The Market Research Society of India (MRSI) held its sixth season of Wednesday Webinar for November 2023 on the topic of ‘Past, Present And Future Of Online Panels - What We Love, Hate And Fear?’. The session was hosted by Amitabh Mishra, Head-Insights and Analytics - India, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories; Sunder Muthuraman, CEO - SL Ventures, (Marketing ROI Consulting); Mukul Gautam, VP & Chief Of Capacity Building, Purple Audacity; and Jayesh K Menon, Global Director Insights, Entropik Tech, including speakers Dushyant Gupta, Executive Vice President, Borderless Access; Nishant Kaushal, Founder & CEO, ADNA Research; Ravikumar Narayanan, Business Development Director, Dynata; Sameer Grover, Founder & CEO, Crownit discussed on the suitability of online panels for market research projects.
Market research in India began 75 years ago, and data collection methods have evolved significantly since then. The webinar discussed the evolution of online panels, focusing on mobile-first approaches and the need to make surveys more engaging. Speaking on the evolution of Online Research, globally and in India, Ravikumar Narayanan, Business Development Director, Dynata shared insights from the American Association for Public Opinion Research, and stated the original need was to improve data quality by way of removing the interviewer bias. He added, “Back in 80’s, internet penetration was negligible as time passed telephonic or snail mail was becoming more difficult as people were less efficient and found them costly. On the other hand, internet penetration was gradually picking up, facilitating researchers to move projects from offline to online. In 2000, people started considering online as the main mode of research. As a result, the internet penetration reached 40%.”
Dushyant Gupta, Executive Vice President of Borderless Access, discussed the evolution of India Panels over the past decade, highlighting the rise of digital platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Meta, and Google. Marketing spending has shifted towards digital methods, with Indian panel companies recruiting primarily through online applications and websites, with separate departments for recruitment and community building. Further Dushyant shared his views on early adopters of online research, saying in the 2000s, tech businesses in India would usually conduct online surveys for their audience, which consisted mostly of internet users such as IT developers, tech developers, IT and BFSI audience. The challenge was to adapt face-to-face questionnaires to online versions, making them intuitive and self-read. He stated the challenge now is to excite respondents to stay engaged in online surveys, as our attention span is less than 8 seconds. He also stated that the digital revolution is making surveys more popular. In a comparison of desktop and mobile behaviour of the survey, 65% of people respond to surveys on smartphones whereas 35% on desktops.
Nishant Kaushal, Founder & CEO of ADNA Research, discussed the differences between traditional face-to-face interactions and online research. He explains that the first migration of offline tracking to online, he did, was driven by a premium face care company in Singapore who realized they couldn't reach affluent people due to closed-door societies. The company moved on to a large beverage company, which needed to innovate quickly and cut costs. Amitabh Mishra, went on and discussed the advantages of both online and offline research methods for long surveys and product testing. He argued that traditional methods still work better in certain situations, while online research offers advantages like faster responses and more efficient data collection. Dushyant, representing an online panel company, agreed that traditional researchers should still use offline methods for sensory tests and blind tests. He agreed that there is no one answer to the question and suggested considering newer methods over traditional ones.
Speaking on comprehensive consumer data from validated respondents, Sameer Grover, Founder & CEO, Crownit said, online is primarily because of the ability to do self-administration and having that literacy to have a 15-minute Q&A happening on a self-administration device, those are the primary areas we have looked at as challenges. One of the big advantage is ‘24/7 data collection’. Smartphones gives the ability to validate a lot of information by the user or the respondent, it also gives one the ability to have representativeness.
Nishant added that surveys are no longer competing with other entertainment options like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. To compete, researchers must adapt their surveys to the attractiveness of these platforms. They can use various forms of content, such as moving pictures, videos, and sounds, to engage respondents and keep them interested. Research should be seen as a mini-entertainment, allowing researchers to engage with people in a different way. Approaches such as gamification and chatbots can help overcome the need for questions. While it will be challenging to compete against these attractive options, researchers must continue to adapt and not give up. Further Sameer emphasized the importance of reducing user fatigue, utilizing smartphone power for immersive experiences, and maintaining accuracy and research science in online self-administration products. Ravikumar Narayanan highlighted India's transition from offline to online surveys, stating that in offline surveys, investigators guide respondents, while online surveys use a self-administered ‘mode effect’.
Speaking on the future of Online Panels in India, Ravikumar predicted there will be a hybrid approach that combines both strengths and weaknesses. He emphasized the need for more research to understand the effectiveness of hybrids. Sameer Grover highlighted India's readiness for AI-generated interviewers, AR, and immersive passive data experiences. Dushyant suggests that online panels must address challenges in quality representation and invest in new ways to meet industry requirements. In the short term, new data pipes will help get verified respondents, making online research in India more natural.
To catch up on the recorded webinar, click
here.