New-breed market research: Fast, focused and always on

Today’s fast-paced, results-driven business world has had many knock-on effects for marketing departments. One such effect is the need for swift, accurate and up-to-the-minute consumer research which has enabled ‘research 2.0’ consultancies to thrive—meaning established research players have needed to reassess their offering—with claims of consumer research reports turned round in a matter of days thanks to the use of digital media.

“Short, fast, focused and ongoing research is a much closer match for how today’s businesses work and make decisions’, says Dylan Ketchum, head of corporate development at Decision Fuel, one of the new strain of research firms, which also includes Vision Critical and Pulse. 

With many of the world’s biggest brands looking to Asia to drive growth, there is a clamour to understand how and where to best penetrate target audiences, meaning swift calls to action often need to be deployed by marketing teams and their respective agencies. 

As such, the aforementioned companies seem to be meeting a real market need as data providers in an increasingly fast-moving world where instant results are more critical than traditional deep dive research. 

“The traditional model of a six-month engagement with reams of tables is no longer sufficient,” says Bob Chua, chief executive of Pulse Group. “The opportunity will be over before the study has even begun.”

He claims firms such as Pulse allow for a very high level targeting of current and potential consumers and real-time analysis of specific situations, enabling brands to be nimble and to tweak strategies as they see fit. 

That’s not to say the future is bleak for the traditional research houses such as Nielsen and Ipsos. Indeed, both firms make strong cases for choosing a longer-term research strategy rather than opting for instant gratification. 

“Smaller research projects will be limited when it comes to insights and analysis, so there are trade-offs to be made between speed, quality, scope and cost when it comes to research,” says Therese Glennon, consumer insights leader at Nielsen APMEA.

Similarly, Darlene Lee, managing director of Ipsos Hong Kong, believes that a major disadvantage of employing so-called ‘research 2.0’ agencies is “a lack of population representation and not enough data to link with big databases for more thorough analytics”. 

While she is not dismissive of such companies—admitting that Ipsos partners with a lot of such firms on occasion—she feels that only longer-term research projects can offer ‘emotional exploration’ by combining traditional qualitative methods with contemporary specialisations such as ethnography and photographic diaries. 

This article is from the May 2013 Campaign Asia-Pacific Subscribe online or call +852 2122-5227.

Despite some limitations and disadvantages, the rise of these more boutique-style research firms indicates that there is clearly an appetite for their services. Bruce Wells, president and managing director at Vision Critical in Asia believes firms such as his offer a competitive advantage over traditional “rearward-facing” rivals. 

“Our clients are getting value from having continuous iterative learning from a large targeted cross section of customers that just isn’t possible through traditional methodologies,” he says. 

Another often cited advantage is that it forces brands to focus on key priorities and research objectives, ensuring that the right questions are asked and that clients can stay on top of the latest trends—rather than finding out after the event. 

Does this mean the future of research is instantaneous and deep dives are consigned to history? Not according to the people that matter most—the clients. 

Barbara Edwards, senior manager, insights and planning at Kellogg ANZ believes both have a role to play. 

“There’s always going to be a role for the large comprehensive studies, such as when we look at how consumers perceive our corporate reputation,”she says. “But there is an increasing need for the quick options, particularly when it comes to tactical brand marketing.”