
tims
Client Service 468 375 32.16%
Partnership spirit 353 307 26.33%
Good business 235 199 17.07%
Shared risk 192 191 16.38%
Results 218 177 15.18%
Preferred supplier 182 147 12.61%
Relationship building 158 142 12.18%
Understanding 124 117 10.03%
Project focused 117 101 8.66%
Buyer beware 116 98 8.40%
Aligned Goals 94 89 7.63%
Key stakeholders 72 71 6.09%
Deliver 79 70 6.00%
Helpful 73 67 5.75%
Trust 75 67 5.75%
Value 66 65 5.57%
Impactful insights 60 59 5.06%
Mutual benefit 61 58 4.97%
Time 57 52 4.46%
Information exchange 50 49 4.20%
Strategic 50 49 4.20%
Knowledgeable 51 49 4.20%
Going beyond 53 49 4.20%
Common interest 46 46 3.95%
Success 49 46 3.95%
Discretion 48 43 3.69%
Marketable 43 40 3.43%
38
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RESEARCH TRANSFORMATION IN ACTION
Three fourths of insights
providers say they need to
transform all or part of their
business to remain competitive
More disruptive
63%
57%
Will stay the same
25%
28%
Less disruptive
6%
10%
No opinion6%
6%
0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS, DO YOU THINK THE MARKET RESEARCH/INTELLIGENCE MARKET WILL BECOME ...
DO YOU BELIEVE YOU NEED TO TRANSFORM ALL OR PART OF YOUR BUSINESS TO REMAIN COMPETITIVE?
DO YOU BELIEVE YOU NEED TO TRANSFORM ALL OR PART OF YOUR ORGANIZATION TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE YOUR INTERNAL CLIENTS WITH THE VALUE THEY EXPECT?
No opinion/Not sure
No
Yes
Insights ProviderInsights Buyer
Percentage of Respondents
N=898 Insights provider, N=214 Insights buyer
N=897 Insights provider, N=212 Insights buyer
10% 11%
13% 12%
76% 76%
Disruption occurs when there is a need for change
and the opportunity for an innovator to introduce a
transformative catalyst – often a better model, tool
or process than that currently used. Typically, the
disruptive approach is cheaper and faster than the
product or service it replaces.
The implications can range from terrifying
to exhilarating depending on your view of the
world. Underscoring the prevalence of disruption
in our industry, almost two-thirds (63%) of insights
providers believe the market research/intelligence
industry will become more disruptive over the next
three years, a viewpoint shared by insights buyers.
The call for change has been clearly heard. Fully three fourths of
insights providers say they need to transform all or part of their
business to remain competitive.
INSIGHTS BUYER
INSIGHTS PROVIDER
39
Transformation is not a singular
event but rather a series of
ongoing decisions that lead to
a culture of impactful change
within an organization
In an era of disruption,
sharpening strategic planning
skills is an imperative
WILL THIS TRANSFORMATION BE AN EVOLUTION OF YOUR ORGANIZATION OR A SUDDEN REVOLUTION?
4%
6%
19%
23%
76%
70%
No Opinion/Not Sure
Revolution
Evolution
Insights Provider
Insights Buyer
N=652 Insights provider, N=162 Insights buyer
The pressure to change isn’t just felt by insight
providers. An equal number of insight buyers
express the same sentiment about the requirements
to continue providing their internal clients with
the value expected by their organization. The
expectation of ongoing disruption combined with
the need for transformation to stay relevant is a
challenge we must embrace if we are to emerge as a
vibrant industry known for providing the ROI our
users expect and demand. Failure to address this
mandate will result in an ever-increasing negative
spiral toward the only possible endpoint – lack of
relevance. So where to begin?
business processes and a continual re-evaluation
of our “people policies” are all key elements of a
strategic business review.
At Gongos, for example, the process begins with
a 10-year envisioned future and then three-year
goals that are broken into annual goals and specific
quarterly tasks necessary to meet those goals. As
Camille Nicita, President and CEO of Gongos said,
“we are always trying to answer the question – what
should the next best version of us look like?”
Transformation doesn’t happen overnight. It is
takes deliberate planning and strategy followed
by relentless implementation. The best in our
business take time to plan for the future. Strategic
planning, broadly defined, is the planning of all
the activities of a business to ensure competitive
advantage and profitability. While the devil is in the
details, certainly an understanding of the changing
value drivers for our businesses, the competitive
environment in which we operate, macro-business
environmental issues, the need to redesign key
There are no magic bullets for transformation.
Keeping a business relevant in any industry is a
challenge. We have to continually demonstrate and
prove our value as providers of insight. Failure to do so
leads our users to seek alternative approaches.
Even those considered to be innovators
today, may not be seen as such in five years unless
they develop processes by which to ensure their
organization continually pushes the boundaries of
innovation as the mechanism to remain relevant. The
act of transformation is not a singular event but rather
a series of ongoing decisions that lead to a culture of
impactful change within an organization. Insights
buyers and providers agree on this fact – they see
transformation as evolutionary not revolutionary.
40
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HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE CALIBER OF YOUR ORGANIZATION’S STRATEGIC PLANNING CAPABILITIES?
DOES YOUR ORGANIZATION CURRENTLY HAVE A CUSTOMER ADVISORY BOARD THAT PROVIDE INPUT TO THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS FOR YOUR BUSINESS?
Very strong (Top 5%)
13%
8%
Strong33%
38%
Average34%
30%
Weak12%
16%
Non--existent3%
2%
No opinion/ Prefer not to
answer
5%
4%
0 10% 20% 30% 40%
Do not know/ Prefer not to answer
Yes
No
15% 14%
24% 38%
61% 48%
Insights ProviderInsights Buyer
Insights BuyerInsights Provider
Percentage of Respondents
N=889 Insights provider, N=207 Insights buyer
N=885 Insights provider, N=207 Insights buyer
Yet according to the findings from this wave of
the GRIT survey, a self-assessment of strategic
planning capabilities reveals almost an equal split
among insight providers and buyers who say their
organization’s skills are strong and those who say
they are not.
Should customers be part of the strategic planning
process? About one-fourth of insights providers say
“yes” indicating they have a customer advisory board
that provides input to the process.
41
Without an organizational
push of some sort, innovation
is unlikely to happen with
sufficient rhythm to fuel the
process of transformation
IS THERE A FORMAL PROCESS TO SPUR INNOVATION WITHIN YOUR ORGANIZATION? (AMONG THOSE RESPONDING)
IN THE PAST TWO YEARS, HAVE YOU INTRODUCED A NEW PRODUCT OR SERVICE TO THE MARKET/YOUR ORGANIZATION?
0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Yes36%
40%
No53%
49%
Do not know/ Prefer not to answer
11%
10%
Yes73%
82%
No22%
11%
No opinion/ Not sure
5%
7%
0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Insights ProviderInsights Buyer
Insights ProviderInsights Buyer
Percentage of Respondents
Percentage of Respondents
N=894 Insights provider, N=210 Insights buyer
N=895 Insights provider, N=210 Insights buyer
Insight buyers appear to place a higher value on
the input of a customer advisory board. Without a
doubt, it is important that the voice of constituents
who use our products and services be heard in the
strategic planning process. A valid criticism of our
industry is that we listen to ourselves a little too
much. Understanding the impact of what is going
on outside our industry is a much more difficult, and
often painful, task.
In an era of disruption, sharpening strategic
planning skills is an imperative and will lead those
who excel in this endeavor to increasing revenue and
achieving a healthier bottom line.
Innovation and transformation are intertwined.
Getting the creative juices flowing can often be a
struggle. What works for one organization may not
work for another. According to the GRIT findings,
more organizations do not have a formal process to
spur innovation than do.
Routinely, CEOs say the magic is releasing
the innovative spirit among their employees. Some
use a “shark tank” approach allowing individuals
to pitch new ideas, some designate a small group
of highly creative individuals to pursue new ideas,
while others say hiring individuals from outside the
industry is a key element to injecting innovation
within the organization. Still others maintain that
support for innovative efforts must be at the core
of the firm’s DNA as R&D departments produce very
mixed results. This appears to be an area in which
many organizations need greater focus. Without
an organizational push of some sort, innovation is
unlikely to happen with sufficient rhythm to fuel the
process of transformation.
