Martech Interview With Mike Nash, President, KS&R

Tell us about KS&R and your role there?

At KS&R, we’re all about helping businesses make better decisions. We do this by cutting through the noise and delivering clear, fact-based insights and actionable solutions that drive results. We’ve been at it for 40 years now, and during that time, we’ve honed our skills in delivering high-quality research that’s tailored to each client’s unique needs.

As President of KS&R, I focus on our Business Services side of the business. My team and I are passionate about helping our clients achieve their goals. We work closely together to develop innovative research methodologies that enable us to deliver clear, fact-based insights that drive business results.

One of the things I love about my role is collaborating with our clients to understand their unique challenges and provide solutions that meet their specific needs. I stay up to date with the latest trends and technologies in the market to ensure that we’re always delivering the highest quality research and insights. I’m proud to be a part of the KS&R team, where our global reach and commitment to excellence enable us to make a positive impact on businesses and help them achieve their objectives.

What is KS&R’s approach to market research and in what market segments do you specialize?

If you’re asking what makes us different, I’d say it’s our results-driven approach to market research. At KS&R, we’re dedicated to delivering insights that are not only accurate, but also actionable and impactful. We’re deeply curious and always striving to uncover the right answers, going beyond surface-level insights to gain a complete understanding of our clients’ businesses. We also pride ourselves on our customer focus, building strong, long-lasting relationships with our clients and offering a personal touch with global capabilities. We believe that the best way to do this is by delivering clear, fact-based insights that are tailored to each client’s unique needs. And we’re always experimenting and innovating, looking for new and better ways to help our clients succeed.

We’re focused on six key verticals: Healthcare, Retail/E-commerce, Entercom & Recreation, Technology, Transportation & Logistics, and Business Services. We help our clients address a mix of B2B and B2C related strategies and provide vertical expertise that enables us to deliver tailored solutions for each client’s unique needs.

To complement our vertical expertise, we created TUMBLE, which applies the notion of ‘purposeful play’ for innovation and customer experience improvements. Our experts combine rock-solid research with the latest human-centered design approaches, enabling us to deliver solutions that drive results for our clients. We also have the Buyer Persona Institute, a division of KS&R, that uncovers what customers need to know and experience to help companies influence the decision-making process.

Some of the world’s largest, best-known companies work with KS&R. Why do they come to you and what do you provide them?

We believe that our success in attracting these clients is due to several factors. First and foremost, we have a deep understanding of our clients’ industries. For example, we have cloud and security experts who have been researching these areas for years, and our insights into these fields are highly sought after by businesses looking to stay ahead of the curve. Similarly, we have been at the forefront of e-commerce and retail research, helping our clients navigate a rapidly changing landscape.

But it’s not just our expertise that sets us apart. We’re also passionate about data quality. We go to great lengths to ensure that the insights we provide are accurate and reliable, which gives our clients the confidence to act upon our recommendations.

We also have an innovative approach to marketing sciences. Our team of statisticians and data scientists are always looking for new and better ways to analyze data and gain insights into customer behavior. By combining deep industry knowledge with cutting-edge research techniques, we provide our clients with a comprehensive understanding of their customers and the marketplace.

How has market research changed over the last five years?

Market research has undergone significant changes and innovations over the last five years. One key development is the rise of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, which have improved various internal processes such as purging fraudulent responses and compressing analysis/reporting windows. We have created our own social media tool SIX (Social Insight Exchange), which helps us proactively understand and gain insights into what consumers are talking about and how that changes over time.

Another change we’ve seen is a shift from simply reporting data to delivering advice, insight, and recommendations to ensure greater ROI on market research investment. We have also developed new techniques to more precisely address prioritization, such as our Tandem MaxDiff tools and various Conjoint approaches. Additionally, we can now assess the emotions of a decision maker over the course of their purchase journey via survey-based tools, which was not possible five years ago.

Overall, these developments have enabled us to better understand our clients’ needs and provide them with clear, fact-based insights and actionable solutions that help them make better decisions.

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KS&R has worked with a lot of companies over the past four decades. What are the most common mistakes you’ve seen when it comes to market research and how companies use it?

When it comes to market research, we’ve seen some common mistakes that can hinder a company’s success. One of the biggest mistakes is using research solely for validation rather than true fact-finding missions. We encourage clients to come to us with hypotheses and concepts for vetting, while also being open to the possibility that the answers we provide may not align with their original vision. This allows for a more thorough exploration of the market and can ultimately lead to greater success.

