The industry is grappling toward digitization. Striking the right balance and staying relevant in the new-age digital world is the need of the hour. Companies across the globe are transforming their processes, systems, delivery models, and overall approaches to business to adapt to constant change. For organizations to embrace this change and thrive in the long run, adapting to the latest technology and market research tools/techniques becomes crucial – irrespective of region, industry, or size.

In a class by itself, this digital transformation gives businesses, a competitive advantage, thereby boosting their business to a whole new level. Furthermore, it also provides companies to explore endless possibilities and new data to analyze and understand the bigger picture, which inevitably paves a path for business leaders to develop and implement strategies unknown to the slower competition.

Praveen Nijhara, CEO, Hansa Research Group, throwing light on the present day market scenario shares, “Unfortunately, there is n’t enough money pooling in into the industry. The market research space in India is still in its nascent stage, where the data collection cost is significantly lower than the corresponding costs in the US or Europe. However, companies are not taking advantage of this, and are still succumbing to the traditional/expensive methods. We at Hansa Research are proud to say that we have evolved and are striving hard to change the mindset of people in the industry, where we provide real value for our clients.”

Adding to this, Srinivasan Raman aka Srini, Executive Director, Hansa Research Group, hysterically says, “If you don’t stay relevant, then you are axing your own-foot. Therefore, staying ahead of the curve, and embracing the digital journey is the only way forward for enterprises to become successful.”

Transforming for Growth - A Brand which Speaks for Itself
The humble beginning of Hansa Research Group led us to R K SWAMY BBDO, a creative & media Service Company that provides end-to-end communication solutions for Healthcare, Social & Rural sectors as well as specialized divisions for Interactive, CRM and HR Communications. It was launched as a full-fledged advertising agency on April 2, 1973.

Within the next few years, the company evolved into becoming one of the top ten agencies in the country, where it established itself in all the leading metro cities in India.

Today, R K SWAMY BBDO is one of India’s most accomplished advertising agencies, with over four decades of rich history of serving an array of clients across the globe. It is an integral part of the RK SWAMY HANSA Group, which has 20 business verticals in both ATL and BTL segments, and HANSA RESEARCH is one of them. At the same time, it is also a part of BBDO, which is the most awarded global agency network in the world.

In 2002, HANSA RESEARCH came into the limelight, when the company was, headed by Mr. Ashok Das as the Managing Director. Since then, there has been no looking back for the company. Initially started as an in-house market research entity for RK SWAMY HANSA Group, over a short time, it evolved into becoming a full-fledged market research company and began to serve a spectrum of clients outside the company.

"Currently, having offices in India, Singapore, and the US, HANSA RESEARCH plans to expand its presence across other geographies"

“Interestingly, during this time frame, a lot of fortunate things have happened. We were the first Indian company to have expanded, globally,” mentions Srini, profoundly.

In retrospect, the market research space in India was, mostly dominated by global players that have acquired local Indian companies. HANSA RESEARCH, on the other hand, taking it to the next level, procured a US market research firm GCR Customer Research (formerly called Gartner Custom Research) in 2006. That is the first time an Indian market research company acquired an overseas firm. That changed everything for the company in terms of leveraging in technology capabilities and serving international clients. “The Indian market research is at par with the best in the world but was, largely restricted to offshore work in India, and we just transcended the industry to another level,” stated Mr. Das, affirmatively.

Thinking beyond Market Research
As a home-grown, global market research agency, HANSA RESEARCH with offices in India, Singapore, and the US takes great pride in its work and stands abreast at the epicenter of growth. The company owns proprietary modules custom made for different industry verticals and researches in more than 77+ countries across the globe.

HANSA RESEARCH has transformed into a full-service market research agency specializing in Media, Telecom, Financial Services, Customer Products, and Technology amongst other industries. The company is known to provide custom options, where it draws the best-suited talent to deliver answers to a premium list of clients.

Few of their flagship offering includes IRS (Indian Readership Survey), BrandScan (an indigenously developed brand tracking studies), ACT (customer & channel satisfaction studies), Empower (employee satisfaction studies), IOS (Indian Outdoor Survey) and many more.

In addition to this, HANSA RESEARCH excels in custom research solutions for business decision makers in BFSI space. It utilizes an array of qualitative and quantitative approaches, where it helps clients launch new products,validate business initiatives, understand and improve customer relationships, and develop brand strategies and more.

“We partner with organizations ranging from small regional banks to global financial service institutions, where we provide methodological expertise and insights into customer needs and concerns. We take the time to understand client’s problems and find the answers, through primary research, re-analysis of existing data and data mining, or modeling, simulation, and fore casting techniques,” explicates Mr. Nijhara.

Superior analytics is a forte of HANSA RESEARCH. This capacity has been developed consistently over the years as a value addition to its clients. The company leverages its expertise and domain knowledge in not only collecting the quality data but also provides its clients the answer to difficult questions with deep insights.

Smitten by innovation and in-depth knowledge in the market research space, HANSA RESEARCH has helped organizations ranging from large enterprises to startups with its state-of-the-art deliverables. In the past few years, the company has worked on dozens of projects in B2B, B2C & B2B2C space. “Today, we are not lesser than any other global agencies. We have surpassed them all and have grown multifold over the years,”

Praveen Nijhara, CEO, Hansa Research Group
Praveen has 23+ years of rich experience across BFSI, telecom, retail & e-Commerce, automotive, and manufacturing. As a Market Research & Customer Experience(CX) expert, Praveen has provided strategic consulting to large organizations across sectors where he has helped clients across the globe build customer-centric strategies to maximize business outcomes.

