My Contribution to the “NGMR Top-5-Hot vs. Top-5-Not” Challenge

Tom Anderson, one of the 5 hottest market researchers under 40 (officially so dubbed by the AMA), has asked me to join other bloggers on his NGMR list to write a post answering the following question:

What do YOU think are the 10 most important things to consider for the research industry going forward? Said a bit differently, what 5 things will continue to be ‘Hot’ and what 5 things will not in regard to market research in the next few years?

We are all going to hand in our papers at the same time, so I’m not sure how closely my views correspond to those of other writers, or even if there are other writers! But I have faith that Tom will have assembled a good group and can’t wait to read what they have to say.

That said, here’s my list of what I see as being the top-5 hot topics and the top-5 not topics, in about 5 years from now.

THE HOT FIVE

1. Text Analytics (Had to put that first because I know the other T.A. won’t let it cool)

2. Merging of methodologies, with barriers breaking down between qualitative and quantitative, listening and asking, and top-down and bottom-up generated information. Most ad-hoc projects will embrace several approaches using inexpensive and accessible DIY and mobile tools. Design will be modular rather than uni-dimensional, and each piece of primary research will wring every last ounce out of the dollars and time expended. The trick will be in the aggregation of a huge amount of data from disparate sources, and making sense of it all.

3. Qualitative will be hot again since moderating and analysis, when brilliantly done, cannot be automated. After 5 years of fascination with digital communication, a new generation of clients will rediscover the benefits of face-to-face contact with real people. But traditional forms of F2F qualitative will be enriched by digital enhancements both before and after the personal phase. Qualitative practitioners will be expected to know a full range of methodologies, and the good ones will be quick to learn new skills.

4. Client-side career opportunities. Clients will increase their need for internal researchers as they expand their use of MROCs and DIY tools. They will look to outside suppliers for software and technical innovation, but internally will build strategic teams to interpret the data in the context of what is going on in their businesses. For the most part, they will decrease their dependence on outside consultants, preferring instead to reap the economies and advantages of cultivating in-house staff with specific knowledge of their business.

5. Training in market research and its related disciplines, will accompany the explosion in DIY, mobile and social media monitoring. Some of the training will be done by specialty education groups within the big MR agencies, but there will also be growth in companies that provide cross-platform training.

NOT HOT

1. “Insight” will come to seem outdated, both as a word and as too broad a concept to be useful. Rather than looking for discreet and isolated ah-ahs, researchers will begin to build holistic databases, adding to and building upon evergreen content as the need arises for fresh information. A new job category will open up for market researchers – that of the digital librarian and archivist.

2. Big and general will be replaced by small and local. New tech tools will make micro-markets accessible and affordable. Plus, as the big brands begin to move more and more of their research dollars in-house, suppliers will be looking for new business in the non-traditional long tail – associations, non-profits, local business, ecommerce sites, etc.

3. One-way – mirrors, interviewing, or simply doing things the same ol’ one way. Qualitative will move outside the focus group facility, not just digitally, but also in person. Apps on portable tablets will make it truly easy AND cheap to conduct interviews anywhere – on the bus, in a store, in line for fast food. Portable video conferencing like Apple’s Face-Time will make mobile research two-way and drive out earlier online approaches using webcams.

4. Boring will no longer be tolerated – not in endless, grid heavy surveys, nor in mind-numbing PowerPoint presentations. Graphics and animation will come to the rescue. But the early fascination with bells and whistles will eventually be replaced by a call for more substance, while keeping the style.

5. Ignoring the Big Picture: There’s no way I can write a post about the future without bleating on about the importance of context. And I’m betting that in five years any researcher worth their salt is going to have to pay attention to what is going on in the world at large rather than in the one little corner occupied by their brands. Look, this one bullet point could be a whole book, but suffice it to say that we are bracing for big spikes in oil prices and further economic disequilibrium. Can’t say exactly what is coming, but it’s going to be bumpy.

So there you go, Tom. I’m looking forward to reading the other posts on the subject. And I’d love to hear from everyone here. Agree, disagree? What do YOU think is coming?

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