Unwaveringly Loyal or Unwilling to Adapt?
And yet, our industry seems unable or unwilling to adapt to this new reality. Here’s the way it typically works now (and has for the past several decades): a client finds a researcher they get to know and trust. Then they stick with that same researcher for every study, regardless of the topic. Could be diapers or data centers, doesn’t matter.
I get it: I for one love being the preferred researcher for our clients. And there are many wonderful moderators out there deserving of their client’s loyalty and trust. I also understand the value from the client’s perspective of forging a deep, long-term relationship with a moderator who works well with the team and knows how to navigate the internal politics.
That being said: I firmly believe we need a shake-up. With the proliferation of bad data, the uncertainties of AI, and the increasing pressure on research departments to deliver better results with fewer resources, it’s time for our industry to challenge its business-as-usual approach.
One Researcher Does Not Fit All
Relying on a single trusted researcher for every study may have worked 10 years ago, heck, even three years ago. But is it still working? For highly complicated and regulated industries like healthcare, technology, and finance — definitely not. And it’s not just B2B that’s confronting increased complexities that require more tailored research approaches. Consumer brands are facing their own set of challenges as well, as human attention becomes an increasingly valuable and scarce commodity.
How does a company — regardless of industry — ensure their products, services, and brand capture the eyes and hearts of their audiences? How do they cut through the increasingly noisy and cluttered competitive landscape and differentiate themselves? The answer lies with relevant, meaningful, specific, and actionable insight. That’s why clients who stick to their one tried-and-true researcher may actually see a downturn in their research quality and output as their businesses, industries, and the landscape at large become more complex.
That’s also why it’s important for every researcher — from CPG to B2B — to find their lane of expertise, and excel at it. Know what you’re good at, research it, and specialize in it. If marketing yogurt to teens is your jam, own it and run with it. If you’re an expert in Edge computing, then leverage that specialized knowledge for clients who need it most.
Every researcher is an expert. We just need to recognize, embrace, and cultivate our expertise to deliver more value to our clients, and to our own career trajectories. By focusing on our area of specialization, we’ll continue to develop a level of depth and insights that distinguish us researchers. And that clients truly want and need.
Why Expertise Matters to Clients
It’s also time for research buyers to embrace and actively seek out specialists — researchers who know the client’s niche and all its complexities. By and large, clients don’t expect — or even want — their qual researchers to be experts in the topics or issues they’re researching. But they do expect the research they pay for to generate game-changing insight. Which is exactly why clients should want their qual market research partners to have specialized expertise in the subject at hand.
Let’s look at a hypothetical. Say a pharma company wants to test the market potential for a novel rare-cancer therapy with the physicians who will be prescribing it. A qual researcher whose resume includes 20 years of clinical experience and thousands of hours interacting with doctors will be able to get up to speed faster, dive into the study sooner, and have meaningful and revelatory peer-to-peer conversations with the specialists they’re talking to. She’ll understand the nuances of the subject, know what follow-up questions to ask, and won’t have to interrupt the discussion flow for explanations of complex medical terms.
More than just a data dump, this researcher can call on her clinical background to connect the dots and reveal otherwise hidden motivations of the respondents. The client can then use this rich insight to make more informed, confident, and strategic decisions about when and how to launch their drug, who to target, and the best messaging to connect with them.
Because, ultimately, a true expert moderator isn’t just a researcher. They’re a strategic ally who uses qualitative research as a tool to uncover profound insights. This dual role means clients don’t just get a great study — they gain a partner who can help translate findings into actionable strategies.
