Consumer Research That Actually Works
Why you should abandon your traditional research methods and do this instead.
We all know the process. You want to know what consumer’s think of a current or upcoming product, so you hire a consultant to conduct surveys, polls and interviews with consumers. You spend time and money to find out what consumers say they like, you tweak your product to match consumers’ expectations, and then the product underperforms once it hits the market. You blame the consultant, you blame consumers for being fickle, but you keep repeating the same process.
Albert Einstein is often credited with saying “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. In order to find out what consumers truly want, you need to change your questions, change your methods, and give consumers an opportunity to truly co-create with their favorite brands.
Traditional research often consists of polls, surveys and/or scientists in sterile, lab-like environments asking consumers questions designed to steer them towards the desired, product validating responses. This often results in consumers attempting to give the “correct” answer instead of offering their honest opinions. We also know from experience that what consumers think they will do is often very different from how they actually behave.
This is where creative consumer research has disrupted the status quo. Methods such as ethnographic research (in which consumers are observed in their natural environment), democratic co-creation with consumers, crowd sourcing, open innovation, and session guides that allow for the natural flow of conversation, all produce deeper and more meaningful insights. These creative methods open the lines of communication between you and your consumers, reducing both the complexity and cost of consumer research.
“If I had asked the public what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.“ -Henry Ford
Henry Ford understood that while consumers know what their problems are, they may not always offer the best solution. A study assessing consumer co-creation against traditional research techniques published in the Journal of Service Management (22:140–159) in 2011 found that because consumers usually base their ideas off of previous experiences with a product or service, it’s difficult for them to imagine something truly different and radical. Creative consumer research methods enable you to meld the understanding of the problem that consumers possess with the innovative thinkers on your team.
Creating an open dialog with consumers gives you the opportunity to fully understand the problems and difficulties they face, whilst also allowing you the opportunity to present potential solutions and receive consumer feedback in real time. Instead of offering surveys or scripted interviews, combining creative consumer research methods with design thinking ideology allows consumers and researchers to work together to envision those radical new ideas as a solution that meets a genuine need.
This is also an opportunity to learn what features your consumers consider to be a priority, which features they prefer but don’t require, and what the absolute deal-breakers are. Once the lines of communication have been opened and the consumers feel their contribution is valued as highly as that of the person asking the question, that is when your consumers become truly transparent. These methods also provide a way to build brand loyalty, as consumers are ultimately more invested in products they help to create.
So, if you want to know what products your consumers will buy before you invest a substantial amount of money in development, if you want to know what your consumers actually think about your product (and not just how they answer a survey), if you want to grow your consumer base, and especially if you want to create new products your consumers love in less time for less money- you should consider revising your current research methods.
@ MAT Studios we help the largest organizations and brands in the world become smaller and less complicated by asking and answering the right questions. This article was written by Lih-Sia Byam :)
