One of the most important aspects for sustaining a business from a regular client, Agencies have to constantly provide more services in terms of IVAs (Insight Value Adds) within the similar budgets. Else there is a risk of losing the client to competition which employs new techniques or boutique agencies where the overhead costs are less. Secondly, you have to lower the costs to retain the client business for similar scope. In either case, you will need to think around ways you can bring in operational efficiencies for the already set processes so that you can maintain previous margins and profits. Barring which, sustaining the client business becomes a burden with diminishing margins and profits. A classic problem faced by the senior management of any B2B service company.

Before we re-invent the wheel and think of completely different approach, it is important to understand the existing project work flow and identify systems and processes in the following buckets:

• STOP – Categorize unwanted or repetitive processes under the STOP bucket

• START – Categorize new processes that will replace the processes under ‘STOP’ bucket. The newer processes must have both time and cost advantage

• CONTINUE – Categorize absolutely important and must have processes under the CONTINUE bucket

So, for data based consultancy and management firm – there are 5 most critical automation initiatives which can benefit end client pricing and productivity goals –

• 01Database Preparation Automation: For templated research studies, fix variable labels and use standardized scaling of response/answer options. Wording can be customized as per the category/brand context.

• 02Questionnaire Scripting Automation: Significant amount of time can be saved with automating the scripting. Survey can be launched within few minutes instead of several days its take to launch. With the availability of Panel APIs, the benefits of survey automation is exponentials.

• 03Data processing Automation: Deploy universal data processing automation tools, to generate required data outputs. These outputs can be in various shapes and formats –

a. Data cleaning

b. Data harmonization

c. Basic tabulations

d. Advanced tabulations

e. Data formats that feed into dashboards – Custom/Power BI/Tableau/Dapresy etc.

f. Raw data format required for modeling


• 04Dashboard Automation: With standardized variables and scaling, one can easily connect the raw data to a real-time dashboard. And these dashboard can be released to client stakeholders almost immediately once the survey is live.

• 05Report Automation: Report templates can be loaded with in the Automation tool – Offline or Online with pre-loaded slide layout, slide design and chart visualization as per desired design themes used by the agencies/companies. Reports with actual data can be downloaded or exported almost immediately once the data is loaded or marked as complete.

Other good to have business process automation initiatives which can help improve efficiencies include –

• 1. Advanced Analytics Automation
• 2. Embedded AI for analyzing Big Data, Multiple data sources and Unstructured Data such as Text or Image.
• 3. Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

To know more, email us at info@grpslab.com