Capitalize on Market Research's Tech-Forward Future

Keeping a finger on the pulse of the market research industry takes a bit of effort in today’s ecosystem, as more and more players enter the field and fragmentation among various functions continues. But the impact you can make by moving early is well worth the commitment. One litmus test for the sector is Greenbook’s regularly published GRIT Report, which tracks the health of the industry based on a variety of metrics, segmented broadly into buyer and supplier buckets.

The newest report, 2023 GRIT Business & Innovation Report, covers a number of findings from around the world to give an overview of key trends. A few numbers in this year’s report were concerning, with some segments, such as in-house research teams, facing budget declines among other warning signs. However, there was a shining light: investment in innovation and technology remained strong.

At the GRIT Forum, during which Greenbook experts discuss the findings, they said, “We looked at staff dedicated to innovation, adapting new analytical tools, collaboration within the business, and maintaining a separate budget for innovation. Supplier-side sees more investment in adopting new analytical tools, which makes sense, as they provide these tools to buyers. However, buyers maintain a separate dedicated budget for innovation more than suppliers, possibly due to the supplier's overall innovative nature.”

The good news is that both sides of the marketplace are dedicating resources to innovation, which “is closely tied to tech innovation in our ecosystem.” In the current landscape, one thing is clear: using technology and innovation to gain human understanding isn’t optional, it is essential to keep up with increased pressure for speed, scale, and quality.

The way companies are keeping up with these demands varies widely. Mergers and acquisitions are continuing at pace in our sector, as some companies seek to straddle various functions that traditionally remained in silos within the space - offering a more end-to-end solution.

Big players like Ipsos continue to bolster innovative tools and services through M&A activities, solidifying a global presence with a large number of acquisitions. One tech-forward company that has joined the Ipsos family recently includes Xperiti's online platform which leverages AI technology to recruit professionals for B2B research, and, of course, Infotools became part of Ipsos a couple of years ago.

In addition, many companies in the sector continue to innovate from within, drawing on industry expertise and marketplace demands to create solutions in-house.

The bottom line? The research technology and innovation sector, or ResTech, is showing the strongest promise for the uncertain months to come.

Automation and the strength of the tech-driven sector

At a fundamental level, the power behind the ResTech “movement” can be chalked up to a bucket called “automation.” The search for automation, which can include the now-ubiquitous artificial intelligence, has permeated every aspect of the industry as demand continues to squeeze research teams to deliver on what has become the mantra of our space: “faster, better, cheaper.”

Automated survey programming and design, and applying automation to data analysis and reporting, are part of the fabric of our industry today. The complex data collection piece, including finding respondents, conducting and managing fieldwork, and more, has been scrambling to catch up, with many companies in that space making significant progress toward automating the process of accessing respondents and gathering data.

The annual GRIT Insights Practice Report has consistently included automation as a key theme, with suppliers now expanding use of automation to more intelligent functions, such as report writing. Buyers see the direct benefits of automation for every stage of a research project, but the 2023 report shows they want the tech to complement human efforts, not replace them.

In addition, ESOMAR’s 2022 Global Market Research report says, “Many of the established players are…using automation platforms and systems to make their processes more efficient and effective.”

Until recently, AI and machine learning were somewhat bunched into a grouping with automation when talking about buzzwords in the industry. With the advent of more accessible generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, AI is already becoming a beast of its own in the quest for speed and cost-effectiveness. While some more progressive platforms already offer some level of machine learning or AI functionality, this will more than likely take an even greater leading role as time goes on.

As AI becomes more accessible and accepted, driven by consumer implementations such as Microsoft’s Bing AI (and Copilot), Google’s Bard, and of course OpenAI’s ChatGPT, all industries, including market research, will feel the pressure to implement artificial intelligence to meet customer demands - and company goals.

The challenge organizations face in implementing such innovations is to ensure they continue to do the basics well - delivering insights and understanding that reliably answers key business questions. In any case, the ResTech space certainly will continue to evolve to keep pace with technological advancements, while leading the way with innovations of its own.

Our industry is changing, driven by the massive influx of technology and external factors such as the economy. Keeping a close eye on trends can help to create a competitive edge and shape proactive plans for the future. According to the most recent studies on the health of the industry, such as the GRIT

Reports, it appears that it is difficult to overestimate the essential role of technology in meeting the expectations for the industry. The ResTech sector, driven by automation and advancing technologies like AI, shows immense promise for the uncertain times ahead - as well as delivering on the ongoing desire for innovation.

The challenge lies in balancing innovation with the delivery of reliable insights. And those who find this balance, while capitalizing early on technology trends, tools, and processes, will be best placed to lead the market in their understanding of consumers and their customers.