‘Local firms must strengthen their market research strategies to compete globally’

Oluseyi Oladejo, deputy managing director and head of Marketing, Ipsos Nigeria, a market research company, in this Interview with KELECHI EWUZIE explains the company’s aspiration and how it hopes to set standard in the market research segment of the economy amid the sector challenges. Excerpts:

May we have your assessment on the practice of market research in Nigeria today?

Market research industry in Nigeria is at the infant stage, compared to developed markets like UK, US etc. However, the industry is developing very rapidly, driven by the entrance of global players like Ipsos employing global best practice standards, tools and technologies. The impact of marketing re- search industry in Nigeria cannot be over-emphasised, in contribution to national productivity across different sectors of the economy by providing reliable data and insights for planning and implementation, which in- directly increase national output.

It is very clear that there is need to do more in the area of creating awareness and appreciation of market research, especially among indigenous companies. What are the ways to grow Nigerian market research practice, considering its peculiarity to the development of brands and products I can confidently tell you that there is no brand that can achieve sustainable growth without market research inputs, within or without Nigeria; the importance of market research cannot be over emphasised. To begin with, gone are the days of guess work and decisions made on gut feel.

Market research answers the “Why?”, “What” and “How” questions with fact that are critical in developing effective and guaranteed marketing strategies that will result in more sales, more consumption, increased brand loyalty, bigger market share, higher returns etc.

Secondly, I strongly recommend that market researchers (research suppliers) require self regulation through our professional body Nigeria marketing research association (NIMRA) in order to gain credibility, confidence and trust of our clients (research users). This is critical, given the size of research budgets, there should never be any room for doubt with regards to outputs and recommendations from market research.

Thirdly, NIMRA needs to set professional standards and ethics for members, and ensure compliance – this is a major part of self-regulation. Finally, since the research industry is young, we need to invest in people development as a major asset of the industry through training, seminars and conferences. The level of talent development in the industry will determine growth rate in the long run. Once the industry is well regulated, and clients are delighted, we will have met our objective and there is no telling what more we can achieve.

May we know what IPSOS Nigeria is doing and its role in the market?

Ipsos entered Nigerian market in 2011, about four years ago, as a subsidiary of Ipsos global. In 2012, Ipsos acquired Synovate (which had been in Nigeria for about 3 years), we can safely say Ipsos has being in Nigeria for about six years. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is proud to be the only global market research company that is still controlled and operated by researchers. Ipsos is the 3rd largest research company in the world with a presence in 86 countries and conducts surveys and other research in over 100+ countries worldwide. With our 16,000+ employees we serve over 5,000 clients around the world. Ipsos offers a complete line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel, and online research products and services. We have significant presence within Nigeria and our team has extensive experience conducting large-scale market research with consumers and providers across the various socio-economic groups as well as geographic regions (including difficult to reach rural areas) within the country.

What about Ipsos’ performance within the market space?

At Ipsos we are passionately curious about people, markets, brands and society. We deliver information and analysis that makes our complex world easier and faster to navigate and inspires our clients to make smarter decisions. We offer our clients a unique depth of knowledge and expertise, partnering with almost all the multinationals and national clients to grow their brands using innovative research solutions and deliver in-depth consumer understanding and insights. We are trusted and respected by our clients.

We believe that our work is important. Security, simplicity, speeds and substance apply to everything we do. Also, by nurturing a culture of collaboration and curiosity, we attract the highest caliber of people who have the ability and desire to influence In Nigeria alone, we have been awarded Best Marketing Research Agency of the year award for two consecutive years, back to back (2013 & 2014) by International Brand Award Nominees and HSBS Global. We also have ISO 20252 certification to attest to adheres to the Standard’s requirements.

May we know some of the innovations that keep Ipsos relevant?

To begin with our company structure (the way we are arranged as a company) ensures that we place the expert in front of the client. We have five business lines, each with experts that are equipped to address our client needs be it Market Research, Social research, Brand and Communication Research, Consumer Research you name it. We also provide the field and tab service for clients whose requirement is data collection with the exemption of analysis. At Ipsos, a blend of innovation and technology is driving our re- search solutions.

Being a multinational, we leverage on our global research expertise. For instance, we are the pioneers of mobile device data collection (MDC) in Nigeria, and Africa at large. This involves the use of smartphone/ tablet for data collection instead of the traditional pen & paper. The technique eliminates data entry and the attendant human error.

It allows logics and mouse trap to be included in the script which will ensure data quality. MDC is a technology driven innovation for data collection for improvement of quality of data, we have invested resources to improve quality of data to delight of our clients, given that quality of data is the bedrock marketing research. Our field management systems are second to none. Our mobile data collection is empowered with GPS monitoring to ensure that interviews are done at the designated sample areas, this data is recorded in real time. Any disparity is flagged and immediately checked.

We have recently entered into the digital space with online and mobile surveys. Ipsos has a Research and Development team constantly working at innovative solutions for our clients; Marketing Sciences division which drives data modelling which includes data segmentation, statistical analysis sample design,etc We also have a team that works on incorporating neuroscience into our research methodologies. We have also invested in tools specifically designed for brand growth strategies, volume forecasting tools, and other communication and innovation planning tools.

What are the possible solutions to the challenges that players in the market research face these days?

In addition to growing the research profession through training and capacity building, researchers need to develop simpler methodologies for con- ducting research. Though challenges among agencies are quite differs, local agencies versus multinationals. However, the major challenge across board is talent, I meant good people – talent is very scarce in the industry, that is why I am calling on head of agencies to invest in talent development and train their people for the benefit and growth of our industry. Marketing research industry also faces the challenge of penetration and accessibility into some rural areas during Data collection (fieldwork) due to poor infrastructure as a result of topography and terrain.

What is this concept of the ‘Most Influential Brand’ in Nigeria?

Brands go well beyond selling a product or service. They are founded on a sense of purpose – or ‘why’ – that establishes stronger emotional connections with people. Hence the influence of brands in our lives, and in our world, cannot be overstated. The question is now which brands are these and what does it take to build this kind of influence? We conducted a comprehensive programme of research to measure and rank the Most Influential Brands in Nigeria and around the globe. With a wealth of data to draw upon, we have much to share about what brands have influence, and where, why, and how they are trending.

There are important lessons to learn for all brands – both big and small. This is the fifth year of this survey but the first time Nigeria has been included in the study. Beyond our own measures, metrics, and surveys, there are a number of other factors very much related to brand influence. And we are already preparing for the survey to measure the most influential brands in Nigeria for 2016, the result will be available next year.