Part of the increased pessimism in the marketing research industry is fueled by “systemic stressors” that make it increasingly difficult to deliver on the shared goal of high quality, highly valued research. Attitudinally, two-thirds feel that research buyers are less able to tell the difference between high quality and mediocre research now, and most feel that quality is becoming less important than speed. Respondents acutely sense some blurring in what “quality” research now is or should be. This is perhaps unsurprising, in a world where clones and knock-offs are produced as fast as the innovation, and where speed-to-market is, in and of itself, a strategic advantage. But with ever-increasing speed comes legitimate concern about the quality equation. In particular, online panel data quality and the non-representative nature of online sample are top concerns for our respondents – concerns that are more pronounced among senior research professionals. This systemic stress is only expected to increase more rapidly in the years ahead.
As many readers know, online panel data quality, in particular, has received significant attention, not only by the AMA but in separate initiatives by the ARF (“Foundations of Quality”), CASRO, and ESOMAR. Our findings echo this concern, with data quality remaining the top issue within the research community. Significant attention is being paid to improving both the representativeness of, and level of engagement among survey respondents; our data indicates that this concern will persist for some time to come.
Despite a backdrop of professional pessimism, anticipated levels of future research spending are actually favorable. Nearly 60% (in the overall sample) indicate that they are either now seeing stronger growth, or expect stronger growth to occur – especially for suppliers, where 65% are either experiencing or expecting increases.
In terms of research mix, regardless of client or supplier side, over 1/4 claim that spending will increase more for qualitative than quantitative in 2011. About 1/2 believe that the spending relationship between them will remain unchanged (i.e., flat). The positive news is that any change being reported is being fueled by greater volume, not higher prices per se. And a shift in the mix towards qualitative is not especially uncommon, as the US economy slowly emerges from its recessionary mindset, and focuses on new business development and topline growth.