Last week I had the pleasure of meeting and having a chat with Robert Rush the MD of PFA Research at their offices in Bodmin, Cornwall. For those of you not familiar with the business and physical geography of the UK you might be interested to know that nearly the entire market research industry is based in London (there are a few exceptions) and Cornwall is one of the least accessible (but arguably the most beautiful) counties in England.
I have wanted to meet the PFA team ever since I noticed several of their people signing up for the NewMR.org website. They caught my eye because I was not aware there was a research agency in Bodmin (a location I visit fairly often because my daughter’s business, Mish Online, is based there). So I was delighted when I contacted Robert and he invited me to visit them.
PFA Research is a small agency and in many ways provides a microcosm of the whole MR industry and illustrates several really useful lessons. They have been in existence for 20 years and Robert has been with the from the start, although when he joined he was (in his own words) a fresh faced graduate (he still looks pretty well on it to me).
One of the key lessons that PFA illustrate is the need to change or die. When they were formed they were created as the research arm of a small management consultancy firm. The management consultancy firm has long since gone, but PFA Research persist and have been through several changes of focus during those 20 years.
In their early days PFA focused on the IT industry and on multi-client projects, the links for which came from their associated management consultancy. Over time the projects/clients matured and needed bespoke research, rather than syndicated, and the dot com bust changed the environment considerably. PFA responded by building a more general portfolio of clients, by becoming a full-service agency, and developing a particular strength in public sector research (an area which has been quite good in the UK over the last ten years but which is now in decline). Similarly, the techniques used by PFA have changed and adapted, for example their fieldwork is increasingly moving to online fieldwork for their quantitative research.
Perhaps the most interesting feature of the chat was when Robert talked about where the company was going next. They may be a small and established agency, but they know about the need to change and they are looking at social media (Robert can be found tweeting at http://twitter.com/#!/robertrush and on LinkedIn at http://uk.linkedin.com/in/rjrush), they are looking at online communities, and they are looking at some innovative R&D with respect to online evaluation of phenomena. The key opportunities lie in finding ways for the public sector to make better use of smaller budgets and of reaching out to new markets, particularly those in the South-West of England, an area where local matters. Another interesting aspect of Robert’s vision is the cyclical nature of things like insight. Twenty years ago PFA research were associated with a management consultancy and much of the end value was strategic. Over time tactical research projects become more important to PFA and their clients and this was the focus of the companies middle years. Looking forward Robert is looking to build on the strategic/advice side again, reflecting the current needs of many clients, whilst still being ready to offer tactical research to those who want it.
One of the comments that Robert made early on in our discussion highlighted a key aspect of what any research agency needs in order to be successful, his comment was simply a heartfelt “we’re good at what we do”. In these very competitive times there is no easy money to be made in market research. Companies need to pick the right fields and then it is essential that they are good at what they do, it is important that they communicate it to clients, and it is vital that they believe it themselves. Being good at what you do is not enough to guarantee success, but it is an essential prerequisite.
You can find out more about PFA Research on their website at http://www.pfa-research.com/.
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