22 Apr Tech Equilibrium in Market Research

Achieving a streamlined process to optimize quality, speed, and cost savings for market research insights has grown tremendously over the past decade. We do not expect this trend to slow down anytime soon. And while faster, cheaper, and better insights are at the forefront, all organizations (including insights agencies) have focused their strengths on empowering their employees and the technology they use to solve the underlying demand. Some label this concept as the ‘tech equilibrium’ – referring to integrating talent, data, and technology as a holistic approach to guiding business outcomes.

Not all the Whistles, Whistle

We all confront the tech equilibrium “challenge” as business leaders.

It appears straightforward because they stare at us right in the face.

Things like:

• The post-pandemic workplace triggered collaboration between co-located colleagues.
• Digital adoption continues to accelerate across every organization, and leaders must maneuver and adapt to keep pace.
• Skill sets thought to be optimal for every position are now challenged to adapt faster, with innovation and technology steering the direction. 

It is easy to see that technology influences many areas of business, no matter what kind of operation. Nevertheless, viewing these challenges with the expectation that the newest, latest, and most advanced tool on the market will solve them is naive. Not all the whistles, whistle. Not all the bells ring true.

The Human-Centered Problem

Technology cannot always solve a human-centred problem, but it can help power the solution!

This is where tech equilibrium comes into play. By combining people-centric skills with technology – businesses can inherently create more value. First, however, it involves learning how to balance tech adoption with human knowledge and ability – once referred to as soft skills (back when our parents walked up the hill both ways).

Today, we recognize that the human talent behind technology, the skill behind people, and their capabilities, enable B2B organizations like Insightrix to deliver a unique blend of services by combining more traditional methods with digital solutions whenever required.

Below are four critical areas in which business leaders and decision-makers can focus their efforts when facing the crossroads where humans and technology meet within their organization.

Business decision-making

Intelligent decisions are critical to the success of a business. As organizations incorporate more technology to automate more decisions, business leadership may find it challenging to meet current technological demands.

As a business decision-maker, ask yourself:   

How can technology help me make a ‘good’ decision efficiently and accurately?

Technology makes our world smaller and more accessible – it has allowed organizations to access, collect, and process data almost instantaneously.

Using multiple data sources allows business decision-makers to show themes and patterns within the data and make it possible to use existing data (or secondary resources) where others have already done some leg work.

You can learn and build from past findings (or mistakes) and apply a primary data collection approach tailored to your needs. In addition, combining secondary data sources with primary data collection can give a more holistic view of the business problem.

It is easy to see how technology and business intelligence tools can help us get there, but the effort doesn’t end there.

Another question you may find yourself asking:

How can I use multiple data sources to interpret the BEST insights to meet our business goals?

The unavoidable fact is, to make good decisions GREAT (based on data), we must also be able to interpret the data in a meaningful way to make that ‘good’ decision a great one!

Market research professionals can help explain the insights, navigate how technology is employed, and discuss conflicting points of view to cite reliability and quality in your data.

Leadership

Business leaders should continually evaluate their technological resources and decide the best terms of use in their business.

This approach includes understanding how to use technology to help all roles in an organization and serve our clients better by generating opportunities for alignment between everyday tasks and IT solutions. Some may refer to this as bolstering their offensive position.

Customer Experience

We know that technology has spawned a new segment of a consumer – the infamous Everything Now Customer. This consumer wishes for multiple services simultaneously in the most effortless way possible. And the shared economy model (like online purchasing/shopping solutions, rideshare programs and online food delivery services) has aided in meeting this demand.

Due to many automated purchasing solutions, organizations are now confronted with the evolving buyer journey. As a result, the consumer expects way more personalization with their service. Businesses are becoming more acute in developing strategies to support a human-centric program with customers who expect authenticity, personalization and immediacy in their customer experience. 

Digital Adaptation

Best practices and the status quo are no longer applicable, and new methods and techniques are needed.

The ways we use, collect and report data are continuously being reassessed.

As insights professionals and business decision-makers, we must ask ourselves what makes the most sense. Today.

We all know there are plenty of technology solutions to choose from. Still, decision-makers must understand that no single solution will solve our challenges when achieving adaptability. 

The human-centric element of digital adoption needs unconventional, out-of-the-box thinking to look at the situation first rather than prioritize the technology.

Digital adaption can take different forms, including data analytics, visualizations, interactive portals, advanced analytics and modelling, etc.

The tech equilibrium makes these methods possible, but only talent can master them. Because when it comes down to it, a number should never be used in isolation for it to be relevant. It must also hold meaning.

About Insightrix  

Insightrix Research is a leading insights agency in Saskatoon, Canada. As catalysts of action, our researchers, managers and executives are experts in the tools and methodologies that help us lead our clients to achieve more significant business decisions. 

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