Anybody who works in market research today understands the immense pressure to deliver better data, faster and more accurately than ever before. With remote work, an era of digital data collection and the ability to connect with so many more people, demand for data is higher than ever before – but with a lot more expectation as a result.
Senior management teams at agencies and large firms are now requiring actionable insights on tighter deadlines, but with a level of precision to make strategic decisions that can alter the entire trajectory of a company.
This has meant that the fast rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has potentially come at the ideal time for market researchers. A Forbes report found that, across the board, 64% of businesses think that AI has the ability to boost productivity.
What does that mean for AI in market research though? Simply, things are getting faster and more administrative work is getting automated. Tools are emerging that can support and assist market research professionals keep on top of large studies, collect and organise data, and even how agencies operate. This means that market research has the potential to get deeper and more insightful than ever before.
How AI is Changing Market Research
It’s no longer a question of whether market research will change with AI, but rather how much. Here are some key ways AI is transforming the field:
AI-Powered Data Collection
One of the best things that most people would agree with when it comes to the differences made by any type of AI is the time saved. Data collection, a key part of the marketing process, is one that used to take a significant amount of time and resources. Now a market research study can be initiated across a range of channels at the same time, deployed to gather as much data in real time as possible. Any lag that would have happened with previous iterations of manual distribution is almost entirely eliminated, along with the speed that data is able to be analysed reduced to mere minutes.
Tools such as Beings can streamline the entire process, acting as a support assistant in meetings. It can transcribe, tag and analyse data in real-time, working with market researchers to dive deeper, use Natural Language Processing (NLP) to ensure that no bias taints the research, and even distilling information quickly for distribution across the entire team.
Sentiment Analysis with AI
As AI gets smarter and learns more about human behaviour, elements such as sentiment analysis can be pulled in to catch missed signals. While it does come with a few caveats (sentiment analysis falls under the EU AI Act), AI has the ability to grow to a point where it processes huge amounts of data from multiple sources. Video calls, social media posts and even survey responses. It can take qualitative data and turn it into something that is more quantitative. This not only saves time, but creates the potential for a way more precise way to view customer views.
An example of this would be a company conducting research across a number of interviews. In the past this would have been recorded, transcribed and then manually analysed – a very time consuming process that can eat up a lot of resources and has the potential for human error and bias to creep in.
A process like this can now be fully automated, and then AI sentiment analysis can be applied to the words chosen but also the tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language to assess the overall sentiment—whether it’s positive, negative, or neutral. For instance, AI might pick up on a slight hesitation or a shift in tone when participants discuss a specific feature, which human analysts might miss.
And more than just a single meeting, this can be applied to an entire catalogue of meetings with subjects, then cross-referenced against other data-sets. Personas can be built and micro-segments created, allowing for more targeted research and allowing for shifting a much more customer-centric approach to the whole process.
Future Forecasting
Beyond just understanding and recording, AI has the potential to predict and forecast future trends and behaviours. AI can process historical data to a level that it can identify unrealised trends, and fed with additional information, can even offer different scenarios for market researchers to look at. Companies then have the ability to identify market shifts before they happen, trend before they are common knowledge and adjust their plans accordingly.
Scaled Personalisation
Many consumers, B2C and B2B, now expect a level of personalisation in the modern world. Brands are able to create customer profiles through mediums of eCommerce and tailor marketing and loyalty schemes to the individual consumer like never before.
When a customer fills in a survey, leaves a review, or takes part in a focus group, that information can be fed into a centralised hub which then can tailor their experience to that individual. The level of how far this personalisation goes, and to which areas of the customer experience can be identified through market research.
The Benefits Of AI for Market Research
All of the above sounds incredibly exciting for anybody in the field, but choosing to go down the path of investing in AI for market research comes with one big question – is it worth it? Are the financial rewards, and potential risks of a new way to do things, worthy of the investment?
Speed
Market research, product research, any kind of research has a single goal – to get a product to market. That product could be a specific item, or it could be serviced based. It could even be reworking an existing product. But the longer that process takes, the longer it takes for that product to be profitable.
