Market research is changing within the technology sector, and a key driver of this change is convergence. Technological convergence exacerbates existing industry challenges such as market complexity, blurring of categories, feature overload and shortened product development cycles. As these heightened challenges threaten those organizations unable to execute on a clear vision, the market research function is being called upon to re-evaluate its own priorities in relation to these elements.

Growing market complexity and the need for applied market knowledge
Convergence exacerbates the market’s complexity, and for a primary research team to be effective it must imbue members with knowledge of the market dynamics and, often, the underlying technology.

From a market perspective, we are seeing a vast and complex world in which companies in different categories—with different standards, regulatory pressures and competitive threats—compete in their own unique ways to survive. From a technological perspective, standards such as Internet Protocol (IP) drive product planning strategies across a number of categories, such as phone systems, in business storage systems and in television. If these different elements (both market and technical knowledge) are not considered, the research will have limited value to the planners and strategic decision-makers.

With this trend toward heightened industry complexity, researchers at Revelation Associates pay close attention to market dynamics when designing, modeling and reporting primary research. These include, but are not limited to:

Category maturity, category
     interactions, and substitutes

Technology standards and proprietary
     interfaces

Unequal brand awareness

Regulatory environments

Multi-tier and/or unequal distribution
     environments

Cultural differences between
     market segments

Multi-stakeholder b-to-b and
     b-to-c purchase process

Blurring of categories and the need for coordinated planning and research
In order for companies to compete most effectively in a converged environment, they will need to bring together their disparate efforts (including market research) for competitive advantage.

Until now, high technology product development often has been executed in something of a renegade fashion akin to a venture capital model, the theory being that you place multiple bets on different products and as long as one of these long shots pays off big, you get a good return. Of course, with the amount of money bet on each full-cycle development effort, it costs firms plenty to have a lot of misses before they have a hit. Within large corporate environments, an example would be the Sony Walkman: The model worked in the past but has failed Sony of late.

As industries such as technology, telecommunications, entertainment, and software all merge, a massive need is created for research around product bundling, line extensions and portfolio optimization. Primary research, such as product development, will be redundant if implemented in silos across the organization simply because an immeasurable number of research opportunities will arise. In order to be most cost effective, a coordinated research department that has visibility across the organization must control these demands.

Shortened product development cycles and the need for a higher quality focus
As product life cycles further condense as a result of convergence, quality research often is the first thing to go. To counter this trend, companies need to place an increased emphasis on study design, report quality and on the effectiveness of the information provided.

As competition increases due to new entrants and time to market becomes more critical than ever, too often there is major sacrifice in the traditional quality of study design, sample selection, analysis and the vital strategic thinking that assures the effectiveness of the research. Product development cycles are consolidated, research timetables are shrunk and quality deteriorates. At the same time, the information quality and usability that is often subjugated in this high-speed world is as imperative as ever.

Beyond controllable survey error (such as coverage, sampling, measurement, or nonresponse error), researchers at Revelation Associates look closely at the particular questions we are asking and how they relate to the business issues and the underlying reporting needs of the stakeholders. With our specific industry and research knowledge we overcome study design and reporting quality challenges.

Feature overload and the need for more benefits research
Traditionally, technology-driven organizations have focused on features to sell products. For successful companies in the convergence-driven environment, engineering-savvy marketers and researchers will help drive product benefit decisions and help steer away from completely feature-based decisions.

The underlying need is to get away from the typical model of engineering-centric design leading to complex products, and instead shift the focus to the end-user. In the business-to-consumer space, one key to this process is to simplify the technology so users can more easily talk about, evaluate, and help drive the design process. It's hard for the average person to be a futurist and imagine what their needs might be down the road, especially when presented with new technologies. The problem is that consumers often cannot immediately understand or foresee new applications for those technologies.

We at Revelation Associates believe we must focus on outcomes or benefits associated with the myriad of features available. Our product planners use innovative techniques to ultimately map back to a tangible bundle of features. A focus on benefits will not only provide us a much better roadmap, but will ultimately deliver much more user-friendly and successful products.

A selection of current technology business issues:

The Internet and wireless
     communication revolutions have fueled
     increasingly rapid advances creating
     many questions (or investment
     dilemmas) for technology players.

Technology revolution or evolution?
     Has technology advanced too quickly
     for end-users, and if so how can it be
     moderated to harness the practical
     with the technical?

Which wireless devices will prove most
     popular, and what will be the design
     secrets of their success?

What will be the applications that drive
     uptake of mobile services?

Which pricing strategies will maximise
     revenues?

With the dot.com boom yesterday’s
     news, how do companies ensure their
     on-line presence works, enhancing and
     not detracting from their wider
     marketing communications?

Intranets, extranets, wi-fi? What
     solutions are businesses looking for,
     and who is optimally placed to provide
     them?

With some ’new’ technologies now
     becoming commonplace, and the
     emphasis moving from acquisition to
     retention, how can we ensure our
     customers stay loyal?

How do we make our marketing dollars
     work best for us to create compelling,
   convincing communications that move      the brand forward and stand out from
     the crowd?