Research business teams are able to cover a lot of ground behind the scenes for New Zealand companies. While the owner, CEO and management staff are the face of the organisation to the public, it is the key insights delivered by researchers who actually give these figures the tools to succeed.
It is no longer acceptable in the commercial sphere to react to events and stick to a business-as-usual philosophy. Whether it is manufacturing, real estate, hospitality, development or agriculture, using the knowledge and expertise of these professionals is essential to achieving long-term rewards.
The question that will be posed to these brands is whether or not to run this type of program in-house or to outsource it? Each approach has its selling points and reservations, but it is important for domestic enterprises to have that conversation.
Local enterprises in New Zealand know that research business teams from outsourced locations allow them to control their operational costs. They can be introduced to meet specific targets and move on from their obligations. There are firms who will offer their expertise on a rolling contract, ensuring that there is no long-term financial obligations that the company is tied to. Once they assess the key performance indicators (KPIs), the client can decide to continue or separate ties.
Time management is a key domain that underpins why research business teams are introduced from outsourced entities. The hours needed to invest in individual researchers before defining their roles and allocating responsibilities is a major time drain for an organisation. Those established workers already have the skills to bring immediate value to the table. If time pressures are overbearing and there is a need for data insights to be obtained quickly, then outsourcing is the only feasible solution at hand for New Zealand companies.
There is a concern for those operators who decide to outsource with their research business teams when it comes to the ownership of the intellectual property. If they run the data from the outside and then decide to pass it on, who actually owns that content? While that is one issue that owners and managers will grapple with, what about the mechanisms by which they gather the information? That degree of insight cannot simply be transferred from the professional to the client under normal circumstances, but there are programs where an education can take place to learn about their research methods.
A reservation that clients can have about embracing outsourced research business teams is developing a reliance on their service. If they achieve results and offer value to the New Zealand enterprise, why bother investing in any sort of in-house department? It is the Pandora’s Box dilemma, fearing that the action will lead to damaging long-term consequences without an internal research infrastructure to rely on.
One of the major drivers that points towards the use of outside research business teams is the targeting of specific projects. Their data and analytics are brought onboard to focus on digital consumer behaviours, courier pricing schemes, wholesale distribution fluctuations or any other endeavour that requires a research framework. Once they are no longer of service, the business can move on and invest in other divisions.
In an ideal world, a New Zealand enterprise will have the resources and capital to create their own research business teams. Through sustainable growth methods and building upon the brand season in and season out, companies can establish their own research division to add more value to the organisation.
The reality of the commercial landscape is quite different. There are thousands of entities who cannot undertake these projects off their own accord without budgeting for years and even decades in advance. To fill that gap and offer a service that is manageable, these outsourced researchers do provide a mechanism for domestic operators to understand their industry and create pathways to success.