By: Mtra. Elizabeth Ruvalcaba Coordinadora de Neuromarketing ACSI Research

The environment and people are a world full of information that is constantly changing, especially in recent years, with new consumption habits and the way in which people now relate to each other. For companies, being up to date with all the changes is of the utmost importance in order to remain relevant in the market, and in this way their sales, their brand and their recognition are not affected.

Market research is the tool that companies use to clarify their decisions or strategies before making them, since they collect valuable information from consumers, the environment, customers and the competition.

Market research helps to know the evolution in the environment, the consumer’s purchase intention, the strategies of the competitors, the feedback about the strategies of the companies and the growth of the market in a sector. It helps the correct planning, organization and control of the resources of a company to cover the needs of the market.

With all the changes that society has undergone, market research has had a growth in methodologies with online applications, such as online quantitative research with a global growth of 32% according to ESOMAR reports in its Global Market Research Report.1

Despite global growth, companies in Mexico do not have a research culture, which is why, according to some studies, only just over 60% of medium and large companies have ever invested in market research for their company or brand. and less than 10% do it constantly to feed their decision-making with information.2

According to the AMAI (Mexican Association of Research and Opinion Agencies) in 2020, the market research and intelligence industry applied to the consumer in Mexico reached an annual value of 6,515 million pesos, having a decrease compared to previous years. 3

There are various methodologies for market research, all with a different approach and objectives. Before, only traditional methods were used, such as surveys, interviews or focus groups, which collected first-hand information, having direct contact with the study participants, however, they had certain limitations.

Among these limitations is the lack of depth in the information of the results, the biases due to human errors or the bad intention of the participants when responding with lies or disinterest, and the dependence on the abilities of the researchers to collect the information correctly. . This does not mean that these investigations cannot be trusted, on the contrary, they continue to be relevant in the market and collect information of great importance for companies. Currently, technology has helped market research to be increasingly successful, accurate, without bias or error.

The methodologies have evolved, new ones have been implemented and some have been combined to provide greater support and information to the companies that require them. Among the most outstanding innovations is the analysis of Big data and Neuromarketing.

Big data is all the information in a large volume, speed and variety collected from users about their behavior in the digital world, conversations on social networks, visits to web pages and consumption of digital content. The important thing is the analysis strategy of all this information, to enhance decisions and promote strategies.

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On the other hand, Neuromarketing is the use of neuroscience with marketing, using scientific tools and processes that collect information on the brain and body activity of the study subjects to know their attention, their memory and their emotion towards the stimuli that are introduce them.

Among the new methodologies there are also some patented by companies in particular, such is the case of ACSI Research that has implemented and patented a new methodology called Neuroinsights that combines neuromarketing methodologies with in-depth interviews, this with the aim of gathering insights from the subjects of studies that give clarity in their decisions and perceptions, complementing the information collected from their brain and body activity, with their verbal expression of what they feel or think.

Market research is expected to continue to grow and evolve as customers and businesses do, we are experiencing many transformations in society, and technology is advancing rapidly to keep pace with all these changes. Companies should not be left behind, they can base their decisions on research, with information on what is currently happening in their sector, what their customers think and the decisions made by their competitors. This may be what dictates whether the company continues in the market or if it suffers from a stagnation that could have serious repercussions.

It has already been seen how large brands and companies, with solid foundations and large capital, have ended up disappearing for not taking into account changes in society, or not making the right decisions to adapt to these changes.

Before, market research focused only on looking for the consumer to know their perception and experience with the product, but today we can measure many other aspects, such as the product or service purchase experience, the media used, whether digital or physical. , the information that he previously sought, how he found out about the brand, what other brands and products he considered prior to his purchase, what his perception of the company/brand is and how this information influences his final decision, among many other variables that are important for the business strategies of companies. Market research can do a lot for and for companies and various industries, although in Mexico the percentage of companies that invest in these is still low, and more than 65% of the studies that are carried out are with traditional methodologies, specifically quantitative. Little by little, the panorama is evolving.

Research has innovated its techniques and methodologies, incorporating technology in both data collection and processing, with the aim of collecting all the necessary and important information to meet the needs of companies and industries. The purpose of doing market research is to generate ideas, strategies, better solutions for the end customer and become more involved in decision-making. All the innovation of the research agencies is focused on offering better services for the companies that hire them, through technology, and the extension of the offer, beyond the provision of data. ACSI Research is a competitive agency in the Mexican and international market, with more than 15 years of experience in strategic research and market intelligence, being innovative and providing confidence to its clients for the certainty in their decision making. 

1.-ESOMAR (2020). Global Market Research Report. Recuperado de https://esomar.org/reports-and-publications 2.- Ruvalcaba, E. (2021) Percepción de las empresas medianas y grandes de comercio en Guadalajara sobre la inversión en investigación de mercados con neuromarketing (Tesis recepcional maestría). Universidad de Guadalajara 3.- ITAM (2021) Estudio Anual de industria de investigación de mercados y opinión pública en México. Edición XXIII.AMAI. https://www.amai.org/intranet2020/DV_core/WebPublicoFiles/banners/ba670bf03b_le.pdf