Under increased pressure, and reduced budgets, client-side researchers rise to the challenge 

This year, the marketing research and insight industry is working overtime to face the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, redefining insights and identifying the skills necessary to survive. Individuals and teams around the world are managing drastically shifting budgets and new work environments due to an ever-evolving new normal. In light of these challenges, I decided to reach out to a few client-siders to see how they – and their teams – are handling the changes brought on by COVID-19. 

While each researcher I connected with was impacted in different ways, one thing stood out: from working under added pressure, to managing reduced budgets and finding new ways to understand the customer, researchers have taken on the challenge of adapting in the midst of crisis. As Jennifer Golson, consumer insights, Universal Parks & Resorts, put it, “A crisis like this forces us to reflect and question the way we have done things in the past and to take opportunities to improve and change.” 

It’s important to note that this article is not an attempt to provide a definitive take on the effects of COVID-19 on end-client researchers. Instead, it is my hope to spark important conversations about growth, resiliency and change within the industry.

Adapting to change

Several researchers spoke to the challenges faced due to changes in their day-to-day collaboration habits. This is not unique to researchers, but something employees around the world faced when suddenly jumping into work-from-home life, many for the first time. When listening to client-siders, it quickly becomes obvious that the challenges brought on by the sudden shift to virtual working environments is more than just a social one. While tools like Microsoft Teams or Zoom assist in maintaining vital communication lines, adapting to new solutions takes time and (continued) effort. 

“PBS did not have a big work-from-home culture before the pandemic began so it was a big shock to send everyone home so quickly in March,” says Eliza Jacobs, director, consumer insights and analysis, PBS. “Over these past few months, what I have come to truly miss is the convenience of dropping by a coworker’s office or cubicle to ask a quick question or have a chat.” 

Jacobs went on to describe what she calls “video meeting fatigue” – something introverts in particular may be struggling with – sharing tips that have helped her manage, if not completely overcome, it. 

“We have talked about blocking our calendars on a particular day in order to get work done, and I engage in what a friend of mine calls ‘defensive calendaring’ – preemptively blocking my own calendar to give myself space that I need.” 

With nearly all interactions being planned out in advance, and spontaneous conversations nearly impossible to achieve due to the shift away from a traditional office setting, Julie Levine, senior consumer insights manager, Cuisinart, reflects on how the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of unstructured conversation to problem-solving. 

“The most challenging aspect for me is communicating with my internal clients. Pre-pandemic, I would often stop by in person to ask a quick question. Some of my most productive encounters were spontaneous run-ins in the hallway, kitchen or even the bathroom,” says Levine. “Now, working from home, communication is planned and deliberate. I find that people have their own personal styles and you need to be open to all methods.” 

Stephanie Heller, consumer insights, Universal Parks & Resorts, shares how her team has taken on communication and collaboration challenges brought on by virtual work, improving their internal partnerships from a project development perspective. “One thing we are all doing more is working in pairs or small teams on projects that may have been run by a single individual contributor in the past,” says Heller. “We still have project leads, but this new collaboration is driving best practice dissemination, training and also just helping people feel more connected.”

Decision-making 

Finding ways to connect with and understand consumers during a global pandemic has been a challenge for many brands. And as Lisa Saxon Reed, director, global sensory, Mars Wrigley, says, it has left many client-side leaders asking, “How do we make sure the consumer is at the heart of our decision-making when we can’t connect in the usual ways?” 

“Pre-COVID we were experimenting with virtual and AI techniques to help us stay close to our consumers,” says Reed. “COVID-19 has given us an opportunity to accelerate this work, learn what does and does not work, and how to do it ‘right’ on a larger scale. Accelerating this new way of working presented significant logistical challenges, especially with product experience research outside of our hometown or our home country.” 

Bernard Brenner, senior director research, CMR, Microsoft, expressed a similar sentiment. “COVID-19 tested the agility and creativity of our research managers. Nearly overnight, research managers got pressure on business questions, methodologies and budget,” says Brenner. “We were asked to investigate environmental impacts on our customers as they were rapidly evolving in the market. We had to pull out of qualitative research as facilities shut down. We had to cancel or reduce sample sizes on quantitative projects that were scoped to address key strategies.”

While many may be daunted by this need to quickly pivot – specifically in a time when concrete answers are hard to come by – insights teams around the world are proving they are up for the challenge. Brenner went on to share how the need for rapid response and quick answers helped his team grow. 

“They quickly adopted more diverse data sets, such as organic social data to understand business issues in real time,” he says. “They experimented with telemetry data sets to get signals on how usage was actually happening. And they onboarded new qualitative techniques, often doing interviews themselves … I think a benefit from COVID-19, which sounds weird, is that our researchers are more adaptable, creative, resilient and faster. And these qualities will only serve our business better as we move forward to a new normal.”

But even when insights teams are able to adapt, act quickly and connect with consumers, the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 can be overwhelming. For some industries, such as travel and leisure, using research to inform long-term decision-making is the greatest challenge. 

“A major challenge is balancing the unavoidable impact that COVID is having on current consumer mind-set to travel with the need to do research to inform organizational decision-making in the both the near- and the long-term,” says Golson, Universal Parks & Resorts. “Our insights projects are very forward-looking, and while it is clear that this pandemic is going to have long-lasting social and cultural impacts, we all hope for and expect a recovery at some point, and a lot of our work will inform decisions that will come to fruition years from now. Balancing those needs with the present extreme salience of COVID on the consumer psyche is difficult.” 

Hope for research and insights

While there is no doubt that brands are facing an uncertain road ahead, the individuals I interviewed hold so much hope for research and insights. And they aren’t waiting around for business as usual to return before getting to work. 

One area where this is most obvious is the more widespread adoption and use of virtual research techniques. COVID-19 is pushing researchers – and brands – beyond their comfort level in terms of methodology and technology choices.

“Our biggest challenge has been: How do we make sure the consumer is at the heart of our decision-making when we can’t connect with our consumer in the usual ways? ‘Virtual done right’ can work in many markets around the world,” says Reed. “Does that mean we will be 100% virtual when the COVID storm passes? No. Will it be a much larger percentage than it would have been? Definitely, yes.” 

Golson pointed to similar work being done within her team. “Rather than waiting for a return of a normal that may never come,” says Golson, “we are taking on these challenges as opportunities to adjust and even wholly transform some of our most bedrock research programs.” 

Bessam Mustafa, director, fan insights, Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club, also believes it is important to continue on – in his case, this means surveying fans and soliciting feedback with respect to the pandemic itself and how fandom is manifesting during these unprecedented times. 

“To date, the response has been positive. In some cases, we’re seeing higher response rates and quality of data. We were some of the earlier movers when it came to asking customers honest questions about how they perceive the pandemic,” says Mustafa. “We can’t disappear now and expect people to participate with us again in three, six or 12+ months when it’s convenient for us – I’d rather keep the trains rolling.” 

Several researchers also expressed hope that some of the new perspectives and behaviors originally sparked by this unprecedented time will stay with the industry long after it has regained stability.

“Our industry is incredibly resilient,” says Jacobs. “Obviously this has been an incredibly turbulent few months, but what I am most heartened by is how many honest and, at times, painful conversations are now being facilitated by insights professionals. The insights are deeper and more meaningful.” 

At the end of the day, it may be this resilience that allows researchers to rise to the challenge, step back, gain perspective and ask the tough questions to best serve consumers and brands during these uncertain times.