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Summary
Market researchers and user researchers face similar pressures: their work is becoming increasingly democratized and gaining attention (and scrutiny) from their organizations' stakeholders. They're also converging upon each other, sharing methods and space in the funnel. Where should they draw the line between their practices, and where should they join forces? Jemma Ahmed, Head of Insights at Badoo, explores the growing intersection between user and market researchers.
Key Insights
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User research is expanding its scope to answer bigger strategic questions traditionally owned by market research.
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Market research is adopting more agile, qualitative, and faster methods inspired by user research to meet digital demands.
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The traditional sharp distinctions between market research and user research methods and questions are rapidly blurring.
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Brand is now often viewed as what a company does, making product design and UX research key to expressing brand, necessitating collaboration.
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Modern segmentation is becoming data-driven and behavioral, diminishing the historical segmentation/persona divide between the disciplines.
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Customer experience as a holistic view of all touchpoints pushes market and user research teams closer to collaborate.
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Researcher identity and professional tribalism remain key barriers to collaboration despite method and goal convergence.
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Cross-training helps but not all researchers should be expected to master both market and user research methods—comfort with language is sufficient for some.
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Combining market and user research insights through frameworks like voice of the customer improves prioritization and decision-making.
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Acknowledging and addressing fears and territoriality in research teams is essential to foster collaboration and prevent duplication.
Notable Quotes
"User researchers feel like ferrets—nervous hunters still wanting to be wolves, confident and top of the food chain."
"Market research often has an air of the cat—arrogant, experienced, and comfortable inside, less agile than user research."
"User research is going up funnel, answering bigger questions about what to build and who to target, once the domain of market research."
"Market research no longer has the luxury of long timelines; it must be faster and borrow qualitative, agile methods."
"Brand is not just what we say anymore, it’s how we act—making product teams central to brand expression."
"Segmentation is becoming the domain of neither market nor user research alone; it’s merging into data-driven, measurable profiles."
"The sum of all customer touchpoints—marketing, product, sales—means researchers need to work closer together for holistic insights."
"Researchers’ sense of identity is deeply rooted and can cause friction when disciplines try to merge or collaborate."
"You can’t expect someone skilled in one research method to seamlessly switch to another without training and support."
"Ultimately, insight is insight—what matters is robust data quality, not guarding methods or samples for fear of dilution."
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