GreenBook® Research Industry Trends Report

Detailed FindingsRespect & Changing View of Market ResearchOverall, most (55%) respondents feel that thereis as much, if not more, value placed on researchthan was the case in years past. There are,however, striking differences in the perceivedvalue of research by experience level and whencomparing client vs. supplier side respondents.Those with less experience and on the buyer sideare more likely to feel that research is valued todaythan in years past. Conversely, those with moreexperience, and those on the supplier side, aremore likely to feel that research is less valued thanin years past.How would you compare the value that today’s marketers place on the products and servicestraditionally delivered by market research departments and suppliers to the value they placed onresearch when you came into the business/five years ago?TotalUnder6 Years6+YearsGapResearchBuyers/ClientsResearchProviders/SuppliersGapBase: (673) (73) (600) + / - (131) (542) + / -% % % % %Value Research Same/More (Net) 55% 74% 53% +21% 68% 53% +15%Value research more today 18% 29% 17% +12% 30% 16% +14%Value research about the same 37% 45% 36% +9% 38% 37% +1%Value research less today 44% 26% 47% -21% 32% 47% -15%There have always been tradeoffs between quality, cost, andspeed, but we appear to have gone well past the tipping pointin the marketing research field. Setting the generational andclient vs. supplier-side issues aside, systemic stressors make itdifficult to deliver on the promise of high-quality, high-valueresearch. Overall, two-thirds feel that “clients today are lessable to tell the difference between high quality and mediocreresearch” – something that even clients agree on.Additional concerns:• Ever-shorter timelines are preventing the delivery ofquality: nearly 60% agree that the “quality of work isbecoming less important than speed of deliverables” andthat short timelines means that “we cannot deliver thequality we want to”.• Perhaps most disconcerting: only 1/3 believe that “if theyhave to choose, clients prefer quality over speed”.If only to reemphasize the point,respondents feel that these issues (e.g.,clients preferring “short-term insightsto deep understanding of consumermarkets”, that the “quality of work isbecoming less important than speedof deliverables”, and that clients “nowdemand such short timelines that wecannot deliver the quality we want to”)will become even more important inthe near future.Systemic stressors make itdifficult to deliver on the promiseof high-quality, high-value researchwww.greenbook.org 9