The Global Research Business Network (GRBN) have released the latest global results in their “Trust” report, a repeat of a study undertaken in 2014, 2016 and 2018.  The news for the Market Research (‘MR’) industry in Australia was positive with our net trust index increasing vs. 2018, but there remains a lot of work to do.

Overall, 75% of Australians see MR as beneficial to companies, significantly more than they see it as beneficial to themselves.  Over one third see surveys as being too long and not enjoyable.

For MR, COVID-19 has had a minimal impact on our trust scores, however, looking across categories, there was a significant positive shift for trust in health authorities, which makes sense given how well the Australian health system managed the crisis. At the other end of the scale, the media and social media companies saw negative shifts in trust. There is huge distrust in Australia for any company that is not adequately protecting and appropriately using personal data.  So, the question has to be asked for MR, given the impact the Cambridge Analytica data scandal had on trust, can we afford to wait before we supercharge on mass how we engage with people and credibly build trust?

To maximise engagement, similarly to most human interactions, the key to winning people over every time and achieving real human connection is empathy, closely followed by belonging and authenticity. Let’s unpack what these 3 pillars mean for MR:

Empathy: are we asking relevant topics in engaging ways? Are we asking interesting questions in an interesting way that people can make sense of? Are we really listening and responding like humans do?

Belonging: are we feeding back why people’s views matter and what is happening with the information being collected from them? Do they feel part of the solution or just part of someone’s process?

Authenticity: are we promoting good practice and calling out bad practice?

An interesting and topical example is the public’s interest in Black Lives Matter, and its varied focus for different countries and groups. Is the research industry showing empathy, belonging, and authenticity? If not, we need to start now.

If we want to move the needle on trust, we must tackle each of the three pillars seriously.  Globally it is a struggle to get the industry aligned on each of these issues as commercial realities (usually quite rightly) win out.  Believe me I get it, however for the long game we must invest together to change the dynamic so that more people want to contribute to what we do and do very well. The risk is if we don’t, we will end up talking to increasingly small proportions of the population, then what we do will be called out as inaccurate, something opinion and election polling are dealing with right now.

Remember every touchpoint a brand or government has with people is a chance to improve perceptions, create trust and demonstrate empathy. Every survey, pop up, intercept, video chat or diary activity is such a touchpoint.  If our profession is changing, it is clearly not changing enough to improve perceptions and create trust.  Let’s not wait for our own reputational disaster to hit.  One thing we can all do today, and every day is to stop and ask yourself before anything is sent out, “is this something that I or my family would bother engaging in?”. If the answer is no, then do yourself and all of us a favour and start again.

Peter Harris

Human

Board Member TRS

CEO Potentiate

“Like it or not, we live in interesting times. They are times of danger and uncertainty; but they are also the most creative of any time in the history of mankind”.

This quotation or ancient Chinese proverb, attributed to Sir Austen Chamberlain in the 1930’s, & to Robert Kennedy in the 1960’s was as true then as it is today. Technology has completely transformed the way we live & will continue to shape our future, from the way we work, do business, travel, provide healthcare, communicate & generally go about our daily lives. But it also struck a chord with me when I think about the real impact these macro consumer trends are having on our industry, an industry I have worked in long enough to remember when the main decision was do you do a paper survey or focus groups.

I truly believe there has never been a better or more exciting time to work in the insight & research industry – there isn’t a brand on the planet who is not trying to develop better products, supply better services, and build better relationships with their customers. We are perfectly placed to help them achieve this, but to do so, must continue to embrace new and innovative ways of working, adopt new technologies, & explore new communication channels to reach & engage younger audiences. Most importantly though we need to move our thinking on from customer centricity to human centricity.

Consumer behaviour has evolved, & we are now in an era of digital based competition & customer control meaning the marketing strategies focused on customer loyalty prevalent over the last decade are becoming less effective. According to the latest research from Kantar Retail, 71% of consumers now claim that loyalty incentive programs don’t make them loyal at all. Instead, people are buying brands who can fulfil their needs in a personal & relevant way. In addition, two of the fundamental ‘p’s’ of the marketing mix, Product & Price are no longer enough to attract people’s money as personalisation & experience are the key differentiators for brands with people willing to pay more for a superior service or experience.

So what does this mean for market research professionals & how do we stay useful & relevant in these changing times?

Well, you can breathe a brief sigh of relief, because the good news is, we absolutely can, providing we adapt and evolve our practices & methodologies to mirror & support these emerging trends. We used to help brands with product testing, brand tracking & market measurement. In recent years this focus has shifted towards helping businesses drive customer centricity & insight led decision making within their organisations – all of which is of huge value & is a step in the right direction. But this is not enough to remain current in the long-term. To achieve this, we need to shift from customer experience (Cx) to human experience (Hx). In order to find out how brands fit into people’s lives we need to treat people as people. We can call them customers when they buy from us, or viewers when they view our content, users when they utilise our services, but we have to recognise that we are all people and brands & services play a small part in our active lives.  People don’t want to be defined by data points, or spoken to like a customer, they want to be engaged with as living, breathing, well-rounded human beings.

We have successfully helped companies listen more attentively to the voice of their customers, we now have to build on this and use our expertise & access to the right data & insights to be the evangelists of human centricity & help them connect emotionally with their customers as individuals, delighting & exciting them with a human touch.

Peter Harris

CEO, Potentiate