What Insights Teams Really Want from a Market Research Platform
Freedom. Flexibility. Creative Problem Solving.
So, a packaged goods marketer, a major mass retailer, and a skincare/wellness organization all walk into a bar. Sounds like the start of a bad joke, right? Actually, it’s a perfect way to illustrate how the aha insights technology platform brings together freedom, creativity, and flexibility to meet the unique needs of very different clients with different needs and distinct corporate cultures. What could these three actually have in common?
As I mentioned in a recent blog, we talked to some of our most active and loyal corporate market research clients about their ResTech needs and to get a sense of how we’re doing. We found that they each have a story about experiencing a mix of freedom, creativity, and flexibility using our insights platform.
Let’s dive into their stories to see how we deliver.
Freedom Through AI-Driven Insights
The packaged goods marketer who is focused on understanding their consumer in-depth yet challenged by a never-ending demand for speed begins their story talking about our AI analytics and reporting tool, aha intelligence™ (ai):
“I think every single vendor we have has had some sort of AI rollout. And, the only one that I am actually using is aha because it is the most impactful at summarizing, using it as a gut check. They also taught us how to use it, which was unique. So, they’ve just continued to prove they have the platform and are investing in innovating so that it will make our lives easier. They also feel like partners to our team, where any question that we have, we can go to them, and we’ll get a quick response. They’re reliable, communicative, and generally nice, fun people to be around. I can’t say that about all of our vendors.”
Beyond just summarizing data, this team leveraged aha intelligence™ (ai) to quickly summarize data, streamline repetitive tasks, and validate their instincts, freeing up time to dive deeper into consumer behavior and more freedom to focus on strategy. For example, during a brand perception study, our (ai) analytics enabled them to quickly identify themes and outliers, allowing the team to pivot their analysis without delaying deadlines. This freedom allowed them to focus on crafting actionable strategies instead of wrestling with raw data.
Creative Problem Solving for Unique Challenges
Then there’s the major mass market retailer who sees aha as a “creative problem solver.” They often need people to see, touch, and play with physical items or be in specific situations, and our platform gives them a creative way to replicate that online. They can’t always be traveling all over the country to do this work in person and feel pressure to turn projects around quickly for their internal clients.
“I come to aha if I want something really creative. We recently did a beauty project about storage. And the aha team figured out how to get visually creative in an online environment. We developed a virtual approach that literally looked like a vanity and asked people to place items on it. This gave us an extra layer I couldn’t do in any other platform. So, beyond all that aha does for us, I also think of them as creative problem solvers when I want to do something that I would do in person but can’t for various reasons. The creative aspect allows us to do things that replicate in-person research much more efficiently. This wouldn’t be possible with other vendors, and we’d be settling.”
By offering interactive tools like our flexible and visual Dynamic Canvas®, aha replicates in-person activities online, giving this retailer the creativity and flexibility to turn around projects faster and better than in-person. The ability to creatively problem-solve online saved the team weeks of logistical effort (and cost), all while preserving the authenticity of real-world behavior.
Flexibility in Immersive Consumer Engagement
And, finally, here’s a story from the skincare/wellness organization. As you might imagine, they like the flexibility to get up close and personal with their consumers to demonstrate insights to their internal clients and make it easier for everyone to access those insights in one place.
“We love to do in-home visits. But we’ve grown to love the concept of being in their home and not having to be physically there. Feeling like you’re truly in their environment. With Aha’s mobile digital ethnography tools, we can have people washing their faces or applying skincare products in front of their cameras, either live or self-recorded. Also, aha helps us get everything pulled together in one spot, so you don’t have surveys on one platform and videos on another. It is all available on one site, one login, and one URL to eliminate respondent confusion. We can create showreels that everyone can watch and get more engaged with the story. We can also invite team members to observe as the research unfolds and ask questions as they have them. And, of course, everybody has different observations when they can see it live, and the platform allows them to share those unique thoughts in a team setting.”
In another instance, participants submitted video diaries through the Aha platform during a product trial for a new skincare cream, showcasing their routines and reactions in real-time. The team could easily compile these into highlight reels to share with stakeholders, providing a vivid snapshot of real consumer experiences. The flexibility to observe and adapt mid-study led to richer insights, as live findings informed follow-up questions.
One Platform, Endless Possibilities
Okay, so while these three clients didn’t really walk into a bar, their stories show how aha insights technology empowers teams across industries to work smarter, think creatively, and adapt on the fly. It’s not just about tools—it’s about solving real problems with freedom, creativity, and flexibility.
So, if they ever did meet in a bar, you can bet they’d have plenty to talk about!
If you want to learn more about our flexible tools, click here.
