Innovation is impacting every part of our lives, with smartphones making the world available from our pocket with a simple click, swipe or voice command. And now Apple HomePod and Amazon Echo, teamed up with our friends Siri and Alexa, are giving us direct access to information without the need to reach for a device.
Voice-control products are taking off, and the smart speaker revolution is just getting started. In fact, one in five US households has a smart speaker, according a recent Kantar survey. That's a 57% growth rate in the past year. And while these voice-activated devices become ubiquitous, our smartphones are still the central place that we store everything, make mobile payments, network with friends and family, and more. The momentary panic when you think you’ve lost your device is gut wrenching because we are so heavily dependent on them to function even in the most basic sense. It’s evolving at an exponential rate.
But can we say the same for market research? Technological development in our industry is often focused on how a business can create the latest program or app to benefit their business. However, the very fact that the technological development of smart speakers is becoming a technological dependence for consumers means market research is already benefiting. Or rather, it should be. The innovation has occurred, now we need to tap into this wealth of data to better understand today’s consumers.
Recognizing this, Kantar and our partners have been exploring what the industry can potentially learn from this consumer technology and the ways in which we can maximize insights and personalize experiences. We’re doing this through understanding these connected consumers and the new landscape they and their devices are building.
So how can researchers, marketers, and advertisers alike tap into the already innovative consumer and leverage the ocean of data they are generating – all while maximizing the investment being made in their survey research? The answers lie in connecting data sources – from survey to zero, first, second and third party data – to tools for searching and mining existing data for insights – to carrying those insights and resulting target audiences through to media activation.
As technology evolves, consumer behavior shifts with it. Researchers have both technology and data at their disposal to be more creative today than ever before when seeking ways to tap into these insights. Having connected tools and data is like giving researchers access to a virtual Siri and Alexa – all you have to do is ask the right questions!
How is your organization learning from the behaviors of today’s innovative consumer?
