developments in consumer insights consumer understanding by ri amsterdam, may 2001

Developments in Consumer Insights:

CONSUMER UNDERSTANDING

Claudia Splanemann, Natalia Hartleb-von Levetzow

RIQ Germany

"Passion and Knowledge in our Business"

RI Qualitatif Senior Managers' Seminar

Amsterdam, May 2001

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Number

Content

• 'Experience'

• System

• Knowledge

Formal

Framework

• Technological

development:

Recording,

Collating Processing

Channels/communi-

cation locations

t

Response

Stories

Images

Metaphors

Codes / Contexts

Rituals / Acts

Standardised interviews

Creative workshops

Focus groups

Ethno explorations

Pictures collages

Role playing

Development Routes in Market Research

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Company

Inter-company

processes

• Embodying

Knowledge

• Creative

Solutions

t

Information Test Knowledge Recognising Understanding

Interviewee Test person Cooperation-Partner Informer

Consumer

Market Research

Expertise

Impulse

Development Routes in Market Research

Company

Consumer

Moderating

Transforming

Consulting

Dialogue-

23/10/2012 4

CONSUMER UNDERSTANDING The Positioning of RIQ Germany

• open

• pragmatic

• experience-centred

• integrating

Understand RIQ

Company

Consumer

We consider the relation between a company and the consumer to be an

interactive process. Our role during the task is to see ourselves as

moderators and transformers of a complex knowledge management.

Perceive

Advise

TR

AN

SF

OR

MA

TIO

N

23/10/2012 5

CONSUMER UNDERSTANDING CU Emphasis

Company

Consumer

By choosing this process it is possible to set different emphases depending

on the objectives in mind.

If the intention is to allow the company in-depth insights into consumers'

perspectives, our principle focus is to look at CU = Consumer Understanding

CU

RIQ

TR

AN

SF

OR

MA

TIO

N

23/10/2012 6

CONSUMER UNDERSTANDING CF Emphasis

Company

Consumer

If, however, product or brand development is the company's main aim, the

emphasis of the market research lies in according approaches such as, for

example, the Concept Factory = CF

CF

RIQ

TR

AN

SF

OR

MA

TIO

N

23/10/2012 7


t

CU in a Research Context

CU e.g. CF = CONCEPT FACTORY

CU can be integrated into the research process as a whole in different ways:

• As a pre-study, which could serve, for example, to provide a deeper insight

into the requirements to be fulfilled by a subsequent Concept Factory

(e.g. defining the target group, limitation, U&A, etc.)

• Or as an independent study that stands on its own and depicts the whole of

the findings aimed for in the case

Co

nsu

mer

Insig

hts

23/10/2012 8

CONSUMER UNDERSTANDING Bandwidth of CU

If the main aim of the study for the client is to gain a specific knowledge of its

target group, then CU is the appropriate approach to take. This can involve a

whole spectrum of possible research objectives.

e.g. 'How do senior citizens live?'

General Target Groups

Comprehensive changes of

society demands:

APROXIMATION, DEFINITION

e.g. 'How does hair-dying work?'

Specific user aspects

Narrow markets demand

SPECIFICATION, PROFILING

This is how qualitative market research purposefully serves the ever-

increasing complexity of the client's need in today's times.

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CONSUMER UNDERSTANDING Consumer Image

EMOTIONAL

LEVEL

Moods

RATIONAL LEVEL

Verbal information

Attitudes

Facts

INTUITIVE LEVEL

'Tacit Knowledge'

'Gut feeling'

The focal point of the examination in the case of CU:

The consumer as a complex subject.

BEHAVIOUR

(Observable) acts

VALUES

Consumer model :

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?

The consumer's relationships to his/her environment are complex and many-

facetted. The task set by CU is to do justice to these diverse aspects and to

enable the client to 'experience' them at the same time.

Personal

background

Consumption

behaviour

Social

background

SOCIAL

ASPECTS

Lifestyles

Trends

Roles

Rules

Taboos

INDIVIDUAL

ASPECTS

Behaviour

Values

Situation in life

BRAND PERCEPTION

Preference

User image

Decision-making processes

etc.

Levels of CU

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CU

(CONSUMER UNDERSTANDING)

Set, learnt rules

Social desirability

(Daily) routines

'Tacit knowledge'

Highly complex world

There are diverse barriers to investigating and examining behaviour,

attitudes and needs.

