Some market research challenges come up in every project. And when you’re running a global study, those challenges can be even more difficult to face. They cover:
- Data accuracy
- Cultural relevance
- Regulatory compliance
- Localization errors
- Understanding meaning & intent
- Dealing with an overwhelming amount of data
You need a research-ready language partner if your study spans multiple countries, languages, or compliance regulations. This article will cover six solutions for facing some of the biggest challenges in global market research.
Challenge 1: Unstructured open-ended responses that are hard to analyze
Why it’s a problem
You’ve got thousands of open-ended responses in multiple languages, and they’re a mess. Some are one-word answers, some are full paragraphs, and half don’t answer the question directly. If this data isn’t adequately categorized, your insights become incomplete or misleading.
Our solution: Verbatim coding
We categorize raw, unstructured survey responses into meaningful, research-ready data. Our experts can:
- Identify key themes and sentiments across responses.
- Handle multi-language verbatim coding for consistent insights across markets.
- Use AI-powered tagging for efficiency, with human quality control to ensure accuracy.
End result: Faster analysis, more precise insights, and categorized qualitative data that provides meaningful insights.
Challenge 2: Broken links and errors in multilingual surveys
Why it’s a problem
A broken survey link can kill response rates and damage credibility. Routing errors send respondents to the wrong questions, while poorly translated buttons confuse users. If you don’t catch these issues before launch, you’ll either lose respondents or get insufficient data.
Our Solution: Link Checking & Validation
We test every survey link and logic pathway before launch to ensure:
- No broken or misdirected links across languages and devices.
- Consistent translations for buttons, error messages, and survey logic.
- Proper survey flow, so respondents don’t get stuck in a loop or skip key questions.
End result: Higher response rates, cleaner data, and no last-minute survey failures.
Challenge 3: Global compliance & adverse event monitoring
Why it’s a problem
For pharmaceutical research and healthcare industries, missing a compliance issue isn’t an option. A respondent might mention a drug side effect, react unexpectedly, or flag a safety concern, and if you fail to document it, you could face serious legal consequences.
Our Solution: Adverse event monitoring
We scan survey responses, interview transcripts, and online discussions to identify high-risk mentions in any language. Our compliance experts:
- Flag potential adverse events for regulatory reporting in any language.
- Ensure industry compliance is tailored to the country where the research is conducted.
- Provide detailed tracking for audits and legal documentation.
End result: Peace of mind. No missed risks, full compliance, and legally sound research you can trust.
Challenge 4: Translating surveys without losing meaning
Why it’s a problem
A word-for-word translation doesn’t work in research. Cultural differences change how people respond—a joke in English might offend in another language, and a Likert scale might not mean the same thing everywhere. Your responses will be skewed or invalid if you don’t localize properly.
Our solution: Survey overlays
- Expert linguists ensure that questions are clear, culturally appropriate, and consistent across all languages.
- Survey overlay integration places translations directly into your research platform for a seamless respondent experience.
- Localization QA guarantees that every survey reads naturally in its target language.
End result: Surveys that engage respondents properly, leading to higher quality data and more reliable insights.
Challenge 5: Drowning in raw data without clear insights
Why it’s a problem
You’ve collected pages of survey responses, social media sentiment, and focus group transcripts. But now what? If you don’t have a structured analysis, you’ll miss key trends and shifts in customer sentiment.
Our solution: Content analysis & social listening
We take raw, text-heavy data and turn it into clear, actionable insights by:
- Extracting key themes, trends, and sentiment from responses.
- Running multilingual social listening to track brand perception worldwide.
- Using AI-driven analysis with expert validation for high accuracy.
End result: You see the bigger picture faster without manually sifting through thousands of responses.
Challenge 6: Missing key insights from research meetings & focus groups
Why it’s a problem
If you miss one critical quote or data point, your research will not only lose credibility but also fail to represent the full picture. If participant feedback is misinterpreted, paraphrased incorrectly, or absent entirely, the final report will become biased or incomplete.
Poor transcription results in skewed insights, and if a focus group isn’t effectively moderated, discussions can go off-track, miss key themes, or be dominated by a few voices. This challenge is amplified in multilingual research, where language barriers can lead to miscommunication and misrepresentation of participant input.
Our solution: Transcription & focus group moderation
- Expert moderation to keep discussions structured, unbiased, and aligned with research objectives.
- Multilingual moderators who engage participants across languages while ensuring nothing is lost in translation.
- Accurate AI or human transcription to document every word, phrase, and sentiment from recorded audio and video material.
- Structured reporting that extracts key themes, participant reactions, and emerging insights, delivering clear takeaways for your research.
End result: Your research data is fully documented, easy to analyze, and never missing critical details.
Market research challenges conclusion
Market research is only as strong as the quality of its data. A survey with broken links, poor translations, or missing verbatim coding doesn’t just create bad insights. It wastes time, money, and resources.
At Global Lingo, we don’t just translate words—we safeguard the integrity of your research. Whether it’s verbatim coding for open-ended responses, real-time compliance monitoring, or expertly moderated focus groups, we ensure that every data point you collect is accurate, culturally relevant, and actionable.
Don’t let language barriers or technical errors ruin your research. Work with experts who understand market research inside and out.
Contact us today to ensure your next study is as precise and impactful as possible.