If there was one word to describe 2021, it would be unpredictable. Whether you got a vaccine, left your job, went on vacation, or were impacted by supply chain issues, we experienced changes that affected our personal and professional lives. Just when we thought we had mastered one challenge, another one would show up to shake things up yet again.

Market research continues to evolve in exciting ways. New tools continue to develop, and platform capabilities are upgrading with better, faster and stronger features. The marketplace is flooded with these shiny tools that make market research look easy. But research expertise is still essential to help companies make the right decisions. All flash and no rigor will lead to bad research and sub-par business results.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison recently collaborated with Digsite to jump-start their MBA students’ hands-on learning with new product development. Students built and tested new product ideas by leveraging Digsite's integrated research platform for qualitative exploration and concept validation.

Delivering high-quality market research takes a lot of expertise. Delivering agile research requires that expertise and more.

As we all know, successful insights teams lead with agility and embrace the unexpected. Research pros at large corporations and startups alike share the belief that when you kick off with the right mindset, agile research can work even harder for you. In our most recent webinar, we talked about leading successful insights teams by enabling agile ways of working.

Operating in an uncertain world requires the ability to think like a startup. In 2021, we encourage companies to go back to their entrepreneurial roots. When decisions were made by relying on bold and courageous thinking. Agile research helps insights teams navigate those uncertainties with quick thinking and speedy decision-making.