FUTURE TALENT MEETS THE INDUSTRY

ESOMAR CONGRESS 2009

Silvia Beggio Name: Silvia Beggio
Nationality: Italian
University: Bocconi University, Milan, Italy
Title of course/programme: Master of Science in Marketing Management
CONTACT ME

How do you see the market research industry evolving and how can you contribute to it?

If we look at today’s markets, it can be observed that understanding the customer and gaining his preference is getting harder and harder.

Further more, it has been acknowledged that 95% of customer’s decision making are unconscious, based on emotions instead of reasons.

In this context, only those who are able to understand what is happening in customers’ minds and find actionable insights, can succeed. Therefore, the limbic system should be considered when developing any retail business model or when in contact with customers.

If these are the inputs market research clients need today to define their business strategies, I can foresee an evolution of the market research industry: a shift in focus from an industry based on quantitative methods (i.e. the world of numbers and statistics), to another oriented towards qualitative research (i.e. the detection of customer’s insights).

Market researchers will be asked not just to describe the concrete picture as they see it, but to go beyond and read it what is behind the drawn image.

They will have to understand that their research output is not a mean by itself, but a mean to an end. Therefore, they will have to be more proactive in understanding which is the ultimate goal their clients aim to achieve.

Lastly, these changes in the industry might have a direct impact on its members, especially regarding human resources. On one hand, researchers will have not only to be skilled in mathematics and statistics but also have some background in psychology, and on the other hand, there will be more cross-pollination between pure and social sciences. All these in order to meet the market needs.

Now that I am experiencing from within the retail innovation consultancy, I am witnessing this evolution everyday, as qualitative methods are the basis for innovation. They are our starting point, our source of inspiration.

As far as I am concerned, I would like to contribute with this evolution, both as a consultant and as a student, by making others aware of these changes and of the usability that market research has in our daily life and work. These not only with clients, but also in the academic world of which I would eventually like to become part of.

What are in your opinion the necessary skills for market researchers in the present environment?

In the current fast changing environment, I believe a marketing researcher should be rigourous in following a strict methodology but also flexible and open to the unexpected.

Analytics and numbers are taken for granted, but moreover, he or she should be endowed with strong communicative skills and the ability to understand the verbal and non-verbal customer communication, and empathise with him.

Marketing researchers should be like chameleons who immerse themselves in the context of the researched object, witnessing how they live it, in their dat-to-day life. Having experience in different cultural contexts - different modus vivendi - would strongly enhance and facilitate this ability.

Last but not least, team working is as a sine qua non skill for them, as opinions exchange and constructive discussions are the best tools to achieve a excellent result.

How do you see your career unfolding and what are your aspirations?

I have working experiences both in a fashion company and in a retail consulting firm and I made up my mind to have my career-path consulting-oriented.

I believe consulting gives the opportunity to deal with different fields, according to the project you work on, enriching your knowledge in different areas in a transversal way.

I would like to unfold my career abroad and then I go back to Italy after gaining some enriching experiences, once I had filled my personal and professional “experience’s bag”.

I see my professional career as a consultant, combined with a permanent connection to the academic world. I have always liked studying for the pleasure of learning and understanding different things. I truly believe that we are students our whole life, never stop learning.

Regarding my aspirations, I am determined to realise myself not only at a professional level, with the satisfaction of having a challenging job, but also at a personal level. I think life should be balanced between these two important parts of human life.

But then, when it comes to my daily routine, I believe that having small but meaningful aspiration, is the path for achieving the ultimate goal. Being helpful and ready to support others, always with a smile, is a step in becoming a better professional and, most of all, a better person.

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