Companies who wish to unlock the potential of ‘big data’ are eyeing up opportunities in areas such as market research, where the insights that come from being able to analyze big data sets are delivering huge rewards.
The market research industry has been keeping pace with other information-based sectors in recent years by integrating technology to assist in the analysis of digital content. As the amount of sources on the web continues to spiral, the reliance on automated solutions to collect, manage and filter huge swathes of information has propelled the market research industry forward in its ability to provide ever faster and more accurate research findings.
The industry has been buoyed for many years by substantial investment from companies that are eager to tap into customer behavior patterns and analyze market trends. Faced with tighter budget controls and in an effort to become leaner and more competitive, market researchers have been quick to adopt automated tools to drive down the costs associated with manual information extraction and analysis, while considerable cost and time-savings have also been achieved through online market research techniques.
The advent of social media has also afforded researchers unprecedented access to consumers and opened up a vast pool of information to analyze. Having access to all this organic data throws up a common dilemma for market researchers. How to transform these large data streams into actionable insights when faced with a reduced budget and fewer staff? The market research industry has found the only viable solution lies in greater automation and integration of technology to harness information effectively.
While the market research industry has undergone a monumental shift in the last five years, the future promises even more changes, given the ever-increasing pace of technological innovation. What are your predictions for how the market research industry will evolve over the next five to ten years?
