Thanks to COVID19 the consumer marketplace is looking very different and retailers everywhere are rallying to adapt and tackle the issues that come with it — staff welfare, social distancing, temporary closures, and sustaining liquidity to name just a few.

With all this going on, it’s reasonable to question whether market research should be a priority at this time. Over recent weeks I have received queries from existing and prospective clients asking if there is anything to be gained by conducting research right now.

Here is my insight to the questions retail clients have today:

Q. I was planning to commission some customer research, but I’ve lost most of my customer base. Shall I not bother?

If your budget allows, continuing with customer research will help tackle immediate and long-term challenges arising from the Covid-19 crisis. Your customers are still there and likely to return after lockdown, but their buying criteria may have shifted, with greater emphasis on being able to acquire services and products remotely, swiftly and safely.

Customer profiling research will enable you to reassess your customer base, including identifying target customers — who and where they are, what they want, their motivations to buy and whether these have changed during the crisis. Isolating these attributes will enable you to bring in more aspects customers want, encouraging customer ‘stickiness’ and repeat buying behavior.     

It’s also important to understand customer sentiment and what they expect from your company communication and messaging during lockdown and after. The fallout of sending out wrong and non-supportive messages is lost customers. Brand research will provide insight into the brand values, content and tone which resonates with your customers, helping strengthen customer relationships.

Q. Our budget is severely stretched and we’re temporarily laying off staff, is there any point in conducting customer research at this time?    
                
Liquidity is an issue for lots of companies right now but particularly start-ups and SMEs. A reputable MRS-accredited market research agency like ours will be able to tailor a quantitative and qualitative research package to get the insights you need in line with your budget. Quality customer research, even conducted on a small scale, will provide a clear steer on your customer expectations, how they’ve changed during the crisis and next actionable steps.

Q. We conduct customer research but buying patterns have changed beyond comprehension — should we stop and start again later?

Keeping customer research programmes going is valuable as it will monitor customers’ response to your actions during the crisis. It’ll bring into sharp focus what existing and new strategies are working — for example, if you switched from a physical store to a digital offering or diversified into offering sought-after products/services — and whether to build on this post-lockdown. Customer surveys also provide an opportunity to reach out to customers, show you’re listening and in touch with their changing requirements.       

Q. I’m in a regulated industry and need to continue customer research – how can we logistically still fulfil our surveying?

For companies such as utilities and social housing providers where there is a regulatory requirement for completing consumer surveys, your research agency should be equipped to conduct remote telephone and online interviews. Our inhouse interviewing team is continuing to survey large volumes of gas and electricity consumers while practising safe social distancing, enabling us to fulfill clients’ needs.
         
Q. I’m in B2B, my normal supply chains are disrupted, and demand has dried up. How can I keep momentum going?

B2B purchasing and sales are being hit particularly hard. In the absence of face-to-face meetings, maintain key B2B customer relationships with video conferencing tools Zoom, Skype and Webex. Create fresh, relevant content aimed at solving your clients’ problems for your website, LinkedIn and social channels to show you’re still active and start meaningful dialogue. The B2B trading environment is likely to look very different in the coming months. B2B research will be an important tool in helping companies navigate changes and understand customers’ changing needs.  

Q. I’ve had to temporarily close my physical stores and move my business online. I don’t know what my customer base will look like after this.

It’s difficult to imagine what consumer buying behavior will look like post-lockdown and to what extent you’ll need to facilitate and resource online purchasing. To assess customer needs, customer profiling research and customer satisfaction research — in the form of customer surveys — will unlock your new customer base from solid customer demographics, to which channels they prefer, enabling you to create a satisfying physical and online shopping experience that keeps customers coming back.

Q. We were considering customer focus groups to get more in-depth information about our B2C/B2B customers — is that possible?

Yes, absolutely. Like most agencies, we’ve paused face-to-face interviewing in line with MRS guidance. Instead we’re using secure video conferencing and online research tools to conduct depth consumer and business interviews for clients. Getting current insights is especially important as it’s helping inform clients’ decision making and actions during the crisis, so it’s strongly recommended.  

Glyn Luckett is commercial director, TTi Global Research, a division of GP Strategies.