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What does 2023 have in store for the consumer insights field?
The last three years have been marked by unprecedented market disruption, businesses pivoting on a dime, and consumers changing their behavior so quickly that by the time insights teams have a grasp on it, it’s on to the next thing.
We’ve barely scratched the surface of what it all means, and the world is changing once again as we shed our pandemic skins and start gathering in person, travelling around the world, and getting back to “normal.” But as economic and geopolitical conditions take a turn, normal will look less like the pre-pandemic world and more like a blend of what once was with what we’ve gained (and lost) rapidly in the last three years.
The consumer insights field is more important than ever as businesses must quickly make sense of, and get ahead of, what their customers want and need as the world experiences more unpredictable transitions.
3 predictions for the consumer insights field in 2023
1. Firms will focus on building brand resilience
In the past few years, it’s been paramount that organizations be agile and pivot in the face of drastic change. But as the economic landscape turns and future economic conditions remain uncertain, the consumer insights field will find itself focusing on brand resilience in preparation for what’s to come.
Indeed, Forrester predicts “economic uncertainty will tap the brakes on transformation and focus on core business drivers: resilience and efficiency.” That means smart organizations will work on long-term brand building over short-term revenue growth.
So, if you’re in the consumer insights field, expect leading organizations to invest in insights strategies that fuel relationship building—with a targeted, undivided focus on improving the customer experience for brand resilience building.
Prepare to be even more customer-obsessed in 2023, but, at the same time, to do more with less because the skills shortage remains a problem for the insights industry and beyond. Insights organizaitons that prioritize not only knowledge management but also insights engagement will come out on top when it comes to scaling insights and aligning their organization around their new brand-resilience building goals.
2. Consumers will be more aware of their spending habits
In 2023, consumers will get pickier. Your customers are worried about inflation and a looming recession. And while Forrester predicts people will spend more this year, they’ll be far more exacting about where, and with whom, they spend their money.
The upcoming year’s consumers will value quality over quantity. They’ll be choosing where to spend their money by looking for brands that reflect their values, and we’ll see rising customer expectations and a demand for accountability.
For the consumer insights field, that means firms must get more granular and listen to their customers needs, wants, and values. Brands will have to differentiate authentically and hyper-personalize their marketing efforts to rise above the competition. Building trust will be an important aspect of being competitive to win over increasingly pragmatic customers in 2023.
3. The consumer insights field will put more trust in AI
Consumer insights professionals face a range of challenges this year. Externally, changing economic conditions and pickier customers mean insights functions must uncover insights that optimize and personalize the customer experience.
But internally, there’s an ongoing skills shortage, too few insights professionals for business demand, and remote work will solidify as normal this year—making it more difficult for businesses to collaborate over quality customer insights that lead business decisions.
In 2023, AI will make leaps and bounds to fill these gaps for insights professionals. Instead of AI being an interesting but not-so-reliable tool, technological advancements will make AI an everyday, no-brainer for insights professionals.
A key factor in 2023 will be advancements in generative AI. In the face of more data and fewer resources generative AI helps to synthesizing large amounts of information into meaningful summaries. That means insights professionals can significantly reduce the amount of time they spend preparing and distilling information before reaching decision-worthy insights.
Accelerating the path to insights in 2023
In order for your organization to move beyond knowledge management to an accelerated path to insights in 2023, knowledge management must come first, so the business can stop searching and start leading. Only then can AI tools come into the fold to help your workforce develop insights and align and engage the business in insights-driven decision making. If you’re looking for guidance and solutions on how to fast-track insights for competitive business decisions in your organization in 2023, get in touch with Market Logic.