Well, here we are at the beginning of 2012. 2011, with all of its twists and turns, is behind us and we start the New Year looking ahead to see what might be in store. Here at Revelation, 2011 was a wonderful year of progress, challenge and growth. We see 2012 filled with immense opportunity. The wonderful thing about working in a dynamic, rapidly changing industry like market research is that each day represents a new opportunity to learn and find exciting new ways to create value for our customers. 

So as we look forward into 2012, here are some of the things we are keeping an eye on:

1.    Technology continues to reshape MR

No doubt about it, technology will continue to have an immense impact on MR, on both methodology and the business of MR itself. Technology enabled offerings will be the price of admission to stay current in the business, and more technology companies (especially around big data, marketing automation and mobile) will enter the market research space.

2.    Hype versus reality

That said, technology is not methodology in itself, and new technology-enabled methods will need to prove out against methods that have been normalized over the past decades. In 2012, researchers and clients will be putting social media research, gamification and other buzz-y methods to the test. 

3.    Lighter weight engagement at key moments

Given that the attention span of potential MR participants for MR activity is constant shrinking, and more MR moves to the less expressive mobile medium, lightweight collection methods that engages quickly at key moments will become more widespread. Getting the right question to the right person at the right time will start to take on as much importance as the depth of information.

4.    Delivering more value

We are not out of the economic woods yet by any means, and that means that budgets will continue to be tightened and a premium will be placed on delivering value. Ultimately the mission of market research is to understand people to answer business questions, and getting that mission accomplished faster, more cost effectively and just as reliably  (if not more so) will continue to be a huge imperative.  New methods, no matter how flashy, will be measured by how effectively they enable clients to get the answers they need.

 5.    Watch for new business models

While all the attention is on technology and methods, there is an undercurrent of disruption of current MR business models (for example, Usamp not charging for SurveyWriter to enable sample and other forms of revenue). Which traditional models will come under stress from a confluence of methodology and technology is yet to be seen, but inevitably, there will be a leap from applying technology to current methods and models to technology enabling new MR business models. 

Here is to a great 2012! To learn more about Revelation’s Immersive Research, we have a few options for you:

• Webinars
• Resources
• Demo