The State of Consumer Research in 2026: Why Tech Companies Can't Afford to Skip It
Welcome to the IDDV Talks Vancouver Series (#10)!
”Your customers know something you don't, and your competitors are already listening.“
In 2026, consumer research has become the hidden competitive advantage separating tech companies that scale from those that plateau. Yet more than half of executive decisions are still made without any customer insight.
Join us for an eye-opening conversation with Lauren Isaacson about why research matters now more than ever, and how to start without breaking the bank.
🌟 What You'll Learn:
Why research is no longer optional for tech companies competing for market share
What your competitors are already doing with customer insights (and how far behind you might be)
How AI is impacting research for better and for worse
Reasons tech companies lose deals, ship the wrong features, and scale more slowly when they skip research
How to start small: Build an internal research capability without hiring an army of researchers
🙋♂️ Who Should Attend
Product leaders & founders making roadmap and go-to-market decisions
Engineering leaders curious about how customer research informs better builds
Marketing & growth teams looking to make evidence-based decisions faster
Students exploring careers in research, product, and insights
Anyone building tech who wants to understand their customers better (before your competitors do)
The Bottom Line:
Research isn't about reports. It's about making better decisions, reducing risk, and building products customers can't live without. We'll show you why and how to get started.
🎤 Meet Our Speaker:
Lauren Isaacson is a market and user research consultant with over 20 years of experience helping tech companies, enterprises, and startups understand their customers. As founder of Curio Research in Vancouver, she's worked with companies like Airtable, Mozilla, Google Cloud, Amazon, and Microsoft to design and execute research that drives product decisions, go-to-market strategy, and customer experience improvements.
A former President of the Qualitative Research Consultants Association and a 3-Star Thought Leader in the research community, Lauren specializes in turning customer insights into actionable business outcomes, whether through qualitative research, quantitative analysis, or research strategy that modernizes how organizations listen to their customers.
More info: curioresearch.net
📅 Event Agenda
5:30 PM — Doors Open, Light Food & Mingling
6:00 – 7:00 PM — Talk by Lauren Isaacson
7:00 PM – End — Networking & Wrap-up
🎟 Spots are limited! Register now!
🌟About IDDV Vancouver
The Information Design & Data Visualization (IDDV) program at Northeastern Vancouver is a community of creators and communicators. As part of the College of Arts, Media and Design (CAMD), we bridge analytical precision with visual innovation to turn complex data into human-centered insights.
Join our hub to connect with students and faculty through workshops, industrial talks, and exhibitions shaping the Vancouver design ecosystem. Follow us to see how we bridge the gap between raw data and impactful design.
📚 Curious about the program?
Learn more about the MS in Information Design and Data Visualization
✉️ Want to host or collaborate on an event?
Email us at [email protected]
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