Efficiency is key to market research. The many changes over the years (e.g. online), are the result of technology driving efficiency. This has enabled users to conduct faster and cheaper research. We are now observing what we believe to be the most significant transition towards in-house do-it-yourself (DIY) market research. There has been a steady adoption of these tools over the past few years which is starting to shape our industry.
Survey Monkey was one of the original DIY research platforms, launched in 1999. Since then we have seen many other contenders enter the market, such as Qualtrics, which was sold for $8bn in 2018, and Zappi, becoming a household name in our industry for automated research. There is a huge plethora of DIY research tools now available.
What makes DIY research so appealing?
There are many benefits to using self-serve research tools. Here are the four main ones:
COST – DIY research tools are cheaper, but much of the cost saving is simply the shifting of tasks from the agencies to the end user.
SPEED – due to the reduction in the number of steps or functions a research project goes through at an agency and the fast publication of results through automated dashboards.
CONTROL – For ad-hoc studies the end user has total control over questionnaire and sample etc, there is no requirement to adopt ‘off-the-shelf’ solutions that so many agencies have.
FLEXIBILITY – The addition of DIY research alongside conventional agencies broadens the suite of tools that the research user has access to.
DIY market research tools have become increasingly popular in recent times, led by the ongoing pressure on budgets and moving expectations of timescales.
Issues with DIY market research
Although there are many advantages of using DIY research platforms, difficulties can arise. This is particularly relevant among less experienced or non-researchers. Poorly designed questionnaires, unsuitable sample selection and sloppy analysis are common mistakes made. These are detrimental to informed business decisions and can undermine the use of DIY research.
The lack of skills to undertake DIY research, the time involved and the knowledge of which tools to use for each project has created a gap in this market. This necessity for fast, inexpensive and high-quality research, paired with the skill set to use these platforms, is the foundation upon which we have built our company, MAC Research.
Our unique company delivers quality bespoke market research at a very competitive price. We deliver fantastic value by utilising these tools and stripping away costly overheads. The valuable experience and expertise gained over 20+ years working client- and agency-side is applied to working with these self-serve platforms to provide the very best research. Our insights help you to make confident marketing decisions.