86% of consumers believe businesses rely too heavily on assumptions, new iReach research reveals

New research from iReach Insights reveals growing consumer expectations around how organisations make decisions, with 86% of Irish adults believing businesses rely too heavily on assumptions instead of real consumer feedback. 

The nationally representative research also found that 94% of consumers believe organisations should use public opinion research more often when making decisions, while 89% believe consumers expect brands to listen and respond more quickly than they did five years ago. 

The findings point to increasing expectations among consumers for organisations to be more responsive, informed and audience-led in how they communicate, develop products and services, and make strategic decisions. 

As brands, businesses and organisations navigate increasingly fast-changing consumer attitudes and behaviours, the research suggests there is growing demand for decisions to be informed by real audience understanding rather than assumptions. 

Commenting on the findings, iReach CEO and Co-Founder Oisín Byrne said: 

"Consumers today are constantly sharing opinions, reacting to brands and shaping conversations in real time. What our research shows is that people increasingly expect organisations to pay attention to those views and use them to inform decision making." 

"The pace of change in consumer attitudes and expectations means organisations can no longer rely solely on historical data, instinct or assumptions. Whether it's communications, marketing, customer experience or wider business strategy, there is a growing expectation that decisions should be informed by genuine audience understanding." 

"For marketers, communicators and business leaders, the challenge is often not recognising the value of consumer insight, but being able to access it quickly enough to keep pace with changing sentiment, emerging trends and evolving consumer expectations." 

The findings come at a time when organisations are facing increasing pressure to justify decisions, demonstrate return on investment and respond more effectively to changing consumer needs. In this environment, timely audience feedback is becoming an increasingly important part of communications, marketing and business planning. 

As part of its continued investment in consumer insight solutions, iReach has recently launched iReach Conversations Pro, a new platform designed to provide organisations with faster and more flexible access to audience feedback through surveys, polls and discussion-based research. 

The platform complements iReach's existing research and market intelligence services and is designed to help organisations gather timely insight to support communications, marketing and business decision making.