The Insights Supplier- Part 2: Organizing for Success

Editor’s Note: Here is the next edition in our serialization of the book Into the River: How Big Data, The Long Tail, and Situated Cognition Are Changing The World Of  Market Insights Forever.  by Tony Cosentino. you can first the post here: The Insights Supplier- Part 1: Choosing a Direction

As I said before, this is one of the best deconstructions of the transition state that market research is in that I have ever read. Tony clearly and concisely explains the shift that is occurring within our industry and lays out several models for designing the successful MR firm of the future. In this post the focus is on  helping organizations define the right business model for their enterprise based on organizational goals and culture.

In essence these posts are designed to serve as  a primer for organizational change. As the needs of clients change and dictate the evolution of suppliers to meet those needs, in many cases firms will find themselves having to reinvent not just their value proposition but also their organizational structure to support an evolving new mission. Our hope is that this will help you as you undergo that journey within your firm.

By Tony Cosentino

Organizing for Success

The canopy of the insights industry includes many different branches of the value chain such as consulting and professional services, data collection and sample access, secondary data market, and increasingly, technology integration considerations. Different support functions are often provided in-house within a major supplier, or completely outsourced by a small start-up supplier. For these reasons, it’s hard to put forth a one-size-fits-all model to address the different suppliers. Instead, the attempt here is to set out some general models and go-to-market approaches based on the firm’s specific market offer.

Classic Consulting Model

The classic consulting model is a natural fit for the purely professional services organization and is the de-facto model in most law firms, traditional-consulting firms, and accounting firms. In the insights industry, this structure is ideally suited for a firm whose advantage is based in niche knowledge and employs a project based approach (i.e. more ad hoc studies rather than tracking studies, syndicated work, etc.). The structure is generally a partnership with the most senior consultants sitting on top of their respective pyramids. In this position, they act like their own CEO with operational, as well as new business development, responsibilities. As the organization grows, more levels are inserted into the pyramid and the junior partners start to manage their own book of business; thus, they begin to build their own hierarchy.  The traditional consulting model may look something like what is outlined below.

Classic Consulting Model

The strength of this model is that resources are generally focused on one agenda, and advancement opportunities and career paths, or lack thereof, are relatively clear. There is no tension between a business development team (tasked with acquiring new customers) and the client services teams (tasked with implementation) since everyone is part of the same hierarchy.  The client also knows exactly who they are speaking with in terms of organizational level, and by and large, roles and responsibilities are clearly understood to all involved.

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