Bureau West

It’s January, that time when pundits and prognosticators tell us what the future holds… or at least give us their best guesses.  Of course, understanding consumer trends is invaluable to marketers.  The question, of course, is which ones do we believe?  I try to view stated consumer trends on the backdrop of what we see when we speak to research participants.  Two such trends:

• Companies exposing their flaws
• Personalized marketing

Trendwatching.com has just released their “12 Crucial Consumer Trends for 2012.”  One trend in particular resonated with what we’ve been hearing from consumers.  They call the trend “flawsome,” and explain it as follows:

“In 2012 consumers won’t expect brands to be flawless; they will even embrace brands that are… honest about their flaws, that show some empathy, generosity, humility, flexibility, maturity, humor and dare we say it, some character and humanity.”

We’ve seen that in our research: consumers dislike brands that won’t admit mistakes, but when a company admits to a mistake, not only are consumers forgiving, the admission tends to generate positive regard.  (For an example of what not to do, consider Netflix.)

The next trend, personalized marketing, is not new, but its time has come with the tools now available to marketers.  As my friend Jenka Gurfinkel put it (in a fascinating blog post), we are now a “confederacy of niches.” We should no longer target an “average” consumer based on demographics, but rather consider narrower targets based on consumers’ attitudes and circumstances.  And we now have the tools to do so.  Consider the precise targeting available when advertising on Facebook as well as the wealth of information available from website analytics.  Oh, and let’s not forget another way to uncover those psychographic segments: well-designed market research!

To design market research that will uncover your customers’ attitudes and circumstances, give us a call.

Sources: “12 Crucial Consumer Trends for 2012,” Trendwatching.com, January, 2012; “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It…. And I Feel Fine,” social-creature.com, 1/4/12; “No More Average 32-Year-Old Woman, but Market Myth Persists,” Advertising Age, 1/2/12; Bureau West research

When conducting market research, it’s tempting to simply ask participants direct questions:  Would you buy this product?  What do you like about that product?  What do you think of this brand?

The problem is, research participants lie.  Well, it’s usually not on purpose, so perhaps “lie” is too strong a word, but they don’t tell the truth.  When asked a direct question, people try to theorize how they would make a decision in a given situation, which can be different than actually being in that situation.

The good news is, we have ways to get around that.  When designing a research study, we can try to avoid direct questions, and instead, use approaches that provide participants with the context that enables us to get at how they really think.  For example:

• Instead of asking if people would buy a product, we might tell people to imagine they have a certain amount of money, describe the various product choices and prices, and ask them how they would spend their money.
• If we wanted to find out the perceived benefits of a product, rather than asking what they like about it, we might ask them to imagine a situation where the product wasn’t available and to describe their reactions.
• Rather than asking what people think of a certain brand, we might ask them to describe the typical customer of that brand and then compare that customer to themselves.

Those are just a few examples of a wide range of situations.  These aren’t new approaches; my point is, in many cases, we need to avoid the temptation to take the easy route and ask a direct question, and consider whether one of those indirect approaches might provide us with better answers.

Want more examples? I’m writing a presentation about how to get at what customers really think.  I’d be glad to give the presentation in-person or by phone.  Let me know.  Call me at (818) 752-7210.

I just got back from the QRCA annual conference and my favorite presentation was given by Liz Monroe-Cook, about how to handle situations where we have two opposing forces and both are necessary.  She calls her approach Polarity Management®; I was struck by how a theoretical approach can have a great deal of real-world benefits.

I decided to conduct an exercise where I used her approach to handle a polarity many of my clients face: simplicity vs. more features.  This dynamic tension exists with regard to many client offerings as well as web applications: users want a simple product that’s easy to understand, but they also want cool features.  How do we find the right balance between the two?

I went through the process of developing what Monroe-Cook calls a Polarity Map™, first defining the benefits of each pole (e.g., simplicity brings about quicker adoption but more features could make a product appeal to a wider range of users), and then the potential downsides that can come about from over-focusing on each pole (e.g., simplicity: product could be perceived as low-end, more features: product could be difficult to use).  I then was able to define the positive result of balancing the strengths of both poles (popular product) and the potential negative outcome if the two aren’t balanced (no one wants the product).  The process also includes defining action steps to obtain the benefits of each pole as well as early warnings that we’re in danger of the downside of neglecting one pole or the other.  Click here to see the map I developed.

Each of the above steps on their own might seem obvious, but put them together and we have a great process for dealing with a variety of situations where we have two opposing and necessary forces, ranging from running an organization (e.g., structure vs. flexibility), to obtaining consumer input (e.g., cost vs. quality), even to personal growth (e.g., individual work vs. teamwork).  We can obtain valuable insights on the best way to balance the two poles.

To discuss ways to handle your complex issues (at least the work-related ones!), give us a call at (818) 752-7210.

Sources: “Power Up through Paradox:  Polarity Management® as a Tool for Addressing Complexity,” Liz Monroe-Cook, QRCA 2011; http://www.polaritymanagement.com/

Those funny-looking squares are popping up everywhere – and no wonder.  Advertisers love QR codes, since they provide an easy way to engage with prospects.  People with smart phones can scan the codes using the phone’s camera and immediately receive information from the advertiser such as text or a web page (QR stands for “quick response”).

Creating a QR code is easy: the code above was created for free using the Google url shortener: http://goo.gl/ .  More important, though, is how to utilize the codes most effectively.  Customers want to receive something they value when they scan the code – not just an ad.  Some examples of the use of QR codes include directing consumers to online contests, games, recipes, book excerpts, performances, even how-to videos.  Such engagement can result in prospects providing contact information, word-of-mouth referrals, and of course, sales.  And remember to change the content over time, to keep it relevant and interesting.

To find ways to engage your prospects, give us a call at (818) 752-7210.

Sources: “Want More Information? Just Scan Me,” New York Times, September 21, 2011; “How to Use QR Codes to Market Your Business,” Inc.com