Transformative actions can take many
forms. The introduction of new products and
services is a common path followed. According to the
GRIT findings, more than 70% of insight providers
have introduced a new product or service to the
market in the past two years.
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0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
GRIT COMMENTARY
KILLING THE ERROR OF OMISSION
Brett WatkinsPresident, L&E Research
Email: brettwatkins@leresearch.com | Website: www.leresearch.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/brett-watkins/1/51a/b82
W e are wrong and we know it. Marketing research has always
been plagued by error and assumptions; random sampling
almost never is, all kinds of bias – observer, response, fatigue, scale.
The list of issues goes on and on. Just as importantly, marketing
research has been wrong by omission; that is to say that we could only
ask questions – and evaluate the answers. At the end of the day, it is a
calculated and reasonable “wrong”.
But we are getting better... and that shows no sign of slowing.
Some of the improvements over the past several years are about the
process (better sampling, improved questions); many others are about
killing the error of omission – and to L&E, this is the exciting part.
New sources of data about consumers allow for vectors of
knowledge that did not exist even 3 or 4 years ago. Behaviors can be
established from any number of sources: mobile tracking, receipt
scanning, in-store video – the list goes on and on. Social Media allows
a sneak peek into peoples’ lives that lets us see how they wish to be
perceived – and not just through their words, but also the images they
associate with their life. Emotions and the emotional triggers can
be identified through non-conscious methods from facial coding, to
neuro methods and wearables.
As costs continue to fall from competitive pressure and
technological advances (I just saw a Virtual Reality viewer for $20),
it will be easier to put more of these pieces together to get a clearer
picture of the “whole truth” – which has long been the goal in our
industry. Let’s take a look at two examples:
Combining technologiesEye tracking technology lets us identify the area of a document
or image that is getting attention. Facial coding technology allows
us to understand the emotion a person is feeling at a particular
point in time. Independently, each of those technologies answers an
important question. Together they answer the question of the specific
driver of that emotion. One particular client takes it a step further
and integrates in-depth interviews based on laddering to understand
the “why” of the emotional triggers. In this example, there is little
error of omission, as multiple approaches within a single respondent
engagement have answered the what, the how, and the why.
Behavioral researchBehavioral research has generally been based on observation
(expensive) or diaries (questionable). The mobile phone and in
particular, mobile panels, change all this. Now, behavioral research
can be conducted in connection with shopper journey, use tests, day
in the life, etc., with reasonable completeness and accuracy. Scanner
technology (the same kind used in Expensify) allows people to scan
their store receipts instead of using a diary for their purchases. Each
of these methods provides valuable information about a person’s
life. The combination of these two methods provides a more holistic
perspective of a person’s consumption life – as it lays out multiple
places, multiple experiences, and multiple purchases – in the context
of all their purchases (not just a category). The error of omission is
still there, but smaller and easier to forgive.
Understanding everything that motivates a person is hard.
Psychologists can spend years trying to understand someone and still
not have full confidence that they have it right. But we can get better
at understanding – as we should – for our businesses, for our clients,
and for consumers.
Market research is now particularly well positioned to do this
using a holistic approach that combines qualitative, quantitative,
behavioral, non-conscious and observational data; shifting the
conversation from “we could be wrong for all of these reasons” to “we
think we’re right for all of the data points we have to use”. That’s a big
(and exciting) difference – and the GRIT data tells us it’s now a reality.
43
More than one-third of insights
providers agree that 50% of
current full-service market
research suppliers will be out
of business within five years
SOME SAY THAT 50% OF CURRENT FULL-SERVICE MARKET RESEARCH SUPPLIERS WILL BE OUT OF BUSINESS WITHIN FIVE YEARS. DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE?
0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Agree37%
32%
Disagree52%
51%
No opinion/ Prefer not to
answer
12%
17%
Insights ProviderInsights Buyer
Percentage of Respondents
N=884 Insights provider, N=206 Insights buyer
This mark is exceeded by the more than 80% of
insights buyers who indicated they introduced a
new product or service to their organization. From
an innovation perspective, success is less relevant
than the attempt – as long as there is learning
from each effort and sufficient courage to know
when an effort will not be successful. This results
in a cycle of learning that will eventually produce
winning products and services that are the result of
an effective process rather than the hit or miss of
random ideas.
Jim Bryson, CEO of 20|20 Research believes
a big part of introducing successful products and
services is understanding the structural trends in
the market and capitalizing on a need that is not
yet fully understood by clients. Jim and his team
continue to bring innovation to the qualitative
research services they offer by visioning new
applications for technology as it becomes available.
At the same time, many CEOs caution against
straying too far from the core DNA of the firm.
Transformation can fail if your organization
deviates too far from its roots and loses its footing in
the market.
Where does all this lead us? Unfortunately,
more than one-third of insights providers agree
with the statement that 50% of current full-service
market research suppliers will be out of business
within five years. The viewpoint of insight buyers
isn’t all that different.
“There is a lot of innovation in our industry, but most innovation is not
commercially successful. In the market research industry, a successful
cutting edge product or service typically needs two components: meeting
a clearly articulated need and capital for sales and marketing. The lack of
one or both of these cause most industry innovations to fail.
To get ahead of the adoption curve, firms must look for the intersection
of technology trends and market research trends. This intersection is a
sweet spot that requires less sales and marketing capital and can result in
explosive growth.”
Jim Bryson CEO, 20|20 Research
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IN FIVE YEARS, HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR ORGANIZATION WILL EMERGE FROM THE CURRENT DISRUPTION IN THE INDUSTRY?
0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Leader42%
38%
Survivor47%
42%
Victim4%
5%
No opinion/ Prefer not to
answer
7%
16%
Insights ProviderInsights Buyer
Percentage of Respondents
N=883 Insights provider, N=205 Insights buyer
“Some companies may not survive changing times, but I am optimistic
for the future. I hope these 5 years are a crucible, from which many
companies will emerge offering better, faster learning methods with a
tighter focus on business impact. If that happens, we’ll all have healthier
businesses and more rewarding jobs.”
Joan Lewis Former Senior Vice President and Officer of Global
Consumer and Market Knowledge, P&G
Where there is risk, there is also opportunity and, for
the most part, respondents to the GRIT survey say
they will emerge from the current disruption in the
industry as anything but a victim.
In fact, many (42%) insight providers believe they will
emerge as a leader. Trends identified in this latest
edition of the GRIT survey and exposed at events, in
blogs, and by the daily work of emerging companies
are the keys to unlock the door to the future.
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0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
GRIT COMMENTARY
WHAT PRICE RELEVANCE?RESEARCH TRANSFORMATION AND HOW WE GET FROM HERE TO THERE
Jackie Lorch Vice President, Global Knowledge Management, SSI
Email: Jackie.Lorch@surveysampling.com | Website: www.surveysampling.com
L arry Friedman, former Chief Research Officer at TNS NA said
in a recent interview that he hopes in five years our industry
mindset will no longer be “What questions should I ask in my
survey?” but “What is the right type of data and where do I get it?”
“Sometimes surveys will be part of the solution,” he adds, “but they
will be shorter, more focused, and integrated with social and
digital data.”
That would be quite a transformation in just five years –
especially since research transformation is often discussed, but
there is less clear evidence of it. For example, the industry has
been slow to take up mobile technology to capture opinion in
the moment. Researchers “get” the possibilities, but seem to lack
resources to experiment and experience the benefits. Two thirds
of respondents say they are doing mobile surveys. Yet less than
a quarter of the studies SSI supports are suitable for mobile –
in spite of the availability of tools like SSI QuestTest to ease
the transition.
