In an industry built on databases of standardized tests and normative models, change seems especially risky. But in an industry dedicated to predicting and improving the future, change is especially necessary.

As a marketer, you face unprecedented challenges: you have more means of communicating with your consumers than ever before, but less ability to be heard and less certainty about what will work next week and next year. Youre trying to meet the needs of both consumers and retailers who are more informed, powerful, diverse and demanding than ever before.

• Current learning about how consumers think - Much of what weve learned about the roles of attention, the subconscious, context, and emotion in decision-making suggests traditional research techniques and models are simply unrealistic. We shouldnt be surprised when the resulting forecasts are sometimes unrealistic, too.
• Current marketplace dynamics - Research designs and models should reflect how the market works today. Traditional forecasting systems tend to under-estimate the role of the trade, over-simplify the thoughts of the consumer, and ignore evolving distribution and communication strategies.
• Modern technology - The research industry responded to explosive technological innovation by calibrating it back to the past. Replicating online what we used to do in shopping malls is better than continuing to try to snag busy shoppers near the food court, but it's hardly breakthrough. Technological innovation should trigger research innovation, allowing entirely new capabilities and making the prohibitively expensive affordable.