By implementing AI into the market research process, at any stage of the cycle, will speed up the process. The ability to sift through data and analyse it in a fraction of the time, means strategic decisions can be made faster, ensuring that any insights or new information gleaned through AI in market research can reach stakeholders faster.
Accuracy & Trust
We truly believe that AI is something to support humans and not replace them. However, humans do make mistakes, even if they are the most talented, creative and methodical people. AI supports human market researchers in a way that prevents small mistakes becoming big issues. According to a study by Qualtrics, 97% of market research professionals recognise the significant advantage AI provides in enhancing data accuracy and processing speed, which are crucial for delivering timely, precise insights.
Having a level of solid consistency can support senior management when making decisions. They rely on dependable data to make those big choices, and while a human should always have an element of involvement for sense checking that data, it ensures that data is being processed accurately.
Cost
While investing in AI for market research may have additional cost, it does come with some incredible cost saving benefits. When a lot of the data handling is outsourced to AI, researchers are freed up to do work that is higher value. Market research agencies can operate with smaller, specialist teams, reducing the cost of wages but also allowing for experts to be paid accordingly for their worth.
Automating a lot of tasks also reduces the need to outsource, and even the time taken being less for each project means that less operational costs are required.
Scalability
With a lower wage bill, less resources required and market researchers not needing to use as much bandwidth, agencies can take on more clients. Scaling always requires more input of some level, but if a lot of the time-consuming work is outsourced to technology, teams can manage larger datasets, more projects, and build up a stronger portfolio of clients. It’s beneficial for staff as well, giving them more experience and opportunities to shine, and even for clients with technology freeing up time from the agency staff allowing for a much more personable service, and one with the opportunity to have a lot more experience behind it. Finally, the ability to take on more complex projects at a higher tier, is something that many agencies couldn’t even consider without the help of AI.
The end result is that using AI in market research means that scaling up is easier, cheaper and allows better products and services to be created as a result.
Better Client Deliverables
That additional expertise, free time and knowledge also means that clients get slicker, more in-depth information from their agencies, or internal team. Reports and analysis can be turned into documentation that is easy to read but provides comprehensive data.
Having a quality deliverable that makes an impact, also helps to differentiate an agency from competitors, but also allows the department to shine internally within an organisation. Better deliverables also offer the chance to democratise that data, allowing companies to bring other departments into the conversation and creating that all-important customer centric approach to business.
Are There Any Negatives To AI in Market Research?
With every positive, there is likely to be negatives with the adaptation of AI into market research and they need to be considered.
One concern is that AI is only as good as the data that it’s given, it will never be able to overcome poor research candidates, or a lack of diversity within a research group. Technology can make it easier, but it’s not infallible.
The inner workings of an algorithm can be incredibly complex, and when we start to include the nature of things like sentiment analysis there becomes this “black box” mentality of the data. Many stakeholders who are not familiar may question the algorithm because of a lack of transparency in comparison to their own worldview.
There is also the concern about the replacement of roles and jobs within the market research industry. This is again something that we are incredibly passionate about and want to highlight that AI only works with human involvement. Rather than replacing jobs, AI can free up researchers from mundane tasks, allowing them to focus on higher-value work, such as analysis and strategy, thereby enhancing their overall contribution to the research process.
Embracing AI: The Future of Market Research
Market research is still a really core part of any business strategy, and as Ai continues to become part and parcel of the daily workings of that there is real opportunity for growth.
For agencies, internal teams and senior management, it’s incredibly clear that this is something to take note of and become an integral part of the departments. With increased efficiency, increased clarity, better data, increased profitability and growth, these are all clear reasons that AI in market research is a development that many can get behind.
Looking ahead, the future of market research is bright. With AI at the forefront, agencies have the opportunity to redefine their approach, making data-driven insights more accessible and actionable than ever before. Investing in AI isn’t just a trend—it’s a strategic move that will shape the future of the industry.
If you are interested in finding out how using AI can help deliver better insights, free up resources, and drive profitable growth, get in touch today and we can schedule a call.