ESOMAR member, Priscilla McKinney, the Founder and CEO of Little Bird Marketing was kind enough to have me on her podcast last week to talk about my candidacy for ESOMAR President.

For those of you in the market research, marketing technology or marketing services sector, the abrupt impact of the pandemic on the overall economy brought these combined industries to a near standstill for a period of time in early 2020. That said, we remain a nearly $80B industry.

Although ESOMAR, the global business community for insights and data, originally predicted up to a 30% downturn in research revenues, a stronger third and fourth quarter than predicted (particularly among tech and digital businesses) have generated current indicators of an overall 6% decline, with the industry not returning to 2019 turnover levels again until 2022.

Although the definitive impact is still yet to be seen, what CAN be confirmed by both forecasts and industry experts’ perspectives is that the pandemic is fueling the industry’s revolution, serving as an accelerator to the dynamic shifts we were already seeing – the increasing divide between digital or technology focused segments and the established market research segments.

Cash Flow from Operations (“CFO”), found on the Cash Flow Statement, can be a powerful number to analyze the historical performance of a business. It can also provide valuable insights for future decision making, especially when combined with other financial data and used in various financial ratio calculations.

The COVID driven rapid change to business and life as we knew it has forced whiplash inducing adjustments. After celebrating that we’ve made it this far, we should funnel the survival instincts of the early days of the pandemic toward driving new revenue opportunities for the long term. The companies that are positioning themselves for continued success are resourceful, creative, resilient and innovative.  If the world as we know it is changing, why not take advantage of the innovation environment HBR recently highlighted and prepare your company for whatever comes next? Here are a few tips for fostering a more innovative environment:

Last month I was lucky enough to spend the day with the Qualtrics team in Provo, Utah, videotaping a Master Session on optimizing brand experience.

After leaving a recent major industry event, I had multiple conversations with attendees who marveled at the number of vendors and foot traffic in the exhibit hall but then confided that, off the floor and away from the bustle, they really couldn’t differentiate them. One attendee summarized it well, “Even after listening to the pitches, I walked away unable to really tell what they could do and unable to tell how they were different from the five other vendors that seemed like them.”

At ESOMAR Congress in September we hosted a main stage panel discussion with industry leaders driving M&A activity in the marketing insights and technology vertical on “Key Drivers of Investment and M&A Activity in Market Research.”

I’m often asked how to create more diverse sales teams and frequently hear from hiring managers lamenting the lack of female sales talent applying for their positions. Although sales has traditionally been perceived as a male-dominated profession, in truth, there are MANY female sales leaders— your job posting just likely isn’t appealing to them.

A few weeks ago, a Twitter connection of mine posted that she’d been at a Venture Capital event and one of the VC’s on a panel discussion openly stated that he didn’t invest in founders over the age of 40 because they “don’t have the stamina.” As you can imagine, that set the “twittersphere” on fire.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of co-presenting with Steve Mast, the Chief Innovation Officer of Methodify, on the subject of ResearchTech and how it fits into the MarTech stack. If you're looking for ways to future proof (and recession proof!) your business, this is a can't miss. Why?