Preparing the Market Research & Insights Team for 2020

I’m sorry.

By now, you have likely seen numerous magazine articles, blog posts and group discussions about what to expect in the world of Market Research & Insights in 2020. Many have been focusing on technology trends, others on the methods and applications expected to be hot.

So, I apologize for adding another one to the pile. But here’s my pitch: I think there’s a topic that has being missing from all the pieces I have seen so far. And it’s an important one.

If we really want to have a conversation about what’s likely to happen in 2020, we have to talk about what’s happening with our clients—the people who ultimately pay for and (hopefully) apply the output of Market Research & Insights. Specifically, we need to ask:

• Are their job roles and responsibilities changing in 2020?
• Are their job performance metrics changing?
• And do the answers to these questions have implications for how we can better meet their customer and market insights needs with excellence in 2020?

To be precise, the answers to these three questions depend on which market research client group we are talking about. Some market researchers primarily work with advertising clients/teams, some primarily work with product development clients/teams. But for many of us, our primary client is “Marketing”—and its leaders (CMOs, Brand VPs, Product Marketing Directors, etc.). Thus, for the purpose of this article, I’m focusing on the marketing client. And this brings us to the “missing” topic in most 2020 prediction conversations: what is changing for Marketing leaders (and their teams)? If we understand that, then I think we are better prepared to think strategically about our 2020 plans.

What Will Marketing Executives Care About in 2020?

To answer that question, I reviewed various recent CEO and CMO surveys, and related articles and interviews. Based on this review, I observed some recurring themes, which in turn have some potential implications for Market Research & Insights opportunities. Following are two of the key implications, with representative citations. You might disagree with my take on the implications, but I am pretty sure you will find the data points interesting.

Opportunity: Activating Marketing Priorities for Automation, Emotion & ROI

• “Marketers were least confident in their ability to measure consumers’ perceptions, emotions, and behaviors throughout the customer journey, most notably in business-to-business and business-to-consumer product companies.”[1]
• To build deep, productive relationships, CMOs have to win over some skeptics in the C-suite. Only half the CFOs we surveyed, for example, said marketing delivers on the promise of driving growth, and 40 percent don’t think marketing investments should be protected during a downturn.[2]
• “Marketers identify their ability to design, deliver, and monitor the customer experience as their top challenge. In response, they’re placing a stronger emphasis on excellent service (28 percent increase) and superior product quality (12 percent increase).” [3]
• If the CEO is a CMO’s closest natural ally, the CFO is one of her toughest critics. “Under pressure, marketing gets cut first because it is the hardest to justify,” said one former consumer-goods CFO we interviewed. Forty-five percent of CFOs we surveyed said the reason marketing proposals have been declined or not fully funded in the past is because they didn’t demonstrate a clear line to value.[4]

Opportunity: Adding Business Value with the Role of Insights

• “For years, researchers have been under pressure to uncover quality insights faster and at lower costs. That demand will continue and with major advancements in automation, marketing research organizations can make strides in this area.”[5]
• “For me it’s about seeing your role as not just generating insights and not just communicating and selling those but actually insisting on being a part of the decision-making process and what happens with them when the actions are taken as a result of that decision-making process. And that’s when I think we start to morph from back-room suppliers of information into cutting-edge master business marketers … I want somebody who is hungry to do that.” Jason Chebib, VP, Consumer Planning, Diageo North America.[6]
• “(The) role of the insights team is to summarize that data in a meaningful way and provide the C-suite team with actionable items. In fact, (Radha Subramanyam, Chief Research & Analytics Officer, CBS Television) writes a daily email to the C-suite with 5-10 summary bullets that she and her insights team have gathered from the vast amounts of data available.”[7]

Clearly, there are many important trends and topics for Market Research and Insights team leaders to consider as the end of the year fast approaches. How to pick which ones to prioritize?  I’d suggest that at least one of the priorities should be based on understanding how our clients’ needs may be changing. That’s the stuff that will help us stand out as an invaluable, strategic partner.

Handy Resources: Infographic Summary, a 3^rd Opportunity, and a Video

For a concise summary with select quotes, and a third key opportunity (which I am calling, “Driving an Information Ecosystem the C-Suite can Trust”), check out this simple infographic on preparing the Market Research & Insights Team for 2020.

Related Video podcast: Conversations for Research Rockstars, episode 85.