What Iâve Learned During My First Year as Research Manager
Staying on top of trends and best practices is vital in todayâs evolving business and technological landscape, and many of these topics are extremely relevant to market research, including AI, accessibility, B2B strategies, and data collaboration. Here are 10 that have stood out to me as Iâve delved deeper into the world of market research.
1. Be a well-rounded thinker: Embrace foresight and consider the full context.
- Exploring new trends, anticipating future changes, and questioning established perspectives are crucial for identifying and reaching the full potential of an opportunity
- Consider the overall economic and business context of the research and how that may impact the data or interpretations of it
- Stay ahead by adopting a âwhat ifâ mindset and preparing for future situations rather than being stuck in a state of constant reaction
2. Avoid silos: Promote data collaboration and multidisciplinary expertise.
- Improve your decision-making through a collective approach to data management and insights generation
- Use expertise across departments to gain a holistic view of data and provide strategic recommendations
3. Know your goal: Connect research to resultsâand establish that connection upfront.
- It is important to demonstrate the value of insights gained through research by linking them to business decisions and outcomes
- Establish the end goal of the research in the planning phase to know how results will be measured and use that as a target for the project
- Focus your storytelling on the key insights that will impact the business problem at handâdonât provide so much detail that they get lost
4. Include everyone: Foster accessibility in researchâfor everyoneâs benefit.
- Making research accessible to all is not just a moral imperative, but, also provides strategic benefits as people with disabilities make up a substantial percentage of both the population and available spending power
- Inclusive research leads to a more representative sample and gives a clearer picture of the market preferences of the real world
5. Leverage technology: Enhance human productivity with AI tools responsibly and effectively.
- AI offers substantial benefits for increased efficiency and the use of new approaches to data analytics and should be used to gain a deeper understanding of the information
- AI use needs to be done with transparency and must protect the privacy of personal information and key business data
- To avoid feedback loops and hallucinations, and to provide emotional intelligence and strategic thinking, it is important to maintain a human touch as well as review any AI-generated materials
6. Know your audience: Emphasize quality over quantity in B2B research samples.
- Participants are hard (and expensive) to come by, and often a large sample size is an invitation for fraud (bots, âprofessional participantsâ) that will hurt the accuracy of the dataset
- The only caveat is if you need a statistically projectible sample (not as typical in B2B research)
7. Donât waste time: Streamline survey processes to combat declining response rates.
- Avoid repetitive and unnecessary screening questionsâthey will frustrate your participants, especially if you should already have that information or are asking for something not relevant to the business need of the research
- Keep surveys under 15 minutes (if not shorter)âparticipant engagement drops off dramatically once theyâve reached 15-20 minutes committed
8. Use what you have: Leverage existing resources and networks.
- Review and use any existing information you have available, whether that is previously captured data or secondary sources, before jumping into additional research
- If building a panel or looking for participants for focus groups/interviews, find them through your existing contactsââGood people know good peopleâ
9. Be flexible: Adapt to the preferences and motivators of your audience.
- Know your audience and lean into what motivates them to participate in market research when coming up with your research design and methodology
- Be aware of differences in preference between generations, industries, and company sizes
10. Do the right amount of work: Audience segmentation needs a well-defined strategy and company-wide commitment.
- Customer segmentation and persona reports can be handy tools for developing marketing strategies, but they need to be communicated and used across all aspects of the business to be truly effective
- Due to the time and cost required, ensure the potential opportunity is worth the upfront workâNew or substantial growth opportunities often are!
- Depending on the situation, consider the need for full persona reports vs. segmenting your audience based on already available information (such as sales or web traffic)
Thinking about your market research needs? Contact EPIC to learn how we can help!