Is Anyone Listening to the Market Research Department?
Actionable Insights used to be MR's reason-for-being. Is scalable tech/AI out-punching the human insights factor - if so, the discipline is existentially threatened.
It's been a while since I last chipped in with a post - having moved house late last year there's been plenty of stuff to keep me busy.
Seems like truly “exciting” times in MR - the impact of AI seems to be the current Angst-inducing topic. Overwhelming, complex, urgent.
But taking a few steps back: isn’t trying keeping up with the latest tech tools a fool’s game - social scientists competing with computer scientists? Playing to others’ strengths - learning multiple new IT languages - isn’t a recipe for success.
The business impact of MR should instead be the critical issue. To that point: sanity check - are the thousands and thousands of analyses, studies, recommendations making a difference? Has the recent focus on the consumer experience - UX, CX stuff - shifted the needle?
A few recent experiences have made me wonder about the power of human.
Exhibition Number 1 - Assembling a New Lawnmower
I recently bought a new lawnmower. Said lawnmower was selected online after a review of a number of portals, weighing up stuff like what value I attached to what features etc. And then trusting a very well known brand that is - seemingly - leader in its field. A premium of about 50% - no risks desired.
The box arrived on time - nice reassuring branding, an invitiation to secure an extended manufacturer guarantee, join a “community”, the price of which being handing over masses of personal data. Well OK - consent, clearly not informed but wtf.
The fun and games started with the assembly. The usage instructions were in about 30 languages, the first of which looked to me something Slavic, the last of which being English. Re-imported goods perhaps? Hmmm…
But where was the stuff telling me how to go about putting it together? Couldn’t find it in the thickish brochure. YouTube video time…..online search. Finally by chance discover the assembly bit - 5 pages right at the back of the brochure. Only pictograms, some pretty small, and no words at all.
OK. Then the fun continued - the lawnmower bits and component parts were not particularly well constructed, so that screws didn’t fit very well into the holes for example. Then the weight and balancing issue of getting the handles inserted - not easy on your own. And quite a lot of brute force required - plus the ongoing fear of breaking something through undue pressure. Anyone thought of more fragile folk needing to do this?
My experience was in a nutshell pretty lousy. Had anybody researched this, I wondered - the after-purchase moment, where satisifaction settles?
Exhibit Number Two - Espresso Machine, the Missing Invoice and Volume Control
Newly bought espresso machine. Won’t bore you with the details, but here the problem was twofold:
i) adjusting the volume of water per cup. Followed the pictogram instsructions….It didn’t work - and the factory reset option didn’t work either.
ii) no invoice was sent for the additional “welcome” capsule offer that I had signed up for.
Frustrated, particularly on the volume control thing, I went online for help - the chat function simply shut me down quickly, saying it couldn’t understand, and when it did it couldn’t help. Voice of the customer??
I finally found a contact form, described my problems and waited. Automatic reply duly arrived - huge volume of requests etc….may take a while to get back to you.
Just fyi on the manfacturer: a German sounding brand that - I discovered - had been sold to a French multinational over 20 years ago. The capsules were from a famous Swiss manufacturer. I hope….
The shiny new thing in our kitchen was now more of an irritant, and difficult to ignore - were there any different combinations of buttons to press?
Exhibit Number 3 - Machine Says “Hallo Edward :)”
I finally met up with AI in my CX encounters.
The response to my invoice request arrived - yesterday - Easter Sunday. And it was really very nicely done - apologising for a slower response, giving a real person’s name. The invoice was attached as a PDF. All good, very personable.
But Easter Sunday? So a machine likely wrote it - AI stuff. Not a complicated request mind - and where the accounts department likely made its voice heard.
The volume issue is still open - the ultimate IT fix of unplugging the machine seems to have made a difference - but I’m not holding my breath.
All the above made me ponder - if MR is meant to be about the voice of the customer, placing it centre stage of corporate efforts, and improving the customer experience, are my poor CX style experiences totally unrepresentative? I hope so.
But I worry that in this instance the pressure to reduce costs e.g. on an instruction manual means a poor trade off - frustrated customers struggling with the first engagement, who then share their feelings on line, and might not buy the more “trusted brand” next time. Where was the insights department?
Market research has gone through many phases since it really came into operational function as from the 1960s - ever quicker, often cheaper, with technology shifting everything on. It’s got a lot slicker over time - DIY and digital platforms have made it a part of probably all and any business organisation.
But whatever tech or AI comes up with, to continue thriving MR needs to:
a) big up on its ability to capture human nuances and unmet needs
b) to make those aspects count in corporations struggling with all sorts of issues. Such as profitability….
In a nutshell: clearly demonstrate measurable MR value - and impact in a way that AI can’t. Yet.
Actionable human insights.
Here’s to these essential inputs - and to a future where human voices still matter.
Curious, as ever, as to others’ views.
Yeah...it's frustrating when someone won't answer your e mails isn't it Eddie...