There are some contradictory messages here. The need to
transform is clear (76% of insight providers believe they will have to
transform to stay competitive and the same percentage of insight
buyers say they will have to transform to deliver value to their
internal clients). But how that will happen is less clear: only 37% of
all responders say they have a formal process to spur innovation
in their organization. Three quarters of those interviewed think
change will happen via evolution rather than revolution. Is
transformation possible within five years given an evolutionary
pace of change?
What’s lacking in the transformation discussion is specifics.
How exactly does a company go from managing labor-intensive,
survey-centered projects to delivering a stream of integrated
information and insights from multiple sources, with surveys just
one element in the mix? Researchers not already far down this path,
with a technology infrastructure to support it will struggle to make
the change within five years.
Are buyers in a better position to change?A third of respondents think 50% of current full service market
research firms will be out of business within five years – yet only 4%
of insights providers and 5% of buyers think their company will be
one of the victims. More buyers have advisory boards than providers
(38% v 24%). Are providers less aware of their environment and
therefore the scope of change required?
Perhaps asking which group “gets it” is entirely the wrong
question. We segment research into buyers and providers – and,
further within providers, into researchers and service suppliers. If we
are serious about transformation is it time to look beyond this linear
“supply chain” view? The real transformers may be the ones who
“blow up” this decades-old model, creating a cooperative eco-system,
where multiple contributors deliver value where it’s needed most.
What will a transformed company look like?Transformed companies will use technology to enable agile
action. One example at SSI is a technology platform allowing new
panels in new countries to quickly and seamlessly integrate with
existing panels. The company of the future will likely offer solutions
on a modular basis – turnkey yet scalable, with standalone parts –
or a single all-encompassing solution depending on the particular
customer need. The product set will be more complex in many ways
and this complexity can only be achieved with technology to power it.
GRIT is a global report, yet discussions about research
transformation often neglect the importance of globalization as a
key driver of change. Global research places additional demands on
technology to support the complexity and (increasingly important)
the legal requirements inherent in global research.
Transformation in the medium for the messageFinally, with more data visualizers being hired according to this
report, maybe we can call time on dull, chart-filled presentations. SSI
research shows more decision-makers – especially those under 35 –
prefer to view data infographic-style. We know our data’s solid—we
need to be bold and let it shine with creative, visually sharp delivery.
What to make of the sometimes mixed messages in this report?
We may not have all the answers but the need to challenge current
beliefs is clear. Are we ready for what’s next?
47
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0
SUPPLIER REVENUE PROJECTIONS TREND
CLIENT SPEND PROJECTIONS TREND
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0 Q3-Q4 2015 Q1-Q2 2015 Q1-Q2 2014
Q3-Q4 2015 Q1-Q2 2015 Q1-Q2 2014
Increase over current year No change over current yearDecrease over current year
Increase over current year No change over current yearDecrease over current year
Perc
enta
ge o
f Res
pond
ents
Perc
enta
ge o
f Res
pond
ents
FINANCIAL OUTLOOK FOR 2016
“The great news for the research industry is that
the vast majority (73%) of research firms expect
research-based revenue to increase in 2015 compared
to 2014, even as only 37% of client firms see an
increase in research spending. How to explain the
discrepancy in expectations?”
That was the opening to this section of the
GRIT report in the last phase of the study. 9 months
later and expectations for 2016 revenue have been
tempered, with just over 60% of suppliers expecting
an increase, roughly 30% projecting no change,
and about 10% (the highest we have recorded since
trending began) expecting a decrease.
But if suppliers have become more realistic,
clients look to be more optimistic with over 45%
reporting increased budgets (up almost 10 points
from the last wave), another 40% expecting no
change, and only 13% (down from 19% previously)
expecting a decrease.
That is all good news, right? Well, there is still
a significant disconnect between how clients and
suppliers are reading the budget tea leaves. But all
in all, the news is good for most, and although we’ll
need to keep an eye on those worrying stagnant and
downward pointing numbers as we move into 2016,
the majority of GRIT participants fully expect to see
solid revenue in the coming year.
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Both clients and suppliers
stated quality as the most
important consideration
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0
PRIORITY OF QUALITY, TIME, COST
Quality (1st) Time (2nd) Cost (3rd)
ClientSupplier
Perc
enta
ge o
f Res
pond
ents
The saying used to be “cheaper, faster or better—
choose two”, but technology is increasingly
removing the need to choose at all, with multiple
new approaches, frameworks, and solutions in the
marketplace that often (but not always) can deliver
on all three fronts. And since we know that many
suppliers are feeling pressed by this trifecta, we
thought we’d just ask the question of which was
more important.
Here is the good news: in close to equal
measures (less than a 10 point gap between them)
both clients and suppliers stated quality as the
most important consideration well over two-thirds
of the time. That makes quality “table stakes”— it
has to be good.
That said, speed and cost come in roughly at
the same level; it’s a coin toss on which may be more
important, but make no mistake, they are both
important, with time being a bit less so for clients.
It’s certainly possible that tradeoffs may occur
under the pressures of business reality, but the data
tells us that GRIT respondents want “cheaper, faster,
better”, and they do want all three.
CHEAPER, FASTER OR BETTER: WHAT DRIVES DECISIONS?
We asked those expecting a decline why, and there
was surprising consistency across clients and
suppliers with the responses falling into four basic
buckets:
1. Budget cuts
2. Cost competitiveness
3. Cheaper/faster tech disruption
4. Big data
If there were a list of “usual suspects” in this
industry, this would be it.
Conversely, we also asked those expecting an
increase why they were optimistic. Their responses
could be bucketed as… almost exactly the same list!
Whereas the “budget cuts” answer is replaced with
“innovation/new methods”, the rest of the themes
stand. So, as we’ve previously pointed out, disruption
is as much of an opportunity as it is a challenge.
49
Researchers are dealing
with is an ever proliferating
choice of research
techniques and means of
gathering research data
VOLUNTARY VERBATIMS
As in the last few waves, the end of the GRIT
questionnaire offers participants a battery of
voluntary verbatim questions they can choose to
respond to if they wish. GRIT participants are a
engaged audience, and we usually receive hundreds
of deep, rich, thoughtful responses.
In this final section of the report, we pulled out some
of the major findings from each question, with a few
quotes to underline our take. These responses add
not just context and nuance to the rest of the report,
but in some cases, unique data points that would
have been almost impossible to get in any other way.
The overriding sense from reading though all the
comments from researchers about how their jobs
are changing is a sense that the industry is in a
state of revolution.
What researchers are dealing with is an ever
proliferating choice of research techniques and
means of gathering research data. Much of which
they are not so directly in control of.
The traditional role of the researcher was once
dominated by the process of gathering research
data for their clients, but so much research data is
emerging from non-traditional 3rd party sources,
tech business, and companies themselves are
generating a lot more of their own research data,
the position of the researcher as being the font of
information is shifting.
“10 years ago we were only collecting data from
surveys – we are now incorporating data from
multiple sources where next year survey data
collection will no longer be the dominant source of
data we collect”
“Research used to be about surveys and getting
people to answer them (at least for me). Now we
have to think about the sources of data available
to us to compliment or replace some of those
traditional surveys so we can be more directive with
our survey questions.”
“We are moving away from traditional research and
more into existing multi-sourced data sets. Sales
data, customer service data, machine/telemetry data,
social intelligence, web searches, THEN potential
qualitative or quantitative (but not always).”
“We are no longer translators between companies
and their customers and need to reinvent ourselves
and prove our added value.”
HOW ARE THE JOBS OF RESEARCHERS CHANGING?
50
WWW.GREENBOOK.ORG/GRIT
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“I don’t think many traditional
research companies in their
existing form will be around
in 10 to 15 years’ time”
There are two ways of looking at this, as a threat
to the traditional research company function or
pointing towards a much more expanded role for
researcher generally.
Some researchers did express fear that
research companies in their existing format would
struggle to survive. And some felt like the game was
actually lost.
“In a sense research has got too big! Too many
choices of approach”
“I don’t think many traditional research companies
in their existing form will be around in 10 to 15 years’
time”
“Consumer insight professionals within large client
organisations are living awful times: credibility is
lost, we don’t sit at the right tables anymore, we are
simply used to confirm decisions already made, our
budgets continue to shrink, our career plans are
going nowhere. Our profession is dying.”
