The first challenge is that our industry has no universal definition of quality. What’s more, there exists no clear path to establishing the parameters required to craft that definition. Factor in inconsistent demand from brands for high levels of service, and we’re in a perfect storm. One that threatens to undermine our entire profession.

Yet, we’re missing the forest for the trees. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is recognized worldwide as the authority on quality management. The market research and insights standard (ISO 20252:2019 ) establishes what it means to run our businesses efficiently, ethically and securely. By starting here, we can gain the traction we need.

Some MRX organizations, including MRS, prioritise compliance to the standard. And they know that achieving certification is easier and, in most cases, exponentially less expensive than their members think. It increases profitability by infusing the highest efficiency into our operations, from project reproducibility, training and document management to subcontractor oversight, security and more. For certified companies, ISO proved its worth in the past two years as others struggled to pivot during the pandemic.

The certification itself does not define quality. ISO’s framework gets us on the same page, without sacrificing any competitive advantage. Only by aligning our interpretations of “best practices” can we build a universally accepted definition of what quality is. From there, the divergence between those certified and those not will widen. Our clients’ expectations will increase, and by default, brands will be forced to follow suit.

The fact is that if we continue on our current trajectory, we are effectively saying that quality doesn’t matter. It is our responsibility — to our own companies and our industry as a whole — to change that story. To assist, MRS has arranged for members to receive a 25% discount on copies of BS ISO 20252. To order, contact publications@mrs.org.uk or tel: 0207566 1853.

You can also visit cirq.org/qualityforall to learn more. Or reach out directly to Juliana Wood, CIRQ managing director, at juliana.wood@cirq.org or tel: +1 202-370-6318.