Diversity, equity and inclusion in market research
Market information collected out of a well implemented market research can positively assist a business organisation. How is this done and which service provider can be counted on?
For many industries, market research (MR) isn’t mission-critical. Why? Because they’re getting much of a muchness in the way of market information.
But at InteractRDT, there is a general understanding that there are a few missing pieces to the MR puzzle; namely, diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I).
InteractRDT asked Eldon Phukuile, one of their CX leads, what he thought about DE&I in market research, and he made a valuable point:
“How do we know that what we know is true? And how do we know if everything we know is wrong?”
DE&I: More questions than answers
Do future opportunities come from delivering more to existing customers? Or do we want to find new customers and markets?
If it’s the latter, how do we identify them, develop new solutions, expand markets, or combine what we have and reallocate into other markets? How does diversity, equity and inclusion fit in? Questions, questions, questions…
DE&I: New combinations, new markets
Although MR exists to eliminate risk, you can also take a healthy amount of calculated risk to drive innovation by identifying how different people live and work, and what your solutions can do to make everything easier.
“New products or services shouldn’t drastically change the way people live, but integrate easily and naturally without high switching costs,” says Eldon.
With the right MR techniques, you can create a balance between accommodating existing markets and identifying new, untouched customer segments.
DE&I in MR is all about identifying diversity, exploring how your product can contribute, and including diverse groups in your marketing strategy.
DE&I: MR for testing and innovation
Testing ideas can be risky in business, but it’s also the best way to generate new ideas and uncover the unmet needs of diverse markets.
Businesses often use MR to confirm what they already know or to measure historical performance to conduct employee assessments. Although this is necessary, it shouldn’t be the primary motivation behind undertaking research.
The most important part of MR is to have conversations and observe the market, to identify the differences and drivers of value, the purchasing experience, and the DE&I progress that is or isn’t being made in your business.
Get to know your target market and tweak your approach to meet their needs. Don’t dwell on what you already know, because that’s when MR becomes worthless.
DE&I: Why are businesses hesitant about MR?
- “But what about the need for privacy?”
People and businesses are more concerned about privacy than ever. The internet is an exposed universe, which is why people don’t want to reveal who they are – and many businesses don’t want to ask.
- “It’s all ‘same same but different’.”
We are so used to receiving the same data that we don’t want to try finding new data. But there are groups in the market that businesses aren’t including in their marketing strategies. Perhaps it’s time to do the same research on new groups.
- “That’s not what I want to hear.”
When it comes to MR, many businesses find comfort in having the research prove what they want to hear. But the moment research confirms a bad idea you’re interested in, you lose interest in its feasibility and relevance to a new market.
- “I don’t have time for newness.”
Identifying a new market can be tricky because we don’t always have the time and resources to consider what could be. It’s easy to stay with what we know; the status quo doesn’t require extra elbow grease (even if it yields a new, profitable market).
DE&I: Digest the truth and pick the fruit
- Block incorrect conclusions
Times change, which means the MR you undertook ten years ago isn’t relevant today. Never limit your customer segment to old conclusions.
- Diversify your language
Familiarise yourself with new and diverse markets and learn how to speak their ‘language’ (figuratively), relate to their challenges, and solve their problems.
- Sweat the small stuff
Sometimes, the smaller targeted group’s perspective is more relevant than data from an entire demographic. As long as you maintain the context of your research and business strategy, you may find information hidden in a small market segment.
- Ask the right questions
Conducting Market Research with a diversity, equity and inclusion hat on is not a numbers game. The truth is out there. InteractRDT can help you find it!
