Empowering Brands with Consumer Intelligence: AMI’s Hybrid Approach to Market Research

CXOToday has engaged in an exclusive interview with Mr. Pradeep Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director, Axis My India.

1. How does AMI integrate traditional research methodologies with technology to provide brands with insights?

At Axis My India, we have deeply researched the pulse of the nation having reached upto 19 Cr. of the total 25 crs. households of India. Our research led consulting approach helps solve business challenges which is enabled by our ability to provide fast and accurate insights from the ground. The way we get fast and accurate insights from the ground is by blending the depth of traditional approaches with the efficiency and scalability of modern technology. Our starting point is to clearly outline what we aim to achieve through the research, such as understanding consumer preferences, testing new product concepts, or measuring brand perception, and the right methodology is then deployed to achieve that objective.

2. Can you elaborate on the specific technologies/ tools that AMI has adopted to conduct market surveys?

We use advanced technology backed data collection through CAPI, CATI, AMI App, IVRs with additional capability of advanced analytics & BI. All our tools is indigenous and has been created by our internal teams keeping in consideration the Indian audiences and nuances.

3. What kind of framework has AMI implemented to ensure quality control?

We truly believe that Quality control in market research is crucial to ensure the reliability, validity, and accuracy of data collected and analyzed. A tailor-made software is used by our quality control department to monitor and manage quality. It provides end to end monitoring, including tracking of interviewer movements during the interviews, GPS tracking for location, monitoring and preventing skipping of any questions, resolving any device related issues remotely, and so on. Each tablet we use for surveys has a 100% Voice Recording Storage Facility which is taken post-respondent consent and is used for quality analysis. The field staffs, supervisors, moderator and facilitator undergo extensive training on various aspects related to the project before they go to the field. We have a 200+ team of quality analysts whose job is to make sure that all the guidelines are followed by the team

4. AMI has recently collaborated with Google Cloud to launch the people empowerment platform ‘a’ App. Can you shed light on the app and its role in bridging the gap between citizens and government?

The goal of the ‘a’ app & People Empowerment platform being built in partnership with Google is to connect underserved Indian citizens to the right government welfare schemes and sources of income. Given India’s scale and disparities in levels of literacy, income, and tech access, it is designed to reach citizens through a phygital model with 3 touch points:

1. App touchpoint for smartphones – the ‘a’ app offers a self-serve smartphone experience in 13 Indian languages
2. Toll-free number touch points, especially for feature phone users. Again in 13 Indian languages.
3. Offline centers where citizens can walk in to seek help.

Axis My India’s uniqueness lies in its deep-rooted understanding of India’s challenges at a district level and a large field force that can provide on-ground support to those that need it the most.

5. Can you tell us about the vision and the offerings of the ‘a’ app?

This platform was built in line with Axis My India’s vision: “To Connect and Resolve Problems of All 25 Crore (250 Mn) Indian Households”. Over time, one hopes to see this platform become an integral part of the lives of underserved citizens and help them benefit from citizens services and programs run by the government, corporate and social sectors. Axis My India’s massive scale and expertise affords us an unprecedented opportunity to bring information equity between rural and urban India through our platform.

6. Can you explain the significance of research-led consumer intelligence?

Research-led consumer intelligence is increasingly becoming an indispensable component of modern business. The biggest need any marketer has at this moment is to get the real pulse of the consumers and accordingly make informed decisions be it behaviour patterns, consumer journey mapping, or future and current potential of a product. The reason why many start ups have failed recently is because they are not able to gauge true market potential. This intelligence if available can help them measure real valuation and demand of a product based on consumers current need and future market potential. Our research led consulting approach helps solve these business challenges. Our work doesn’t stop at the strategy stage, we also help brands in constant monitoring and execution of these growth plans and keep a measure of the overall impact.