SPONSORED CONTENT

Editor's note: Hugh Davis is president of Dynata Solutions, Dynata, Westport, Conn. 

In today’s world, when making any business decision - whether it affects product development, go-to-market strategy or advertising - there is no reason to rely on your gut, and doing so is often detrimental to success. Thanks to technological innovations and the accessibility of actionable data, it has never been easier to create, consume and act on concrete information. By employing agile research, brands now have the power to answer questions in real time, without compromising data quality or research integrity.

By now, you’ve likely encountered the concept of agile insights, and at this point, might consider it an overused industry buzzword. However, it’s certainly not one to ignore.

With agile insights, you can gain answers to specific business questions, in a cost- and time-effective manner. Truly agile research solutions allow the flexibility to create data on an as-needed basis, without waiting for an analyst to generate a custom report. These types of solutions also assist in synthesizing the right data to make optimal business decisions, without requiring your team to spend significant time crunching numbers and dissecting information.

In recognizing the wide-ranging benefits of agile research – increased speed to market without compromising data quality, higher likelihood of product success, increased transparency and flexibility and lower cost of research — we created the Dynata Insights Platform, the only agile research solution that connects you to customers and prospects through the world’s largest, fully-permissioned first-party data asset.

Dynata Insights Platform is an intelligent research platform that combines the power of automation with real-time reporting and dashboard visualizations to simplify your research process and reduce the time gap between data and action. Built on the foundation of Dynata’s core first-party data offering, with a reach of more than 60M opted-in consumers, worldwide, this end-to-end solution is built to address all your research project needs, while ensuring high-quality data. We empower users to move from question to answer more efficiently, because if you don’t get there first, your competitors will.

No longer an option, but rather a means of survival, agile insights are critical to gaining and maintaining a competitive edge in the era of the empowered consumer. We examine four key benefits brands should consider when exploring the value of agile research methods:

1) Increase speed to market without compromising data quality 

Arguably one of the most substantial benefits of agile research is the ability to go to market faster than your competitors, without sacrificing data quality.

In the past, companies had to wait weeks, months and even quarters to receive insights, depending on the size and scope of a research project. This time gap between launching a study and generating insights served as a barrier to fact-based decision-making, as waiting for a report is not always an option and outdated insights are irrelevant. The right agile research solution will allow you to inform data-driven decisions, whenever and wherever you need to, decreasing this time gap. As a user, be sure you have the ability to sit closely to the data, so that results are immediate, easy-to-access and housed in one place.

According to Nielsen, 80-85% of new consumer products fail, and losing time to market during product and concept development is common without proper testing. However, through quick, cost-effective concept-testing, agile insights can validate whether you are on the right track. Get new products in the hands of the appropriate customers faster, while keeping a pulse on the behaviors, perceptions and needs of existing and target customers. Because you can ask questions and generate answers in real time, there is also no need for lengthy surveys that try to anticipate future questions prior to product launch.

In the past, expertise in sampling, methodology, survey design, programming, etc., were required to conduct research. However, due to advancements in technology and automation, much of this has been built into our solution to get you your answers faster, without requiring research expertise. Furthermore, our automated solutions include templated surveys, allowing even a novice market researcher to easily implement tools and meet research objectives.

Faster data does not necessarily indicate lower quality, as long as you are working with a reliable agile research partner. We achieve faster turnaround times without compromising data quality because Dynata Insights Platform is built around our core first-party data asset. With a reach of more than 60M people, globally, and deep coverage of hard-to-reach B2B and B2C audiences, our solution simply acts as a gateway to your target customers. Our Global Research Science team has perfected specific blends of sampling against particular audiences to ensure we’re always delivering quality. Our Total Research Quality system includes automated data validation checks and an extended team that monitors panel integrity, in addition to built-in guardrails, cleaning mechanisms and safety nets, to make sure you are getting high-quality insights, at scale.

When it comes to data collection and exploration, companies that turn a blind eye to agile insights will suffer from a significant time gap between data collection and action, as well as run the risk of making decisions based on instinct instead of fact.

2) Increase your chances of product success and decrease barriers to innovation

The failure rate of new products has always been high, but data-driven product development can increase your chances of success. Prior to product launch, acquiring feedback from actual buyers in your target market, who are poised to purchase your product in a repeat fashion, is an advantage made easier by agile insights. By increasing speed to insights, you can test more concepts at each stage of product development in a quick and cost-effective fashion. This not only increases your product’s chances of success but can also help you avoid costly mistakes due to being off-course.

Leveraging a trustworthy agile research solution makes it easy to get the answers you need to confidently go to market. When developing Dynata Insights Platform, we made it possible to test thousands of variables, with tools like repeat concept testing. This increases your chances of success, drives growth and can even identify new revenue streams based on consumer feedback. Our Plug & Play technology also provides access to a wider range of research tools, so that you can launch and manage more comprehensive research projects. The more testing your agile solution allows, the higher your chances of product success when going to market.

While speed to market is important, without the proper product testing it might not matter if you get there first.

3) Achieve full transparency into your research projects and gain flexibility

When working with an agile research partner, you should feel engaged and connected to your studies, in real time, no matter where you are. Ensure that your partner’s agile solution is fully transparent and provides your team with 24/7 access to your data. This level of transparency eliminates redundant, manual communications with project managers by connecting you with the same level of information as your partner’s internal research team.

While transparency should be consistent across the board, make sure flexible service models, such as Do It Yourself, Do It Together and Full-Service, are available as well. Every organization’s bandwidth and comfort level with research tools differs, so it’s important to consider which model best suits your needs.

By taking an agnostic, customer-centric approach, we empower clients to be as involved in a project as they desire. Regardless of service model, our internal experts are available to answer any questions that arise. This combination of flexibility and transparency around agile research creates a truly collaborative environment conducive to fast, accurate insights.

4) Solve manpower-related challenges and reduce the cost of research 

With tools for sampling, data visualization, CRM matching, on-boarding, reporting and programming housed in a single platform; agile research solutions reduce the cost and complexity of acquiring insights to make effective decisions.

Consolidating your research endeavors into one agile platform, that taps into your ideal audience, reduces the cost of research by streamlining internal operations and minimizing the number of tools and partners required for a project. However, if you want to connect data from multiple research partners, your agile partner must have the ability to source sample from third-party suppliers.

In considering the needs of our clients, we have purposely made our data incredibly easy to consume via real-time reporting and data visualizations. Within our agile platform, you have the capability to access our fully-permissioned, first-party data asset, in addition to data from third-party suppliers.

When it comes to solving everyday business decisions in a time and cost-effective manner, agile research can get you the answers you need in a convenient, end-to-end insights platform. To learn more about how Dynata Insights Platform can help you optimize your marketing strategy, increase speed to market and streamline operations, contact us.