GreenBook Future List Spotlight: Mark David Alvarez

Since starting your career in MRX, what would you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?

In my 10 years in the industry, I would consider the opportunity to start and run InSites Consulting here in the Philippines as one of my greatest accomplishments.

It has always been my passion and mission to inspire and spark innovation among different brands, and I have consistently exemplified this in the various organizations I have worked for (from agency to client-side, the latter in the telco and insurance sectors). Thus, having the opportunity now to manage a global digital-first research company in the country, I have a bigger platform to evangelize innovative research methods (such as online communities) driving impact through agile customer insights. Our ultimate goal is to help shape the future of brands and inspire more clients from diverse industries in this digital era.

 

When did you know you wanted to enter a career in insights, and what inspired you?

I have always been fascinated by how the human mind operates, how behaviors are manifested accordingly, and how people relate with each other, forming different relational structures in society. That said, I became keen to pursue a degree in Sociology and the practice of market and consumer research, allowing me to have a deeper appreciation of the discipline. Straight out of university, I joined a local market research company and built my foundations in market research, and then further honed my skills in the telco and insurance sector. My experience allowed me to interact and get close with consumers from different walks of life, uncovering their thoughts, feelings, and even unspoken needs. This kindled my passion for insights, as unearthing latent consumer truths enables me to influence the future of brands.

 

What are three skills you believe to be crucial to succeed in market research and why?

Given the pandemic and digital context we are in now, I believe the researcher of the future must embody three critical characteristics, namely being bold, agile, and excited.

BE BOLD to take risks and try new ways of engaging both brands and consumers. Free your mind from the ‘it has always been done this way’ mentality, and rather explore and innovate.

BE AGILE in how you respond to the changing needs of your clients and ultimately your customers. That said, we need to pick up speed in how we reinvent our ways of engaging the market – being mindful of the shift from face-to-face to digital.

And lastly, BE EXCITED, always; share your passion and enthusiasm with fellow researchers, and infect them with positivity as to what lies ahead in this new age of research.

 

Tell us about any advocacy/volunteer/association work you’re doing within the industry. What issues are you trying to solve? Why is this work critical for the industry?

Due to various socio-economic and technological challenges, the Philippines is still primarily a highly face-to-face or offline market (including the market research industry). But the changing times and rapid evolution of consumer behavior call for a more innovative approach to insighting. This is why I was determined and convinced to set up InSites Consulting in the Philippines, to pioneer and champion digital research in a highly face-to-face research-centric market. This means cutting through the clutter, introducing research users to new ways of collaboration with our digital-first proposition (insight communities, next-generation all-online methods), helping organizations to be truly customer-centric.

 

Where do you see the future of insights heading in the next 10 years?

I see the future of insights to be a significant pivot towards building a deeper relationship with customers, with brands playing an active role in this interaction. We will transition from the interviewer-interviewee type of interaction to more community-type or relationship-building engagement, directly between brands and their customers, turning researchers into enablers. Given this, as an industry, we should embrace a human-centric design-thinking approach enabling brands to install a culture and infrastructure where consumer insights are an integral part of a business. Granting customers the driver’s seat to co-creation and solutioning for brands.