Today, market research is a $19 billion industry and focus groups are one of the most expensive types of market research. The question is, asks Ravi Sawhney, founder and CEO of RKS, in Fast Company, what role should design play in the process?
“Long before our design concepts are tested, consumers are watched and engaged through everything imaginable, all in pursuit of the holy grail of profound market insight. But here’s the problem: What consumers do and what they say they do are very different things. Even what consumers think they do and what they actually do are different. This is where market research is greatly aided by including designers in the research process. Being involved during all stages of research triggers something in designers that would otherwise simply be lost in translation, no matter how it’s communicated.”