Unbundling Recruitment and Fieldwork in Market Research: The Way Forward

Abstract/Business Case 

Market research has been one of the key spend areas for marketers, accounting for approximately 9–10 percent of the total advertising budgets globally. The spending on market research is expected to grow strongly, with the growing need for market insights and technological advancements to support non-traditional research techniques. To keep pace with the growing demand for quicker insights through traditional methodologies while achieving cost savings, companies have started engaging with data collection agencies directly to leverage on quicker turnaround times, high-quality insights, and reduced costs of conducting market research studies. 

This white paper talks about how the shift in engagement will benefit the buyers and what could be the potential challenges and key enablers for a buyer that plans to partner with data collection agencies. 

Introduction 

Traditionally, companies engage with full service market research agencies. A market research study involves project management, recruiting, fieldwork, and reporting. Generally, most full service market research agencies outsource data collection to dedicated partners, which leads to longer timelines for research. Typically, such outsourced costs contribute to about 30–45 percent of the overall cost of a study and also involve multiple layers of communication, thereby adversely impacting the quality, timeliness, and relevance of insights.

Driven by the need to gather market insights quicker, companies have started exploring direct partnerships with data collection agencies, involving dedicated partners for recruitment, in the early stages of market research. In the traditional approach, a market research (MR) agency chooses its data collection partners based on the requirements of the study. This selection takes place after the MR agency commissions the study; it leads to a scenario where more time is consumed even before execution of the study, not to mention about the higher cost involved.  

However, in an unbundled approach, the client directly engages with the data collection agency. During the planning stages of the study, the client simultaneously shares the brief with the market research agency and the data collection agency. This enables the data collection agency to identify participants that can be recruited for the study while the MR agency completes the preparation to conduct the study.