The 23rd edition of the GreenBook Research Industry 2018 Grit Report using data from 3,930 global interviews has arrived. Always highly anticipated for general insights about the market research industry and specifically sought after for the Top 50 rankings of research suppliers, the report offers great information for anyone working in the market research and consumer insights industry.
Here are some snippets directly from the 2018 Grit Report.
The 2018 Grit Report has two main topics: Adoption and Consideration of Automation Platforms and the Future of Sampling. The first is considered the main growth area for the industry and the second is considered a problem in need of fixing.
Adoption and Consideration of Automation Platforms
The top four areas of automation include charting, analysis of survey data, analysis of text date and analysis of social media. These top four categories have 20% or more organizations saying they have already adopted them, and in combination with those who are piloting and/or exploring these approaches, the numbers are around 50%.
Steve Phillips, CEO of ZappiStore says, “Consumer insights automation has a value problem. Automation is unequivocally faster and cheaper, but in order to have staying power, it also needs to be better. What do value and better mean for consumer insights automation? …To deliver its full potential, we need to see less emphasis on the technical innovation and more on the value it unlocks for the user.”
The Future of Sampling
Pessimism about the future of sampling continues: 39% of researchers surveyed expect sample quality to worsen over the next three years, while 19% expect it to get better.
Reasons for the Pessimism:
1. Privacy concerns reduce people’s willingness to share information online.
2. Mobile devices are sources of distraction and offer more engaging activities than surveys.
3. The proliferation of surveys is stretching the respondent pool too far.
4. The excessively long surveys degrade respondent experience and quality.
5. Increase in fraud, especially automated bots.
6. Low sample prices reduce the ability to provide quality resources.
Reasons for Optimism:
1. Sample quality is becoming a key area of focus for the industry.
2. Appending data to surveys can reduce questionnaire length while improving accuracy.
3. Surveys taken on mobile devices offer many more methods of validating respondent identity and location.
4. Technology investments are being made to combat fraud.
5. The rising ownership of smartphones is providing greater representation of both older and lower-income populations.
Actions that have broad agreement across suppliers, buyers and sample providers to strengthen sampling’s future:
1. Sample providers should advise on whether samples are representative of the target population.
2. Sample providers should provide more appendable data in order to shorten surveys and improve the respondent experience.
3. Development of a consistent standard for the collection of profile data.
Check out the 2018 Grit Report for yourself to gain insight into the 2018 Business Outlook, Top Most Innovative Suppliers & Client Companies, and a new “Lumascape” for the market research industry.
