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RESEARCH INNOVATION: THE TREND TO DIY TOOLS

Writer's picture: Evan WilliamsEvan Williams

Today, I was thinking mostly about do-it-yourself research...Qualtrics, Survey Monkey, etc.

Migration from agency reliance to DIY tools is perhaps one of the biggest trends that we will see in research.


In the famous words of Tommy Wiseau, "why is happening to me?!". Indeed, this is a good question for full-service agencies that have traditionally guided their clients through every step of the research process and made millions while doing it. Those days, are unfortunately, numbered. Best to understand and embrace the trend, then innovate, move forward, and win.


Here are a few drivers of the move to DIY.


First, there is a mentality of "anyone can be a researcher" today. "Blasphemy!" said the traditional researcher reading this article. Well, take the red pill and here we go. Today's professional is arguably much more analytical and data-driven than ever before. Analytics is becoming not niche, but a commoditized skill that people will have to possess if they want to have a job in the future. Combine this with an unending supply of easily accessible "how to" information on the web for everything from statistics to sample design and, voila, you have makeshift research teams in every organization! We should embrace this trend and look at it as an opportunity to enable companies to better see the truth, rather than tell the kids to get off our lawn.


Another factor contributing to the emergence of DIY tools is the fact that businesses in many cases have their own customer panels! Scary for panel companies, but don't worry, you will never have to worry about work...a company's customer panel can only take them so far (more on that in another article). Companies can identify cohorts in their own databases based on a variety of factors, including demographic (if available), lifestyle, or behavior. Then, they can ask them to take surveys. With DIY tools, anyone in the company can theoretically do this--all they need is a platform (such as the ones listed) and a simple enough data analysis tool to get the key insights out. Of course, there will certainly be a lot of errors in the design of the instrument, as only true survey design geeks know the perfect way to write response banks (sarcasm and truth in that comment). Nonetheless, this will not stop business professionals from doing it, as it's a) cheap b) fast and c) more reliable than a survey panel (in their eyes).


Professionals wanting to be close to their data is also accelerating. I remember the days (as in months ago), when, if I wanted raw survey data, I would be sent a static Excel file. Shame, shame, shame...this is no way to send a client his/her data! Give me something I can interact with, filter, manipulate. Give me something that makes me feel like I'm searching for airline tickets, but it's actually for insights in my data. The DIY platforms are way out in front on this. Time for the big guys to catch up.


I am mystified why so few of the big research suppliers are not starting to build the tools to enable DIY research for clients (apologies again to my friends at these places...I just want to see you succeed too!). Over time, the trends above will only get stronger, not weaker. Many of the biggest research vendors are not innovating in this space, likely because it would eat margins of their current profit model. Please read The Innovator's Dilemma to see where that will land you. The sad part of this is that these companies know research design and execution so well that they could absolutely be leading the charge and building the most user-friendly tools out there.


DIY is not without challenges. There is a lot of bad research questions. It can take time. There are a lot of wimps looking for self-validation and using a survey to help them "get the answer they want to hear." Yes, it can be downright ugly. But as with any innovation, it's iterative. It will get better. It will get smarter. Best to jump in now and embrace it.




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