Abstract:

This paper describes how the concept of 'slow' could be applied to market research. The author coined the concept of 'Slow Research' at the 2004 Technovate seminar. The idea was to describe a way in which both suppliers and buyers in the market research industry could benefit from the concept of "slow" when appropriate. In its simplest form it boils down to 'thinking before acting', illustrated by the definition from physics, where velocity is speed with a direction. In the present context this means that running around in circles will not get you anywhere, no matter how fast you run. First the concept of slow is described, with examples from different walks of life. How Slow Research could be applied is described in a case study. Descriptions of how buyers and suppliers can apply Slow Research are given. The author then argues that large research companies will have great difficulties in applying the concept of Slow Research for the simple reason that they are too big.