In summer 2011, Asia Research, the publication for the market research industry in Asia, carried out an attitudinal survey of the Asian market research industry. Conducted online with 260 respondents from clients, agencies and support industries from 12 countries across the continent, we are pleased to present a summary of the findings of the 2011 State of the Market Research Industry in Asia report on our blog today:
On balance, stakeholders are positive about the prospects for the Asian market research industry, with 64% considering there to be more opportunities (most of which are in the area of technology) than threats compared to just 14% who view the threats (among them price pressure, inability to attract talent to the industry, poor quality fieldwork, and lower respondent co-operation rates) to be greater than the opportunities.
In general, both clients and agencies agree that clients are more price-driven than they were five years ago. Despite this, expenditure in research is expected to rise.
While inability to attract and retain talent is viewed as the biggest threat after pricing pressure, increasing staff salaries is not seen as a leading concern, implying that agencies expect a relatively good supply of candidates and it is common practice in Asia to source candidates internationally (a third of people who took part in the survey were expatriates).
Over the next five years, fairly significant changes are expected to occur in the industry, with more than 60% of respondents believing there will be at least ‘very different products, services, and types of organizations’.
Despite the importance of product innovation and new technology, stakeholders think that ‘investment in staff training and development’ will give agencies the biggest competitive advantage in the next five years. This reiterates that although technology will have an enabling role, at heart market research continues to be a people business. It’s a good thing, therefore, that 84% of stakeholders stated that they ‘enjoy working in market research’, with just 2% disagreeing with this statement!
Find out more by visiting Asia Research.
