10 Marketing Research Trends for 2012
Posted by John Grafton on Tue, Jan 10, 2012 @ 07:00 AM
With 2012 just around the corner, it's time to look forward rather than back. Today's article comes to us from Mike Carroll, Director of Sales & Marketing at MarketResearchCareers.com.
Based upon their experience in the industry, we thought it might be helpful to share their perspectives regarding emerging trends in Marketing Research -- helping you to prepare for the coming year.
Trend #1: Data Streams Will Shift Researcher Focus
With the growing availability of data streams that reflect consumer behavior, it is essential that these sources be understood, harnessed, and mined in 2012. Technologies such as in-store location monitoring, eye tracking, and others generate data that reveal true consumer activity. Mining these streams will lead to superior marketing results with a lessened reliance upon survey-based data -- and DIY survey tools in particular. However, researchers will be required to review, interpret, and limit activities based upon privacy policies to prevent alienating their audience and exposing themselves to significant business and legal risk.
Trend #2: Mobile Devices Will Shape New Methodologies
With the exploding use of smartphones and tablets, researchers need to become intimately familiar with how consumers actually use these devices. This knowledge must then be translated into methodologies that minimize inconvenience levels and maximize data quality. Simplified apps producing actionable data, single question surveys, and other approaches that reflect how these devices are used will be essential to developing and defending reliable research methods for this "new world."
Trend #3: Insights From Unstructured Text Will Become More Precise
More than any previous year, new technology will be developed in 2012 to accurately interpret blogs, online comments, and Facebook postings. Such tools will provide marketers and brand stewards with real-time insights that reduce the reliance upon traditional data capture methods.
Trend #4: Completion Rates for Online Surveys Will Continue to Plummet
By no means is this a new trend, but the erosion of cooperation and completion rates will continue. Surveys requiring more than 5 minutes will falter and data quality will further suffer from random input. Regrettably, there will be no ability to correct datasets as traditional approaches such as weighting and data bridging will be unsuccessful. And we anticipate a larger presence of "survey bots" that will further reduce the accuracy of and confidence in survey data.
Trend #5: Brands Will Accelerate Direct Access to Their Customers
Again, this is not a new trend -- but one that will continue to grow in importance and pervasiveness. Large brands will invest heavily in dis-intermediating methods such as Facebook, smartphone/tablet apps, and couponing to better understand their audiences and drive sales. These coveted relationships will become the cornerstone for product feedback and drive product innovation.
Trend #6: Research Patents Will Be Actively Enforced
With growing competition chasing stagnant research budgets, organizations with patents will flex their muscle in 2012. This action is long overdue within the market research industry. The coming patent wars will redefine the offerings of many research firms and spark industry consolidation.
Trend #7: Overall Research Budgets Will Experience Limited Growth
Despite decades of growth, we expect the overall spending for market research will grow at rates no greater than the CPI for the foreseeable future. Buyers of market research will pass along cost containment pressures to their suppliers. The ability to leverage technology and automate tasks will be essential for research organizations to maintain margins.
Trend #8: Prices for Syndicated Research will Remain Stable; Custom Research and Sample Access Will Decrease
As custom research and access to sample continue their drive toward commoditized services, research buyers will be willing (and expect) to pay less. Regrettably, the use of offshoring that once enhanced supplier margins will serve to limit pricing power given perceptions of limited data quality. However, the unique insights provided by well recognized analysts will enable syndicated research firms to maintain -- and perhaps even increase -- prices.
Trend #9: New Skill Sets Will Be Required -- Paying Substantially More
Research professionals will need to develop the ability to manage large, disaggregated datasets. In particular, researchers will need to master SQL and SAS/SPSS at a minimum. Furthermore, researchers will be required to have a fundamental understanding of the Internet and how it works -- technically. And those who possess these skills will be in great demand -- easily commanding salaries between $100,000 to $200,000 per year.
Trend #10: Job Hopping Becomes Popular Among the Most Skilled MR Professionals
Researchers with the skills will job-hop seeking new challenges and greater compensation. In an attempt to keep their best, retention measures (bonus, options, etc.) will quietly become commonplace. For perhaps the first time in the MR industry, compensation will be based upon what a researcher can do rather than what they have done.
We hope these trends help you to prepare for 2012 and beyond. We'd welcome any comments regarding these projected trends.
MarketResearchCareers is the career website with a comprehensive database of resumes and jobs focusing exclusively on the Market Research industry. You can reach them at: http://www.marketresearchcareers.com/