Some researchers are beginning to witness their
insight departments being restructured or taking on
a wider role.
“Insight can come from a variety of sources (big
data, qual, quant, DIY, internal surveys etc.). This
means, the MR department is transforming into
“customer and market insights department”.”
“We found our IT department sitting on data, good
at processing it but not good at using it other than to
dashboard it”
But many of the views expressed were a lot more
optimistic about a new strategic role for researchers,
moving to becoming more the synthesizers
of information, taking up more strategic and
consultative roles.
“As more of the traditional work is being upended,
we are now being called upon to provide a longer
term, meatier, view of the world. There are fewer
projects, but they are more interesting. In some
ways, it harkens back to early in my career, when
research focused on the big picture.”
“We are leveraging greater quantities of data, and
thus developing more interesting insights.”
“We are now helping clients analyze data that does
not come from primary research”
“Growth of information inherently requires more
important role for researchers, just not the same
role as before. We have to become the analysts,
the interpreters, the storytellers and the marketers
of insights. ”
“A couple of years back the IT department started
to massively expand, they were the ones processing
all the new data being generated, they were moving
into a more pseudo insights role in the organisation,
but the company slowly started to realise that IT
were not necessarily the best placed people in the
business to think though and understand the data, to
deliver insights that could drive the business forward
and so these resources are now slowly being moved
back under the research department’s control.”
HOW ARE RESEARCHERS RESPONDING?
HOW IS THE RESEARCH DEPARTMENT CHANGING?
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“The diversification of
techniques means we become
research multitaskers”
In response to the ever growing number of more
innovative & creative approaches to conducting
research and gathering data means researchers are
doing much more mixed-mode research. In response
to this, researchers are having to become polymaths.
“The diversification of techniques means we become
research multitaskers”
“The corporate researcher role is changing rapidly.
My company (and others) rarely cares about the
results of any single research study. This “study
mindset” has limited the MR profession for too
long. Insight comes from many places. One of
these places is primary research studies, but it is
only one. The modern corporate researcher must
know primary research but must also understand
secondary research, competitive intelligence, data
mining/big data and potentially many other sources
of information that can lead to insight.”
“We are being asked to facilitate the organization
and development of large scale behavioral
initiatives. This includes not only the research, but
also the communication strategies and the actual
design execution of the research. So we are using
copywriters, designers, business consultants and
neuro-marketers to APPLY the research. We think of
ourselves as a behavioral design agency more than
a behavioral research firm.”
This is impacting how research departments are
organizing themselves becoming a lot less siloed,
more collaborative and more virtual in nature.
“Having researchers who are more well-rounded and
relying less on departmental silos. (One researcher
can program, run data analysis, write reports, etc.)”
“Many more collaborative efforts, more partnering
with those who maintain a quality focus”
“More virtual relationships than ever before between
vendors, clients, etc. Working independently and full
project ownership to achieve results for the client”
“We are working more often with third parties/
agencies than directly with client SMEs; producing
multiple shorter deliverables rather than single
lengthy research report”
Polymath researchers A more collaborative approach
The range of research solutions on offer is leading to
less formal approaches to insights gathering.
“Working life is getting faster, more chaotic, and
‘good enough’ is becoming more prevalent.”
“We are seeing a move to a lot more informal,
innovative, less robust approaches.”
“We are changing from ad hoc to continuous work
with clients, from re-active to pro-active, from survey
to conversations, from general target groups to
specific audiences, (still) from offline to online, from
CAWI to communities. Lots of stuff going on, and
challenging to keep track on innovation, and to
separate actual innovation and change from short
term trends and “buzz”.”
Adopting less formal techniques / good enough research
53
With access to more real time
data, speed it becoming a
researchers’ mantra, in both a
positive and negative sense
With access to more real time data, speed it
becoming a researchers’ mantra, in both a positive
and negative sense.
“Over past 2 years there has been a significant need
to increase the pace of insight delivery, driven by
faster-paced business cycle. Projects that would
have taken 4 weeks 3 years ago need to be turned
around in days. We need to find ways to crunch the
cycle time or we will be left behind by the business.”
“Working life is getting faster, more chaotic, and
‘good enough’ is becoming more prevalent –
because of time pressure, but also because what you
are doing will have such a short lifespan.”
“Speed is becoming even more important. As the
business owners get more access to information and
they see the self-service tools like Google surveys
there is less tolerance for traditional timelines.”
“People want things faster and faster. My
stakeholders are getting very close to a point where
they set a decision date based on an unattainable
date and have no interest in hearing about trade-offs
of their artificially expedited timelines.”
“We are broadening the scope of research services
to offer more ways to connect back to the same
goal – building compelling, evidence-driven, and
action-worthy reports for our clients that utilize
whatever research methodologies it takes to write
the story in the time we have. This means we need to
do smaller quantities of more stuff. Instead of doing
24 TDIs, we’re doing 8 webcam interviews with KOLs
+ a simultaneous online quant/qual forum with the
remaining 16, and we’re evolving the research plan
as we go. No such thing as hard quotas anymore.
Like a search engine, we learn and evolve after every
new piece of input.”
Speed is a mantra
The trend towards development of more analytical
skills and technical resources is the second most
mentioned change researchers are observing in
their organisations.
“Technology and Data Science is playing a much
bigger role in delivering market research.”
“We are becoming more technical.”
“Almost all human-driven processes that are
repeatable are being replaced by automation
and APIs.”
Most new means of gathering data result from
technological innovation and research companies
are now often competing with tech businesses. The
process of analyzing data is becoming a lot more
complex and so research companies are competing
with pure-play data analytics companies to process
the data and deliver back insights. Competing
on both these fronts requires technical skills and
expertise that many research companies do not
possess.
“The era of a research companies tinkering around
with spreadsheets and producing cross tabs is
over, we need to up our game.”
“Most of my work is being rapidly being caught
up with by computer systems and programs. As a
result, my role is shifting towards learning how to
best utilize and harness them.”
“We are moving towards analytics and away from
traditional data collection.”
Shift towards tech-driven research & analysis
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Bigger research organisations
are rapidly buying the skills
necessary to compete
The third most observed trend is that research
companies are becoming more strategic and
consultative.
“We are getting asked to think strategically more
often. Rather than a list of questions, our internal
customers are coming to us with problems or
business scenarios and asking us to help them think
it through.”
“We are including marketing consultancy as a strong
backbone of our daily work.”
“We see our work becoming more strategic and
consultative in nature. Our clients actively seek us
out for their most complex and strategic challenges.
This move “up-market” has shifted our margins in
a positive direction. At the same time, this strategic
positioning doesn’t translate well to doing quick-and-
dirty projects for them.”
“We’re working at a higher level than before. Being
paid for customer insight but actually offering brand
and marketing consultancy.”
In response to the ever-growing role of technology,
bigger research organisations are rapidly buying
the skills necessary to compete, as witnessed by
technology company takeovers and mergers that
dominate the research industry news.
Research businesses are also beginning to
work a lot more collaboratively with companies
that offer the specialist tech and analytical skills
and becoming access points to research technology
solutions in the process.
“We are moving from being our clients’ research
company to becoming their research technology
supplier.”
“Clients are expecting suppliers to be aware of all
the new technology and that is a real challenge
when you are a small supplier.”
Becoming more strategic & consultative
Acting as access points to technology solutions
Rresearchers expressed
concerns about research
businesses spreading
themselves too thin
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As clients are making more
insights-driven decisions,
they are demanding more
actionable insights
There is a general sense that as clients are making
more insights-driven decisions, they are demanding
more actionable insights from research companies
as a result.
“The demand is for insights over charts & numbers.”
“Less data delivery, more insights/stories are wanted
by clients.”
“Less data, more interpretation and strategic support.”
“Less data delivery, more insights/stories are wanted
by clients.”
“More thinking, less reporting. More strategic, less
tactical. More actionable insights as the key to
growth.”
