The quest for “agile” in the research industry is not new and ironically still appears quite urgent. If one scans search queries, it is fascinating to see that “agile research” was searched twice as often as “market research” in 2019. And actually, since 2015, there has been steady evidence that “agile” has been on our minds.
The Demand for Faster and Cheaper
Too often, agile research has come to be synonymous with “fast” and “cheap”. But true agility means tying in speed and affordability with versatility and flexibility for the most timely and predictive business outcomes.
So, how can that versatility and flexibility be manifested in ways that can actually serve brands most effectively and make their research dollars work harder to create growth?
We would argue that agile solutions need to take advantage of technology in smart ways that will enhance data capabilities, not just apply the latest technology buzzwords for show.
Backing it Up With Behavioral
If they are to be accurate, agile solutions need a behavioral framework and should be built by practitioners with deep understanding of how consumers actually make decisions. Even better if the agency has built a normative database that can be leveraged through analytics tools like AI to identify patterns and proven diagnostics. But most importantly, innovative agile solutions must be designed to accommodate flexibility – because there is no one-size-fits-all in client problems!
Agile solutions that do claim to provide rapid and cost-effective decision-making support must be flexible, stretching to accommodate clients’ requirements, whatever they might be in the context of growing their brands. The typical default in “fast” and “cheap” research has been rigid standardization and “one size fits all” questionnaires. But where clients might want to address even a few category-specific questions or user/non-user insights, that is off-limits in what passes for agile research from most providers. And in the spirit of “test and learn”, as clients adopt them, the best agile tools will be those that providers enhance, upgrade and engineer in pricing models that evolve to be fit for client purposes.
Responding to Client Needs
About 2 years ago, PRS IN VIVO identified unmet client needs relating to the entire process of developing product packaging. Deep-dive testing was often too cost-prohibitive to conduct early and often in the design process. Having the luxury of the world’s largest database of pack and shelf designs at our disposal, we developed a virtual test, leveraging that data asset with AI analytics technology for comparative scoring. This enabled brands to achieve a rapid metric for screening numerous pack designs much earlier in the development process, prior to moving on to validation, making those research dollars work more efficiently in creating growth.
At the same time, we determined that faster validation would fill a void that could aid optimization and lead to greater success of packaging in-market. “Faster and cheaper” were table stakes. But, if we could leverage our library of thousands of shelf designs previously tested and apply automation to facilitate programming and reporting, that would deliver the third imperative. We could achieve a rapid, cost-effective online validation tool, also grounded in behavioral expertise, creating a much more reliable measure for potential success.
Once we road-tested these approaches in 2019, we introduced them as our Accelerated FlashSuite.
Earlier this month, we announced enhancements to this toolkit- our AI Pack Screener is now available in a bundled pricing model to facilitate testing larger numbers of designs in an iterative way, reflective of current best practices in design thinking. This enhancement also includes options for adding deeper dives on the designs that score highest in the algorithm. PackFlash™ reporting is now fully automated and easily customizable in flexible intuitive pricing tiers, reflecting from the needs of clients.
We share this to prove a point: At PRS IN VIVO, we have done what we would expect the best practitioners out there to do to deliver truly “agile” solutions. We have iterated and responded to client needs and enhanced tools for flexibility.
We see many agencies saying they are looking for ingenious ways to make research faster and more cost-effective for research buyers. But we would urge all brands to hold those of us on the consultancy side accountable to a higher standard than merely “fast and cheap”. Innovation in research should be relentlessly focused on your business outcomes, delivered through a behavioral framework that identifies what consumers actually see and choose, and it should be flexible enough to accommodate your company’s unique needs without sacrificing the quality of the metrics your success depends on.
That’s what agility means to us at PRS IN VIVO.