Suppliers in the analytics and insights industry are often falling short when it comes to meeting the needs of clients in terms of cost, insight and data.
Kirti Singh, Procter & Gamble’s chief analytics and insights officer, discussed this subject at The Market Research Event (TMRE) 2019, a conference held by KNect365. And he asserted that the requirements of brands are evolving rapidly.
“What’s needed from today’s analytics and insights professionals is dramatically different than just a few years ago,” he said. (For more, read WARC’s in-depth report: How P&G plans to fix an “unsustainable” market-research ecosystem.)
“Increasingly, with the pace of change in technology, changing consumer needs, vast amounts of data, competition, and business leaders’ expectations … the new needs and expectations call for a radical transformation in the speed, cost and quality of insights.”
P&G relies on consumer-focused information, and invests significantly in this area, working with various suppliers in the ecosystem. “The global A&I industry revenue is estimated at $40 [billion] to $50 billion,” Singh said.
“And, in the US alone, there are over 5,000 companies offering services in this field. And, as clients of these companies, we often measure the cost of single projects in the tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars – and sometimes more.”
But a problem of under-performance and overpricing frequently holds true for market research. “The quality of work has decreased while costs have increased,” Singh said. “This is unsustainable.”
He continued, “Look closely into the costs we pay, you may be surprised to find items like ‘mandatory enhancements’ and ‘cost-of-living’ expenses built in with no meaningful coverage or quality improvement.
“We find ourselves with incomplete datasets, shallow insights and unsustainable costs per data or consumer connect. Yes, the markets are more complex, but the technologies and capabilities available are more advanced.”
Imagine, Singh proposed, “P&G telling Tide consumers, ‘While our cleaning power is no longer removing all your stains, we will be charging you more as our expenses have gone up!’ Our consumers would laugh at us!”
Sourced from WARC