And this is supported by comments from clients:
“My team has pushed their main research agencies
to better support our business from tracking
reporting to really understanding what the “so what”
is and what we can act on to make a difference.”
The demand for actionable insights
With the proliferation of research techniques and
increasing volumes of data, many researchers
expressed concerns about research businesses
spreading themselves too thin and that the
amount of time available to think and analyze is
being squeezed.
“Less time is spent actually analyzing data.”
“More speed, less thought.”
“On the client side, expectations around big data
and its uses are increasing, however ability to
extract useful and actionable insights are not
keeping pace.”
Less thinking / less real analysis
An area identified by a number of researchers is
the growing importance of insight delivery and
of the role researchers have in selling insights
across an organization.
“I find we are doing more of what the corporate
researcher used to do. More presenting, more
influencing, more interaction with “the business”.”
“Work is changing from generating insights more to
internal work with the business teams to ensure that
the insights are applied in business”
“We don’t sell research. We don’t sell
methodology. We sell business solutions.
There’s more upfront stakeholder engagement,
storyboarding analysis, and more interactive
workshop sessions to share results.”
Marketing insights across organizations
Another emerging trend is the growth in more
sophisticated reporting and the demand for
data visualisation.
“With more and more data sources, the role of
researcher is to tie it all together and for that,
data visualisation techniques are becoming
increasingly valuable”
“We are focused more on visualizing data and
research results outside of the standard PowerPoint
charts and graphs.”
“There is an increased demand and we are providing
more reporting via interactive reporting tools
(dashboards) for our clients.”
The demand for Visualisation / better reporting
57
“The job of researcher is
becoming more interesting!”
There were several mentions of the rise of self-
serve (DIY) research and the all-round decline of
methodological rigor. Some mentioned a general lack
of experience with too many different techniques
to master. A number of researchers talked about the
decline of the types of long-term relationships they
used to have with clients.
At the same time, it also appears that “The job
of researcher is becoming more interesting!”
“My work requires greater intellectual capital and
brain power. I need to be more knowledgeable. I
need to be in touch with things.”
“A sense that research companies are starting to win
back a bit more control.”
“Working at a higher level than before.”
“We’re leveraging our experience to become
not only research providers, but also true data
synthesizers that are able to draw stories from
multiple disparate data sources.”
Other trends identified
WWW.GREENBOOK.ORG/GRIT
NIELSEN CONSUMER NEUROSCIENCEOFFERING A FULL SUITE OF NEUROSCIENCE SOLUTIONS AT A GLOBAL SCALE
FACIAL CODING
EEGfMRI
VOICE ANALYSIS
MOTION
RESPIRATION HEART RATE
SKIN CONDUCTANCE
IMPLICIT TESTING
EYE TRACKING
• EEG
• BIOMETRICS
• EYE TRACKING
• FACIAL CODING
• fMRI
• IMPLICIT TESTING
www.nielsen.com/consumerneuroscienceEmail us at neuroscience@nielsen.com
HOW WORK IS CHANGING: WHAT IS BEING TALKED ABOUT
Juggling new data sources/diversity of research techniques 50
Adopting a more strategic/consultative approach 39
Things getting faster 37
Automation & technology 36
Move to analytics 27
Using more innovative/creative approaches 20
Growing price pressure 19
Observing the shift to online and mobile solutions 17
The demand for actionable data / incite driven approaches 16
Less formal techniques / more short cutting 12
The importance of Story telling 11
Being more collaborative 10
More mix mode research 9
Marketing incites across organisation 7
Less thinking / less real analysis 6
Rise of sell serve 6
Visualisation / new ways of reporting 6
An industry undergoing a revolution 5
Marginalisation or research teams 5
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50Number of Mentions
N=262
59
Behavioural economics is seen
to have had more influence
on market research than any
other idea in recent years
“I wish clients would help me
be a better partner by sharing
information and bringing me
into relevant meetings.”
When asked about what is influencing researchers
most, it’s interesting that in this age of Internet
“books” remain the single most important source of
influence, ahead of blogs, conferences, webinars.
In terms of topic, behavioural economics is
seen to have had more influence on market research
than any other idea in recent years by quite some
margin. It was the only subject to achieve double-
digit mentions
“Advances from the behavioural sciences have
a profound effect on the nature of our work –
informing new directions and refinement on research
methods. The rate of adoption, and the obstacles
to adoption, of behavioral science based research
techniques are important trends influencing our
marketing messages and R&D on research methods
and research products.”
“Getting back to basics of understanding human
behavior. Bringing emotional elements back into
research that has become very rational.”
It is difficult to escape from platitudes when analyzing answers to this question, but a few key themes did
emerge that are also echoed elsewhere in this GRIT report:
Big data & data science was the second most
mentioned topic:
“Marketing science. People who are using data
experiments to identify patterns across multiple
categories and countries. It astounds me how
many experienced researchers ignore marketing
science and continue to give poor, ill-informed
advice to clients.”
The single most mentioned individual (Daniel
Kahneman’s theories aside) was Byron Sharpe:
“Books – the key one is “How Brands Grow” by
Byron Sharp. It’s helped re-invent how we think
about brand and market growth strategies.”
The most mentioned book was “The Lean Start
Up” which reflects the changing nature of research
organisations.
WHAT IS INFLUENCING MARKET RESEARCHERS THESE DAYS
WHAT ARE THE WISHES FOR THE RESEARCH INDUSTRY
A desire for more effective “partnerships” between
clients and research companies was expressed on
both sides of the table.
“Act more like partners rather than using agencies as
simple vendors.”
“Embrace a partnership philosophy.”
“I wish clients would help me be a better partner
by sharing information and bringing me into
relevant meetings.”
“I wish that they would be less focused on the
selling part and more on the partnership – learning
more about my business and asking me the right
questions so they can propose solutions that fit my
business. I can’t tell you how many suppliers I’ve had
‘info’ sessions with and spent the whole time talking
about what they do, and it was completely different
than what I might need.”
Partnerships
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WWW.GREENBOOK.ORG/GRIT
“Be bolder, more innovative,
quicker, and make better
use of technology”
Research companies desire
to be treated more like
consultants and receive briefs
that focus on business issues.
Some want research done quicker, others lament the
lack of time to do effective and thoughtful research.
There is a clear call from clients and research
companies alike to be more open to new ideas and
techniques and be more flexible.
“Find a way to speed up their services. Fielding is
now generally quick; the rest of it takes a long time.”
“I wish I could deliver insights faster.”
“Please allow appropriate time for robust research”
“I wish I could be spending more time developing
insights and helping business partners fully leverage
consumer and distribution partner feedback”
“I wish they would reach out to us sooner to help
them design the research plan. Often times the
projects are rushed and this impacts the results.”
“Get their heads out of the past and their minds
into the present and future. Think more open-
mindedly and innovatively, especially with regards
to technology and how it can help them and their
business succeed”
“Be bolder, more innovative, quicker, and make
better use of technology”
“I wish the end buyer would be more open to new
methodologies & technologies that support the
evolving marketing research industry...and truly
strive to be part of the evolution.”
Call us earlier!
A general wish was expressed by research companies
to be brought into the thinking process earlier.
“I wish our clients would call us to help them think
through their insights needs earlier in the process.
Too often they call with a fully formed thought /
approach already in mind, and more often than not,
there may be a better / more creative and customized
way to gather the insights they need.”
“I wish we had more opportunity to guide business
direction during the development process by
incorporating more consumer input.”
Faster / More time Be more open to new techniques
Consult us
Research companies desire to be treated more
like consultants and receive briefs that focus on
business issues.
“I wish they would write briefs that clearly outline
why they are doing the research from their
businesses point of view, and share their budget so
we can work through how best to meet their needs
within their budget. We aren’t out to gouge them
when they share their budget, often we propose
more value for money solutions when we do know
the budget than when we don’t. We are taking a
guess as to the scope clients are after when they
don’t share their budget, whereas when we know it
we can think innovatively about how to get them the
best value for the budget they have.”