Before joining Hansa Research Group as CEO, Praveen has worked in multiple job roles, ranging from an executive position to senior leadership roles, where he was the Senior Executive Director at Kantar IMRB and Head, Customer Experience & Loyalty Business. At Kantar IMRB, Praveen has played a pivotal role in establishing the company’s CX business as a dominant market leader in India, and he has been, awarded for the same as ‘50 Most Impactful Customer Experience Professionals.’

He is an avid writer and speaker too. He frequently shares his domain knowledge and expertise across numerous business & tech platforms. He is also a jury member for various business awards & events.

At Hansa Research, as the CEO of the company, Praveen wears multiple hats, where he ensures to leverage upon his experience to explore newer trends and opportunities for the growth of the business. Overall, he drives the performance measuring for the operations, sales, and other departments to align with the organization’s strategy/mission.

Srinivasan Raman, Executive Director, Hansa Research Group
With over two decades of experience in market research, Srinivasan is one of the early leading qualitative researchers of India. He has significant exposure across various research tools(qualitative, quantitative, ethnography, semiotics, and cultural research). Srinivasan has successfully managed strategic business needs for several premiere clients.

Srinivasan was formerly the President at Pathfinders, the research division of Lowe Lintas, and before that, he had a long stint of 17 years at ORG MARG A C Nielsen.

Srinivasan is one of the early adopters of qualitative research who created a successful transaction of qualitative insights into the traditional quantitative measurement tools. Srinivasan has had a broad exposure across various verticals and has extensive experience in idea generation and consumer insights research. Advertising research, brand equity, and tracking have been his forte for several key account groups.

Srinivasan has a post-graduate degree in social welfare and a diploma in business management from IMC.

HANSA RESEARCH demonstrates exceptional company culture, where it harnesses the power of growth and positive-oomph throughout the organization

Most importantly, the two-decade-long journey of HANSA RESEARCH exemplifies the true spirit of trust and good faith. A repeat client speaks volume about its credibility in the industry. Leaving no stones unturned, HANSA RESEARCH offers an entire gamut of market research services and solutions, which includes Marketing Communications & Strategy Services, Interactive Marketing Services, CRM and Analytics Services, Full Service Global Custom Research Service, market Research Global Custom Research Services, India Market Entry Services and many more.

The Culture that defines HANSA RESEARCH
HANSA RESEARCH demonstrates exceptional company culture, where it harnesses the power of growth and positive-oomph throughout the organization. The breadth of talent that exists within the company defines everything for HANSA RESEARCH. “At the end of the day, people make the difference, and the thought leadership has been the driving force for the business. Our work culture speaks for itself,” says Mr. Nijhara.

“Culture is an important aspect for us if the culture is positive, collaborative and people are happy working with each other, then the company benefits,” smiles Srini, “we at Hansa are a professional company, run informally.”

He further adds, “Not being a part of a global entity, and acting as an independent group, has helped us make smart and informed decisions over the years. That has also provided a sense of ownership to explore newer ideas, processes, and unexplored possibilities.”

Embracing an open culture, team HANSA RESEARCH always walks the extra miles, where it ensures to deliver cost-effective, quality, and positive results for its clients. Today, employees at HANSA RESEARCH have been, widely regarded as some of the best researchers, field, and analysis executives in the country, and needless to say HANSA RESEARCH is seen as one of the most lively market research companies to work for.

The Growth Way Forward
Mumbai based HANSA RESEARCH has come a long way from where it all started. The company has been growing consistently over the past 20 years, and the credit goes to its team, who have been instrumental in shaping the company to reach the global map.

Currently, having offices in India, Singapore, and the US, HANSA RESEARCH plans to expand its presence across other countries. “We are at an expansion phase at the moment, and in the coming days, we will be exploring newer avenues and areas of growth to further, boost the business to the next level,” avers Srini.

Going ahead, HANSA RESEARCH is said to remain ubiquitous in the market research space, where it will be at the forefront of innovation, technology, and authenticity. “We are here to solve complex business problems for our clients and help them stay ahead of the competition. The trust and faith that our clients have put in us for all these years, has been immense, and we are going to continue to deliver impeccable results for them. Be it startups to large enterprises, we are here to re-define their business to the next level,” concludes Praveen, on a humble note,“In other words, we are large enough to handle and small enough to care.”

Message from the Industry Thought Leaders
Praveen Nijhara & Srinivasan Raman
A true leader believes in a collaborative approach, where he/she constantly looks for newer avenues and acts upon it promptly. More than anything, he/she should harness the power of growth and secure the future for everyone involved in the ecosystem.

Another rare quality, a leader should possess, is the ability to listen. The more you stay quiet, and the more you listen, the better! Because people always want to be heard. Once heard, they feel safe and like the positive environment all around them. That will automatically drive progress.

In addition to this, whenever a problem arises, a leader should act decisively and check the views from everybody. However, he/she should only spend a minimal amount of time in discussing, and finally make a decision quickly, when required.

Ashok Das, Advisor, Hansa Research Group
Ashok Das held the mantle of Managing Director of Hansa Research India and HansalGCR Custom Research USA, splitting his time between the U.S. and India.

He helped the Group to emerge as one of the fastest-growing Market Research operations, spanning the U.S. and India, with over 250 employees. Widely known as an original thinker, he considers himself a market researcher by soul.

An IIT/IIM graduate, Ashok's background includes 14 years at ORG-MARG Research in India, where he served as the President, Customized and Media Research. He created several ground breaking studies, including INTAM (Indian National Television Audience Measurement), the IRS (Indian Readership Survey) and the HPI (Household Premiumness Index), a new consumer classification system that has been, welcomed as the superior way of classifying Indian consumers.