Market research must start putting consumer needs in perspective

By Alter Agents
shopper insights

Quirks Article: Market research must start putting consumer needs in perspective

There are many unpredictable factors at play when consumers make purchase decisions, so researchers need to change their approach to accommodate this behavior. Rebecca Brooks writes about shifting our research focus in order to glean more actionable insights in a new article on Quirks.  She helps to answer the question “How can market research reorient our approach to deliver insights for brands allowing them to truly connect with their audiences when it matters?” by offering four changes to methodology for consideration:

  • Context: If researchers start to ground everything in context, this allows users to frame their answers in a more realistic setting. This can mean everything from talking to recent purchasers - an approach that can prove expensive - to presenting a situation with realistic constraints in which users answer questions.
  • Need: Brands need to start shifting focus away from how consumers perceive the brand itself and more onto figuring out what needs are driving the consumer to make a purchase.
  • Alignment: After the consumer needs are identified, a brand should compare how it (and its competitors) aligns with those needs. Then the move can be made to promote differentiators and strengths.
  • Strength: Focus your research on how your shoppers are making their decisions, the context of those decisions and the influencers that can impact consumer choice. Then you can determine where your brand touchpoints can align with them at the right places and right times to maximize impact.

She concludes that “By shifting the way we approach research, we can start truly understanding the new consumer and the unique challenges that they present for brand loyalty. By contextualizing our outreach and focusing less on perception and more on needs, we can start to see a clearer path to connecting with consumers.”

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quirks article by rebecca brooks