“Providing more intelligence toward strategic
decision making for my clients as opposed to
focusing on carrying out methodologies.”
61
The commercial research
landscape does have
periods of stability, but
now is not one of them
FINAL THOUGHTS
Our good friends at CASRO recently said:
“Technological and methodological advancements
continue to drive change in the business world,
and the commercial research arena is no exception.
Omnipresent devices that capture and deliver
digital information have accelerated the speed,
opened access to new respondents, and expanded
the nature of measurement within traditional
quantitative and qualitative marketing research.
The impact of these advancements is arguably an
evolutionary one. Other advances have produced
new data sources, new analytical approaches, and
new platforms for understanding what consumers
want and for predicting what they will buy. Some
regard these developments as revolutionary and
even disruptive.
The commercial research landscape does have
periods of stability, but now is not one of them.”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves, and this
latest phase of the GRIT Report shows the truth
of the statement. But while the insights industry
may not be as stable as compared to the past, the
constant of change brings its own stability, and its
own adaptations. GRIT continues to show that while
the evolution continues, many are riding the wave of
change successfully and there is an unbridled sense
of (cautious) optimism for many, tempered with a
healthy acknowledgment that our rich history isn’t
an anchor tying us down, but rather a touchstone as
we get our bearings for the journey ahead.
Like the rest of the industry, we will continue
to transform and develop the GRIT Report to
ensure we’re meeting the needs of you, our key
stakeholders. As we move into 2016, we’re already
planning some significant changes in our own
process and the questions we want to explore
with you. We look forward to continuing to work
with you as we chart the future of the research
industry together!
62
WWW.GREENBOOK.ORG/GRIT
INNOVATIO
N
Qualitativeresearch
Quantitativeresearch
Usabilitytesting
Ethnographicresearch
Marketopportunity
Competitiveintelligence
Big Datasolutions
Brandresearch
SIS WORLDWIDE HEADQUARTERS11 East 22nd Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10010t: +212-505-6805 | www.sisinternational.comUS/Americas: research@sisinternational.comEMEA: Researchemea@sisinternational.comAPAC: sisapac@sisinternational.comSoutheast Asia: sissea@sisinternational.comStrategy: strategy@sisinternational.comhttps://twitter.com/SISIntlResearch
FrankfurtLondonManilaMexico CityNew YorkSeoulShanghaiSingapore
AutomotiveB2BConsumerCosmeticsEducationFinancial
Food & beverageHealthcareIndustrialPharmaceuticalRetailTourism
BIG DATA SOLUTIONS
MARKET RESEARCH
MARK
ET IN
TELL
IGEN
CE
MARKETINTELLIGENCEAND STRATEGY
INNOVATION MARKETRESEARCH
YOURSUCCESS
SIS HELPS YOU TO PROSPER
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
SIS Greenbook Ad 2015 Press-Ready.pdf 7 10/19/15 3:17 PM
Go to www.GreenBook.org/GRIT
to read the GRIT Report online
ACKNOWLEDGMENTSConcept Originator,
GRIT Executive Editor:
Leonard Murphy – GreenBook
Authors:
Dana Stanley – GreenBook
Gregg Archibald – Gen2 Advisors
Jeffrey Henning – Researchscape
International
Jeffrey Resnick – Stakeholder
Advisory Services
Jon Puleston – Lightspeed GMI
Leonard Murphy – GreenBook
Ray Poynter – Vision Critical
University
Project Coordinator
Emily Fullmer – GreenBook
Design Partner
Keen as Mustard
Sample Partners:
ACEI
AIM
AIP
AMAI
ARIA
Asia Pacific Research Committee
(APRC)
Australian Market & Social
Research Society (AMSRS)
AVAI
BAQMAR
BVA
CASRO
CEIM
ESTIME
feedback
Gen2 Advisors
GIM Gesellschaft für Innovative
Marktforschung
Lightspeed GMI
LYNX Research
MRIA
MROC Japan Inc.
MRS
MSU MMR
NewMR
NGMR
NMSBA
NYAMA
OdinText
PROVOKERS
Qualitative Research Consultants
Association (QRCA)
SAIMO
Sands Research
The Research Club
Researchscape
Toluna
University of Georgia/MRII
UTA
Vision Critical
Wisconsin School of Business
Data Collection:
Lightspeed GMI
Data Processing:
mTAB
GMI Interactive
Q Research Software
Translations:
BVA
ESTIME
Gen2 Advisors
MROC Japan Inc.
Infographic:
AYTM
Publication:
GreenBook®
Commentary Providers:
GutCheck
iTracks
L&E Research
Lucid
Research Now
Sentient Decision Science
SSI
64
WWW.GREENBOOK.ORG/GRIT
RESEARCH & PRODUCTION
AYTMwww.aytm.com
AYTM’s platform is designed with the user
experience in mind for both the survey creator and
the survey taker. We are mobile-friendly by design
and have pioneered techniques to make the complex
simple and beautiful. Our live statistics pages give
you results in real-time, with stress-free exports
into Powerpoint and embeddable charts that are
perfect for data dashboards. Our CASRO-approved
proprietary panels provide access to over 25 million
consumers in 26 countries around the globe.
Whether you’re looking for a do-it-yourself (DIY)
solution, some light consultation, or an expert-run
project, we have the tools, sample, and expertise that
will get you reliable results quickly.
Gen2 Advisorswww.gen2advisors.com
Gen2 Advisors is consulting and advisory firm
supporting the insights industry. We support
corporate researchers by identifying new suppliers,
tools, technologies, and methodologies to support
the changing nature of marketing, budgets, and new
information opportunities. Suppliers can look to us
for guidance on the impact of industry trends and
market opportunities.
Keen as Mustard Marketingwww.mustardmarketing.com
The only full-service marketing agency for market
researchers. We offer marketing and positioning
strategy, branding, design, digital marketing, PR and
content services to the market research and insights
industry. We are thrilled to be design consultants to
GRIT for the new look report.
Lightspeed GMIwww.lightspeedgmi.com
Quality-seeking researchers, marketers and brands
choose Lightspeed GMI as their trusted global
partner for digital data collection. Our innovative
technology, proven sampling methodologies
and operational excellence facilitate a deep
understanding of consumer opinions and behavior.
From award-winning survey engagement to fieldwork
management, we add value at every stage of the
research process.
65
mTABwww.mtabsurveyanalysis.com
mTAB® LLC serves the needs of many Fortune
500 companies across the globe. Our web based
software solutions remove the cost and complexity
of processing and querying large data sets, making
survey data more accessible and useful.
NewMRwww.newmr.org
Helping co-create the future of market research.
Combining the best of the new with the best
of the old.
Q Research Software Limitedwww.q-researchsoftware.com
Q Research Software is for market researchers to
analyze quantitative data. Q greatly enhances the
productivity and quality of analysis and reporting
by combining intuitive interfaces with the latest in
advanced methods.
Stakeholder Advisory Services, LLC.www.stakeholderadvisory.com
Stakeholder Advisory Services helps clients leverage
the insights of stakeholders to understand, manage
and monitor their reputational risk. We are dedicated
to helping organizations address reputational risk
in order to maximize their potential for business
strategy success and sustainability.
Researchscape Internationalwww.researchscape.com
We provide you feedback from prospects and
customers so that you can make key business
decisions about your market. Our consultants write
the questionnaire, collect results from your target
audience, and send you a detailed report. Starting
at $1,995 for surveys of your house email list or for
surveys of 350 U.S. consumers.
66
SAMPLE PARTNERS
ACEIwww.acei.co
Our association was created with the objective
of associating the companies within the sector,
seeking to improve and maintain the quality of
market research in Colombia, determining common
quality standards and promoting a serious and
reliable work, guided by ethics and following our
country’s legislation.
AIMwww.aimchile.cl
Chile Marketing Research Trade Association. The
most relevant MR providers are part of AIM.
AIP www.aip-global.com/EN
AIP continues to be the leading online fieldwork
agency in Asia. AIP recruits and manages
proprietary panels in 12 countries across Asia.
