As we’ve just passed the midway point of 2017, we thought it would be interesting and instructive to take a look back at the first six months of the year, and get a sense of the top 5 market research trends that are setting the pace and tone in the industry:
Market Research Trends Watch #1: More businesses are using market research surveys to create content.
More businesses are using market research surveys to generate hyper-relevant marketing and sales content, including articles, ebooks, infographics, videos, social sharables, and so on. This data-driven approach to content creation is especially important given that 47% of customers access 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep (Source: DemandGen Report – 2016 Content Preferences Survey). To learn more read our discussion here.
Market Research Trends Watch #2: Mobile ethnography is on the rise.
Ethnography has been a part of market research — along with many other disciplines, such as sociology and cultural studies — for decades; even centuries. However, the global proliferation of mobile devices (e.g. tablets and smartphones) has unleashed a whole new world of qualitative and quantitative market data, which businesses are capturing in real-time via mobile ethnography to inform everything from product development to pricing strategies, and the list goes on. To learn more read our discussion here.
Market Research Trends Watch #3: More marketing agencies are partnering with market research firms.
Competition among marketing agencies has always been intense. But the emergence of the web has broken down geographic barriers, which means a business in San Diego can just as easily connect with a marketing agency in St. Louis, as they can with one down the street. As such, marketing agencies are wisely looking for ways to offer enhanced value, grow accounts, and establish competitive advantage — and partnering with a market research firm ticks all three boxes. To learn more read our discussion here.
Market Research Trends Watch #4: Online focus groups are playing a bigger role in the market research process.
While they cannot (and should not) replace in-person focus groups, online focus groups are playing a bigger role in the market research process due to several factors, including cost considerations, the ability to automatically capture and analyze some data, and the option of enhancing the participant experience by using multimedia tools like online polls, widgets, apps, videos, etc. To learn more read our discussion here.
Market Research Trends Watch #5: Marketing research is helping businesses win the SEO race and stay on top.
On today’s landscape, it does not usually matter whether a business sells running shoes to teens or industrial equipment to engineers: showing up on Google when customers are conducting a search is valuable, and in some sectors and marketplaces it is vital. A growing number of businesses are using market research to strategically select the right keywords (i.e. the search terms that people put into Google), and as noted above, create hyper-relevant content once they get prospective customers to their website or any other digital property. To learn more read our discussion here.
Learn More
To learn more about these exciting and dynamic market research trends, and how to take advantage of them in your business, contact the Communications For Research team today. Schedule a chat with our co-CEO Colson Steber in order to use these trends to drive success. We have 20+ years of experience that will help you and your company create the best market research plan possible!
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