The 7 Best Market Research Podcasts

Mobile technology is rapidly transforming the business landscape. We have written extensively on its effects on market research and online survey methodologies.

The rise of podcasting is another popular side effect. In 2014, podcast listening increased 25% in the U.S., while nearly 1 in 3 Americans reported listening to a podcast. In addition, the number of unique monthly podcast listeners tripled to 75 million from 25 million five years ago—with an average of more than 91,000 podcasts produced a year.

There is demand and there is supply for podcasts, and there is certainly both when it comes to market research.

First, though, some may wonder, about the history and the sudden renaissance of the podcast.

The word podcast was coined early in 2004 in an article in The Guardian. It referred to audio files that can be streamed or downloaded from the internet. Although lauded as an emerging form of media, podcasts never truly exploded, remaining more of a niche expression or vanity venture for popular figures.

Then came the explosion of mobile technology. It has made accessing podcasts effortless as they can be streamed on any mobile device (and downloaded into hard drives or cloud accounts). Podcasts are just as available in vehicles through such services as Apple Car Play, Android Auto, and Stitcher Dash. Furthermore, in an era of competitive content and inbound marketing, podcasts are that extra digital mile a company or individual can harness to stay ahead of the game (not to mention podcasting’s relative low overhead).

So while crunching numbers or deciphering the psychology of consumers, why not play a podcast at work or while driving in traffic? After all, podcasts are just another symptom of the 21st-century individual’s thirst and ability to handle a wide range of information.

With all of this in mind, here are the top six podcasts we recommend for market research:

1. American Marketing Association Podcasts: Not a single show, but an entire list of podcasts—ranging from thought leadership to mobile marketing. Branding, ROIs, market trends…it’s all there with a varied but knowledgeable guest list.

2. HBR IdeaCast: The Harvard Business Review has long been regarded as the leading resource for business research, and their Podcast doesn’t miss a beat on this. You can’t go wrong when some of its guests include Google CEO Eric Schmidt, as well as a slew of Harvard business professors and Wall Street exemplars.

3. AdAge Outlook: This podcast certainly deals with marketing news, and it’s second to none when it comes to market, product, and research trends. Whether it’s understanding millennial media habits or Hispanic buying preferences, understanding brand failures or Holiday shopping predictions, this is the podcast to download.

4. Market Recap Podcast: Bernie Schaeffer, Chairman and CEO of Schaeffer’s Investment Research, and his staff take the listener on a vast journey into market analysis. They discuss all topics Wall Street from a contrarian perspective.

5. Edge of the Web Radio: Although it focuses on online forms of marketing, this podcast does concentrate on the latest tech trends and how they may impact various forms of research. It provides very interesting discussions with round-table guests on where marketing is headed in this fast-changing world.

6. The BeanCast: The show proclaims itself as the “best marketing podcast anywhere.” Many in the industry agree with this claim, as do its high ratings. Veteran podcaster Bob Knorpp (also founder of AdAge Outlook) brings a weekly episode pregnant with the finest in marketing, advertising, and public relations.

7. Actually: A new venture by a joint venture of Quartz and Marketplace, combining the best of old and new podcasting. The show explores global business and entrepreneurship from a very intimate yet timely angle. The first episode was broadcast from Havana, dealing with the new market in Cuba, so you know this podcast means business for businesses.

There are definitely many other podcasts dealing with market research and its satellite topics. Like anything on the internet, though, it comes down to personal preference in the vast sea of free or affordable digital choices. It might take a little search on Google or iTunes (the latter which does a fit job of ranking), but the data in the form of sound waves is widely available.

If an individual wants to start a podcast on market research (or its satellite topics), in order to go that extra digital mile of competition, it’s actually not difficult or costly. Digital Trends provides an approachable but thorough tutorial. Regardless of what side of the microphone you choose to be, podcasts offer another dimension to the best possible market research.