Skip to content
  • About Us
  • Case Studies
  • News
    • Media
  • Contact
Menu
  • About Us
  • Case Studies
  • News
    • Media
  • Contact
book a call

The Time is Now for ‘Indies’ in Insights

BLOG ARTICLE

The Time is Now for ‘Indies’ in Insights

I picked up this month’s NZ Marketing magazine focused on the disintermediation of the marketing industry by specialist agencies

I picked up this month’s NZ Marketing magazine focused on the disintermediation of the marketing industry by specialist agencies and it got me thinking about my own journey and what is happening within my industry…consumer insights.

Like many other professional services based on human capital and earning an income from our expertise, independent specialists and boutiques are on the rise. I left agency land over 10 years ago and have never looked back. I enjoy the freedom and flexibility that working independently affords me. I have more control over the type of work I do and now have the privilege of being able to turn down jobs if I want to.

“The secret to job security in 2018 and beyond is to remember that we build our own security and carry it around with us. No employer can assure you lifetime employment anymore. No private company can. No public employer can.” Liz Ryan, CEO/founder of Human Workplace

Adapting to the Fourth Industrial Revolution

As we enter the age of Professor Schwab’ s Fourth Industrial Revolution, we are reminded that this move toward more autonomous working conditions is not without its challenges. Workflow and wondering where the next job is going to come from has forced me to adopt new business development and networking skills – not as easy for a closet introvert. In the early days…this means having to take whatever job comes your way just to keep the lights on. Finding the right partners to collaborate with both from a skill and culture fit… wrangling Xero, paying salaries and wondering whether the bank will mind extending my overdraft one more time 🙂

But it seems the trend toward independence in professional services is here to stay and consumer insights is no different. So what is behind this rise of the ‘Free Agent Nation’?

Technology.

As Richard and Daniel Susskind allude to in their recent book ‘The Future of the Professions’, technology and cloud computing are disrupting the ‘traditional contract of professional services’ enabling ‘corporations of one’ to operate and act like larger organisations through the use of virtual assistants, outsourced admin, machine learning, collaboration with peers, online service platforms, accessible data visualisation tools and online accounting software.

“Online platforms allow traditional professionals to convene, collaborate and deliver services in teams and structures that were not possible in the past.” Daniel Susskind

Millennials’ have also exerted a significant influence on this entrepreneurial approach to work and career. Technology has lowered the cost of entry where younger employees can launch a ‘side hustle’, join the global gig economy or be part of the burgeoning start-up culture. It is this cohort that also respond positively to more flexibility and meaningful work in their career.

In a recent report prepared for the Foundation of Young Australians, Australians and especially young people look set to source more income from digital talent platforms, with 64% and 71% respectively indicating they would consider earning additional income during the coming year by providing services through a digital talent platform like Airtasker or Freelancer.

Client brands seeking more ‘bang for their buck’

There appears to be a shift among some client brands looking for more value and specialised expertise that is not always available within full service agencies. With experience and expertise comes speed and higher cognitive thinking. Brands are able to extract more strategic value from the specialists they engage with in a more efficient way. This has become particularly valuable in today’s environment where brand marketers are often overwhelmed by the sheer volume of data they are now dealing with.

Through this decentralisation, there is also an opportunity to make marketing research and consumer insights more accessible to a wider range of businesses, not just the few that can afford it.

“Most people in most organizations cannot afford the services of first rate professionals or indeed any professionals. Think about the expertise of legal professionals…it is a very, very scarce resource in society. We’ve built a Rolls Royce service for a few and everyone else seems to be walking.” Richard Susskind, The Future of the Professions

So, what does this mean for the independent consumer insights specialist?

Like other professional services, the impact of collaboration on the cloud, machine learning and enhanced data capture will continue to disrupt the reliance on large, full-service agencies for insights that can be sourced and managed internally. However, what brands will continue to seek out is the ‘why’.

