If you lead a research team (whether for Customer Insights, CX, or UX), there is a good chance you have offshored some of your survey research data analysis work over the past several years. And for good reason: for many companies, offshoring has delivered notable cost savings.
But recently, some researchers have been finding that once successful offshoring arrangements have become more challenging. Here are three common sources of pain I have been hearing about from my clients:
Here are three pain points I keep hearing from clients.
- Offshore data analysts overlooking patterns that should have been escalated immediately. In one case, a client’s offshore team failed to flag survey response combinations that were clearly internally inconsistent, and thus missed flagging a clear data-quality problem, simply because they were not taking the time to read the data before sending in their deliverable.
- High turnover disrupting workflows and compromising data quality. High turnover at offshore firms is common. One client saw four different analysts cycle through their account in under six months before they decided to find a better option.
- Knowledge transfer promises unfulfilled. In these cases, the offshoring vendor promise a collaborative relationship between their data analysts and the clients’ survey research teams, but it never happened. The offshoring partner’s business model (understandably) priortizies efficiency and automation, so data analysts aren’t given the time or incentive to collaborate more.
The net effect is not simply operational inefficiency. It can be a reduction in survey research data quality. When data analysis is performed inconsistently or without attention to context, the researcher writing the survey report ends up frustrated in their goal of delivering high quality customer insights.
US-based Contractors for Skills and Quality
There is another option: getting U.S.-based data analysis support from survey research specialists who understand both the methods and the research context.
At Research Rockstar, we have 40+ data analytics contractors in our staffing pool who can offer you:
- Data analysis support ranging from basic descriptives and banner tables to multivariate analysis such as factor and cluster, regression, discrete choice/conjoint, and MaxDiff.
- Work completed in your preferred tools such as SPSS, Q, R, and Sawtooth.
- Integration of multiple data sources (for those projects that may require combining survey data with 1st party or other data).
- Client-facing presentations of more technical analysis, acting as a virtual team member.
- Deep vertical industry value-add, such as past experience analyzing survey data for auto, CPG, financial services, hospitality, medical device, online gaming, pharma, retail, and more. Rather than have your survey data analyzed generically, you can have it analyzed by someone who can spot red flags and make meaningful recommendations for how to treat specific variables.
If offshored data analysis help has started to become problematic, now may be the time to consider a US-based option: working with contractors who have the skills and knowledge to boost your team’s work.
Budget Scenarios for On-Demand Market Researchers
Through our Rent-a-Researcher Service, engagements can be scoped for as small or large as you need. Here are some examples (all varying by number of variables and specific requirements):
Here are typical examples (all varying by number of variables and specific requirements):
- Smaller projects — 10 to 20 hours of data cleaning, weighting, and banner tables — typically fall in the $1,400 to $3,000 range.
- Mid-sized projects — design and analysis for pricing studies, discrete choice/conjoint, or MaxDiff projects, typically requiring 20 to 30 hours — generally land in the $3,000 to $5,500 range.
- Larger projects — 50 to 80 hours of advanced multivariate or modeling work, including support on presentations and workshops of the results — often fall in the $6,500 to $14,000 range.
If you need broader short-term market research staffing beyond data analysis alone, we can scope that too.
When to Switch from Offshore to US-based Survey Data Analysis
A few signals that it’s time to make the move:
- Research managers are spending too much time QC’ing tables, banners, cross-tabs, and analyst deliverables.
- Manager-level researchers are stepping in to handle analyst tasks just to keep projects moving.
- Turnover has become high enough that project knowledge and reporting consistency are slipping.
- Methodologically complex work—conjoint, MaxDiff, segmentation, or SEM—is being assigned to analysts without the right level of experience.
- Internal stakeholders are asking tougher questions about data quality, weighting decisions, or methodological rigor.
If two or more of these sound familiar, a US-based contract market researcher is probably the right next conversation.
Ready to See Candidate Profiles?
If offshoring challenges are creating rework, delays, or uncertainty, now may be the right time to consider a US-based partner who can support both quality and continuity.
Contact us at [email protected] or request a freelance market research analyst profile here.
