What is Agile Market Research?

“Agile” has become a buzzword in business, correlating with adaptability, flexibility, connectivity and productivity. Rapid changes in consumer attitudes and market trends, as well as increasing volumes of data and sophisticated technologies, have made efficiency synonymous with success and precipitated a major shift in business philosophy, one which has pushed an agile management style to the forefront of many business models. In the business world — and especially when talking about market research —  to be “agile” is to be able to react quickly and effectively. Here’s what you need to know about agile market research:

The Definition of Agile Market Research

Agile market research is both noun and verb. Agile market research is bespoke research, customized for a specific client and minimizing the use of syndicated (i.e., general) insight. It is also dynamic, capable of changing rapidly as needed to ensure the greatest benefit to the people making use of it.

Characteristics of Agile Market Research

As both a process and a product, agile market research is distinguished by several different features:

• Agile Market Research is Concentrated - Instead of a large, comprehensive market research project that involves multiple stages and/or methodologies, agile market research focuses on short cycles of research, developed and completed quickly so that data is always relevant and timely with no lag time between execution and conclusion.

• Agile Market Research is Collaborative - It involves a team of researchers, each working simultaneously and sharing information with one another in real-time, so that no one person is ever responsible for insight distribution. Removing the hierarchical approach to project management accelerates data sharing and safeguards research decisions by eliminating the potential for short-sightedness stemming from a singular point of view.

• Agile Market Research is Dynamic - Because agile market research is cooperative, there are many team members reviewing and discussing information at every stage of a project.  This means researchers are able to alter the research project’s goals and objectives as new info is learned rather than waiting months for a larger project's results to trickle in!

Want to Learn More?

The goal of agile market research is fast and accurate insight. If you need help devising an agile market research project plan that informs your business practices quickly and effectively, please contact Research America. Our researchers work collaboratively to ensure that our clients have access to the most informative and timely data available. Our team utilizes agile market research techniques that allow our clients to adapt the focus of their research project as results surface and, thus, hone the quality of the entire research endeavor.