What is Agile Market Research?

Agile market research isn’t a moment; it’s here to stay. 

In our fast-paced world, brands need to make decisions quickly to stay ahead of the competition. Which is precisely why traditional market research methods just aren't cutting it anymore. 

Enter the agile research movement. 

Today, we'll explore how an agile market research approach can deliver deep and actionable insights through a flexible and iterative process. 

What is Agile Market Research? 

Put simply, agile market research is a methodology that emphasizes flexibility, collaboration, and rapid iteration to produce insights quickly and effectively. 

If that sounds familiar, you likely recognize the approach from agile software development, specifically designed to adapt to changing requirements and deliver final products quickly. 

How does it work? 

Agile market research involves conducting research in short, iterative cycles, often using technology (i.e.- automation, AI, and/or machine learning) to speed up the process wherever possible. 

The result? 

Instead of waiting days or weeks for results, you can get the answers you need within hours. And because each iteration is used to inform the next research cycle, you can grow your knowledge exponentially in a relatively short time period. 

Why Should I Use an Agile Market Research Approach? 

Not only is agile market research considerably faster than traditional methods, but it also affords you much more flexibility. 

By conducting your research in short cycles- instead of large one-off studies- you can quickly act on learnings and avoid going too far down a dead-end path. 

An agile approach can also free up budget for research and insights departments. Bringing your insights in-house and using tech to automate the heavy lifting allows you to screen ideas quickly with smaller audiences without committing significant resources to any one project. 

And of course, we couldn't forget to mention the biggest benefit: agility! By collecting your data in short cycles, you can quickly identify areas for improvement, make the necessary changes, and test again until you strike gold.

How Can I Use Agile Market Research? 

Test Your Product Ideas- By conducting small-scale tests with target markets you can rapidly iterate on ideas and quickly identify what works and what doesn't.

Keep a Pulse on Customer Satisfaction- Using surveys, online reviews, and other feedback mechanisms, you can quickly gather and analyze customer satisfaction data to improve your processes in real time. 

Perfect Your Marketing- Testing your marketing collateral with small-scale audiences can help you swiftly identify which messages and channels are most effective and make adjustments accordingly.

Keep an Eye on the Competition- By tracking your competitors' marketing, messaging, and product strategies you can more easily identify opportunities and threats in the marketplace.

Identify Emerging Trends- Using consumer sentiment data from brand tracking and customer satisfaction studies can allow you to stay ahead of the trends in your space. 

Optimize Your Pricing Strategy- By testing different pricing strategies with small groups of customers you can quickly identify the most effective pricing model for your products or services.

Agile Market Research with SightX

The SightX platform is the only tool you'll ever need for agile market research: a single, unified solution for consumer engagement, data collection, advanced analysis, and reporting. While powerful enough for insights teams at Fortune 500 companies, the user-friendly interface makes it simple for anyone to start, optimize, and scale their research. 

Plus, with SightX's research team, you can gain access to the best thinking in the insights field. Our in-house experts will guide you through every step in the market research process, from survey scripting to analysis support, and everything in-between. 

If you're ready to get started with agile market research, sign up today!