Editor's note: Edward Appleton is a client-side European consumer insights manager. He can be reached at eappleton90@googlemail.com. The opinions expressed in this article are the author's alone and do not reflect the views of his employer. This article appeared in the March 25, 2013, edition of Quirk's e-newsletter.  

One question has been niggling at the back of my mind for many months: If the voice of the customer is so centrally important to the survival of companies in a vast range of industries, why isn't marketing research valued more highly?

The squeeze on MR budgets is unrelenting, which is understandable in times of widespread economic stagnation but surprising given the strategic importance of insights to all innovation processes.

I have no research on this topic but here are some potential barriers I see putting a brake on our aspirations:  

  • Insights and researchers aren't perceived as being close enough to the bottom or top line. We neither immediately drive sales nor we do we reduce costs. To general management, we lack immediacy.
  • We invariably don't have enough control over making our insights truly blossom in the marketplace.
  • We're perceived as "risk minimizers" more than "opportunity seekers" at a time when entrepreneurship is held in increasingly high regard.
  • Much marketing research has a short shelf life and can easily be forgotten if not shepherded through.
  • Senior marketing executives often have a history with MR and past disappointments can leave them somewhat jaded - negative even.
  • Younger marketing folk are becoming more analytic-savvy themselves, no longer feeling as dependent on MR specialists as they might have 10 or 15 years ago.

Of course, there are myriad more barriers - not the least of which is our inability to sell ourselves. So what can we do to elevate our perceived importance? Here's my take.

1. Take more responsibility for success and failure.

This, to me, is a critical one. Researchers need to be part of an operational team, learning not just through MR projects but through insights gained in the field. We simply need to get out more and spend more time with consumers, customers, salespeople, suppliers, etc. It's amazing how many insight hypotheses you pick up shadowing salespeople or executing different types of projects.

2. Think and act more like entrepreneurs.

Very often, we researchers are given projects; we have a passive, functional role. Influence is created by taking the initiative, suggesting a focus and driving an agenda. This could be a natural insights area: For every project we work on, we should highlight potential opportunities for application in the organization. We need to go beyond the formal objective of the brief.

3. Make data synthesis a powerful tool.

Many companies are still organized by discipline (e.g., sales, finance, customer service, marketing, etc.). Organizational silos are a natural by-product. This is a huge opportunity for research: taking an integrative approach to data streams.

To be truly powerful, an insight needs to be driven by at least two - ideally several - data points from various sources. The broader perspective we bring, the more we'll gain credibility, increase the robustness of our input and effectively share the decision-making role.

Onus is on us

Considering the changes suggested, I'd say it's clear that whatever additional skill sets and new behaviors are needed, the onus is on us, as client-side researchers, to take the lead. MR agencies don't have the level of access that client-side researchers do, though agencies do have an important role (delivering higher-level intelligence through research) that has the potential to be shaped for critical business impact. 

But whether client- or provider-side, it's urgent that we sharpen our profile as impact-driving insight gatherers, given the increasing availability of relatively simple, low-cost DIY applications out there and the growing level of interest in incorporating big data into MR. The more we can deliver business-changing insights and analysis, the more we will enhance the value of what we do.