Another mistake we often see is waiting too long before asking for help. Time is a valuable asset, and the sooner we are brought into a situation, the more options we have to help solve any particular issues or concerns. When companies wait too long, the job becomes much more difficult, and there may be missed opportunities for growth and improvement. We strive to work closely with our clients to ensure that they are getting the most out of their research investments and are making informed decisions that lead to success.

KS&R does a lot of work in very technical sectors of healthcare, such as cardio and pharmaceuticals. Can you talk about the unique challenges of doing this kind of market research and how the firm meets those challenges?

We recognize the burdened healthcare systems globally, so we are sensitive to how we seek their input and continue to successfully engage all specialties on relevant topics around the globe. Similarly, some populations within the patient work we do suffer from very rare diseases or we must go through the caregiver to gain insight about patient needs and wants. Engaging all members of the healthcare ecosystem is a key differentiator for KS&R. We utilize proprietary and unique approaches to reaching the right audience. In addition, specialist experts are on tap to advise us on any unique disease state or med tech space.

Over the past 5 years, we have built our own respondent pools and customer panels to help address this challenge and have been quite successful keeping these individuals engaged (on both the specialist, administrative, pharmacist and patient/caregiver sides) so that we can provide our clients the critical insight required to make their investment decisions.

In addition, having seasoned folks on our team each with decades of expertise in healthcare specifically enables us to best meet our clients’ needs. Many of our practitioners in the healthcare vertical also have client company experience, so they deeply understand the product development and commercialization challenges our clients face, as well as how to best inform them.

You also work with a large number of technology companies. What advice do you give them to increase the chance of success when developing and deploying new solutions?

At KS&R, we advise technology companies to focus on several critical factors to increase their chances of success in developing and deploying new solutions. Firstly, it is essential to have a deep understanding of the market and target audience you are trying to sell to. Our Business Persona Institute can help you gain valuable insights into the decision-making processes of your target personas, giving your solution a competitive advantage.

Secondly, it is crucial to assess the key attributes, features, and price points that your target audience is considering. This helps you determine where to invest your resources and which functionality is most likely to move the needle or command a premium.

Thirdly, your marketing strategy is critical to the success of your product. We advise our clients to focus on telling a compelling story about their solution that resonates with their target audience. This requires creating collateral that supports the product’s features and benefits while engaging and inspiring potential customers.

Finally, it is essential to review the customer experience across the product lifecycle, from purchasing to deployment and servicing. After-sale elements are especially critical in the tech space, as the way your solution is serviced and maintained can be a key issue for buyers and a significant revenue stream for your company.

By focusing on these four key factors, our clients can deliver more successful product development, launch, and lifecycle.

What advice would you give to a brand that needs to build trust with their customers?

We’ve seen firsthand how important trust is to a brand’s success. In today’s marketplace, customers have countless options at their fingertips, so building trust is crucial for standing out from the competition. Here are a few tips we’ve found to be effective:

1. Consistency: Customers are more likely to trust a brand that delivers consistent experiences and messaging. This means maintaining a consistent visual identity, tone of voice, and level of quality across all touchpoints.

2. Transparency: Trust and transparency go hand in hand. Brands that are open and honest with their customers are more likely to build long-lasting relationships. This can involve being transparent about pricing, business practices, and even mistakes.

3. Customer-centricity: Customers want to feel heard and valued. Brands that prioritize the customer experience and go above and beyond to meet their needs are more likely to build trust. This means investing in customer service, soliciting feedback, and making improvements based on customer input.

4. Authenticity: Customers can sense when a brand is being disingenuous or insincere. Brands that are authentic and true to their values are more likely to build trust. This means being transparent about your company’s mission, values, and goals.

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The economic data are still unclear, but it looks like we may be heading into a recession, and in a recession, marketing budgets are often first on the chopping block. Can you speak to the importance of market research in a down market?

While nobody can really predict where the overall market is headed, we do believe that market research investments can better prepare your brand for the inevitable up and down cycles of the market. We would argue that the ROI on that research investment is even more critical in a down market because it’s important for brands to understand their customers’ sentiments, purchase behaviors, and preferences in order to make informed decisions on how to allocate their limited resources.

Market research can also help brands prioritize their limited development dollars, helping them launch the right products at the right time. Instead of standing still and letting potential market fears hinder progress, it’s important to keep moving forward and invest in market research to stay ahead of the competition.

Using market research to keep your finger on the pulse of your customers and the overall market now will make you more resilient to future downturns and give you the best opportunity for succeeding as recovery begins.