Research 2.0: Welcome to The Web 2.0 of Market Research
It now seems ages ago but the end of the 90s, early 2000, were for some of us the early start of a new way to run market research, or for the ones that already got it, a new way, in fact to better connect with consumers.
I think I run my first my first online research project back in 1997 if I well recall, I am probably a "dinosaur" of online research for some, still I quickly figured that the medium, the Internet, was bringing more than an alternative way to run faster and cheaper research. As most of you know now, online research is getting more and more main stream and represent a large and growing portion of market research expenditure worldwide (up to a third of expenditure in certain countries such as US, 20% of the 2005 total expenditure worldwide according to the Esomar Global Market Research Report).
Still, researchers are ONLY starting now to truly see the upside opportunity of online research beyond timing and cost, and start to really understand the downside of online research when it comes to the development of the Web 2.0 :
- the ability to use true "interactions" with respondents and conduct inductive rather than deductive type of interviews (where stimuli change on other respondents' inputs). This ability brings unparallel insights that traditional research can not deliver. A good example of this type of solution is brandDelphi (am a bit biased here, as I developed brandDelphi, still it directly speaks to the point).
- As I qualify brandDelphi as an "active listening" solution, online research should also push researchers to better listen, as I believe they don't... Researchers ask questions, they are not really good still at capturing the right "signals" that drive winning insights.
- The ability to listen is as its best when you do not ask questions and simply observe and listen to conversations. Academic researchers refer to this method as "Netography", it clearly represents not only a growing trend on the market but part of the future of market research, look at companies such Nielsen Buzzmetrics for example.
- Listening is certainly the future, as researchers finally realize than their "raw materials" to produce data and insights: "Respondents" are getting more power, and as such the old traditional model of "forced questions" to get answers will soon die. It is clearly that the reseach indutsry starts realizing this as they will soon run a summit "on respondents' collaboration". Still, although this is great, it is not enough to really embrace the web to re-invent research. I believe the answer lies with an intimate and true understanding of the Web 2.0... its implications, challenges and opportunities.
Overall, although the market research industry sees more and more consolidated (still less than most industries) I think that there is room for small, innovative experts shops that will help brands find the holy grail...why? Because Research 2.0 can help find it and more than ever, Brands need it, because they are in trouble, at a turning point in fact. Times are exciting!
What do you think?
Laurent, I was wondering if there is any critique of the online market research process? I know that a few market researchers are very skeptical of online marketing research. I think a review of the criticism would add more credibility to your argument.
Posted by: John Cass | 09/01/2006 at 02:43 PM
Hi John - thanks for your comment. Indeed, there are critics, the reality it seems however, (online research continues to grow by a minimum of 30% year after year), that critics of online research are getting less important thant the ones for offline research...whichet gets tougher and tougher to conduct effcientely and effectively!
Hope this helps, thanks Laurent
Posted by: Laurent Flores | 09/03/2006 at 10:14 AM
I was really wondering what critics say about online market research? Why don't they agree that online research is as valuable as offline research?
I'd heard from some people that researchers were concerned about checking the authenticity of the people who take the surveys. What had you heard about this?
Posted by: John Cass | 09/03/2006 at 08:01 PM
Online MR? If instant professionals carry out online surveys, outcome will as good as quality of the researchers. Indeed, there are question marks- as to representativess, kind of questions and understanding and especially
about panels- what about the composition and maintenance of such devices: professional respondents, refreshment...etc.There is a lot of discusion going on: see Esomar's Research World magazine Februarty 2006 for instance..
On line MR is getting better, but is not yet compeltely ther one might argue...
Posted by: Mario van Hamersveld | 09/14/2006 at 10:17 PM
A lot is being bantered about WEB 2.0 and truly I can understand why as a very excited as a manager of online research services with The Nielsen Company.
However, whilst the core influence of WEB 2.0 is still relatively new to research, the impacts of online surveyees disinterests are already already visible in diminishing response rates (online surveys).
WEB 2.0 has the potential to regenerate online (or online panel) research by inducing the elevation of greater surveyee/panelists engagement in the how research is conducted - giving greater authority and autonomy to surveyees to expand and interact within the methodology of future surveys such as raising their own questions (as oppose to answering or just answering).
However, market researchers are only just now teetering on the edge of what web/research 2.0 means. For market researchers to gain a thorough foothold here will require a complete change in the mindset about how research should be conducted and they are not going to get this unless there is a platform for them to engage in a truly WEB 2.0 environment. This platform needs to be a WEB 2.0 "social" network or community on which market researchers can "play" (interact, engage and influence). I think it is timely to address this now.
Posted by: Vincent Fong | 01/30/2008 at 03:33 AM
Vincent - You are completely right mindset is the issue as well internal client company intertia. I think though that if they do not change from inisde, the outside, will make them change...
Posted by: Laurent Flores | 01/30/2008 at 07:50 AM