Our research only panels are actively managed
to the highest global standards. When running
research using panels from AIP, our clients have
the peace of mind with knowing who recruited and
managed your respondents. Combined with our
dedicated multi-national/lingual consultants who
are specialized in global projects – AIP ensures your
survey is asking the right questions, to the right
people, in the right language.
AMAIwww.amai.org
AMAI is the only professional association in Latin
America focused on applying industry intelligence
to business and social issues. Founded in 1992,
AMAI originally emerged as the institutional
center of Mexican market research, opinion and
communication communities; it now encompasses
the entire industry, as well as data processing for
decision-making.
ARIAwww.ariaalliance.org
Americas Research Industry Alliance (ARIA) is an
alliance of pan-American research associations
established to support and improve the business
and integrity of the market, opinion and social
research industry.
Asia Pacific Research Committee (APRC)www.aprc-research.com
The main purpose of the Asia Pacific Research
Committee is to further promote the development
of Asia-focused marketing research technologies and
insights through creating additional opportunities
for cross-border exchanges amongst marketing
research associations and communities within the
Asia Pacific region.
67
AMERICAS RESEARCH INDUSTRY ALLIANCE
Australian Market & Social Research Society (AMSRS)www.amsrs.com.au
The Australian Market & Social Research Society
Limited (AMSRS) is a not-for-profit professional
membership body of over 2,000 market and
social research professionals who are dedicated
to increasing the standard and understanding
of market and social research in Australia. The
Society assists members to develop their careers by
heightening professional standards and ethics in the
fields of market and social research.
AVAIThe Venezuelan Association for Market Research
Agencies represents the interests of its affiliated
marketing research Firms and strengthens global
core values and best practices of the industry in
Venezuela through its international presence and
local events and standards.
BAQMARwww.baqmar.eu
BAQMaR is the research association that aims to
make research COOL again through its forward
thinking online content and events.
BVAwww.bva.fr/en/home
BVA provides expert advice thanks to sharp knowledge
of the sector and methodological innovations.
As a pioneer in many areas (behavioral, non verbal,
digital,...), BVA offers quantitative and qualitative
solutions in all business sectors that can untangle
consumer’s mind and lead to actionable and strategic
recommendations.
CASROwww.casro.org
Founded in 1975, CASRO represents 330+
research organizations in the U.S. and abroad,
all of which annually reaffirm their adherence
to the internationally respected CASRO Code of
Standards. CASRO member benefits include a strong
government and public affairs program, expert legal
guidance, an industry-specific insurance program,
benchmarking surveys and superb staff
training and networking opportunities via webinars
and conferences held throughout the year.
CEIMwww.ceim-argentina.org.ar/index.php
CEIM (Camara de Empresas de Investigacion Social y
de Mercado) brings together the leading companies
in the Consumer and Opinion Research industry. Its
main objective is to establish mechanisms ensuring
the responsible operation of this business sector
in Argentina. It promotes flawless quality as
key differentiator of their company members
performance within their specialty, and advises,
defends and represents their members, acting in the
quest of their recognition within the community.
68
ESTIMEwww.estime-neurobiomarketing.com/en
We have 24 years of traditional expertise in LatAm
with 10 years pioneering consumer neuroscience
developments in Europe and the Americas to
research US Hispanic & LatAm Markets with full
capabilities of EEG, GSR, ET and HRV equipment
tied to proprietary neuropsychology modeling,
all teamed with a dedicated group cognitive
neuropsychologists and industry-specific experts.
This primes our Firm to provide our Clients with
deeper and broader understanding of their markets
and customers, while maximizing their ROI across all
marketing efforts.
feedBACKfb.com.co
We are an agency with 17 years of experience in
Market Research. Our mission is to apply consumer
knowledge to concrete marketing decisions. We
focus on four areas: Semiotics, Neuromarketing,
Qualitative and Quantitative.
GIM Gesellschaft für Innovative Marktforschungwww.g-i-m.com
GIM, Gesellschaft für Innovative Marktforschung,
started life in 1987 as a small specialist company
and has since grown into one of Germany’s leading
market research institutes. We offer qualitative and
quantitative market research and can thus provide
the appropriate research solution for your needs and
area of investigation.In every phase of each project,
we optimize our methods on an on-going basis. We
always employ the most suitable solution, be it
ethnography, focus groups, in-depth interviewing,
conjoint, multivariate procedures, tracking-studies,
car clinics or research at the POS.
LYNX Research www.lynxresearch.biz
Choosing a marketing research partner is hardly
simple. Almost every firm promises tested methods
and an efficient team to help you achieve your
objectives. The BIG problem with this is that they
often miss the personal care and attention that will
turn a solid project into something that is the envy
of your clients and colleagues. And this individual
commitment is the distinction between the research-
craftsmen at Lynx and everyone else.
MRIAwww.mria-arim.ca
The Market Research and Intelligence Association
represents all sectors of the market intelligence and
survey research industry in Canada and is its single
authoritative voice.
69
MROC Japan Inc.www.mrocjapan.com
MROC Japan is the online marketing insights
company specialized exclusively in community
research in Japan. By providing ‘Supporter Online
Meeting (SOM)’ by MROC 360, the hybrid methods
both quantitative and qualitative from listening,
observing, & co-creating to nonconscious/emotional
analytics, the company tries to help the clients
put the voice of the customer at the heart of their
marketing strategy.
MRSwww.mrs.org.uk
With members in more than 60 countries, MRS is
the world’s largest research association serving all
those with professional equity in provision or use of
market, social and opinion research, and in business
intelligence, market analysis, customer insight and
consultancy.
MSU MMRwww.marketing.broad.msu.edu/msmr
The Broad Master of Science in Marketing Research
is a specialized graduate-level degree for people
who want to build or accelerate their careers in
marketing research. There are two program formats:
a one-year, full-time program that starts in January,
and a part-time, 21-month hybrid program that is
mostly online, with several on- campus sessions.
NGMRwww.linkedin.com/grp/home?gid=31804
The market has changed, the customers have
changed, why should consumer insights be the
same? NGMR is an invitation-only group for
analytics-professionals who want more than
traditional market research.
NMSBAwww.nmsba.com
International Association for everyone with a
professional interest in Neuromarketing.
OdinText www.andersonanalytics.com/odintext
OdinText is a patented Next Generation Text
Analytics software platform built especially for
Consumer Insights, CS and CRM professionals.
Request more information or a demo at
www.odintext.com
70
PROVOKERSwww.provokersite.com
Provokers isa brand positioning & consumer
understanding challenger. We nurture ideas,
thoughts and processes to provoke a difference that
really makes the difference.
Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA)www.qrca.org
QRCA is dedicated to fostering strong education
and shaping the industry with innovative
techniques and tools. QRCA members are involved
in the design, implementation and analysis of
qualitative research around the globe. Our goal is
to promote excellence in the field of qualitative
research by pooling experience and expertise to
create a shared base of knowledge.
SAIMOwww.saimo.org.ar
SAIMO is the institution founded in 1996 that brings
together all professionals in marketing and opinion
research in Argentina.
Sands Research www.sandsresearch.com
Sands Research Inc. is a pioneer in applying
cognitive neuroscience technology for unique
insight into television and print advertisements,
retail environments, product packaging and product
design. Combined with pre- and post- questionnaires,
we provide a comprehensive, objective analysis of
the consumer’s response to advertising, packaging,
displays and sensory inputs (food, beverage and
cosmetic product testing).
The Research Club www.theresearchclub.com
At the heart of The Research Club is our desire to
connect people within the Market Research Industry.
There’s nothing we like better than bringing people
together for their mutual benefit. We’ve been
connecting people since 2007 and believe that our
relaxed style of networking events is key to building
strong relations. We now host over 30 events each year
for our growing membership of 13000+ and collaborate
with the many of the industry’s leading conference
organisations across the globe.
Tolunawww.toluna-group.com
Toluna is a pioneer in the dynamic world of marketing
research, data collection, reporting and visualization.
