Marketing research companies in Saudi Arabia and the challenges they face
Consumer and marketing research companies have been around in the Middle East and North Africa region for a few decades now and the region is touted as one with potential growth opportunities across multiple sectors. Despite this, precise, reliable and actionable market research (both qualitative and quantitative research) is still fairly hard to come by compared to many of the developed countries and regions in the world. As a result, marketing research budgets in the Middle East are still very limited - earning only about 1% of global research budgets in recent years.
Marketers face multiple challenges when it comes to predicting consumer behavior in Saudi Arabia and UAE – and spotting trends. There is a distinct lack of credible market intelligence sources and a gap between published data and on-the-ground reality. Most syndicated global reports on specific verticals are exactly that – global – and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) feature as a small section these reports without much granularity. In a scenario like this, it becomes all the more important to reach out to local marketing research companies in key markets such as KSA (Saudi Arabia) and UAE (United Arab Emirates) to bridge the gap. On-the-ground consumer and B2B research teams can not only help contextualize the data gathered but also understand the socio-cultural nuances of the region and can help reach out to real people in these markets getting the right consumer insights in the Arab world.
Given that over 80% of the UAE (United Arab Emirates) population and over 30% in KSA (Saudi Arabia) is expatriate and a large part of this is a floating population, there is also the challenge of identifying trends from qualitative and quantitative consumer research that will sustain and pan out beyond the revolving population. Add to this complexities of diversity in terms of ethnicity, language and culture and it can truly be a challenge for a marketer who is not based in the region (and for many who are) to get a true sense of the consumer and the market. This makes generating consumer insight in the Middle East even more challenging. Having a local partner to consult makes immense sense in these circumstances.
Unboxed Consulting is a boutique consumer and marketing research agency based out of Dubai. Our reach spans across the GCC (KSA, UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar), the Levant (Lebanon, Jordan), Iran, Iraq, North Africa (Egypt, Sudan, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco) and Nigeria.
With multicultural moderators who are speakers of English, Arabic (different Dialects - Khaleeji, Egyptian, Lebanese etc), Farsi, Hindi, French and Berber, we are geared to deliver qualitative consumer research that goes beyond the brief and dig into that elusive insight for the brand. Our moderators are adept at different projective techniques ranging from the most common word association and sentence completion to NLP, Collage making and Brand Worlds. We provide viewing and simultaneous translation into English if the client desires to listen in - either on location, via telephone or via the Focus vision (in Dubai and Saudi Arabia)
Unboxed Consulting also provide quantitative research services using different modes of data collection (CAPI, PAPI, CATI etc). We cover the MENA region and can execute quantitative projects of various types with large sample sizes, including U&A, Concept and Product Tests, Car clinics, Segmentation, Communication testing (various stages), B2B and trade studies , Customer Satisfaction, Pricing studies and Brand equity. With a robust field team in each market we can action and turn around quantitative studies in the Middle East quite rapidly. Our team of programmers can script complex questionnaires and our statisticians can do all kinds of analysis depending on the need of the hour. It is also a leading Qualitative Research Company in Saudi Arabia.
Key Elements of Market Research
Market research is the essential process to start and establish the business. It is about getting the latest trends in the market and for that you need to analyze the market environment. Researching early in the product life cycle will help you to start a new business in the right direction. When you know the current situation of the market, you will launch or customize your service according to the needs of the market. Like if you are living in Saudi then you can perform Surveys In Saudi Arabia to know the reaction of people about your products or services. Surveys In Saudi And Uae will help you to understand current market response so accordingly you can plan ahead.
The market research investigation provided by a B2b Research Agency In Uae will make you reach out to potential SME and corporate clients, and eventually help you to achieve your goal. This will prevent your business from unnecessary risk and also make your business aware about the future needs of the market. Some of the businesses like to do these strategies on their own while some like to hire a B2b Research Agency In Ksa to accurate answer of all the marketing research, you must collect date from the good and genuine source. After collection give proper attention to analyzing each and every aspect of the data. This will surely help you to get the best information about your targeted market.
• Market Research methods
The market is very fragmented, so you need to collect information from different sources. The different sources of information will make you understand different aspects of the business. The area of the collection of information is too vast and to tackle these areas you need to prioritize to put full effort and focus on what kind of information you want from the research. For example if you are doing healthcare work in Dubai, you should employ a specialist Pharma Research Agency UAE, who can help you structure your research and have the right contacts to interview healthcare professionals. Structuring the method will aid your research in the proper direction and at the end you will be full useful information. The type of question that you must include in your research are-
Ø Question related to target audience
Ø Competitive advantages available in the market
Ø Question related to the competitors of your business
Ø Features of your targeted market
Ø The geographical market and size
Ø Requirement of the current market
• Using Trusted market research agencies
The Middle East has a plethora of research agencies. Some just accept the project without challenging the methodology or sample requested. For example, we recently had a client who wanted upper class Emirati women in Dubai who had never used a PC or a tablet before, but was aware of Intel!!! This is in a market where smart phone penetration is 170% and Emiratis earn over 120,000 USD tax free per year at the minimum. Choose carefully before you select the agency. Also in large agencies, since most of the junior researchers do not have cultural or sectoral knowledge, doing healthcare research needs more care in selecting the Market Research agency in Middle East and Africa
Unboxed Consulting is an Independent research agency based in UAE and KSA, Levant and Africa and is an ESOMAR affiliated consulting house that does Quantitative, B2B, SME and corporate research – in the sectors of healthcare, hospitality, telecom and finance, High networth individuals (HNWIs) are their forte. They have FGD venues that are Focusvision equipped (in UAE and Saudi Arabia). Its founder Dipen Mehta has been working in the Middle East and North Africa region with various FMCG, Telecom, hospitality and finance brands for two decades. Their footprint spreads over Middle East, GCC, Levant, Africa and India
Source url: http://un-boxed.me/middle-east-one-affluent-regions-world-lot-high-net-worth-individuals/