Barriers

Not retrievable verbally

Unconscious

Not perceptible

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In order to overcome these barriers, qualitative market research has a number of

different approaches and techniques at its disposal

Con-

sumer

Resear-

cher

Possible Approaches for Market Research

Set, learnt rules

Social desirability

(Daily) routines

'Tacit knowledge'

Highly complex world

CU

(CONSUMER UNDERSTANDING)

23/10/2012 13


Depending on the complexity of the objectives, different approaches, techniques

and a combination of these can be utilised during research. As a result, market

research has reached a stage which enables clients to experience complex

consumer worlds: Transformation.

Market Research as a Transformer sp

ecia

l su

bje

ct

Verbally

(question)

so

cia

l d

esir

ab

ilit

y

Projectively

(analogies, etc.)

dif

ficu

lt t

o

verb

alise

Pictorially

(collages etc.)

no

t co

mm

un

icab

le,

no

t re

trie

vab

le,

w

ho

le w

orl

ds

Real life

exploration

RATIO INTUITION EMOTIO (contextual) ACTS

Complexity

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For most objectives it is sufficient to concentrate in each case on a certain

segment of the consumer insights.

In the case of comprehensive or very complex objectives, a Real Life

Exploration opens up the widest possible angle.

Exploration Channels

Real Life Exploration

Pictorially

(collages, etc.)

Projectively

(analogies, etc.)

Verbally (Question)

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With the aid of Real Life Exploration, the client is able to experience the

consumers' world. Prerequisite for this flexible process is an holistic approach

(in both exploration and analysis).

Approximation can be achieved via various methods.

Real Life Exploration

Real Life

Exploration

Pool of RLE-specific

approaches/techniques

• Diaries

• Agents

• Ethno exploration

• AccShops

• etc.

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Opens up a direct view of the research object for the researcher/company

Makes individual access possible (without researcher), i.e. personal

examination according to personal tendencies

Promotes the perception of underlying structures

Encompasses emotional sensitivities

Connects routines with daily events

Provides diverse modes of expression, e.g. collages, photos, etc.

Creative Diary...

Diaries – for an initial understanding

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Monday, the ...

This makes me happy today...

This has ruined my day...

My creative personal side

HyperMarket

3.95 DM

5.20 DM

9.70 DM

.....

THANK YOU

FOR

SHOPPING!

NEW

And then I went to the movies and had a huge ice cream there....

Specific focus...

Specific focus...

With this persons I spent my day ...

An example:

Creative Diary

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are persons from the target group

know and use the codes and language specific to the target group

move confidently and inconspicuously in the target group's world

are, in some case, Early Adapters, i.e. persons who grasp new trends

within their target group early on

Agents...

Agents – to approximating the target group 1

Who they are

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substitute the view of an external researcher for an internal one which does

justice to the target group

open insights into codes and language specific to the target group

thus enable the researcher and the company to change perspective either

towards a more complex target group or one which is further a field

can in this way present a basis for generating hypotheses


Agents... What they do

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Sensitising phase:

Observation tasks and research questions are developed in cooperation

with the agents

Against the background of these tasks, the agents examine the target

group in their everyday lives or in their specific environment

The observations and results are recorded in writing and, where possible,

also on camera (photo or video)

Workshop: the agents report on and work out answers to the research

questions with the researcher


Agents... How they are deployed

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CONSUMER UNDERSTANDING EthnoExploration 1

What it is

Multi-method – holistic, integrative analysis of everyday life

Participant observation – real life close up

Verbal / non-verbal evaluation

Contextual meanings – cultural value of brands, products, U&A

Possible: client participation and/or visual documentation

EthnoExploration

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An Example EthnoExploration

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What it achieves

to explore the single topic embedded within its relevant real life setting

to have the opportunity to explore the complex meaning by means of

integrated impressions on the spot (holistic perspective)

to gather in-depth portraits of the participants and learn to see the world

through their eyes (in-depth consumer insights)

get unfiltered impression and information, first hand

EthnoExploration

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Depending on the objectives of the research and the degree of client

integration, there are diverse opportunities for sharing the gained and

complex findings with the client:

Output of a Real Life Exploration

Real Life

Exploration

Output

• Raw data (diaries, collages)

• Active participation (Immersion)

• Video/photo documentation

• Expositions

• Workshops/seminars

• etc.

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CONSUMER UNDERSTANDING Benefit und Consultancy Competence

Client

Con-

sumer

The consulting services provided by RIQ are flexible and integrate the client

into the whole process of knowledge implementation.

Thus the client receives a comprehensive knowledge basis for its further

strategic orientation.

CU

• Experiences consumer insights

(first hand)

• Transparent consumer models

• Target group segmentation

• Deeper understanding (e.g. for R&D)

• Living briefing material

for the agency

• etc.

Added Value for clients

Resear-

cher

Knowledge Management

developments in consumer insights consumer understanding by ri amsterdam, may 2001

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