B2B market research and publishing industry is going through some drastic changes. Major research companies have been publishing so much premium information which is backfiring in terms of undercutting potential sales as well as feeding their small rival companies.
What are the top trends in the market research industry in 2020 and onwards?
Margit
1- Subscriptions Service
One-off, off-the-shelf and annual reports are going to lose it lustre. Research companies want to be in close touch with their clients to keep them in a constant loop.
2- High Frequency
Customers want more up to date information and need to be informed as soon as there is any potential threat or opportunity. This will force publishing companies to keep their clients’ inbox busy by sending more insights, white papers, articles and analysis.
3- Customer Intimacy
Market research companies will spend more time with their customers to make their relationship more valuable.
Customer centricity will help improve product quality and relationships. Research publishers will redesign their products based on the customers’ needs otherwise will risk losing them to their competitors.
4- Data Visualizations and Analytics
Data will be embedded alongside the written analysis to give more connivance for understanding the analysis. The data and analysis will become more interactive and create more scope for third party web applications.
5- Contents Design
Content will be more specifically designed for screen consumption, rather than print. Therefore, data and storytelling content will become more visual, with fewer words. Publishers will expand their portfolio by adding news, breaking story to increase website traffic.
6- Artificial Intelligence in Market Research
More advanced algorithms will be used in 2020 and onwards. Customers would be able to get the required specific information very efficiently. Quality of analysis and search will be enhanced. The authoring and production process will become more efficient.
7- Brands and Authority
Research publishing companies will try to distinguish themselves by promoting brands through free webinars, meets, mini-conferences etc. to strengthen their authority.
Content design and branding mechanism will also be a part of the process. Publishers will try to distinguish themselves from less compelling publishers that are either free or low cost.
8- Less Appetite for Long Term Analysis
The business will be more interested in finding out what would happen in 1-2 years rather than 5 -10 years. Uncertainty will remain a major factor behind this trend.
Short terms analysis and forecasts in uncertain time will also test the robustness of the analysis. Accuracy will remain a significant influencing factor in the sales of market research companies.
9- Freemium Analyses
The first causality of the companies’ budget cuts is commonly market research. With companies tightening their belts due to subdued market conditions, there will be less spending on market research.
Research companies will be desperate to sell and will continue to publish high-quality research for free to get attention from potential clients. Indeed, this is really serious and they might be shooting themselves in the foot if they do not stop it.
10- Analyst-cum-Salesman
Market analysts will be forced to increase their footwork and spend more time talking to customers. Companies will be more commercialised and associating promotions and bonuses with analysts overall performance. This would impact the quality of the work and increase the turnover rate.