Every year, InCrowd looks at what worked the previous year, and to the year ahead to see which emerging trends could prove sticky and are picking up traction. This year we are making one primary prediction for how the industry is likely to evolve. We see 2018 as the year of greater collaboration, versus active attempts at disruption.

Towards the end of 2016, the industry predictions surrounding market research called an increase in how automation and technology would change how the industry collects and delivers market research. Now, any CEO asked about upcoming trends or innovations is finding ways to package what their respective company does best as the newest and most impactful trend. However, while a look back at 2017 does show new technology vendors gaining ground, it’s not nearly as fast as originally thought.

Through further analysis and in speaking with market research buyers over the course of the year, the more interesting pattern to emerge is the fact that new offerings comprised of differentiated technology were far less important than a given vendor’s understanding of the client’s business. In other words, market research buyers wanted vendors who could help them use the data being collected from said fill-in-the-blank technology and bring the far more valuable market insight that their brands needed to be successful. In our latest analysis, the big trend we are seeing for 2018 is a far greater mix of market research consultancies partnering with innovative technologies to conduct qualitative and quantitative research. Therefore, any predictions of huge shifts seem more likely to come through partnerships and collaborations between different kinds of companies bringing the best of what they have to offer. These collaborations bode well for helping marketers and market insights professionals do their jobs even more effectively in 2018.