GreenBook Future List Spotlight: Athena Lam

What advice do you have for folks hoping to start a career in insights?

In addition to learning best practices in MRX, learn about adjacent industries such as UX research, UX design, and data science. Knowledge of these fields will enable you to contribute to the insights industry in creative ways that speak to consumers today.

If you could change one thing about insights, what would it be?

The one thing I would change about insights right now is the mindset towards iterative research. For quantitative research, the lowered barriers for representative sampling allows researchers to test assumptions quickly and refine surveys, question types, and user interfaces with usage data. By working more closely with UI designers and product professionals to imagine better survey user interfaces and question types, quantitative researchers have a golden opportunity to improve data quality by elevating respondent experience.

What is the most valuable lesson you have learned from market research?

The discipline of thinking things through. Coming from the startup and tech industry, there is a bias for rapid prototyping. While I still subscribe to the idea of testing assumptions quickly, market research as a mature industry demonstrates the value of thoughtful design. The attention paid to exact choice of words and types of survey questions with the goal of rigorous, unbiased research, is educational for people working on new digital solutions.

What challenges do you see facing newer MRX professionals as technology advances?

As with numerous industries, technological advances have lowered barriers for creating new projects and types of surveys. A deeper challenge, which may not seem like one initially, is giving due attention to MRX foundations. Technology is only as effective as its user is self-aware. As technology advances, I would urge new MRX professionals not to get swept up in trying to “get ahead” with the latest technologies, but to dedicate time to understanding how these technologies are built, their limitations, as well as their potential. In the long-term, a deeper appreciation of software infrastructure will help MRX professionals innovate and stay relevant.