Future Gazing

COVID-19 has impacted on turnover, working practices, new business development, accommodation plans, training, recruitment and more besides.

Plummeting revenues

Qualitative research has been hit hard. No surprises here. Agencies that had been moving their work online have still suffered. Some talked of revenues at around 50% of what had been anticipated but picking up and hoping that they hit 75% in the last quarter. Others have not been as fortunate and are still waiting for the green shoots to break through frosty ground. Many are coping with increased work, fewer staff and tougher targets, driven by pressure from clients on cost.

In the 80s, the companies that upped their marketing through the recession reaped the benefits. In this pandemic, it's the big FMCG companies that panicked and are only now starting to draw breath, while smaller UK-based companies were more likely to hold their nerve and talk research.

Working practices

There will continue to be home working, and there will continue to be office-based work. For many, that is the way the industry has been heading for a while. But some aspects will be particularly hard. One literary agent talked of staff coming in at different times and different days of the week. This, as in all industries, will affect team building. How can a team member learn from someone more seasoned if they're not going to be close enough to monitor or shadow?

Some say this won't be as much a problem in research. "We will give them the autonomy to self-start," says one owner. "We should recognise the flexibility, in productivity and life terms, that working from home can bring. Rather than go to the office because we 'go to the office', we will go there because we have a training session, or a 'how is everyone feeling' session, or a cultural immersion session, where everyone motivates and sets expectations together."

This, however, doesn't take account of the learning that comes from overheard communications between planners, marketing, researchers or respondents. WFH could impact on morale, ambiance, and pastoral care, too. There are positives, though: It could also, said interviewees, be an opportunity to stop and consider the issue of diversity and inclusion, where there is massive room for improvement.

New business development

It became clear early on that progressing existing projects could be a problem, let alone finding new work. For those in the analysis and debrief stage, this meant a shift in terms of communication methods, but how to convince clients to commission new work? In financial services, IFAs rely on existing business to provide referrals, and for clients in hard times to seek advice on creative ways to boost income. But once these avenues are exhausted, what options are available to grow their client base?