Sure, big data tells you what consumers do, but you need market research to find out the “why.”
It’s a common statement these days. But is it factually accurate? Or is it a self-soothing platitude for those of us in the market research & insights professions?
To be specific, there are a few issues with the statement. First, it’s not always “big” data. It’s that many organizations now have various sources of authentic customer-related data, “big” and “small,” and much of it continuous. To be precise, marketing teams in particular often have access to transactional data, online behavior data, passive data and (of course) market research data.
That point of clarification aside, let’s critique the statement in parts:
- “Big data tells you what consumers do.” Is it true? Is this a “yes”, or a “yes, but…”? Clearly there’s lots of data about customer transactions, online behavior and brand-related behavior. So, when is it not true?
- “You need market research to find out the “why.” Is that true? Or is this wishful thinking? Factually, what are the best options for finding out the “why” behind consumer behavior these days? And which of those options are in the market research purview?
Also, let’s be honest, the whole statement implies that “why” always matters. Does it? I may like to think that it does, but I’ve seen evidence that it ain’t necessarily so. So, when does “why” matter? When doesn’t it? And is the ratio between those two shifting? Apologies to Simon Sinek (here’s his inspiring and famous TED Talk—40 Million views, BTW), but in the world of marketing, “why” doesn’t matter as much as it used to.
There are certainly diverse opinions on all of these questions, and plenty of worthwhile conversation to be had. But the hard question we ultimately must ask is this: as market research and insights professionals, are we over-relying on the importance of “why”? If clients don’t always need it and market research isn’t always the best source of it, then perhaps we should retire an ultimately self-sabotaging platitude. Or at least place it in precise contexts.
—Kathryn
