Once upon a time, on a business trip (remember those?), my client was lamenting about the number of sales calls he receives on a daily basis. When I said I understood, he seemed surprised. “Wait, but who is trying to sell things to YOU?” he asked. My reaction to this was two-fold.
On one hand, I suspected he might not realize how complicated and collaborative the research process really is. On any given project, my role is the nucleus of a research organism that includes sample vendors, programmers, data processors, tech experts, graphic designers, translators, marketing scientists… the list goes on. The fact that I’m often the only face my client sees or interacts with makes me entirely accountable for the hundreds of things that can go wrong when working with so many moving parts.
On the other hand, I felt proud that we had made the research process feel so seamless that our clients did not consciously realize the extent of the work done with external partners. “Yep, just me over here!”
But really, as AMC Global strives to stay on the cutting edge of research solutions, we are constantly bringing more powerful people—experts and specialists—into the fold. Is this because we can’t handle it on our own? Kind of...but it’s not what it sounds like. We are experts. We are experts in designing research that will yield rich, actionable insights for our clients. Sometimes, to design the optimal research solution, we need to partner with people who are specialists in other areas that can bolster and augment our process—areas like AI, digital tracking / passive metering, advanced analytics, real-time dashboarding and data visualization tools, and more.
At AMC Global, we aren’t afraid to recognize and celebrate all the partnerships that support our studies. In our industry, we too often see market research firms feel nervous about forging these kinds of partnerships. “What if they steal my clients?!” “What if something goes wrong when we try to integrate a new approach or technique?!” Short-sighted perspectives like this are limiting, and—if you ask me—can be pretty telling.
A research partner should not be worried about telling you who has added value to their project. Our partners in specialized fields and techniques are amazing! But they don’t do what we do. They can’t. We are researchers—the nucleus, remember? At AMC, we carefully choose experts that add value and can help us get the best insights—but our comprehensive research designs and deliverables are what ultimately provide the insights that drive our clients’ business decisions.
Stay tuned for more in our “Power of Partnerships” series, including a peek into our Innovation Team!
In the meantime, are you in need of a custom, creative research solution designed and led by a dream team of experts (from AMC Global and beyond)? Call us!