Toluna pioneered world’s largest social voting
community where people have fun and feel valued
while expressing their views. For brands, this leads
to deeper, richer insights that inform the important
decisions they make to strengthen their businesses.
71
University of Georgia | MRIIwww.georgiacenter.uga.edu/mrii
University of Georgia & MRII are proud education
partners of GreenBook. The Principles of Market
Research is an online certificate course administered
by the University of Georgia and is designed to
teach the Market Research Core Body of Knowledge
MRCBOK©. Over 8,000 research practitioners
have enrolled in the program from 104 countries.
New Online Course: Principles of Mobile Market
Research. This online course explores emerging
mobile technologies and how they can be applied in
market research. GreenBook is a proud supporter of
the Principles programs, presented by the UGA and
MRII.
UTAwww.uta.edu/msmr
The MSMR Alumni Association (MAA) is a nonprofit
association for graduates of the Masters of Science
in Marketing Research (MSMR) program from
the University of Texas at Arlington. MSMR is a
practical, hands-on program designed to prepare
students for careers in marketing research. Students
learn how to meld logic with creativity, quantitative
data with qualitative insights, and intelligence with
intuition to solve marketing problems and create
business opportunities.
Vision Criticalwww.visioncritical.com
Vision Critical provides a cloud-based customer
intelligence platform that allows companies to build
engaged, secure communities of customers they can
use continuously, across the enterprise, for ongoing,
real-time feedback and insight. Designed for today’s
always-on, social and mobile savvy customer, Vision
Critical’s technology helps large, customer-centric
enterprises discover what their customers want so
they can deliver what they need.
Wisconsin School of Business- The A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Researchbus.wisc.edu
The A.C. Nielsen Center at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison was established in 1990 and
is built on the legacy and funding of the Arthur
C. Nielsen Jr. family, pioneers in the field of
marketing research. It was created to train students
in the specialized ideas, issues, and techniques of
marketing research, as well as to help discover and
disseminate new marketing research knowledge.
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COMMENTARY PROVIDERS
GutCheckwww.gutcheckit.com
GutCheck is a global, online agile market research
solution that enables our clients to get quick
consumer reads to address business questions,
whenever they need to be answered. Whether it’s
scheduled research or an un-planned question,
our flexible quantitative and qualitative platform
enables us to instantly recruit your target audience.
Our full-service team designs and moderates the
discussion to give you the insights and confidence
you need to react and move your business forward.
itrackswww.itracks.com
itracks is a world-leading expert in online focus
groups and the patent holder for qualitative
applications. Leading market research professionals
and Fortune 500 companies recognize itracks’ online
applications as the most client-focused, reliable,
and flexible available. The sophisticated suite of
qualitative, quantitative, online community, and
panel services are easy to use and come equipped
with a wide range of multi-media capabilities.
L&E Researchwww.leresearch.com
L&E Research connects clients with customers,
consumers, medical professionals, patients, business
professionals, and more - for virtually any market
research project. We are Impulse Survey Top
Rated with offices in Raleigh, Tampa, Charlotte,
St. Louis, Cincinnati, Columbus and Baltimore. We
make efficient and accurate connections through
the ongoing development of our software and
technology solutions. Our diverse member database
of over 400,000 respondents ensures that you find
the respondents you need for your project.
Lucidwww.luc.id
Lucid is a software company delivering the power
of human answers on a massive scale. We built
Fulcrum, the first global marketplace for market
research sample (that means human beings who
answer questions), and introduced programmatic
buying and selling to the market research industry.
We also created Federated Sample, a full-service
sample provider that, using our proprietary
technology, empowers our clients to do world-class
market research. Over five billion questions have
been asked and answered on our global platform.
Human data on this scale gives us an amazing
opportunity to solve problems with software.
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Research Nowwww.researchnow.com
Research Now is a digital data collection company
specializing in engaging people around the world
to provide data and opinions that inform business
decisions. Our mission is to help the world’s
business create better products and services one
decision at a time.
Sentientwww.sentientdecisionscience.com
Sentient Decision Science is a behavioral science
based research and consulting firm. Sentient was
created to bring the visionary advances from the
behavioral sciences to the business community in a
practical and accessible form in order to move global
business forward.
Sentient is a globally recognized pioneer in the
development of advanced implicit research
technology which taps the consumer subconscious
and quantifies the effects of emotion on choice. Our
implicit research technology is coupled with deep
knowledge on the fundamental drivers of human
behavior to provide unrivaled insight for our clients.
SSI www.surveysampling.com
SSI is the premier global provider of sampling, data
collection and data analytic solutions for survey
research, reaching respondents in 86 countries via
Internet, telephone, mobile/wireless and mixed-
access offerings.
SSI staff operates from 25 offices in 18 countries,
offering sample across every mode, online and CATI
data collection, questionnaire design consultation,
programming and hosting, online custom reporting
and data processing. SSI’s 3,300 employees serve
more than 3,000 clients worldwide.SSI is the premier
global provider of sampling, data collection and data
analytic solutions for survey research, reaching
respondents in 86 countries via Internet, telephone,
mobile/wireless and mixed-access offerings.
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ADVERTISERS
Aha! www.ahaonlineresearch.com
The Next Gen Online Qual Platform
This next generation online qual research platform
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C+R Researchwww.crresearch.com
At C+R Research, a full-service marketing insights
agency, we’ve been helping brands grow for over 50
years by delivering great research, deep perspective
and committed client service. We’re known for
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grow their business.
FocusVisionwww.focusvision.com
FocusVision is the leading global provider of
qualitative and quantitative technology solutions to
the market research industry, providing an online
survey platform, research facility video streaming,
webcam focus groups, ethnography streaming and
mobile device usability studies. Our services allow
research professionals to engage with respondents
in any place, at any time. FocusVision has over 300
employees and offices in the US, the UK, Bulgaria,
Singapore and Brazil.
Instant.lywww.instant.ly
Instantly™ is the world’s largest audience and
insights platform, providing researchers and
marketers with immediate access to consumers
and automated insights tools to make faster, better
decisions. Instantly is based in Los Angeles, with
offices in the United States, Europe and Asia.
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THE NEXT GENERATIONONLINE QUAL PLATFORM
Nielsenwww.nielsen.com/consumerneuroscience
By using the latest neuroscience technologies in
combination with traditional survey methods, we
help brands understand consumers’ non-conscious
and conscious emotional responses, memory
activations and attentional patterns, empowering
them to better navigate the increasing complexity
of modern consumer behavior. Our insights
provide actionable results and an unprecedented
understanding of consumer related decision-
making, allowing our clients to build deep, lasting
connections with their target audiences.
RealityCheck Consultantswww.realitycheckinc.com
RealityCheck is more than a qualitative consumer
research firm. We’re a global partnership of
experienced creative facilitators, human-to-brand
translators, strategic conceptual analysts, and
storytellers. Our brand experience allows us to
provide the kind of insightful clarity and strategic
direction that can transform a business.
From moderation and recruitment, to field
management and analysis, RealityCheck uses
cutting edge techniques and technology to humanize
market research.
SIS International Researchwww.sisinternational.com
SIS International Research is a leading global
market research and strategic intelligence firm.
Founded in 1984, the company provides full-service
custom market research services, competitive
intelligence, on-demand intelligence answering
services, emerging markets research, consulting
services and global research media. SIS International
continuously conducts ad hoc custom research in
over 120 countries for over 50 industries.
YouGovwww.global.yougov.com
YouGov is an international, full service online
market research agency offering custom research,
omnibus, field and tab services, qualitative research,
syndicated products and market intelligence reports.
Founded in the UK in 2000, YouGov is considered
the pioneer of online market research. Our unique
fully integrated online model has a well-documented
and published track record illustrating the accuracy
of its survey methods and in turn the quality of
its client service work. We can conduct research
in all continents and our online model allows
clients to get international results faster and more
cost-effectively than traditional methods, with no
compromise on quality.
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Insightful Partnership
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www.instant.lyinfo@instant.ly (866) 872-4006