You can’t go 5 minutes in market research without hearing someone talk about “data quality.” Yes, it’s paramount to business success. Poor-quality data can lead to inaccurate insights, wasted resources, and, ultimately, flawed business decisions. But it is such a huge topic that the day-to-day realities of market research firms don’t include much luxurious downtime to effectively address the most pressing issues in data collection and management.

While this issue seems uncomplicated, it is far from it.

Q: Would everyone like to eradicate cheaters, duplicates, bots, and all bad actors from entering their surveys?

A: Sure!

Q: Are budgets getting smaller and timelines getting shorter to get surveys fielded and provide the data quickly for the analytics and visualization team?

A: Yeah, you bet!

Add to the complexity that many brands themselves do not even question the fidelity of data once it hits market research reports. The magic of data visualization sometimes makes even the most astute businessperson accept presented facts without asking important questions about the data collection process or fraud prevention standards.

So, why should firms continue to work tirelessly to combat fraud, and why should they start conversations about low-quality data if the client isn’t even asking?

The importance of proactive data quality management

When evaluating quantitative market research, it’s not just about completing a survey job; it’s about completing it quickly and with the confidence that the data is high-quality and accurately represents the people surveyed. Traditional approaches often require extensive manual work to clean up data, leading to wasted time “scrubbing” data and potentially having to “re-field” the survey due to insufficient sample sizes once bogus participants are removed. This inefficient process not only wastes time and money but can also lead to critical errors in business decisions based on flawed data.

Proactive data quality management is the key to avoiding these pitfalls. By addressing potential problems before they arise, market research firms can ensure the integrity of their data and maintain the trust of their clients. While it may be uncomfortable to discuss data quality issues with clients upfront, it is far better than the alternative: losing a client’s business because they feel you did not have a firm handle on what could have been done to prevent low data quality in the first place.

But who has time to get it all done?

Enter dtect, the purpose-built, independent data quality platform that is revolutionizing the way market research firms approach competitive data integrity. By proactively preventing fraudulent participants from entering surveys, dtect saves valuable time and resources throughout the data collection process, setting a new standard for data quality and providing a distinct competitive advantage.

The competitive advantage of dtect

Integrating dtect into your field management strategy provides several key advantages that set your company apart from the competition. While some of these by themselves represent a good enough reason to use the platform, combining them can deepen the differentiation of a research firm. These competitive advantages can become critical to survival in a world where research feels increasingly commoditized.

Time and resource savings
By proactively preventing fraudulent participants from entering surveys, dtect significantly reduces the time and resources spent on data cleaning and re-fielding. This efficiency allows your team to focus on delivering high-quality insights to clients faster.

Enhanced data quality
dtect’s advanced technologies and comprehensive approach ensure that your surveys are completed by verified, authentic participants who meet the specific criteria for your study. This level of data quality instills confidence in your clients and solidifies your reputation as a trusted research partner.

Improved client relationships
By initiating data quality conversations with clients and demonstrating your commitment to data integrity through dtect’s platform and dashboards, you can foster stronger, more transparent relationships. This proactive approach showcases your expertise and sets you apart as a research firm that prioritizes quality and reliability.

Increased profitability
By streamlining your field management process and reducing the time and resources spent on data cleaning, dtect helps you optimize your budget and increase profitability. This efficiency allows you to take on more projects and grow your business without compromising data quality.

Competitive differentiation
In a crowded market research industry, dtect provides a unique selling proposition that distinguishes your firm from competitors. By leveraging dtect’s advanced technologies and comprehensive approach to data quality, you can offer clients a superior level of service and provide a measurable proof point where others are merely offering anecdotal evidence of their quality.

How it works

dtect seamlessly integrates into your workflow while enhancing quality. It acts as a buffer, removing bad actors before they enter your surveys. dtect is a powerful platform that not only does the work but also initiates data-quality conversations with clients. By employing advanced technology, dtect keeps fraudulent and poor-quality participants away from your surveys, ensuring that you collect real data from real people to drive real decisions. When discussing data quality with clients, these three points can simplify the conversation in your dtect-powered field management strategy:

Real people
dtect ensures that your surveys are completed by verified human respondents.

Real data
Engaging with authentic participants allows you to stand behind data with confidence.

Real impact
Better data leads to better impact, which is the ultimate goal of market research.

While bringing up potential problems may not be fun, having these conversations and demonstrating your commitment to data quality through the use of dtect’s platform and dashboards can set you apart from the competition. This proactive approach may entail a hard conversation in the short term but is a smart business strategy in the long term.

It’s not one thing; it’s a million things

Ok, maybe “a million” things is an overstatement, but the point is that no one thing is going to fight fraud in surveys or improve data quality. The dtect competitive advantage lies in its comprehensive approach to data quality. When it comes to ensuring data quality, our platform employs a range of technologies and strategies to ensure the integrity of your survey data:

1. Tailored open-ended screening questions identify and block participants using generative AI and other online resources to provide inauthentic responses.
2. Advanced fraud detection combines third-party technologies to uncover and remove bots along with people using automated scripts or modified browsers.
3. Location validation and deduplication technologies keep survey farms and overzealous survey takers, including those who may be members of multiple panels, from infiltrating your surveys.
4. Audience-specific screening questions verify the veracity of human claims, ensuring that participants meet the specific criteria required for your study.
5. Tracking how low-quality participants trend across different suppliers improves field management efficiency. With a single scorecard of actual sample performance over time, you can gain confidence in sample buying across the industry.

Data quality is not a luxury. It is the measure by which businesses succeed and fail. By integrating dtect into your field management strategy, market research firms can proactively ensure the integrity of their survey data, save time and resources, and provide their clients with the high-quality insights they need to make informed business decisions. With confidence in data, forward-thinking market research firms have confidence their strategic recommendations are the foundation for a path to success and better brand impact.

Are you ready for a competitive advantage that sets your market research firm apart from the crowd? Find out for yourself how the power of dtect can take your data quality to the next level.