thought leadership
IFT First

To Nudge or Disrupt, That is the Question…

As market researchers, we are generally looking to see patterns in consumer behavior that will assist brands to “nudge” people along the path of behavior desired for success of the product or service. But there are also times where the best course of action is to “disrupt” the consumer and drive completely new behaviors and product choices.

Utilization of the InsightsNow Implicit / Explicit Test™ helps us study the patterns of consumer behavior at a deeper level, and how the cues presented in association with a product or experience will trigger different types of behaviors. When a study participant has an implicit reaction, we can extrapolate that the presented stimuli fits with their current perceptions ​and beliefs—and that we are more likely to get autonomous behavior aligned with the participant’s current habits and norms. When an explicit reaction is recorded, we are able to determine that the presented stimuli is not fully aligned with current perceptions or beliefs—and that the product or experience presented is likely to cause disruption to current behaviors.

The Implicit / Explicit Test works in basically four steps:

  • Calibration: Complete a series of tasks which assess how fast of a reaction is an implicit reaction
  • Priming: Focus the brain on a topic / subject / memory / experience and provide the stimulus
  • Projection: Project complex experiences (like emotions) to an object
  • Assessment: Complete a series of assessment tasks for the stimulus or the projection of the stimulus

In our recent webinar with our CRO Greg Stucky, we discuss game-winning patterns for either a goal of nudging consumers along or a goal of disrupting their behavior. So if you want to experience business success on your next product innovation cycle or new product development, you must understand behavior at a deeper level. The Implicit / Explicit Test allows this, by identifying opportunities to nudge current consumer behavior. It also identifies attributes to avoid, based on the consumer feedback gathered. And using this approach, you can also uncover opportunities to disrupt consumer behavior, if that is the path toward the greatest success in the marketplace.