When your budget gets squeezed, does market research get squashed? Not if you’re smart about it.
Research teams are finding themselves in a familiar position: under pressure to justify spend, move fast, and prove impact. But here’s the good news – tight budgets don’t have to mean trading off quality, speed or strategic value. In fact, the most forward-thinking insights teams are turning constraints into catalysts.
In this article, we’ll show you how market researchers are stretching their budgets further without sacrificing research quality. You’ll learn how quick-turn projects, flexible delivery models, and transparent pricing can unlock more value faster and how Glow is helping deliver.
Here’s how.
Budget resilience starts with fit-for-purpose thinking.
The market isn’t slowing down. Consumer needs are shifting. Competitors are evolving. And the teams who win? They’re the ones who keep pace.
But when budgets are under pressure, staying fast and responsive is easier said than done. That’s why many market research agencies are leaning towards quick-turn, fit-for-purpose surveys that deliver high-impact answers, fast.
Think brand sentiment reads, audience validation, buying behaviour checks, creative tests and more. These agile, outcome-driven studies deliver immediate value, keeping the business informed and enabling researchers to deliver value, even with leaner resources.
“We pride ourselves on delivering market research that is fast, affordable and accessible. Glow’s platform plays a crucial role in supporting us in that mission, helping us to deliver projects in ways that differentiate us to our clients.”
Deane Hubball, CEO, Focus Insights
Glow was designed to support this kind of research: fast, focused, flexible and decision-ready. From start to finish in days, not weeks.
Flexibility is your secret weapon.
When you need to do market or customer research fast, you need a platform that streamlines the process – to save your team time, because time is money.
“We’ve been using Glow for a couple of years, and the latest upgrades make the platform even faster and more intuitive compared to other survey platforms.”
Blake Gladman, Strategy & Insight Director, KAM Media (Specialist hospitality research agency)
But we hear time and again from researchers – sometimes you need a little support, when things get hectic. Perhaps you need a fresh set of eyes to sense-check your survey, or help scripting it into the survey platform. Maybe you want someone to source that hard-to-find sample for you.
That kind of flexibility is powerful. It means research teams can keep projects moving, whether they’re a team of two or twenty, deep in delivery or flat-out on strategy.
“Glow consistently provides personalised and outstanding service, ensuring we get quality data back, on time, every time.
Daniel Goldman, Commerce Research & Insights Associate Manager, Accenture
Transparent pricing builds confidence, not complexity.
Market research agencies (and in-house researchers) have lots of overheads and direct costs to contend with that impact the cost of doing research and project profitability. Software costs are a major one, often including multiple survey tools and analysis programs.
Glow replaces multiple pieces of software for quick-turn research with its end-to-end survey, analysis and reporting capabilities. But most importantly, Glow keeps costs refreshingly clear. No subscriptions. No surprise retainers. Just upfront pricing you can plan around – and total control over what you spend and when.
Whether you need a single fast-turn concept test or want to run multiple agile projects, Glow makes it simple to scope, quote and deliver research within your budget, with no sacrifice on speed or quality.
“Glow is my go-to platform when I need to move quickly and efficiently for clients. It cuts days and thousands out of project fees.”
Joel Vermaas, Founder, Vibrant Insights & The Research Department
Because when stakeholders ask, “What are we paying for?”- you should have a confident answer.
Still possible. Still powerful.
Budget constraints and time pressures aren’t going away. But progressive researchers aren’t letting that stop them. They’re identifying new opportunities, rethinking how they work, who they partner with, and what good looks like.
At Glow, we’re proud to be supporting that shift. Our platform and team are built to help researchers do more with less to deliver fast, fit-for-purpose insights.
Because time is money, and Glow saves you both.
Written by:
Troy Kohut
Global Client Services Director, Glow.
Troy has more than 25 years of research experience in markets around the world, designing, deploying and analysing qualitative and quantitative studies for hundreds of clients across dozens of categories. Troy holds undergraduate degrees in Applied Business Studies and undergraduate and Master’s degrees in History. He is a member of The Research Society and is Chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.