As experts in this field, the future is bright for consumer insights and human behaviour specialists. With marketing shifting from mass to personal, the need to move away from a ‘one size fits all’ approach is imperative. “Consumer insights research gets under the skin and inside the consumer’s head to find the “why” of a purchase, to understand what happened, and to project what could occur in the future.” Jure Klepic

So to all my fellow indies in the consumer insights world, stay strong knowing that we are at the cusp of change and a brave new world lies ahead. Carpe diem!

When handling data, researchers see so much more than just numbers. We are consistently looking for the “why” behind each data set and ought to view ourselves as storytellers and problem solvers— as our role is one that aims to enrich, not only the market, but the daily lives of consumers.
Zoe Rose, Sr. Research Associate, FUEL CYCLE

More Articles

The Next Growth Opportunity: Customer Insights in the Age of Agile
Change before you have to… Control your own destiny or someone else will.
read more
Market research joins the gig economy
It’s the new future of job security, even if it looks nothing like the job security of the past, giving me freedom and flexibility.
read more
What is a customer community and how do you host one?
read more
What role does the customer play in your organisation?
Are your customers driving your business… or is your business driving away your customers?
read more
Understanding your customer – best bet for surviving Covid-19
6 reasons why understanding your customer is your best bet for surviving Covid-19
read more
Rethinking customer insights to drive growth for SMEs
In NZ and Australia, SME’s now make up over 90% of industry and will be the main source of new jobs in the future.
read more
Will the Future of Work be a renaissance, revolution or dystopia?
I had the privilege to attend the National Future of Work Summit held at the ICC in Sydney on 30th October 2018.
read more
Your Competitors Are Already Using Customer Insights
Insight-driven companies are growing at 8x the pace of the global GDPa compelling reason for any organization to prioritize customer insight
read more
5 Shifts Redefining Australia: Part 1
What does “family” mean to Australians and the brands that serve them?
read more
Quiet: Business planning solo
“Alone time is when I distance myself from the voices of the world so I can hear my own.” Oprah Winfrey
read more
10 things I learned at Nurture Change 2019
As a business owner, Mum of two young kids and launching a start-up, life is busy. It is easy to put your head down, grit your teeth and
read more
5 Shifts Redefining Australia: Part 2
The Rise of Kids Never Leaving the Nest And How Brands Can Rise to Meet the Shift
read more
Don’t be like the Emperor and his New Clothes…get the truth from your customers
Businesses are now being told to put their customers first and design products and services with a customer-centric lens.
read more
The return of in-person qualitative research?
Covid-19 has forced how many of us conduct qualitative market research with a fundamental shift
read more
5 key people you need in your corner
How to succeed as a Business Founder: 5 key people you need in your corner
read more
5 Shifts Redefining Australia: Part 3
The Impossibility of Australian Home Ownership—And Why Brands Can Capitalise On This Change
read more
Four reasons why data can drive internal alignment
You are the Founder or CEO and want to launch a new product to ensure the company hits its growth targets and continues to move forward.
read more
Looking at New Product Development in 2023?
read more
How Market Research Specialists Are Bringing Data and Agility to Companies
Experts Everywhere: How Remote, Independent Market Research Specialists Are Bringing Data, Savings and Agility to Companies
read more
How Consumer Insights help brands cut costs during COVID-19
Welcome to 2020 where a pandemic and potential global recession are driving uncertainty and leading business leaders to examine their P&Ls
read more
Join our Newsletter

Sign up for the latest news and updates from the team at Insights Exchange

Contact
  • Email: info[at]insights-exchange.com Tel: +61 424 667 648
Address
  • Level 2, 11 York Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and condtions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and conditions
© Copyright 2023 Insights Exchange
Manage Cookie Consent
We use cookies to optimize our website and our service.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
Preferences
{title} {title} {title}

Nichola Quail

Welcome to the Insights Exchange scheduling page.
Please follow the instructions to book a call.
I look forward to speaking with you soon!

30 Minute Catch up ►

Contact

Let’s get this conversation started. Tell us a bit about yourself and
we’ll get in touch as soon as we can

  • About Us
  • Case Studies
  • News
    • Media
  • Contact
book a call