MR: Finding the familiar in extraordinary times

Are you becoming weary of all the change and upheaval occurring on a global level? It seems that every day brings a new set of challenges that must be accommodated. It is uncomfortable and feels shaky and unstable. As humans, our brains crave safety, security and a feeling of control. All of these have been in short supply for the past few months.

As market researchers, we like data and uncovering insights that can help guide important decisions. This data is also slippery and fickle, changing from day to day and week to week as consumers struggle to adapt. Their attitudes, emotions and behaviors are unpredictable.

It is hard to imagine throwing any more change into the mix, but many experts are saying that’s exactly what should happen. A recent Greenbook webinar covered this reality, indicating that “to keep up with changing behaviors of consumers, having the right technology and implementing tools efficiently is critical.” How can we rely on traditional, broken, slow methods to keep up when new insights are coming in so quickly? The webinar covered three main points; we have zoomed up from those to a bird’s eye view and added our thoughts to each below.

• Adapt to changing consumer behaviors: There are many, many pressures on consumers right now to change the way the act. Whether it is a government mandate, social pressure, financial instability or changed circumstances, we can probably safely say that most individuals have modified their routines recently. This may mean we need to approach them differently, with our type of outreach and rewards systems, as well as the way we communicate and frame our questions.
• Evaluate trade-offs: There are always adjustments to be made with new technology. Automation is meant to get us to our insights more quickly, efficiently and effectively. In truth, if you are using the right solution, it can also have a big impact on quality (the number one concern in the industry according to the latest GRIT report). Is there a downside here? There absolutely can be if the proper type of solution is not chosen. It could require more workarounds, and cause researchers to lose touch with the data. If done correctly, it can give researchers more time to do what they do best and drive faster decision making.
• Leverage technology: This is clearly essential, now more than ever (to use a trite phrase). We can’t make the speedy business decisions we need to during constant change without the help of technology. But implementing it can take time we simply don’t have. We write more about this in our recent blog post, Streamline Your Market Research Technology Adoption, where we encourage you to implement solutions that integrate with programs you already know, have a strong vendor partner relationship and use solutions that are actually built with the market researcher in mind.

While keeping the status quo in our businesses as everything around us shifts may seem attractive, it isn’t a reasonable approach. We must keep up with what is going on in order to do our jobs, and that means using report automation and other technology solutions. The good news is that you don’t have to upend everything to do so - OfficeReports integrates directly with programs you already know well (Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint) to automate your survey reporting. Find a stable, familiar solution AND keep up with the unsettled and unpredictable consumer insights you need.