The New World Order: The Ascendancy of Insights Technology for Market Research
It’s no surprise that the use of technology-based tools and platforms for conducting market research has been on the rise for many years. Due to the pandemic this ascendancy has been exponentially accelerated. While in-person F2F and traditional focus groups will always have their place in the insights world, Online Qual has become the go-to method for conducting consumer and B2B research studies, and for good reason: Technology can get brands and corporations the high-quality insights they need faster, more efficiently and at lower cost. The bottom line is that Online Qual/Quant is no longer just an up-and-coming trend… it has become the new world order.
Here are five smart reasons you should be all in with online research now and beyond:
- Asynchronous/live: Hybrid methods became one of the most popular market research approaches in the last few years and that trend accelerated even more with the pandemic. This hybrid method gives you the best of both worlds: The strategic depth and emotional connection from projective asynchronous activities combined with the personal nature of a live conversation to go deeper on the async learnings. The live environment also delivers the client engagement that sometimes is missing with asynchronous approaches.
- Agile/Speed: The need for insights at the speed of light is now the norm. Online platforms allow you to recruit more quickly, deploy a qual, quant or hybrid study within hours or a few days, and most importantly, deliver strategic insights to fuel major brand decisions. There are no delays for facility availability or client schedules and you can be in multiple markets and countries simultaneously, true geographic diversity. This enables rapid innovation, concept testing and mini-digital ethnographies to inform brand strategy. It also provides a near real-time gateway to pulse-check cultural events that shape our rapidly changing world.
- Cost effectiveness: Because online requires fewer physical logistics versus in-person face-to-face, it is not only easier and faster to deploy your studies, you, your respondents and clients do not have to leave the comforts of an office or home. And the time savings of online gives you the opportunity to focus on other things. Time is money.
- Quality: While online quality from our standpoint has been great for years, Covid has improved the connectivity with respondents, particularly as it relates to live conversations. Web-based tools, such as our proprietary Zoom integration, have become second nature to respondents as they use these tools regularly to connect with friends, family and business colleagues. We have witnessed first-hand the evolution of respondent (and client) comfort with live conversation technology, leading to better F2F sessions and insights.
- Convenience: Online is always available and on-demand. No booking of facilities, no travel, or scheduling hassles. And with platforms that have sophisticated async and live activities, an integrated online solution provides you, your clients and your respondents with a one-stop experience. All engagement involves one platform, one login, and one communication voice making the operational aspects much more efficient and centralized. All of the action is viewable from wherever you want to be.
Let me be clear: It is inevitable that in-person research will return. But In talking to our own clients and those who have jumped on board recently, there has been a clear tipping point that is here to stay. Many Aha! users who thought their custom workshops and live sessions could only be done in person have learned their custom methods ARE EVEN BETTER ONLINE! And the move in many cases will be permanent.
We did not anticipate a global pandemic, but we have been prepared for the market research industry’s adoption of insights technology. Since our inception we have invested in the mobile, video, and meeting tools, including Live Conversations™, the first ever integration of Zoom, to ensure our platform was ahead of the curve. We have always believed that technology makes market research better. That foresight has paid off not only for us, but for our hundreds of clients who have smoothly migrated to the New World Order.
If you want to talk about how to make the leap into online qualitative, or learn more about our Insights Technology Platform, you can reach me here
