Humanity has seen over the last centuries an accumulation of knowledge and technologies that have allowed us to go from a nomadic life to a present in which the exploration of the stars is to a certain extent something everyday. The transformations have also reached our way of relating. The internet and social media have revolutionized the way we communicate. A few weeks ago, the world’s largest social network announced that it would invest whatever resources were necessary to create the «Metaverse.» This announcement involved taking a step forward in changing the way we interact with other people.
This new virtual space will be, in short, a virtual reality scenario that everyone will want to be in. The health crisis due to COVID-19 showed us that everyday life can be transferred, albeit partially at this time, to digital media. The situation due to SarsCov2 will not be the last situation that forces us to confine ourselves at home, so thinking about virtual environments to guarantee the continuity of our relationships and purchases is not seen as something crazy in the end.
Several brands have shown interest in the Metaverse. Despite the fact that many requirements are missing for it to become a reality, there are already visionaries who are committed to planning what purchases and sales will be like in this new medium. Market research is no stranger to this change. For this reason, we list some topics to which we must pay attention before the emergence of this new form of contact between people.
- Integration of research teams. Traditionally, market research agencies have counted among their main collaborators and analysts professionals from various disciplines such as Marketing, Mathematics, Psychology, Anthropology, Geography, Language Interpretation and Translation, Neurology, among others. Faced with the resounding need for digital solutions such as Programming, Artificial Intelligence, Data Security and Automated Analysis of huge databases, professions such as Systems Engineering will join research teams on a daily basis.
- Data privacy. Many voices agree that the protection of personal data is an inalienable principle and an inescapable responsibility for all those involved in its generation, storage, exchange, analysis and final disposal. The laws of various countries have enacted laws in this regard. For this reason, future researchers will need to invest more resources in ensuring compliance with these provisions.
- Confidentiality of the projects. In addition to the previous point, one way to ensure that the data is safe is to reduce the number of intermediaries in its use and analysis. Perhaps we are on the verge of a series of acquisitions, mergers or closure of market research agencies. Market analysts will have to evaluate the scope of the changes that are taking place in order to meet in larger organizations to increase competitiveness.
- Leveraging big data. In other posts on this blog, we have talked about how in the past, brands and market research agencies suffered from a lack of information and data to work with. Many resources were invested in generating the raw material to meet supply and demand. Today the situation in several countries is the opposite: there is an excess of data that on several occasions cannot be translated into profitable actions. When the Metaverse is fully developed, we may move into an era where reports and action suggestions will be generated in hours rather than weeks thanks to the vast amount of real-time data from a large part of the market.
- Bot identification. In several science fiction scenarios, it has been written about the impersonation or simulation of identities by robots. Already today in various online forms many of us have come across mechanisms to distinguish programs that pretend to be people to obtain information or saturate platforms with garbage. In the new space, these Internet user authentication mechanisms may need to be refined in order to distinguish between what is relevant and what is completely artificial and spam.
- Artificial intelligence. Some time ago a video circulated showing two audio responses from a customer service call center. Viewers were invited to point out which of the two was the work of a flesh and blood person and which was an artificial intelligence. It was very difficult to distinguish one from another. As time goes by, people will be replaced by machines and artificial intelligences that can solve the most repetitive tasks and that do not demand greater responsibilities. Will the time come when market analysts will also be replaced by this solution?
At Acertiva we are aware of new trends in our segment. After 18 years of experience, we know that innovation is one of the characteristics that many brands look for in market research partners. We put at your disposal a team of experts who will help you develop your next study in Latin America. Write us today so you can tell us your requirements and we can tell you how together we will write your next success story.
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