by Traditionally, research has relied almost solely on primary data collection methods. Forty years ago, most of this research was conducted face-to-face. By the mid-90s, most of it was done by telephone. By the early 21st century, it had begun to shift largely online. But these are just channels for asking questions and getting answers. It is only recently that there has begun to be a significant genuine disruption in market research.
Researchers need to be aware of how digital technology and much more digital consumer are changing the way research is conducted. One of the ways technology is impacting the field of marketing research is via passive data feeds. Some of the emerging new tech firms in the world of research track peoples’ actual behavior via mobile, with consent. This could involve geo-location, which sites they’re surfing online, and so on.
As the number of smart devices in use grows, the amount of data collected online is multiplying exponentially. And one of the biggest obstacles most researchers might face is just understanding how to work with data sets from sources that aren’t originating from traditional primary research.
Zachary Heinemann, Head of Research & Development (R&D) at Activision Blizzard Media who will join our panel discussion at MRMW NA 2019, “Winning your consumers – Combining passive data with primary research” sat down with us in a recent interview to talk about these challenges. He says,
“At its core, primary research needs to be invested in behavioral data and more importantly big data. Empowering our researchers to conduct qualitative and survey research with the necessary technical skills to combine these attitudinal insights with behaviors is critical for creating a full consumer picture from thoughts to actions in the purchase journey!”
Zachary is looking forward to his discussion on the panel at MRMW North America 2019 because he was originally trained as a psychological researcher, focusing on survey research before getting involved in data science. The linkage between big and small quantitative data insights has always been extremely interesting to him and he thinks it is one of the most holistic ways to evaluate why people do what they do!
Zachary is also excited to join other market researchers that focus specifically on mobile,“ it’s such a massive landscape that I think we’ve only begun to touch the surface of all the richness of the data it can provide and seeing how other researchers are marrying traditional and innovative methods for a more rounded research program fascinates me!”
Commenting on the future of innovation in market research, Zachary completes the interview by saying, “I think the current state of consumer insights hasn’t delved deep enough into data science and modeling. Many consumer researchers are often daunted by innovation in statistics and using things like SQL or R to add richness to their traditional methods when actually these tools in this day and age are far more accessible than people realize! The learning curve is steep – but consumer researchers need to innovate as our data collection methods do as well. Learning basic technical skills – a little bit of R, SQL, Python, and some basic statistical modeling really can go a long way!”
Don’t miss out on the session with Zachary and sign up for MRMW North America 2019 today! Hear from leading global and regional brands as well as well-known agencies such as Procter & Gamble, BMW, PayPal, Facebook, Foursquare, Eastman Chemical Company, Verizon,Celgene, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Borderless Access and many more.
