Impact of Automation on Market Research

Published on June 6, 2018 by Alok Aswal

Market researchers have yet to find a better and faster way of accessing consumer insights than by asking consumers directly. Researchers are under constant pressure to deliver higher-quality reports faster. Market research firms are therefore looking at automation as a possible solution. Benefits of automation include cost efficiency, fast turnaround time, consistency, and sometimes, superior quality. According to the GreenBook Research Industry Trends (GRIT) Report for Q3-Q4 2017, automation is not yet widely embraced and may be the next major trend in the market research industry: currently, only 6% of researchers use automatically collected customer feedback, and only 12% analyze transactional and operational data.

There are basically two ways in which automation can be implemented: (1) piecemeal and (2) end to end. As the name implies, a piecemeal approach automates just those tasks that can be easily automated. In end-to-end automation, the whole process – from questionnaire design to reporting – is automated.

Combining automated processes of survey design, interactive dashboards and visualizations can help us to deliver faster and real-time updates to clients. Automation also enhances efficiency and reduces costs, which gains we pass on to clients.

Dashboard automation once survey data is collected is the most common use of automation. It frees the user to concentrate on more actionable items. As per the GRIT Report for Q3-Q4 2017, modern dashboard systems have yet to be widely used: only 18% of researchers use dynamic, interactive dashboards, while 12% use static dashboards. 36% of researchers continue to rely on Excel-based dashboards.

As more and more clients move to using online dashboards, they are likely to demand a better user experience. The need would probably be for visual dashboards, helping teams to identify trends and insights faster.

Our clients are also increasingly requesting automation and visualization solutions. We recently undertook a project for a leading market research company specializing in survey programming, software licensing, sampling, data collection and data reporting and visualization. The client wanted real-time results, a good user experience and a visually striking display. By leveraging our advanced dashboard development services and our expertise in Jquery, JavaScript, HTML5 and CSS, we matched client expectations and key result areas. Consequently, we were able to pass following benefits to our client:

• Real-time findings on collected survey data using online dashboards.

• Researchers no longer had to dig manually for data to create presentations for clients, saving 10%-12% of their time.

• Researchers could invest this time in decision-oriented activities rather than in task-oriented activities.

• Dashboard was developed with the ability to drill down and get deeper information by selecting the desired variable.

• Dashboard was programed to suit any mobile devices. Idea is to reach anywhere in a timely manner with most precise information.

• Client was able to publish accurate insights on time.

Sources

GreenBook Research Industry Trends (GRIT) Report for Q3-Q4 2017.

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