By Steven Debaere @ IESEG School of Management.

Go home with a fresh view on your Future! This was BAQMaR’s promise of the 9th edition of its yearly conference in Belgium. This idea was supported by the different conference tracks. Two afternoon tracks shared ideas about “Consumer understanding” and “Data science”, whereas in the evening the subject of “future expectations” was tackled. A quite busy schedule, but nicely alternated with the right refreshments, networking breaks and technology workshops. BAQMaR 15… Futures Festival… I was ready to get inspired by the newest trends and ideas in the market research and data science industry!

Ray Poynter (The Future Place & Vision Critical) started strong by pointing out that current market research projects may not be as adapted to consumers’ needs as what we think it really is. A “Mobile First” strategy must be used, prioritizing user friendliness, to improve consumer experience. We have to listen to what consumers really want instead of telling them what to do.

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By Neda Eneva

What does the future hold for the Market Research industry? Not a very light and easy topic to tackle, but the 2015 BAQMaR event in Gent, Belgium certainly managed to spark this discourse within the heart of each and every one of its delegates.

And while arriving in Belgium was accompanied by a very cold and rainy weather and a very tense and cautious atmosphere due to the current security threats, entering the artistic venue immediately lifted the spirits. Surrounded by welcoming faces and buzzing networking, I was excited to join the launch of the event with curiosity about what future insights it will bring. For me, one of the underlying themes of majority of the presentation was consumer-centricity or to put it in more buzzy words – bring back the power to the people.

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