Industries Evolving with Technology
You might be thinking ‘What does Blockchain have to do with the Market Research industry?’ Well, the Market Research industry is maturing. It has evolved exponentially since its inception. While it is excellent news for the industry, it means that the companies involved need to keep up. As mentioned in a recent blog, marketing and advertising are advancing too. Now, companies can target their audiences down to their age, marital status, and geo-location all through social media. This means companies want to narrow down the criteria for the respondents from whom they want to gather insights.
As these industries mature, so do consumers. Reaching the correct audience is becoming harder and harder as they are inundated with more and more content. Also, getting the right consumers to complete a research study is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Consumers are more sophisticated and do not trust brands or research companies as quickly as they once did.
Trust in the Market Research Industry
Apparently, the general population trusts the market research industry more than social media companies and the government. But confidence is still low in the space! And the increase of notable cyber attacks (such as Facebook/Cambridge Analytica) in recent years has caused the general public to become more concerned than ever about their privacy. This heightened awareness means that transparency is crucial. While it has always been important, market research companies need to be upfront about how they use and store respondent information, and when they will delete it. To keep trust, it is paramount that research companies limit the amount of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) they request.
Is Blockchain the Answer To The Market Research Industry’s Questions?
There has been much buzz about Blockchain in every industry, but it turns out that it may be able to help solve the growing pains that the Market Research industry is experiencing. What is Blockchain? It is a system that maintains a record or transaction across several computers that link in a peer-to-peer network. This could mean that data would be safer, and market research companies could stop asking the same questions over and over again.
Could a Blockchain solution improve trust among research participants? This new technology could increase confidence among respondents by encrypting their information and allowing market research companies to get to the point instead of repeatedly asking the same PII of respondents.
For Blockchain to succeed in the Market Research industry, there are a few factors that we need to account for:
- Communication: There needs to be clear communication among industry professionals and research participants. For Blockchain to improve standards in Market Research, all companies will need to agree, and it will have to become the industry norm.
- Education: Market Research professionals, as well as research participants, will need to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the technology entirely.
- Transparency: This goes without saying, without openness, research respondents will not adopt the technology.
The introduction of Blockchain could improve participation rates in research studies – people will trust the companies conducting the research more, and they will not be bored by filling out the same information time and time again.
Ironically, for this technology to take the research industry by storm, more research is needed. It is crucial that for Blockchain to succeed, it needs to be commercially viable.
Check out our other blogs!
Have a look at the way other technologies are affecting the market research industry: Virtual Reality and Qualitative Research: Fad or Here to Stay?
Read about market research for tech companies themselves: Tech Companies: Have You Thought About Your Marketing Strategy?