7 min read
A front row to the future in Research
This is a series of short interviews done to a few key members of the Zinklar team, where they share some of the experiences they’ve had throughout their respective careers, as well as some they’ve had while a part of the team.
Today’s story is about Cindy Salas, our Head of Latam for the Sales team.
First of all, thank you for your time. Would you like to tell me a little bit about your life before Zinklar?
I started my career in market research in a traditional agency, in which I had the opportunity to grow in different areas of the company and get a very good understanding of how market research is done in Mexico. My path began as a project manager, and during that time I had to be in the development of the digital methodologies area. Eventually, I moved up to the customer service team; this is where I started to have much more contact with clients and commercial responsibilities.
Since I started my career I heard a lot about “the research of the future“, I was introduced to important changes in the industry, such as moving from paper surveys to online surveys, making changes in methodologies, etc. However, we continued to make changes within the same structures without the technology to be really efficient. On many, many occasions, I had to tell clients that I could not deliver in the time you requested. In this phase of my career, I learned a lot about the way clients make decisions and their needs, and that is where I discovered my love for this aspect of market research.
And then you left Kantar. What was the shift to Zinklar like?
At this point, I was in a management position when I heard about Snappy (Zinklar’s previous name) and the head of sales at the time contacted me to tell me about the first market research SaaS and its mobile methodology.
At first, it sounded too good to be true. The first interview was a bit about getting to know each other, he wanted to learn about both my experience and skills, and I evaluated leaving the known for the unknown. Once he showed me the platform, all I could think was ‘this is what the clients need.’ I think it was there, 10 years into my research journey, that I got a tangible glimpse of the future of market research.
How interesting that you have had so much experience in a large company, that you have been able to perform so many roles. What would you say is the biggest difference with Zinklar?
The first difference that comes to mind is the agility that Zinklar provides in every way.
Towards customers, Zinklar is the future, from that moment I saw it and I am still convinced of it. There is a moment in the adoption phase of the methodology in which customers realize that it is possible to listen to consumers in real-time, it is possible to be 100% consumer-centric, that you can know their perceptions at every step they take without having to wait for a third-party, and the excitement they feel of being able to be much more efficient. Zinklar empowers our clients to combine their business expertise with the voice of their consumers. It’s like your mind opens up, you begin to understand the present and look to the future instead of just looking at the historical as was often the case in the traditional way.
Internally, on a day-to-day basis, it’s completely different from a traditional environment; here it’s easy to listen and implement ideas. In this sense, people make a big difference because we are the kind of people who believe that change is possible and that technology revolutionizes your day-to-day life and brings value to your profession, to your life.
In a way, you’re in the front row to the future.
That’s right. You see how it all happens first hand.
What was it hard for you to adapt at Zinklar?
I was used to already having something in place, a process, a structure set up; I wasn’t used to being able to suggest ideas and them being put into action. Here, there is freedom of action under a direction, there is a way to be proactive and get down to work. That was the most challenging part on a day-to-day basis, but today it’s what motivates me the most and what I value the most; you have the opportunity to create with the company.
In the case of clients, the adaption and the understanding that this truly exists is what sometimes takes time, as it happened to me; many times it sounds too good to be true. That’s when you get to see the change start to influence the traditional mentality that we all have/had in the industry.
Right. Well, change is hard, isn’t it? It’s always something that takes time to adapt to.
Exactly
Especially if it’s something that has been done for literally decades.
Yes. I would say that in the three years I’ve been at Zinklar, I’ve seen how customers are more open to what technology can offer. And if we’re already into the future, imagine what’s ahead.
Customers are empowering themselves, the pandemic drove this paradigm shift in research, today companies are betting on boosting their people and cultivating the expertise they have in the business and Zinklar is the perfect tool to help them.
Well, thank you so much for your time, and thank you for sharing your story with Zinklar.
Want to learn more about the Zinklar team? You can meet the team on the dedicated page on our website.