ABSTRACT
This chapter summarises the main themes covered in this book, in particular the relationship between insights derived from “big data” – the high volumes of data arising from digital interactions between firms and customers, between firms (in partnerships, supply chains and distribution relationships) and between customers themselves (in social media and on the websites of companies and others, especially aggregator sites and consumer ratings sites).
It concludes that best practice insight is a combination of big data and marketing research, with the latter increasingly taking the role of exploring customers’ perceptions, needs and behaviour in depth rather than quantifying them.
It suggests that the disciplines of marketing research have a vital role to play in determining some aspects of how the big data is collected, for example, the questions asked of customers who are buying online.
The issues of the strategic use of marketing research and its positioning in the enterprise, particularly where increasing numbers of companies are automating their marketing and sales, is explored, taking into account the results of the Market Research Society’s initiative, Intelligence Capital.
