The market research firm Target celebrated its ninth year of existence on October 11. The anniversary comes at a time of health crisis when the research and market research industry feels the full impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many organizations in the sector have been forced to shut down operations or postpone some projects for financial reasons. But Target has expanded and has ambitions in Congo and Africa. This firm does not hesitate to adapt to other technological developments to meet the requirements of the moment.

"The results of Target in nine years are globally positive because we started timidly with five, and today we are about fifteen with hundreds of collaborators in DRC, Congo-Brazzaville, Cameroon, Rwanda, and Ivory Coast," says Serge Mumbu, General Manager and founder of Target.

The firm was limited to agricultural, brewing, and telecom studies in its early days. But today, Target has extended its research to the humanitarian sector and international organizations. A reason for satisfaction for Serge Mumbu.

As far as technology is concerned, everything has also changed. Before, the consulting firm worked with paper questionnaires with a traditional methodology, but everything has been digitized with a server set up to monitor the evolution of activities.

Rigor in the work

Many clients have trusted Target and come back regularly when they need information. These studies conducted on behalf of Congolese and international organizations are confidential. Target makes sure not to release them to the public. "One thing that is certain when you come to Target to commission a study is that we want it to be objective. The person or organization must let us work freely, and we do not manipulate results at customers' request. Those who come for objective and independent information receive it as such", the number one of Target says seriously.

The firm has strong ambitions in the DRC and Africa. It plans to maintain itself in the DRC as a reference institution in research and market studies. Target is already working in some African countries but wants to increase its activities volume and conquer others.

Recurring problems

The market research sector is relatively new in the DRC as in Africa. Access to public markets is almost non-existent. "Everywhere else, polling firms have always had the government as their primary partner because it is assumed that all important decisions taken by the government require a market study to understand public opinion.

Public opinion. But this is not the case in the DRC", Serge Mumbu continues before adding: "There is, of course, like all other SMEs, the problem of access to sources of funding and credit. It is not easy to obtain them, the interest rates are very high, and the conditionalities and the repayment periods are reduced, which prevents us from being competitive in the market. Most institutions in the sector are self-financing with low capacity.

Human resources are also a problem. DRC universities do not train staff in market research, and relying on foreign labor is costly. Target is obliged to train its staff, essentially composed of generalists having studied marketing and statistics at university. There is also the issue of computer equipment. With artificial intelligence, some technologies are challenging to acquire, but thanks to Esomar, of which Target is a part, its numerous employees benefit from training and documents in the sector.

Market research remains confidential, but Target has demystified the market research sector in DRC. The firm communicates a lot on its website and social networks. It often explains the market research industry and tells people about its activities. It publishes excerpts of studies conducted in politics, health, personalities, or media that lead to public debate. The company with the red and white logo has also innovated by setting up an online panel to conduct quality studies. This is a question of remaining at the forefront of current events and technological developments.