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does encompass a range of complaints, including agencies’ insufficient knowledge of the clients’ industry and the research solutions
provided being too standardised.
Clients report that the practice of using more specialised agencies
and the insourcing of research is likely to increase in the future.
Business conditions
Most stakeholders report growth in business in the last year,
including a net increase of 26 percentage points by clients and
an even higher (possibly exaggerated) figure of 40 percentage
points by supply-side organisations. The growth rates vary by
market, with the most buoyant being Indonesia, but more subdued
business conditions are reported in Greater China.
Singapore, which has been a flat market for many years, is seeing
some rebound in business (see “Buyer Survey”, Q2 2014 edition
of Asia Research), but compared to other markets the agencies
have noticed far more protracted decision-making from client organisations. Often projects never go ahead, as clients take too
long to decide on what type of research to do, and consequently
their priorities simply change over time.
However, what agencies across the region report most is clients
negotiating much harder on price despite having greater expectations of servicing, analysis, and reporting.
The future
Based on all stakeholders in the survey, the main opportunities for
the research industry are through the leveraging of new technology, but the “hype” over social media monitoring as a means of conducting research seems to be dropping. Technology alone is not
the only opportunity – stakeholders see big opportunities to add
value by providing greater insight into research. While a number
of niche business opportunities exist in the industry, such as
staff research, B2B research, and smaller clients coming into the
market, few see “continued organic growth” as an opportunity for
the industry. This demonstrates that the market in Asia is reaching
maturity whereby businesses can no longer expect to thrive simply
by the increasing demand for research. Indeed in many countries,
the supply side of the business had already expanded to meet
the growth opportunities in Asia, companies are fighting to survive
in crowded markets, and in some cases even pulling out, as has
been seen recently in Singapore.
Historically, one of the main perceived threats to the research
business has been its inability to attract and retain talent. Today,
the main threat to the industry is seen as continuing pressure on
pricing.
Client organisations remain positive about the prospects for the
research industry in Asia, with 67% stating “more opportunity”
versus 13% stating “more threat”. Client optimism may be due
to the greater choices they have through the range of technology
providers and specialised agencies who can meet their research
need ˈ]\