According to the Global Research Business Network (GRBN), confidence in the market research industry has remained stable, and trust in data analytics has increased in 2022 compared with 2020.
Still, market research as an industry needs to constantly work to improve the perceived value of research. The way to ensure this happens is by addressing the main challenges of obtaining high-quality data.
The importance of data collection in market research cannot be emphasized enough. This blog post will analyze the main obstacles brands face in this area and provide guidance on how market researchers can tackle these challenges with the help of technology.
The methods you use to collect and analyze data will significantly impact the quality of your market research report and its value in decision-making. The five best data collection tools for market research are surveys, interviews, focus groups, observation, and secondary sources.
Understanding the best methodology to get the most accurate, error-free, and reliable data is essential.
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What is data quality?
Data quality is a complex, multi-faceted construct. Quality data is data that is fit for its purpose and closely relates to the construct they are intended to measure.
Let’s take the example of a brand like Amazon’s Audible and try to predict what type of books a person would be interested in based on his previous listening history. The data is likely high quality because the books subscribers have listened to in the past are a good predictor of what they would like to consume in the future. The books they have listened to in the past also have a close relationship with what you are trying to measure, in this case, book preferences, which makes the data high quality.
Reliable data requires a high-quality sample with enough information to make conclusions that inform business decisions. For instance, in the same example of Audible, if a subscriber uses it only once in a while and has only listened to one book in six months, it fails to present a complete picture of the user’s preferences due to limited data or information available.
In the example used above, the data is available in the app and is much easier to collect. However, this is not always the case. Many instances of market research involve collecting data from people taking surveys, user testing, or recollecting past experiences and feedback, which are much more challenging to measure.
So how do you ensure you collect high-quality data that informs decision-making at every step of the organization?
Utilize technology
As the world has moved online, so have many market research methodologies. Many companies have been forced to move online quickly, which has been a blessing in disguise for them. Technologies like automation and Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) have allowed brands to obtain transparent, reliable, and accurate data more efficiently.
Technology can also be beneficial in identifying bad data. Automation helps select the best pool of candidates for a study and helps achieve a more balanced view of the respondents. It can help reduce subjectivity and bias, scale costs, and improve project speed and efficiency.
Advanced profiling
To yield high-quality data, you must obtain a 360-degree view of the user or consumer. A good data scientist will study the consumer using all critical data points, like browsing history, purchase history, online behavior, cart abandonment, geolocation, and other relevant data.
Proper Planning
Excellent outcomes need proper planning, which is valid for everything, including market research. The entire team must understand the research study’s objectives before doing anything else, including all the early actions, like identifying the right participants for the study. Researchers can then create a sample plan based on key objectives and participants. This will become the basis of the methodologies used and the survey designs. A good market research study also employs a screener to ensure they only include participants relevant to the study.
Recruit the right people
At Kadence, we firmly believe your research is only as good as the people participating in your study. When carrying out a virtual study or focus group, it is vital to make sure people doing the testing or surveys are genuine and suitable for the particular study. Researchers must hunt down even the most difficult-to-reach audiences, as you need the right people for the research to yield unvarnished results.
Ensure complete and active participation
Making surveys more engaging will always lead to higher participation in online surveys. A well-designed survey with clear instructions will ensure higher participation and more honest responses.
Throughout the survey, researchers can include questions to ensure participants are paying attention and potentially weed out those who are off-track and disengaged.
Screening dishonest participants
Researchers can go a step ahead to eliminate dishonest survey participants. Online surveys can identify potential red flags where people provide false demographic information so they can qualify for studies with high rewards.
Researchers can selectively target participants who have been profiled in the past to avoid participants with false demographic information.
Develop a system of efficient, consistent data quality checks throughout the process
Market researchers should always have an effective and efficient plan for weeding out bad data throughout the study. Automating and utilizing suitable technology can ensure you safely streamline the quality check process in real time.
A critical challenge with market research is the ethical collection and use of data. Discover why ethics are vital in data collection and how to ensure your data collection is always on the right side of law and ethics here:
The ultimate goal of market research is to obtain high-quality data that is accurate, relevant, and reliable. While well-planned and thoughtfully designed studies can yield effective results to inform decision-making, poorly planned and designed ones can lead to poor business outcomes.
The stakes are always high, so it is crucial for brands and researchers to constantly improve data quality and reliability to save time, money, effort, and resources and lead to better, more informed business decisions.
Kadence International helps leading brands make game-changing decisions. If you are looking for a research partner to help better understand your customers, we would love to help. Simply fill out our Request for a Proposal here.
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