The New Role of Market Research

Today’s guest blogger is Dev Das, Founder of Expleo Insight, a consulting and market research company specializing in emerging biotech and pharma (see bio below).  Dev has several years of experience in big pharma as well as running his own business so he understands the challenges and needs on both sides of the market research equation.
 
Trying to compete in an increasingly competitive market with fewer resources?  It’s become the name of the game these days for most companies, both large and small.  Startup companies have always been resource constrained due to tight budgets. Now, with a glut of choices and minimal differentiation, mid and larger sized companies are also feeling the pinch.  
 
And as large companies, as well, struggle to keep growing profitably, there is an urgent need for more operating efficiencies.  Success now lies in being more flexible, agile and efficient than others.
 
The rapid advances in technology and telecommunications have provided a plethora of options to tap into as companies grapple with growth and differentiation.  They have also created the need for a new type of market researcher.  This new strategic market researcher can no longer solely rely on methods from the past.  They will need to be open to piloting and experimenting with new approaches, and with how to channel the flood of new data and technology into actionable strategic insights.  
 
A big challenge and opportunity lies ahead of us as market researchers … 
can we harness the power of our new options in crowdsourcing, mobile technology, social media and big data spaces, to provide the insights we seek WITHOUT being inundated with more data dumps and analysis paralysis, or in plain English, too much information with only a small percentage being useful.
 
 
Dev Das has a  20+ year career which has spanned the biotech, pharmaceutical, and consumer packaged goods industries.   Immediately prior to creating Expleo Insight, Dev built the Strategic Insights & Analytics function in Auxilium Pharmaceuticals.  As Group Director, he successfully managed the market research, analytics/forecasting, and competitive intelligence needs for the company portfolio.  Prior to Auxilium, Dev led the market research efforts for several early and late-stage opportunities within Virology, Immunology, and Cardiovascular/Metabolics areas at Bristol-Myers Squibb.  Dev started his career in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry with market leaders, Procter & Gamble and Kraft Foods, which gave him a solid foundation of the underlying principles of effective marketing.
 
Dev’s educational background includes a BS from the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai and an MBA from the Case Western Reserve University.  He is currently pursuing a doctorate at the Pace University.