New technologies in marketing research
Rapidly changing research methods, as well as the relationship of receivers with respondents
Before talking about new breakthrough technologies, I would like to say a few words about current trends and challenges in marketing research, which, in fact, determine the development of new technologies.
The main modern trend of marketing research is, of course, internatization and digitalization. We can say that marketing research is increasingly going online.
The emergence of so-called big data is associated with this main trend. Big data is huge arrays that are accumulated by marketing agencies, for example, in the course of panel research, as well as arrays of customer data that Internet providers have, cellular operators, etc. The agenda is how to organize work with these big data to get information about the consumer and his behavior.
In connection with these trends, the structure of marketing agencies is changing. Increasingly, digital professionals are required. Large Internet companies are entering the field of marketing research, creating a new kind of competition for us.
Rivers of information require new approaches to their processing and analysis. On the one hand, it is necessary to synthesize, integrate and merge disparate data, so-called. data fusion. On the other hand, data from one source, so-called, are of great interest. single source, when we receive different streams of information from one respondent.
On the one hand, clients are demanding more and more information from us, on the other hand, simplification, i.e. more simple and visual forms of its presentation.
In general, customer requirements are tightened. They want more, faster and for less money. First of all, customers want to see a business partner, consultant, and not just a data provider in an agency. In this regard, modern market research institutions are developing so-called. fact based consulting, i.e., to some extent, enter the field of business consultants. To do this, you need to know better the industry and the customer market In this sense, the role of marketing research for customers is growing. In addition, clients want to receive from us not just the results of individual research methods, but a comprehensive solution to their problems.
Today, customers are increasingly asking for our forecasts: how sales will change, whether the launch of a new product will be successful. In addition, they are increasingly seeking direct communication with respondents.
Not less changes occur in the area of our interaction with respondents. The task is to be closer to the consumer and better to hear it. Today, we are increasingly moving from studying consumer opinions to exploring their experience. Everything new is well forgotten old. Back in the early 50s of the last century, the famous German researcher Elizabeth Noel-Neumann said that in order to understand the behavior of consumers, it is necessary to interview not those who are going to buy, but those who have already made a purchase.
Customers today pay less attention to the representativeness of surveys. At the same time, target groups are becoming increasingly difficult to achieve. Respondents are becoming more mobile and value their time. In addition, the duration and complexity of the interview increases, which leads to fatigue of the respondents. This problem is also solved through the development of digital technology. In addition, polls are increasingly being conducted in places of specific actions, outlets, cafes, car parks.
Another trend in the development of marketing research is the glocalization and development of new markets. This tendency is contradictory, as follows from its definition. On the one hand, more and more decisions about marketing research are being made globally at our clients' headquarters. Digitalization of marketing research reinforces this trend. Online surveys, for example, are conducted bypassing a local research company. On the other hand, consulting, about which we spoke, cannot but be conducted at the local level, but rather, can only be carried out at the local level.
In this regard, despite the global development of digital technologies, there will always be niches for traditional research methods such as face-to-face, telephone surveys, in-depth interviews and focus groups.
The last tendency I would like to mention is the “hypertrophied” concern for the preservation of personal data. Today we are not starting a single major project without a detailed study of the issue of preserving personal data. This trend is also caused by the digitalization of our lives and will greatly influence our market.
In accordance with the main trend, the main methods of marketing research today are developing in the field of digital technologies. First of all, these are online polls, which, however, have already turned from innovative to everyday. Today, the share of online surveys in the world, according to ESOMAR, is more than twice the proportion of personal interviews. AT