How is 2011 looking for market research?

In light of the economy, 2010 was not an easy year for the market research industry. There was a focus on how to add value and innovate to better one’s marketing strategy and product positioning. As 2010 comes to an end, I want to share some trends that Reineke Reitsma of Consumer Market Research at Forrester Research believes will take precedence in 2011. She suggests that the three key trends will revolve around organization, technology and social media. Market researchers will need to use social media as a source of information; they will have to acclimate themselves to technology and use it to their advantage to drive efficiency and change; they will also need to keep innovating to better their methodologies. Here are some forthcoming trends: 

• Social media will become a lot bigger. In 2011, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter will become a large component of companies’ PR programs, even more than 2010. It will be crucial for market researchers to determine ways to understand the different social media outbursts. Researchers need to do a better job at analyzing negative outbursts and comprehending how harmful they are to companies’ reputations. They must possess the ability to distinguish a genuine issue from one that’s simply hyped up. Researchers also must strategically integrate social media into their research, exercise care when interpreting their findings, and report issues/concerns to the companies in due time.
 • Market researchers will use technology to better or replace existing processes. Market researchers will be more likely to use new technology to analyze large data sets, find trends, and so on, using more data and text mining and analytic tools specific to their businesses. They will also spend more time in understanding the use of technology in propelling them closer to their vision, mission and values.
• The industry will come together to create a long-term vision. As a generally traditional industry, 2010 saw market researchers talking about how to prepare for the future, so that their work would stay relevant, consist of better quality, efficiency, and also become more economical. This resulted from a concern regarding whether market research will even exist 30 years from now. In answering some of these questions and adapting to changes, market researchers will solidify their vision, mission and values; they will improve on how to share their findings and work well with other departments, such as Sales and Marketing and they will identify relevant technologies to stay up-to-date.
 If you think more important trends exist besides those mentioned above, or you disagree with anything, please let me know. I will be happy to hear your thoughts!