Takeaways from the ESOMAR conference

• 2013-09-26 12:58:00
• Conference

But how does the industry look exactly? According to data collected by ESOMAR, because of the decline experienced in Europe and several North African countries, Africa showed a 1.3% decline in market research profit, while other regions showed a slight improvement (South America is leading the list with a 5.4% profit increase).

In terms of market procedures agency concentration is an increasingly significant trend in the last couple of years, which was further strengthened by merges and acquisitions of larger researches companies. The latter was interpreted by some attendees from smaller and medium-sized companies as the separation of the industry into two parties. Some clients choose bigger companies that provide risk-free but less innovative and customized solutions instead of smaller agencies that would provide more flexible, creative services.

An international study carried out among several hundreds of clients also pointed out the main qualities clients look for in researchers. From 6 profiles of researchers the 2 most „ideal” ones were: data-centered researcher using massive traditional knowledge base (25%), researcher having a comprehensive perspective including the context of the research with integrating several different data sources (26%).

While closing the event Garry Kasparov, former World Chess Champion talked about the importance of innovative thinking and ability of decision making. The presentation pointed out interesting historical correlations as well. A simplified summary of his message is that to be successful one needs creativity, the ability to change, to take chances and be passionate. In addition he pointed out that one needs to understand that great solutions require failures along the way – as historical evidence shows as well.

The congress not only helped Szinapszis build professional relationships, but affirmed our vision that the future belongs to research solutions based on solid knowledge, broad industry expertise and customization.

Csilla Bán, qualitative director