Exclusive NGMR interview with the most mysterious blogger in research!
Exclusive NGMR interview with the most mysterious blogger in research!
If you, like me, feel market research is in dire need of change, then it’s hard not to enjoy reading MR Heretic’s sharp and witty posts, often containing very visually apt meme like images, on the Market Research Death Watch blog. While speaking anonymously, @MRHeretic does so with a certain elegance and restraint, that is hard not to admire. I often find myself hoping his efforts will encourage and spawn other masked heroes to join his ranks, taking on the establishment that market research has become.
Since I mentioned I’d be interviewing MR Heretic on the blog a few days ago I’ve had several people contact me with questions and guesses about his identity. Personally, I enjoy a bit of mystery, and so while there’s no harm in guessing, the following interview with MR Heretic is strictly about his views on our industry.
I’m pleased to delve a bit deeper into market research with MR Heretic here on the Next Gen blog. He indicated he might even take a few reader follow up questions/comments if there are any.
I do think I know what you mean though about long surveys, spammy ads and low as you can go incentives without sharing any results with respondents? I can see how changing this would improve our data and street cred with civillians, but I think the other part of the equation lies in improving our analytics skills, leveraging and merging more data sources for predictive analytics, would you agree this is maybe even more important?
You are completely right about our reputation I’m afraid. As we branch out with new skill sets and techniques, perhaps this will be part of the change.
So, what do you think the future of marketing research looks like? 1 year from now? How about 10 years from now?
Conversely, which ones do you think are already getting more hype than they’ll probably ever deserve?
In any case, It’s easy to criticize, I find myself doing it on more than one occasion. However, I think it’s also important to give constructive criticism. What are some things you think market research companies could do to improve?
Create simple, beautiful, usable web pages and apps. Write question copy that is as good as the best marketing copy. Make the process as short and relevant as possible. Don’t use social media to recruit survey takers or scrape data in sleazy ways; hire amazing social spokespeople to provide customer service (i.e. support) to your survey takers and nurture genuine relationships. Use social media to make your company human and provide service to the community, then–and only if they feel it’s genuine–you won’t have to recruit them with cash and prizes, they will come willingly. We believe these things are hard, expensive, and reserved for ‘technology companies.’ That’s a myth. They require a different skill set and a different approach, but they can be done by any company with minor retooling and a big attitude change. When done right they are cheaper and easier to execute (not to mention better ROI) than the brute force tactics we are using now. If our entire industry is riding on the backs of the 1% of Internet users willing to take a survey, imagine how much money there is to be made if we could move that number to 2% or 3%. It can be done. I just told you how.
If you outsource any part of the data collection process, test it as a respondent. If it feels like torture to you, and you wouldn’t wish it upon your friends or loved ones, don’t let it happen to someone else’s loved ones. If you outsource participant recruitment via web search, check the referring URLs in your web server logs… I mean actually open the pages. You might be shocked at the sleazy tactics your suppliers are using on your behalf. Vendor practices are shaped by market pressures, put some pressure on your vendors to clean up their act.
If you commit to doing the things I described so far I tip my hat to you, and your web-customers thank you for making MR a lot less painful for them, but surveys and focus groups can only take you so far because there is no real value in it for participants. Start doing some serious blue sky thinking. Encourage it in your company. Don’t let the forces of mediocrity stifle it. Look for ways to gather data that require less time and effort from participants, give them something of real value in return. Don’t listen to the fear-mongering about Web data; if you gather it the statistical models will come. Try things. Experiment–a lot! Don’t be scared of ideas that break or cannibalize the current business model, they might be your future business model. If you don’t develop them, someone else will.
We moved away from this early effort mainly because client interest wasn’t there. I heard “Was it marketing or marketing research?” and that the small extra expense wasn’t in their budget. I think part of that might have had to do with recession pressures, but we’re just responding to the demand.
So what I’m saying is, if we build something better, do you think they’ll really come, and want to pay for it?
What skill sets do you think will be most important for the Next Gen market researcher?
The goal is to build the future I’ve been writing about. I was recently reminded by someone on Twitter that talk is cheap. That’s true if all you do is talk. I’m ready to get my hands dirty.
I’m sure I will reveal my identity to a few people at some point, and then it’s just a matter of time. So, yes I think at some point you will find out who I am. Am I going to broadcast it? No.
