The Los Angeles chapter of the Interaction Design Association had a salon about usability testing called “Methodology Madness II.”  They invited me to talk about usability research, which was fun, and I thought that calling it a “salon” sounded cool!

It was sponsored by interactive agency HUGE, right next door in North Hollywood.  The evening included a total of four presenters.  You can get more information and a podcast of the whole salon here.

There is a common belief that consumers hate advertising.  But in focus groups and interviews we conduct with consumers, we find that is not the case.  Rather, they hate ads that aren’t relevant to them, especially when they’re exposed to them with great frequency.  Consumers are remarkably open to advertising that speaks to them, ads they consider to be appropriate and timely.

But how can companies deliver that type of targeted advertising?  By effectively segmenting their target market.  And nowadays, that’s easier than it used to be.  Companies can utilize a combination of research with prospects along with data about customer behavior on company websites to define accurate market segments.

An article in Fast Company magazine explains how retailer Barneys delved deeply into the behavior of the people browsing their website and discovered patterns which led them to customer segments (for example, “fashionistas” who buy risky new designer products and “bottom feeders” who always buy sale items).  This has enabled them to achieve a tenfold increase in response rates to their email advertising.

Give us a call at Bureau West (tel: 818-752-7210) and we can discuss the best way to integrate your website data with customer research to define segments for your target audience.

Sources:  Bureau West research;  Fast Company, May, 2008