AI Innovation: Elevating the Impact and Efficiency of Insights

Earlier this year, Insight250 commissioned a study of insight experts and innovators asking them a series of questions on where they currently see the state of insights in terms of technology, personnel, expertise and impact, and where they predict it going. The Insight250 Perspectives: State of the Industry 2024 Survey also asked a series of questions about AI and the state of technology across the industry.

Experts widely lamented their technology capabilities with a just over quarter (26%) of respondents saying their current tools are highly effective in diagnosing consumer behavior with 44% feeling their research solutions are only somewhat effective Respondents also emphasized the need for significant enhancements in current tools, as well as concerns about expanding solutions leading to fragmented data and analysis silos. While these issues aren't new, the need for resolution is increasingly urgent.

To get further perspectives on the state of AI within the insights industry we sat down with John Sevec, Vice President of Client Strategy for mTab. John, an Insight250 Winner and Market Research Society Research Hero nominee, is at the forefront of technology advancements and AI innovation advising a spectrum of brands on the incorporation and application of technology, including AI, into market research processes and insight strategies.

Q: It’s interesting that while technology continues to advance in market research, only 26% of respondents to the Insight250 survey say that their current market research tools are effective. Why do you think this is?

John: “Although technology is evolving quickly, we see a major hesitation among many MR teams when it comes to adopting these advancements. It’s unclear to them which is the right solution and what’s the appropriate application to build efficiency and efficacy within their market research process. Even though advancements like AI can provide significant improvement, these innovations can also create major problems if they aren’t applied correctly.” 

Q: What’s the ideal approach for organizations to correctly assess and adopt these types of advancements so they make a positive impact on identifying insights?

John: “That’s a big question that has a lot of variables and depends on their established processes and personnel. An ideal way to start is to benchmark the organization’s current market research approach against the Insight250’s Maturity Model. Make a genuine assessment of where its tools, processes, reporting, analysis capabilities, governance and business impact provide an understanding of the state of the MR operation and opportunities to enhance it.

“A lot of the issues I see span these dimensions but are largely seen within the tools and processes. There are often many fragmented solutions that have been bolted together over time and make accessing and analyzing the data challenging so identifying insights in real-time is nearly impossible. So in these cases, tearing down those silos and centralizing the internal and external data sources so they can be efficiently overlaid and visualized is critical.”

Q: According to the survey, most insight professionals say they plan to maintain their current team sizes (53%) and budgets (62%) over the next 12 months, with a notable segment (32%) planning to moderately expand their teams to meet growing demands. What is your takeaway from this? 

John: “It’s no secret that the value of insights across every industry continues to increase. So the value of MR teams continues to grow, so they have to keep pace in delivering quality insights quickly given their increasing profile and value within the organization. 

“We see this across our client portfolio with brands in entertainment, automotive, food and beverage and others. As consumers become more savvy and complex, understanding their behaviors and preferences - and where to find them - is increasingly vital. So, a lot of insight teams are investing in technology to help their limited personnel teams deliver faster, more insightful results more efficiently thanks to the right technology.

“This is largely why the insight management system mTab is trusted by so many MR teams. It provides the horsepower to synthesize fragmented data sources to efficiently deliver a real-time understanding of customers, markets, products and competitors so they make smarter, more impactful decisions.”

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John Sevec serves as Senior Vice President of Client Strategy for mTab. He has been honored as an Insight250 Winner and is also a recipient of Market Research Society's Research Hero award. He can be reached at jsevec@mtab.com.