Conversations with corporate researchers
Michael Rosenberg
Managing Director, J.P. Morgan’s Corporate and Investment Bank Strategy
What do you believe is the biggest challenge to B2B MR today?
There is one area in particular impacting B2B market research that we as a community need to be concerned with: our collective talent pipeline. B2B market research is not often considered a natural starting point for an entry level career in research. However, we can change that perspective. Additionally, there are often gaps in the career progression ladder that need to be filled to enhance retention. Naturally, this needs to be managed as a company or agency-specific issue. However, we as an industry need to be conscious of the issue and facilitate the right discussions, as there are many B2B organizations that can share and educate on best practices in identifying, nurturing and retaining talent.
Do you feel that qualitative research is unfairly overlooked these days?
If so, how would you recommend better incorporating it? If not, could you describe a few ways you see it being leveraged?
In an age of DIY research and free online survey tools, there are some who may be tempted by the opportunity to look toward fast, inexpensive quantitative survey methods … but as they say, you get what you pay for. In talking through research opportunities, there are times when some may leap to the online survey as a solution but that tends to be driven by familiarity with the method and perceived ease of execution, more than anything else. My experience has shown that once you have a dialogue around business objectives and the breadth of research methodologies available, qualitative research quickly becomes much more attractive and in many cases, the obvious choice. Thus, my focus is on working closely with our business partners to ensure that we identify the optimal research method based on what we’re trying to achieve and the approach that works best with our client base. As a result, the majority of our research tends to be qualitative in nature. We leverage qualitative research to help support our product development efforts, to inform the development of many of our strategies and of course to evaluate the client experience.
What are the greatest roadblocks when conducting client experience research in the financial services sector?
Roadblocks is certainly not a term that I find myself using. This is primarily driven by the fact that all of our research programs are sponsored by and executed in close partnership with the businesses that we support. Thus, our primary focus is on tailoring our programs to our target audience. With that in mind, we can then thoughtfully design and execute our research studies leveraging best-in-class business processes.
Are there any challenges related to data privacy or other data security issues that you face as a financial services researcher? How do you work with or around them?
Both data privacy and data security should be fundamental components of the research process, regardless of industry. As such, we have strict standards and measures that are integrated into the planning and execution of all our research programs. Additionally, whenever we use a third-party, that firm is held to the same standards and is rigorously evaluated before, during and after any engagement.
What excites you about coming to work each day?
There are a multitude of things that excite me about coming to work each day. First, having the opportunity to work closely with my business partners to find solutions on how best to derive client insights to answer key business questions and inform decision making. Second, being able to spend time with our clients as part of the insights gathering process, through venues such as in-depth interviews, user groups, advisory councils and telephone interviews. Third, working with some of our more junior colleagues to educate them about the research process, guiding them through execution and then demonstrating the impact of actionable results and the inherent value to the organization.