Editor’s note: Chris Benham is CMO at feedback management platform Alchemer.
Marketing research is a fast-paced business requiring researchers to stay relevant – relevant on survey methodology, research technology and industry news or events in their focal area.
So how do you stay relevant in marketing research, in particular? For insights professionals to stay relevant, they need to shore up their weaknesses, specifically around communicating insights and appreciating business or market context.
As a business professional with 30 years of experience in marketing, I know a little about business and communication. This article will outline ways marketing researchers can stay relevant by developing better business/marketing skills and then communicating the insights in a way the client can use.
For analysts hoping to lean on their analytical expertise... that may not be enough. These business and communication challenges are real.
Full service, strategic consultancies and technology providers tend to succeed and struggle – areas that remain a challenge include understanding your business, reporting research results and recommending business actions. Each type of research firm struggled with business and communication areas while generally doing better in core research functions.
Essentially, marketers and market researchers need to learn from each other. Marketers, eager to make a splash, are relying on data more and more to prove their points. Marketing researchers, eager to present the facts, are being asked to bring forth the story behind the data. Both groups benefit by moving closer to the other. This article shares how marketing researchers can start to develop marketing skills.
Jessica Gaedeke, CRO at GutCheck, encapsulated the vision for business-adept researchers in her article, “Today’s Insight Professional: Tomorrow’s CEO.” Gaedeke calls out three business behavio...