DIY vs. Full-Service Insights Partners: Which is Right for Your Company?

Companies looking to expand their market, customer, and brand insights efforts face a tough dilemma: should they keep it in-house with a DIY platform or outsource to an external full-service firm? The decision is far from cut and dry. When it comes to DIY vs. full-service insights partners, understanding the pros and cons of each is key to making the best choice for your organization’s needs. Let’s explore both options to help you navigate this critical decision. 

Before we jump into pros and cons, let’s talk about one of the biggest drivers behind the DIY vs. full-service decision: cost. While DIY platforms were once significantly cheaper than full-service firms, that price gap is narrowing. Although DIY remains less expensive, expenses can rise with advanced add-ons, user numbers, response volumes, consulting services, customizations, integrations, premium support, and in-house time and expertise. 

Overall, basic DIY can be a lower cost option when used for smaller projects or for companies with limited budgets. However, full-service may be the more cost-effective option when examining the additional costs involved in implementing and running a platform for your customer experience management. If budget is your biggest purchase-driver, make sure you understand all collective costs associated with both solutions, especially in the long term, before investing. 

Insights Accuracy and Storytelling

Studies and programs built by seasoned, full-service insights firms are intentionally designed to support decision-making. They ensure accurate and reliable findings, and help you interpret the data and how to best use it through their data storytelling experience. Some can also consult with you and your stakeholders to create informed action plans based on the results. Full-service firms also have the experience and industry expertise to gauge what’s happening in the overall market that might have an impact on your program and customers’ experiences and can weave that into their storytelling and reporting.

Framing Objectives and Questions

Full-service firms have years of experience precisely defining the right survey questions and objectives to get the exact insights you need. They know which techniques to use for different question types and how to structure surveys to best meet collective goals while remaining objective. Mistakes in this area could jeopardize your project from the beginning, so this is a big advantage of working with a full-service firm.

Advanced Tools and Analytics

For complex projects and objectives in particular, advanced tools and analytics are often necessary to accurately answer your business questions and provide impactful insights. Full-service firms have access to sophisticated advanced analytical tools, expertise in multiple methodologies, and, most importantly, experienced statisticians who are adept at leveraging them. These either may not be available to DIY platform users, or in-house teams may not have the resources or time to accurately execute advanced analytics from start to finish. 

Capacity and Scalability

Full-service insights firms have more capacity than in-house teams to manage and scale efforts appropriately. Even for more established in-house insights teams, capacity can be a bigger problem than expertise. In-house teams may have all the know-how and tools, but likely have other competing priorities that erode their capacity to handle and scale complex programs with the attention they need over time.

Higher Level Rigor

Full-service firms can offer a higher level of rigor on critical aspects of the analytics and insights process. For example, they can provide comprehensive support in developing goals, including specifics like employee incentive plans, priority identification, and tolerance levels for metrics reported in high-risk reports (like strategic scorecards). They also use rigorous methods to determine corporate KPIs that influence investments and greater business goals. This thoroughness not only enhances business outcomes but also ensures error-free data and interpretation. While DIY platforms can ensure very basic rigor with built-in templates and standardized processes, they fall short on these crucial strategic considerations that strongly influence the overall success of your efforts.

Reduced Flexibility

In contrast to the freedom in-house DIY research can provide, using a full-service insights firm can sometimes reduce flexibility if the need for a sudden shift arises mid-project. You may find it a little more challenging to quickly pause, pivot, or reprioritize your efforts according to your organization’s changing needs as external firms often have set internal processes they follow and many moving pieces to address. In some cases, this can hinder your ability to adapt efficiently to a rapid change in business goals or internal timelines.

Potential Lack of Control

Relying on an external firm may mean you have less control over process and could face issues with miscommunication or misalignment of objectives​ if the firm isn’t a good fit. Often, full-service firms have their own proven methods, specialized training, and ways of doing things that they prefer to adhere to. Depending on your in-house data and analytics prowess and desired level of involvement, this may or may not be a deal breaker.

Less Company-Specific Knowledge

Full-service firms that regularly work within your industry have likely banked quite a bit of industry knowledge they can bring to your working relationship. But they will never know your industry and, more specifically, your business as well as you do. Sure, a good firm will seek out business intel from you to inform your research and take an interest in the kind of company dynamics that could influence your success. However, you will always be on the inside when it comes to your business whereas they don’t have that luxury. Because of this, they may not always fully understand specific needs or challenges – especially those that seem to pop up unexpectedly.

DIY and full-service research aren’t your only options. Larger businesses with multiple product and service lines (think banks or health insurance companies, for example) may take a “do-it-together” approach to their insights programs to experience the best of both worlds.  

These companies are more likely to have in-house insights or data analytics teams with a potentially higher level of expertise. Because of this, they might already have a subscription to a DIY platform that they use to collect and, to some degree, analyze data. However, as mentioned previously, they also could have a lot of competing priorities and lack the full capacity required to effectively manage and scale multifaceted customer and brand insights programs.  

In this case, these companies will usually work with a full-service firm in more of a consulting capacity to benefit from their survey design expertise, advanced analytical capabilities, and extensive participant and panel databases. Full-service firms also tend to be versed in many of the DIY platforms and can advise on best practices. 

Companies might also lean on a full-service firm for data storytelling and visualization to help empower their stakeholders to take action on insights generated from research programs. This can take some of the analysis and reporting burden off internal teams and free up leaders to focus on bigger priorities, while still allowing for collaboration and control over the insights process. It also provides the added benefit of moving forward with initiatives more quickly and confidently than with a fully DIY approach. 

Ultimately, the decision between DIY and full-service insights partners (or the hybrid “do-it-together” approach) depends on your company’s specific needs, budget, expertise, and resources. For some, the cost savings and control of basic DIY platforms may be appealing, while others may value the expertise, advanced tools, and comprehensive support provided by full-service firms.

Something else to consider that will strongly impact your decision is the complexity of your needs, business challenges, and industry forces.

Overall, DIY platforms may be ideal for those with lower insights budgets and more in-house expertise, offering control and flexibility for simpler projects as well as possible business system integration. However, they come with the risk of bias and errors, limited analytical tools, and complexity in managing the entire process.

Full-service firms provide comprehensive support and advanced tools, accurate and reliable results, as well as efficient management of large-scale efforts and tracking programs. This route may be more ideal for complex projects and organizations that don’t have a team with specialized training or one with limited capacity to manage end-to-end efforts.

Assess your organization’s capabilities, budget, project or program requirements, and long-term objectives to choose the approach that best aligns with your vision for where to take your insights efforts next.