Does Market Research Need a Slow Revolution?

The Slow Movement is a fascinating, quasi-philosophical, and counter-cultural belief system. But what makes it most curious is how the movement’s conceptual nature has very real and tangible impacts on a range of both human and commercial activities. So, what exactly is the Slow Movement?

Its origins are murky, though are often attributed to a 1986 protest against the opening of a McDonald’s in the Piazza di Spagna of Rome. Since then, it has grown into what has been described as a “cultural revolution against the notion that faster is always better. The philosophy is not about doing everything at a snail’s pace, but rather at the right speed; doing everything as well as possible, not as fast as possible.”

Over the years, the philosophy has been applied to a wide range of topics = from cinema to fashion, medicine to parenting, technological innovation to travel. One of the best examples of the Slow Movement in action is the Delayed Gratification magazine. This news-centric, quarterly publication proudly bills itself as, “the world’s first Slow Journalism magazine”. Rather than seek the latest news or break new stories, the publication instead revisits the events of the past three months to offer in-depth, thoughtful, and independent reflections.

Should insight professionals reject agility?

It was the success of this philosophy in so many contexts, really, that made me wonder whether the insight industry needed – or indeed deserved – a similar reaction against the frantic race towards agile (and specifically, faster) research.

But what will a deliberate rejection of speed achieve? Before we go any further, I should point out, that all methodologies and techniques have their place. However, it’s important to remember that core principle of the Slow Movement: doing everything at the right speed. If agile is right, then it’s right. And if it’s not…what are the alternatives?

Perhaps we can look to an adjacent practice for answers. Specifically, the field of marketing. Some of the most natural marketing instincts are to desire a product to go viral, to sell out, to bring in more revenue quicker. Instant and readily available advertising, facilitated by digital spaces, has only amplified competitiveness and the need for speed.

But that comes at a cost. Perhaps the best explanation for Slow Marketing comes from Simple & Season’s Slow Marketing Manifesto:

It’s about making a business based on genuine human connection, it’s about marketing ourselves and our business in a way that doesn’t feel like we’ve sold our souls, it’s about building trusted, long-lasting brands. It’s about being valuable, about using our knowledge and intuition, and about picking the most efficient ways to utilise our time so we can do some living too.

Simplicity, purpose, knowledge, humanity, and value all have a role to play here. The important learning is that while marketing can sometimes provide quick wins and instant relevance – but those are not the foundations upon which a brand is built. Brand purpose and value cannot be developed in the time it takes to create and run a digital advertising campaign, or react to current events with well-timed PR. Everything should be done at the right pace.

Interpreting the Slow Manifesto

If we apply the same philosophy to market research, the conclusion we arrive at is simple yet frequently overlooked. Quick, fast, and reactive research hav a place. But so does deliberately slow, reflective, and retrospective activity. Like the journalists of Delayed Gratification, there’s much we can learn in hindsight. Consider these examples as practical ways that the Slow Movement could be applied to insight:

• Annual reflections and triangulations to digest and internalise previous learnings
• Reimagining the act of creating a customer-centric cultures as a long-term, strategic priority
• Deliberately detaching programme development from present-day economic affairs, trends, and societal developments
• Surveys activities designed to capture feedback after customers have processed their feelings about a given experience

These examples share a surprising amount of similarities with the ‘slow science‘ branch of thinking. Adopting the same general principles, slow science is based on the belief that science should be a steady, methodical process, and that scientists should not be charged with providing quick fixes to society’s problems. It favors science that supports curiosity-driven research and opposes performance targets.

Considering commercial interests

Market research and insight professionals operate in inherently commercial environments. So, it’s impossible – or at least very difficult – to wholly reject the structure of performance and target achievement. But slow research doesn’t need to reject such principles in their entirety.

There is value in simply segregating our time. In finding the space between projects and always-on customer feedback to switch off for a short period and not be influenced by the here and now. Such time could be used to look back over a period of research – whether that is quarterly or yearly – and seek out the insights that weren’t so obvious at the time. There will always be learnings, whether they are consumer-focused, or about the research process itself.

Alternatively, it’s possible to actively pursue research projects at a slower pace. While yes, much of the technology and the tools available are not geared towards that purpose, we still have everything we need to make it happen. It can be achieved through a greater focus on ethnography, anthropology, sociology, and observation over asking quick questions. Even diaries, interviews, focus groups, and creative tasks can be re-tooled to search for a holistic customer view, rather than the narrow circumstances and interactions we commonly focus on.

In all this, and if nothing else, the slow movement serves as a welcome reminder that researchers apply tools, techniques, and methodologies. We are not beholden to them – and it is up to us to decide how best to deliver insightful value in an increasingly complex world.