Market Research, Fast and Slow

Sometimes slower is actually better!

Author

Jay Zaltzman
June 12, 2024

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There has been a great deal of talk lately about how AI can help us conduct research more quickly. And it can – AI can help us go through existing data (secondary research, social media mentions) more quickly and it can help us analyze new research results faster than ever before. That can be great for situations where fast decisions are needed. For example, should we go with package A or package B? How do people react to different ad taglines?

But there are situations where we can benefit from a slower approach. This came to mind when I saw Apple announcing its version of AI yesterday. Pundits say Apple has been behind in its AI offerings. But from what I saw yesterday, it looks like they took time to do research, understand how their customers feel, and proceed accordingly. I noticed they’re not calling it AI, but rather “Apple Intelligence.” And they put a great deal of emphasis on the security and privacy of their AI offering. When I consider the research we’ve been involved in, I know that consumers are quite worried about AI and how it will work for them. I imagine Apple conducted consumer research and decided to proceed slowly to make sure their offering resonates with consumers.

Certainly, new product introductions can be a good example of when it makes sense to go (somewhat) slowly. But what about most of our research questions, which are somewhere in between? More strategic than package A vs. package B but not as big as a whole new product? I advocate going just a little slower. That is, we can still use AI to speed up some parts of the process. But I recommend leaving a little extra time for the following:

  • Research design: Allot time to discuss the best research approach to answer the client’s questions (rather than “we need to conduct eight focus groups”).

  • Analysis: give researchers some extra time to consider the meaning of the research findings. When we rush through analysis, we just get the highlights, but we might miss some important nuggets that can provide great value. This is especially true when it comes to uncovering those important (and elusive) emotional aspects of customer decision-making.

  • Activation: How many times does research get conducted, and then nothing happens? We recommend setting aside time for facilitated “activation sessions” where stakeholders discuss the research results, what they mean, and appropriate next steps considering both customer input and business reality.

Let’s discuss the best way to answer your research questions. Email me at info bureauwest.com and we can figure out the best approach.

Sincerely,
Jay Zaltzman (he/him), President
Bureau West: Market Research ∙ Consulting ∙ Coaching 

Bureau West conducts in-person and online focus groups, one-on-one interviews, quantitative surveys, and website usability and effectiveness testing - in the U.S., and worldwide with ThinkGlobal Qualitative. We encourage our clients to call us early when they’re considering research, so we can provide advice on the most appropriate research method or combination of methods. 

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