‘Humanise the data’: Why market research is having a digital reboot
Covid-19 has accelerated the shift to digital in the market research sector, but balance is needed to ensure brands retain the human touch.
The coronavirus crisis has thrown everything in business up in the air. Pressure is mounting and with costs under scrutiny, every aspect of marketing needs to justify its relevance to the brand.
Market research is no exception. While the pandemic is putting pressure on marketers to find cheaper solutions, the sector has to contend with a long-term trend of declining investment. The rather depressing findings of a recent IPA Bellwether report revealed that the number of marketers planning to increase investment in market research has fallen 32.6% since 2013.
If a reboot were needed, it’s safe to say that the sector has had to pivot quickly with the onset of lockdown. Branding expert and Passionbrand founder, Helen Edwards, welcomes the idea of a shake-up, if not a total reboot.
“Obviously budgets are tight and people aren’t spending, so an easy thing to cut straight away is discretionary market research,” she explains.
“That’s not necessarily a bad thing, because people are having to be much more resourceful, looking back at what they’ve done over the past five years and using a lot of what they’ve already got and then maybe implementing and infilling much more specific market research.”
The crisis has certainly accelerated a digital-first approach. But, could deeper insight be being shoved aside in the rush for quick answers?
