In July, Quirk’s Editor Joe Rydholm moderated a conversation with four client-side researchers as part of a Quirk’s-hosted and TMRE-sponsored Webinar titled, Real Talk: Becoming a More Effective, Valuable Relevant Insights Leader. Panelists were Nicola Blue, vice president – Amex Insights, American Express; Jason Chebib, VP, consumer planning, Diageo North America; Andria Long, VP, innovation and consumer insight, Johnsonville Sausage; and Christina Nathanson, insights strategist, AIG.
Touching on everything from tips for magnifying wins throughout the company to integrating new tech and blending data streams, these marketing research leaders highlighted some of the key struggles leaders (and teams) throughout MR are facing.
The panelists were asked questions around the following four topic areas:
- skills and training;
- internal impact;
- technology; and
- leadership.
Let’s look at some highlights from the discussion.
MR skills and training
When it comes to important skills needed in MR, Long described three characteristics that she looks for beyond the typical consumer discipline and classical training: a positive attitude; true comfort with ambiguity (“because sometimes [research] really requires making a judgment call with data”); and ability to triangulate and connect the dots with data.
As panelists continued the discussion, it became obvious that a solid résumé and interview are just the beginning. While Blue said an applicant’s résumé gets them in the door, she relies on what she called “case situations” to know if someone will be a good fit. “To see how they would really handle things on a day-to-day basis, for me that’s really telling of someone’s demeanor, the ability to fit and connect with the team or to add to the team,” she said.
Chebib also called out the importance of looking at the way a person fits within the existing team, noting how he looks beyond individual skill sets. “One of the ways I think about my team is our collective skill set,” said Chebib. “Do we have a breadth of different approaches to things? Will they add to my team’s collective skill set and will this person make that collective skill set better?”
So how can leaders ensure researchers develop a diverse skill set and become comfortable handling the day-to-day of MR? Nathanson was first to note the importance of leading “through example and make[ing] them feel comfortable.”
Chebib echoed this idea. “You can’t expose people early enough to opportunities to lead. I think that is what a lot of this is about,” he said. “Just because somebody is junior or inexperienced doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have the opportunity to lead.”
Long, a believer in allowing team members to own the work they do, said even newbies should have the opportunity to do the work, own it and share it. “Give people the opportunity to share their work, tell a story with the data and get that exposure early on,” she said.
Internal impact
The pressure on MR leaders to deliver results is always increasing. When asked, “What are some of your favorite ways to raise the insights team inside your organization?” panelists were quick to call out the importance of internal relationships.
Blue said much of her success comes from building relationships throughout her organization. “Building relationships so that I can more quickly tap one of the SVPs in another group or talk to my leader. Do a quick little PR e-mail and just make it really short and snappy to showcase how an individual has overcome something challenging or has drilled down to really compelling insight and how that has given action to their business partners,” said Blue. “Having just a quick little nugget has really created a momentum around recognition and awareness.”
“Yammer is our internal communications,” said Nathanson, sharing how her team gains momentum throughout the organization. “If we can just evangelize what we’re doing and share internally – you know if you will build it they will come.”
What do you need tech to do for you?
When asked how new technologies play a role in day-to-day work, Nathanson shared the reality of managing tight budgets while still conducting quality research. “We have to get creative in how to keep research alive. We have a very small team here in N.Y.,” she said. “In my prior roles I used online communities. So we started with a consumer community with 1,000-1,500 people and we threw anything that we would normally do primary research in, eventually trying to build that credibility on using this new tool and using it for all different means. Within three months our ROI was 400 percent.”
The panelists were quick to note that while new tech is becoming more of a feasible option due to lower costs, there is also the need to weigh the risk of failure.
“We look for a point of difference or how it’s better than a tool we’re currently using whether that’s saving money, time or a deeper insight,” said Long. “Depending on the level of risk we may do a dual passing and use our traditional method in addition to a new method to mitigate any risk in trying new tools.”
While discussing tech, the panelists touched on tips for setting expectations with tech – specifically to mitigate the demand for better, faster, cheaper.
“A lot of it has been the educating of our partners and getting the context and trying not to assume anything in terms of their knowledge and going through options of faster or more expensive,” said Blue. “Making sure they see there is a tradeoff depending on how you move along that spectrum.”
And is tech changing MR as we know it? Chebib said it is “changing or threatening to change research.” But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“One of the things that we know but ignore all the time is the fact that consumer’s claimed responses are inaccurate,” he said. “One of the things that has become possible at scale and cost effectively through the introduction of technology is more implicit testing. That is quietly transforming the actual fabric of how we do research. And I think if you fast-forward 10 or 15 years we’ll rely way less on consumer claims.”
Leadership hungry for change
Near the end of the Webinar, panelists were asked about the most worthwhile leadership qualities in the research realm. Chebib’s response summed up the discussion well, touching on the true hope for the future of MR:
“For me it’s about seeing your role as not just generating insights and not just communicating and selling those but actually insisting on being a part of the decision-making process and what happens with them when the actions are taken as a result of that decision-making process,” he said. “And that’s when I think we start to morph from back-room suppliers of information into cutting-edge master business marketers … I want somebody who is hungry to do that.”
Looking for more advice from the panelists? Check out the recording (registration required).