Within the food and beverage market, trends and purchasing behaviours are changing all the time. For businesses to stay competitive in this ever-evolving landscape, they need to be able to adapt quickly and pivot wherever necessary. That’s why many turn to market research agencies to support their efforts. When it comes to choosing a market research provider, there are many factors to consider. Whilst the expertise and experience of the organisation is paramount, it’s also important to consider your requirements and exactly how they will be met. Whilst there is never a “one size fits all” approach to choosing the right market research agency, in this blog, we’ll explore three key advantages of working with a boutique consultancy, helping you to make an informed decision.
The personal touch
If you’re looking for one-on-one attention and a personalised service, then choosing a boutique market research consultancy might be right for you. Boutique consultancies are often small by design, meaning you’ll commonly work directly with the directors of the company, who have a vested interest in making sure that any project they work on is treated like it’s their own. This not only allows for a more personal connection and easier communication, but also instils a sense of loyalty and responsibility to the client – you!
Diving into the nuances of your business and taking the time to understand the unique challenges you face, boutique market research consultancies immerse themselves into every step of your project’s lifecycle. Feeling more like a partner than a service provider, they’ll become an invaluable extension of your company’s operations, working side-by-side with you from the beginning to make sure that you get exactly what you need to drive your business forward.
No stone left unturned
The food and beverage industry is one of the most competitive in the world, and it takes serious innovation to stay at the forefront of consumer trends. This not only means having access to high-quality market insights, but it also means working with a market research organisation that goes the extra mile to help you stand out from the crowd. With the time, resources and capacity to deliver creative solutions to your problems, working with a boutique market research consultancy can make all the difference when it comes to finding out what consumers want and need, bringing with them a fresh perspective to exploring new ways to build your brand’s presence.
For boutique market research consultancies every single project is crucial, which means they are always looking for ways to innovate and improve their processes so that they can give clients better results than ever before. It’s not just about doing a good job – it’s about being the best at what they do, every single time. With a greater incentive to perform, smaller agencies are more likely to leave no stone left unturned for your business, channelling maximum effort into your project to help you differentiate your offerings from the competition.
Unique insights for your industry
You may be considering a larger, more established organisation which offers a wide range of services as a “one-stop-shop” for your requirements, but it’s important to consider that these larger full-service agencies tend to work across a wide span of business sectors. In comparison, boutique consultancies often specialise in one industry or niche, meaning they have a wealth of specialist knowledge at their fingertips, and experience in working with a wide range of brands who face similar challenges to yours.
Knowing the industry they specialise in from the inside out, boutique market research consultancies are perfectly placed to understand the necessary steps to put you on the path to success. This allows them to create bespoke market research strategies and solutions tailored specifically for you, without offering you packages or services that aren’t applicable or useful for your business’s long-term goals. As your needs grow and evolve, a boutique market research consultancy has the flexibility to adapt to your changing needs continually, with dynamic solutions for sustainable business growth.
Agility and flexibility
In the world of food and beverages, you need a market research consultancy that can keep up with shifting consumer preferences and understand emerging trends. When new opportunities arise within your target market, it’s important to be able to act quickly and decisively – because if your brand isn’t relevant, it’s going to be left behind. Yet, red tape can stand in the way of quick action, and you may feel as if you are losing momentum with lengthy approval processes, complex contracts, and communications with multiple people or departments.
Instead of focusing on multiple projects at once, boutique consultancies work with a select number of clients at a time, taking an adaptive, agile, and client-centric approach to research that matches the momentum of consumer trends and shifts. With a direct line of communication to your consultant, you can pivot to navigate the ever-changing consumer landscape and adapt to change with greater speed, ensuring resilience even in the face of changing markets and uncertainties. This enables your business to deliver for its customers, innovate consistently, and maintain a competitive advantage, getting your product or service to market as effectively, efficiently, profitably and as quickly as possible.
Could a boutique market research consultancy be right for you?
Before choosing the right market research provider for your business, it’s vital to define your budget, values and requirements, and reflect upon what’s truly important to you. What comes at the top of your list – is it the peace of mind that seeing a client portfolio full of household names brings, or does a personalised, one-to-one approach with an experienced industry specialist take precedence for you? Are you looking to work with a large team who can offer a wide range of services, or an out-the-box creative thinker who can deliver agility and flexibility? Research agencies come in all shapes and forms, but if it’s the latter, the smaller size and specialisation of a boutique market research consultancy could be exactly what you’re looking for to help you achieve your goals.
At Nailed On Research, we’re proud to be boutique! We believe that ’boutique’ doesn’t mean small – it means something much more than just numbers. It means knowing your client inside-out. It means understanding what they need before they know it themselves. It means building up a rapport like no other – and doing so with every single one of our clients, for every single project we take on. Providing high-quality market research services to the food and drink industry, our personalised approach means we can provide a highly intuitive and creative service at every step of the way, with actionable insights and contextual market intelligence that we’re proud to stand behind.
Does a boutique market research consultancy sound like the right fit for you? Get in touch today to discuss your current challenges and find out how we can help, and we’ll work with you to create a bespoke strategy that will take your business to new heights.
