A Note of Reflection on Text Analytics and Thanks to the Marketing Research Industry
Just posting a short video today to celebrate our recent awards in an industry that has always been so near and dear to OdinText (and Anderson Analytics before that).
If you would’ve told me 25 years ago when I began my career in consumer insights that one day I would be running my own text analytics software company, I night have laughed. But the field has changed so dramatically since I was a freshly-minted market researcher.
Back when I started out, online research did not exist. There was no social media. Tweeting was something only birds did. And teenagers bugged their parents for their own land lines…
As a young researcher, the primary way we collected information and gleaned insights from consumers was by asking them questions, but one of the most pronounced shifts in research today is that so much of the data at our disposal is collected passively.
Today, in addition to the tried-and-true qualitative and quantitative tools of our trade, we have oceans of data flooding into our organizations from non-traditional sources.
And so our job has become less about accumulating information from consumers, and more about connecting the dots and making sense of it all. That’s a pretty significant shift, I think.
And it’s a monumental challenge for those of us in consumer insights.
Many companies now are turning to data scientists for answers, but I would argue that the onus is on those of us in market research to find a way to use these data for competitive advantage.
I got into this because I was conducting advanced text analytics for clients and none of the tools available did what we needed them to do as research analysts.
I did not set out to be a software developer; I just wanted something that worked for my team and our clients. It needed to be fast and easy to use for people who are not data scientists.
We are honored and humbled to be part of such a smart, creative and closely knit community of professionals. To be recognized by peers for contributing to our progress as a profession is enormously gratifying.
Thank you all again! We hope and plan to continue to innovate and give back to our industry!
Yours faithfully,
