Posted by InsightsNow Marketing Team on February 15, 2011
by Amanda Anderson, Marketing Associate
Not too long ago, the only form of gathering product preference and usage information from consumers was by sending surveys via U.S. Postal Service or by picking up a landline telephone and calling. Most often these methods did not provide accurate findings for how consumers use products in-context (i.e. why they use and/or choose a product at that very moment and what the emotional implications are), since the use or purchase occasion occured hours or even days before the survey arrived or the phone call was placed. In the last decade, things slightly improved with the popularity of online surveying. But this technique also resulted in the purchase or usage occasion taking place hours or even days from when the online survey was completed. Now, however, the landscape has changed even more dramatically.
With emerging technology, from smart phones, iPads, email, social networking and blog sites, Market Researchers can actually reach the participant during the purchase or use occasion – in the moment. For instance, just look at how many people are impacting social sites right now (click on chart below to start live count). As professional researchers we need to ask ourselves, “How are these communication methods impacting research?” and “How does it get me to the ‘so what’ of why consumers buy what they buy?”
Click the Chart to See Live Data
Let’s face it, emerging technology is highly beneficial and can’t be ignored, as it provides insight into a consumer’s mind that we formerly did not have by gathering the right information. Today, consumers have the opportunity to leverage technology enabled research design tools, whether it's taking a picture of themselves with their iPhone while using a product to describe how they feel or posting their experience on a social networking site. But, as researchers, we must keep in mind this is only one answer to a two-part question. It’s critical that we understand the responses collected through these new research tools and how they relate to the participant’s product experience – getting us to the ‘so what’.
To do this, we need a framework for dissecting the information that is captured from a photo taken by a smart phone or a post on a social networking site. InsightsNow has developed a consumer behavior framework that demonstrates the relationship between context, motivation and behavior. This framework highlights the benefits a product delivers at a functional, social, sensory and psychological level. Immersive Research, coupled with this framework, captures an intimate portrait of the in-context consumer experience - creating a more powerful research platform.
To put this into perspective and to further understand how today’s emerging technologies can improve your ability to understand consumers, we encourage you to join Greg Stucky, Chief Research Officer at InsightsNow and Steve August, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Revelation, Inc. on Thursday, February 24th at 11am (PST) for a special webinar, “Express Yourself! Activities and Tools that Unlock a Consumer’s Mind”. We invite you to learn more about the long standing problem of gathering consumer feedback and how to understand a consumer’s emotional connection with a product.
CLICK HERE to learn more about InsightsNow’s Consumer Behavior Framework.