Will Technology Kill the Research Star?

It’s about a 4 min. read.

Notes from WIRe’s New Directions in Market Research

CMB was thrilled to host and co-sponsor WIRe’s (Women in Research) lively panel this week: New Directions in Market Research. The panelists—CMB’s Blair BaileyShark Ninja’s Bridget Nelson, Reputation Institute’s Karampreet Sandhu, and quantilope’s Beatrice Capestany—provided a lot of insight on the challenges and opportunities facing the insights industry. Through their perspectives, we explored how tech is changing the world of insights and the role of the researcher—a topic that’s been the subject of thousands of tweets, thought pieces, industry reports, and an unquantifiable amount of hand-wringing.

Technology Take Over: Friend or Foe?

We’re happy to report there was little hand-wringing about the death of the researcher and much excitement for the future of insights and market research. Our diverse panel agreed technology won’t obviate the insights role—but it is irrevocably changing it by forcing many researchers to re-evaluate where we can add true value to our clients.

Platforms to Consider

The discussion was as wide-ranging as you’d imagine with a topic as broad and nebulous as “technology in market research.” The panelists sang the praises of Slack to facilitate agile solution development and communication, various automation platforms such as Alteryx and quantilope, and the exciting advancements that Virtual Reality may offer to create powerful participant experiences and insight.

Looking Ahead

Ultimately, the question is not, will the insights role survive into the 21st Century, it is who will leverage the right tools while channeling the data fluency creativity, context, and storytelling acumen that bring meet our clients’ challenges?

Megan McManaman, former Marketing Director at CMB.