Podcast: Jeremy Antoniuk of Rep Data talks about evolving market research sampling

We spoke with Jeremy Antoniuk, COO of Rep Data, on our podcast recently. Rep Data is a full-service data collection firm and Jeremy leads their operations group, which includes service delivery, technology, human resources and finance. We talked with him about how the sample space is evolving - and needs to evolve - to meet new and existing challenges surrounding things like quality issues, finding niche audiences, supply and demand and more. He shared how approaching market research sampling in a new way can provide solutions for some of these new and ongoing issues. 

Jeremy shared that sample quality issues are increasing, due in part to careless, reckless or professional respondents and various types of fraud. This, coupled with pandemic-related supply and demand impacts give us cause to take a new look at how we source sample and collect survey data. This can wreak havoc on the ensuing data, the analysis and ultimately, business decisions. He says that if someone is investing money and resources into executing a research project, it’s highly likely they will be using that data for some pretty important decisions. Solving sample challenges up front means that market research will deliver more solid, quality data.

Most of these issues are nothing new. In fact, that’s why Rep Data was founded in mid-2020 (right in the middle of the pandemic) - in order to address persistent issues in the sample space, including quality, consistency, feasibility, and service. Jeremy joined the company not only because of his existing relationship with founder, Patrick Stokes, but because Rep Data was offering something different - better quality, better service, better feasibility - from the ground up. 

He went on to talk more about the critical, historical issue of data quality, from both a supply and demand perspective. Suppliers need to examine the way sample is sourced, as this has a direct impact on both feasibility and quality. One way to get better results is to take an unbiased approach, where sample is drawn from multiple sources to provide more representative respondents and find those niche audiences. From a client or buyer perspective, improvements need to be made surrounding the survey itself and overall respondent experience. 

In order to improve the market research ecosystem, buyers and suppliers need to work together to solve these challenges and ensure long-term success. We talked about the macro and the micro changes that need to be made from both an industry and individual level, so insights can once again be that light-bulb moment rather than that dull glow in the background. 

For suppliers, Jeremy says they must do things like: democratize sample aggregation knowledge and best practices; partner with researchers to combine best practices; combine their research expertise with practical research fieldwork best practices; improve sample quality through rigorous methodologies; and streamline the sample procurement and fulfillment process. He introduced to us the idea of sample suppliers acting as ‘market makers’, encompassing the idea of unbiased sourcing, rigorous quality control, adding value at scale, and mutual value to both buyer and supplier.

He wrapped up by talking about next steps, working together and use of technology to streamline processes and deliver higher quality data across the board. Listen to the podcast here and subscribe on your favorite platform.