Empathy isn’t Found in Templates – Why Service Planning Matters

Let’s face it, 2021 has been a wild year. With so many clients experiencing high levels of turnover, juggling constantly changing research questions, and entering the busiest time for our industry, to say things are “hectic” for our clients, is putting it mildly.

It’s times like these that shine an interrogative light on DIY, exposing its reality as a lonely, laborious, and even treacherous place for clients. When DIYing, it’s so easy to miss the connections between your insights, lose objectivity in assessing potential, and fail to gain a true understanding of the human experience at the heart of your questions.

But even more importantly, DIY does not deliver an empathetic experience for the buyer. Think of the last time you used a self-service kiosk or app to make a purchase. Sure, for simple transactions the benefits of convenience and efficiency might get what you need, but what if your needs are more complex? In most transactions, there comes a time that the form/bot/interface just doesn’t “get” what you’re trying to do. This is when you press “help”, raise your hand, or pick up the phone.

While technology can make smart guesses at what you’re trying to achieve, a template cannot deliver empathy. And that’s what market research clients need right now, especially during the busiest time of an already complicated year, with fewer resources and more objectives than ever. This is when clients deserve the camaraderie and expertise from people who understand their unique situation, their business needs, their parameters/limitations. They deserve a smart, dedicated human to partner with.

That’s where Service Planning comes in. Service Planning is the refreshingly human process of truly understanding a client’s strategy, objectives, and unique needs, and aligning on the service model that will deliver a delightful, successful, empathic experience. While there are different flavors based on the unique circumstances of the partnership, most GutCheck Service Plans include:

• Strategy and focus areas – to ensure research is always tied back to key strategic pillars, builds cumulative knowledge, connects insights across divisions, and meets organizational KPIs
• Partnership operating model – to build efficient and effective communication and align on a process that meets clients’ unique preferences and needs
• Research roadmap – to develop the foundational learning plan, which can flex between quant & qual, implicit & explicit, emotion & technology, exploratory & tactical approaches – and critically, iterate based on learnings at each phase

At its core, Service Planning embodies the empathy you crave in your research process. It sets the foundation for the most efficient, tailored, and rewarding working relationship with your partner. It stretches research dollars by starting with an investment that is centered around your initiatives, your priorities, and your dynamic strategy. It maximizes insights and adds velocity to research plans. It delivers a research experience where you feel seen, you feel heard, and you gain true actionability and confidence in your research. Service Planning embodies empathy because it is built on the fact that you are human, and you deserve a partnership that is human too.