The Radical Power of Democratized Market Research

Market research of the highest quality is an essential investment for enterprises, regardless of size and industry. Historically, high market research costs meant that top quality market research services were only provided by high-end research groups.

But as technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), automation, and data analytics become more accessible and less expensive, they have enabled the emergence of market research companies and tools that offer high-quality research results without breaking the bank, bringing these benefits within reach to just about any organization.

These low-cost players are able to re-shape and implement tech-driven research methodologies to capture high-quality information and generate deeper insights for a fraction of the traditional cost, and at a speed the big research houses just can’t match.

Cutting Down Market Research Costs

• Commissioning a traditional research agency to perform a market study can set an organization back anywhere from $1,000 to more than $25,000 and up. (The Manifest)
• Global market research remains a big, multi-billion-dollar business, generating $73.38 billion a year. (Statista)
• The industry’s projected 3.9 percent annual growth indicates stable demand.(Statista)
• However, market research firms like Pollfish, Alchemer, and SoGoSurvey are quietly revolutionizing the market research industry. Their edge? Fast, high-quality, actionable research results, feedback and insights at significantly lower prices.
• Pollfish, in particular, offers consumer insight surveys that start at less than a dollar. (Pollfish)
• Pollfish has garnered positive reviews, with clients citing the firm’s budget-friendly pricing on top of excellent services as its main draws. (G2)
• Alchemy, formerly known as SurveyGizmo, also received high scores from clients. The company offers subscription-based research services, including Voice of The Customer Surveys and Enterprise Feedback, for as low as $45 a month. (G2)
• SoGoSurvey specializes in CX feedback and employee experience surveys as well as online tools and quizzes. Top-rated among its peers, SoGoSurvey pricing starts at $25/month. (SoGoSurvey)
• For big, traditional research agencies, the entry of Pollfish and others spells intense competition. Ultimately, it’s the consumers who will benefit most from this development.

Consumers Demand Speed and Accuracy

• B2B firms demand faster, more reliable, and more accurate research. Why? Because enterprises that conduct frequent research (at least quarterly) grow up to 70 percent faster and are almost 50percent more profitable than companies that don’t. (Hinge Marketing)
• With inexpensive research firms saturating the market research industry, traditional market research providers have to fight to increase their shares as the proverbial pie slice of market research shrinks. (Forbes)
• Established market research firms with hefty price tags for their services are now forced to make their fees affordable. But offering research consumers affordability is not a guarantee.
• What separates tech-driven, low-cost research from big research companies is that the former deliver top-quality, highly accurate research results and insights quicker, and more economically than the latter.
• By contrast, big research agencies often deliver insights that their clients already know, or were out of date by the time they received them from the firm.
• Low-cost research tools, having integrated technology into their existing methodologies and implemented new tech-driven research models much earlier, clearly enjoy a technological advantage.

Healthy Competition, Competitive Prices

• Technology now allows for the easy collection of robust data from statistically important audiences of just about any cohort. Companies can turn that data into marketing tools applicable to PR, Demand Gen, Design, email campaigns, landing pages, Google analytics goals, etc.
• This means competition across the market research industry will soon stabilize with technology as the greatest equalizer. Hence, market research firms with the right technology will attract the market research consumers.
• From the consumers’ perspective, this change in the status quo means their research budget can deliver a more dynamic impact for less money. (LinkedIn)

A Boon to Marketing, But Alignment is Key

• These disruptive players can provide clients with honest feedback and actionable reviews, benefits that were once limited to mega corporations with big fundings.
• With the cost of market research brought down significantly, hurdles for many departments within organizations have come down.
• However, there should always be some alignment and agreement with other marketing functions to make these work as well as they can.
• The insights derived from market research are crucial to numerous marketing functions.This includes identifying new customers, getting to know existing customers, setting realistic business goals, developing new marketing strategies, and solving big business challenges among others.
• It remains imperative for different departments to agree to an established set of terms and align their individual goals to the overall targets of their organizations.
• Otherwise, they will fail to derive any value from the insights provided by their market research, no matter how fast and inexpensive.