The NOMO Mindset- Using Metrics that Matter in Market Research Operations
Blog | February 12, 2024
by Rich Ratcliff, Chief Trust Officer (CTrO)
Recently we changed up our internal meeting philosophy. Simply put, we agreed if a meeting invite has nothing on the agenda you directly need to help, you can skip the meeting.
This approach is both liberating and scary – “What if I miss something critical?” If you have a good team, you won’t miss anything, I promise. I love it. This approach has made our meetings more efficient; less committees, more ownership.
The same concept can ring true in data/insights. A common FOMO in survey research relates to the idea of using a pre-survey fraud blocker. What happens if we miss out on some data that was collected? Shouldn’t we at least review all of it?
Within market research there is a love for data that borders on hoarding. In the past, obtaining actionable data for measuring operations was challenging. With today’s data abundance, we face a new challenge: a real need need for meticulous and integrated curation.
Arthur de Villemandy’s had a great line about shifting this mindset, “Curation isn’t about accumulating; it’s about the art of non-choice.”
FOMO morphs into NOMO (Necessity of Missing Out).
Just because we collect and store a data point, it does not mean we should present it…until it’s needed to answer a question. Drowning in vast datasets hinders efficiency, wastes time and frustrates us. The NOMO mindset urges us to integrate focused data into every decision, emphasizing relevance in both strategic and day-to-day choices.
Consider a project manager seeking data to mitigate potential issues or diagnose problems. Drowning in data in that process is counterproductive and causes delays, increases expenses, and decreases the employees’ job satisfaction.
NOMO challenges us to ask the right questions early, so the necessary answers are available later.
The Right Questions
What’s the specific objective with this data?
- Do I need to add another sample source to my project?
- What sample source performs the best?
Is the data directly relevant to the problem?
- Who caused the spike in fraud?
- Who can manage the recently sold projects?
Can we distill the data into actionable insights without sifting through irrelevant information?
- What are each partner’s stats for the year for next year’s strategy?
- Who are my top 10 10 clients this quarter?
In practice, NOMO prompts operational leaders to create metrics and reports that emphasize precision over quantity. This is truly a ‘less is more’ approach. In the age of data abundance, data and insights curation is a strategic necessity. Embracing NOMO liberates us from data overload while focusing on actionable insights for success in market research operations.
How we walk this talk
With this in mind, we just went through a significant insights upgrade with our NavigatOR platform. Our obsessive focus on what to present was our north star. It’s great we have an abundance of data. But the primary goal is to share insights on dashboards that help MRX Operations leaders to thrive. These are the kinds of the dashboards that also make our meetings way more efficient.
I am still not crazy about meetings, but I can be rest assured that when I attend, it will be productive and we’ll be prepared to take real action.