March 2017

24 APAC / March 2017 , 1702AP48 The Customer Comes First Angela Orsaris talks about the market research industry in the APAC region and about the firm’s strong customer satisfaction values. Established over 25 years ago, The Market Intelligence Co. is a leader and trusted specialist in customised market intelligence. The firm’s specialised expertise is in business-to-business and industrial markets, as well as Government. As a privately owned and independent Australian company with a solid track record in the industry, the firm does not utilise off-the-shelf products or services; all of its projects are customised using a range of solutions to meet clients’ specific needs. With offices in Australia and New Zealand, and a network of preferred partners in Asia, The Market Intelligence Co. conducts multi-disciplined projects across the APAC region. Angela Orsaris explains that the firm’s clients and its people are at the centre of everything it does, and that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach is not appropriate to meet clients’ needs. “The Market Intelligence Co. strives to become a trusted partner of its clients and to provide them with the most relevant and impactful insights, in a timely and cost effective manner” begins Angela. “To achieve this, The Market Intelligence Co. uses a wide range of tools to meet our clients’ needs. And it doesn’t just end with project delivery. The Market Intelligence Co. then works with clients to get the most from our work/the project. This work includes action plans, development of KPIs, benchmarks, help with training and staff communications, including conducting roadshows across all levels of clients’ staff and partner organisations.” “What makes us different is that our clients truly come first. We recognise that we are partners with our clients and not just suppliers. This leads to a more genuine and honest relationship where we don’t sugar coat things and we tell it like it is whereas others might just tell the client what they want to hear. “We have a strong client service ethic and a focus on quality throughout the entire project process. We are passionate about achieving the best possible results for our clients and their clients – results they can depend on, results that drive their businesses into the future.” Keeping abreast of emerging developments within the industry is a must for a business of this type, and Angela tells us just how the firm, and its dedicated workforce, ensure they stay ahead of the curve. “We continually attend local and international events and seminars, and not just those related to our profession, but also those that are complementary to our profession and those that are aligned to our major client industry sectors,” says Angela. “We continually learn to stay abreast of the competition; to provide leading edge services to our clients and to maintain our qualified practices and industry accreditations. “We also work closely with our partner network and suppliers both here and overseas to share learnings and benchmark best practice outputs; and we fuse technologies/tools to meet new challenges and create new offerings.” With regards to the future, Angela foresees developments within the market research industry, including the exponential growth of new technologies and platforms; the industry becoming increasingly commoditised; and market consolidation of the sector. “Advances in technology and the arrival of big data have led to a proliferation of non-traditional competition. Any company can use its own internal resources to gain information, however, it requires a level of expertise to know which areas to focus on and how to get the best information out of specific market segments and stakeholders, in the context of the client’s business objectives. “We want to help people understand their business or market better, so they can develop and improve – but that’s much more than just data or supplying a metric or a number. It is actually trying to understand the motivations and drivers behind those numbers or metrics so that they can understand their markets, their customers and work with them to provide better products/services and/or customer service and support. “At The Market Intelligence Co., we stay ahead of emerging technologies worldwide and invest in further development and fine-tuning those technologies that are relevant to our clients, e.g. on-line portals for real time information, data mining tools, modelling, mobile technology, etc. This will continue to be a focus area in the next couple of years.” Angela also shares with us what she sees for The Market Intelligence Co. within the next five years. “We want to be an even better version of our current selves. We want to continue to be the trusted partner of leading companies in the APAC region, in the industry sectors that we are familiar with today as well as expand our expertise into new industry sectors that have a logical fit with our capabilities and business approach. “We shall continue to be flexible to adapt to the changing market/industry conditions and demands.”