Why market research is more important than ever in 2021

Comprehensive consumer and market research , as well as an understanding of exactly how consumer wants, needs and expectations have shifted over the course of the past year is the foundation which should inform business strategies going into a post-pandemic world. But unfortunately, thousands of businesses are not utilising their existing knowledge and the market research they have already commissioned to its full potential. Their precious insights are all too often left sitting on a virtual shelf, with many departments and teams not even aware that they exist. This lack of knowledge sharing capabilities leads to misaligned or potentially even misinformed business strategies, as well as the risk of wasted budgets due to the unintentional commissioning of duplicate research.

Therefore, it is essential that organizational knowledge such as consumer research and business insights are made accessible to all departments and workers in a given company. To help improve commercial decision-making and prevent misalignment in consumer understanding or growth strategies. Giving employees instant access to all relevant market research and up-to-date consumer insight is also a crucial step in preventing the development of knowledge silos between business areas, teams, and departments, which further hinder productivity and collaboration.

A study conducted together with Censuswide showed that one of the main reasons why 2020 market research was not used by businesses was due to the data being rendered outdated by the significant societal changes caused by the pandemic. Many UK companies recognised that they had commissioned market research in 2020 which has never been used due to the disruptions and delays caused by Covid-19. Similarly, communication difficulties caused by remote working has led to delays and disruptions of product launches, forcing some teams to sit on market data for an indeterminate amount of time.

Fortunately, business decision makers are still very much aware of the strategic importance of market research – 74% of surveyed businesses said that they are looking to boost their marketing and consumer research budgets this year to reach more customers, 76% of businesses are set to overhaul their customer engagement strategy in response to the disruption and dispersal caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and a full 82% of surveyed decisionmakers agreed that data-driven insights are a top priority for them in 2021.

With data-driven insights a top priority, it makes sense that the organisations that are placing market research at the forefront of their customer acquisition and retention strategies in 2021 do have the tools to help them make the most of it. Thus, in growth-oriented companies a digital knowledge management platform that enables secure, instant access to relevant market research from anywhere in an organisation is essential for improved decision making, and preventing wasted research via miscommunication or a lack of coordination between teams or branches in the same organisation.

The pandemic has massively impacted the global economy and left many industries reeling. Now, it is clear that a solid understanding of consumers and markets has a crucial role to play for many different sectors in helping them bounce back. Winning in business in 2021 will depend not only on companies’ ability to gather more data and insights, but their ability to collaborate around this knowledge on a global scale.