Video analysis technology, voice technology and the use artificial intelligence through machine learning are all new technologies that market researchers believe will be more and more actively used in the next twelve months, and be top market research trends utilized over the next decade. There are significant challenges to utilizing these top market research trends effectively.
Top Challenges
FuelCycle.com reported that 8 out of 10 researchers are personally excited and ready for new technologies but excitement doesn’t always equal adoption. Budgeting for these technologies within your organization can be a hard sell. Some of the applications haven’t matured within the market research field and your firm has to have a cutting edge mentality to be willing to nurture that maturity. Researchers have to make time to learn and implement these technologies as well as being able to match the technology to the client need.
ResearchWorld.com reported that, “Many businesses are hampered by legacy thinking, legacy technology and legacy systems. These create elastic bands to our past which keep pulling us back rather than letting us explore.” Breaking down the silos that exist within market research firms also presents a challenge for the effective implementation and utilization of new technology. The IT department, the research team, the analytical group, even marketing and management are often trying to answer the same questions at the same time with different techniques and different data and as a result different answers emerge. Expensive legacy systems are often the cause of resistance to change. Resolving and unifying these departments will be critical in the success of new technology implementation .
Top Market Research Trends
Video Analysis
Research by DataSpring says that 80% of data collection and content will eventually come through video. The use of video has exploded in the past five years and more than 70% of market researchers believe that video analysis technology will play a major role in the future of market research. In the same FuelCycle study where 70% felt this technology was the future, only 22% of market researchers were currently using it. Many of the reasons cited in the challenges paragraph above account for this, but also needed improvements in efficient storage and analysis of video and more smartphones with face-scanning technology as well as broader use of geotags will help with improving its accessibility for market researchers.
Voice Technology
In a Ted Talk on the future of voice technology, Umesh Sachdev said the easiest way to communicate is through conversation. With voice biometrics and speech recognition market researchers can understand any language, dialect, tone and feelings, even for subjects that are illiterate. Grand View Research reports that the voice and speech recognition market is estimated to reach $31.8 billion by 2025. Big data generated from transactions through voice-activated devices means more detailed information on current and new customer behavior.
Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence is hot in every marketplace, and 40% of market researchers believe that the artificial intelligence technique of machine learning will have the biggest impact on the research industry in the coming years. Machine learning can be used to do deep learning segmentation – a segmentation system that is enhanced through AI to identify patterns that are too complex for human comprehension or to comprehend without bias or preconceptions. DataSpring.com says, “Machine Learning will help market researchers unclog the information bottleneck that takes up space, time and resources.”
