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onsumer behavior

By Decision Point 1 Comment Categories: Uncategorized Tags: consumer behavior, consumer research, consumers, marketing, marketing research, qualitative research, quantitative research

Whether you are a manufacturer or a retailer, a mid-sized company, or someone with a small business that caters for various customers and clients in a niche market, consumer research is vital for your business to succeed. Decades ago, advertising guru, David Ogilvy, warned that people in advertising who ignore research, are as dangerous as generals who ignore decodes of enemy signals. Whilst he was an advertising man and one of the best in his day he understood the bigger picture. He recognized that people in business of any kind, who dont do proper research, risk their efforts being blown up in their faces. Those who manufacture and/or sell consumer products are most at risk. The question though is whether to focus on qualitative or quantitative research. While Ogilvy didnt differentiate between the two, he did know how to think out of the box, and was guided by the content of research rather than just numbers. Quantitative Research versus Qualitative Research In essence, quantitative research is based on statistics, for example how many people buy a certain product or subscribe to a particular newspaper. Qualitative research is rooted in the social sciences, and relies on the interpretation of real people.

Statisticians work with numbers, and researchers who base their analysis on quantitative research primarily use stats to indicate results. They generally use highly structured surveys and questionnaires, and ask all respondents exactly the same questions in exactly the same order. This allows researchers to accurately compare responses and come up with meaningful data. With quantitative research, on the other hand, there is a need to collect evidence and answer questions that relate to consumer behavior and the way people respond. In general, qualitative research effectively identifies intangible factors that quantitative research cannot identify; namely social norms, socio economics, ethnicity, religion and the role of gender. Qualitative research is also considerably more flexible than quantitative research. In a nutshell, while quantitative consumer research quantifies variation, predicts consumer behavior, and describes various characteristics that relate to these issues, and perhaps also to marketing, qualitative research seeks to describe and explain all these factors. Questions for the latter are therefore openended rather than fixed. However, at the end of the day, qualitative research is often combined with statistics to give a wider interpretation of the research findings. Qualitative Research Methods The three qualitative research commonly used involve: methods that are most

1. observing participants in their own environment (a form of ethnographic research), 2. interviewing participants on an in-depth 1:1 basis, 3. organizing focus groups. 1. Ethnographic research takes place in environments in which participants live, work or spend their spare time. The resultant ethnographies are designed to provide descriptive information combined with the researchers interpretations of what has been observed. Traditionally the term ethnography referred to research by anthropologists who spent long periods of time living within a specific culture to learn more about the people. Today ethnographic study has become a diverse field and is used successfully as a form of consumer research that can be used to form the backbone of a successful marketing strategy.

Whilst most people categorize ethnologies as purely qualitative research, Dr. Tony L. Whitehead, author of various working papers including Basic Classical Ethnographic Research Methods and What is Ethnography? Methodological, and Epistemological Attributes, maintains that ethnography includes both qualitative and quantitative methods. This backs up the reality that both types of research are often used hand in hand.

1. Focus Groups, which as the name indicates involve groups of people, are used to validate information, and are considered to be an excellent social research tool. Whilst this approach is only one of many research tools used to identify consumer behavior and develop marketing strategies, it can be successfully exploited to produce high quality data from a group of people who interact during the research process. Like ethnographies, focus groups were developed after statistical survey and research methods (which are quantitative) had become firmly entrenched, and they are quite different to quantitative methods. Instead of standardized rules, numbers, and an individual focal point (in the form of one person), focus group methodology relies on insight and a social approach that is flexible. It also uses words and language to express its findings.

In depth 1:1 Interviews involve the use of intensive one-on-one discussions with a relatively small number of people, to find out their thoughts on whatever it is the researchers need to know. It is a useful research technique for exploring consumer behavior and for identifying whether marketing has or will be successful.

Whereas in focus groups people will often identify with the opinions of others in the group, 1:1 interviews allow

researchers the opportunity to identify the consumer behavior of individuals.

This can be a time-intensive method of research and those who use it need to be appropriately trained. Case Studies Illustrate Consumer Behavior Whichever methods are used for consumer research, they are only successful if researchers are able to identify consumer behavior and use this data appropriately, for example to develop an effective marketing strategy. In his groundbreaking book, Ogilvy on Advertising, David Ogilvy discussed the value of market research, explaining how research can get consumer reactions to new products long before they have been produced. But not everyone does this, as Ogilvy quickly discovered. He cites the example of a client who (clearly not having followed a solid research route) invested some $600,000 in the 1980s developing a food product line for senior citizens with digestive problems. Researchers at his company Ogilvy & Mather found that older people were less than impressed with the product. Whether the product was taken to another level, or marketed in a different way, is not clear. But given the consumer research results, the company owner accepted that his investment was in jeopardy. Without argument, the multi-national corporation, Procter & Gamble (listed in 2011 as the number 5 Fortune 500 company), owes much of its success to consumer research.

Nearly three decades ago Ogilvy described the company as disciplined; one reason being that they regularly identify consumer needs, and use consumer behavior to track new trends in tastes, needs and living habits. This approach has not changed. A report in the New York Times in February 2012 highlighted how P & G was able to turn what most would have been identified as a failed product into a huge success. The product, Febreze, was designed to eradicate bad odor in the house, for example cigarette smoke, food odors, and the nasty smells that pets leave on furniture. While their initial advertising was based on what they considered solid habit research involving cue and reward their marketing efforts backfired. Their cue to consumers was essentially bad smell; the reward, no more nasty odors. But consumer behavior turned out to be unpredictable. As the article states, Febreze was a dud. But P & G did not give up. They had the stats, now they needed some qualitative research, and so researchers were sent back to see why their marketing hadnt worked. In a nutshell, both the cue and reward were inappropriate. People with smelly homes simply didnt notice the bad odor. But some people WERE using the product. So researchers reexamined the cues and rewards and redefined them. They also added perfume to the product. The new cue was a freshly cleaned room. Febreze became the routine. The reward became self-praise, youve done a great job.

Instead of being a revolutionary odor-killer, Febreze became a glorious air freshener that produced the final touch to a clean room. Sales went through the roof, and according to the article now accounts for sales of more than $1-billion annually. Today it is promoted as both an air freshener and as a product that kills bad odors! This proves that researchers did their job well, and the people in charge of marketing listened. Thats the way it should be.

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