GreenBook® Research Industry Trends Report

Fall2010Spring2010GapBase: (673) (875) + / -% %Value Research Same/More (Net) 55% 75% -20%Value research more today 18% 18% -Value research about the same 37% 57% -20%Value research less today 45% 25% +20%Perhaps most disconcerting is the erosion in selfperceivedrespect for research – even versus theprior wave – with a 20 ppt jump in the percent whofeel that research is less valued than five years ago.Certainly, the timing of this wave (concurrent witha national employment crisis) has fueled somedegree of pessimism, but such a large shift in sucha brief period of time is nonetheless worrisome andwarrants our continued monitoring.Perhaps most disconcerting is the erosion inself-perceived respect for researchPart of the increased pessimism in the marketingresearch industry is fueled by “systemic stressors”that make it increasingly difficult to deliver on theshared goal of high quality, highly valued research.Attitudinally, two-thirds feel that research buyersare less able to tell the difference between highquality and mediocre research now, and mostfeel that quality is becoming less important thanspeed. Respondents acutely sense some blurring inwhat “quality” research now is or should be. This isperhaps unsurprising, in a world where clones andknock-offs are produced as fast as the innovation,and where speed-to-market is, in and of itself,a strategic advantage. But with ever-increasingspeed comes legitimate concern about the qualityequation. In particular, online panel data qualityand the non-representative nature of online sampleare top concerns for our respondents – concernsthat are more pronounced among senior researchprofessionals. This systemic stress is only expectedto increase more rapidly in the years ahead.As many readers know, online panel data quality,in particular, has received significant attention,not only by the AMA but in separate initiatives bythe ARF (“Foundations of Quality”), CASRO, andESOMAR. Our findings echo this concern, withdata quality remaining the top issue within theresearch community. Significant attention is beingpaid to improving both the representativenessof, and level of engagement among surveyrespondents; our data indicates that this concernwill persist for some time to come.Despite a backdrop of professional pessimism,anticipated levels of future research spendingare actually favorable. Nearly 60% (in the overallsample) indicate that they are either now seeingstronger growth, or expect stronger growth tooccur – especially for suppliers, where 65% areeither experiencing or expecting increases.In terms of research mix, regardless of clientor supplier side, over 1 /4 claim that spending willincrease more for qualitative than quantitativein 2011. About 1 /2 believe that the spendingrelationship between them will remainunchanged (i.e., flat). The positive news is that anychange being reported is being fueled by greatervolume, not higher prices per se. And a shift inthe mix towards qualitative is not especiallyuncommon, as the US economy slowly emergesfrom its recessionary mindset, and focuses on newbusiness development and topline growth.Data quality remains the top issue withinthe research community6 GreenBook Research Industry Trends