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Pitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers Really Want
John Patrick Finn, Ph.D.Rutgers Business School&Cahill Finn Associates
Presented at ProductCamp NYCNovember 6, 2010held at Microsoft Offices, New York
Center for Management DevelopmentRule #1 -- The Customer is Always Right
Rule #2 - If the Customer is Ever Wrong, Re-Read Rule #1" Stew Leonards Passionate Approach to Customer Service:John P. Finn Rutgers Business School & Cahill Finn AssociatesPitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers WantCenter for Management DevelopmentSome Starting Assumptions The consumer is the center of everything No consumer ever buys a price
Every product/service purchased or used is a solution to some aspect of daily life
As a consumers daily lives changes, products/services are adapted, re-invented, or changed to fit new circumstancesPitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers WantJohn P. Finn Rutgers Business School & Cahill Finn AssociatesCenter for Management DevelopmentHow Do We Find Out What Consumers Need/Want ?Uncover Consumer Insights: understand the essence of something
In Practice, Consumer Insights
Extend along the continuum of consumer contact with a product category, specific products, and Brands in a category
Pre- Purchase PurchaseConsumptionPost-Purchase
Range from the practical (i.e., functional) to the emotional
Reveal something about the consumers approach and beliefs about the Brand or Category
Pitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers WantJohn P. Finn Rutgers Business School & Cahill Finn AssociatesCenter for Management DevelopmentWell developed Consumer Insights depend upon
in-depth understanding of measurable facts
integrated with a well developed ability to hear and see the consumer
Want to know how they approach selection of any category/product, and this one in particular; e.g.
I only choose the highest quality/they are all the same
I use the brand as guide/I just read ingredient labels
products are a reflection of me
How Do We Find Out What Consumers Need/Want ?Pitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers WantJohn P. Finn Rutgers Business School & Cahill Finn AssociatesCenter for Management DevelopmentSo How Do We Do It ?
Were All Consumers, so Whats the Big Deal: Just Ask the Right Questions, and Youll Get the Right Answers
Right ?Pitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers WantJohn P. Finn Rutgers Business School & Cahill Finn AssociatesCenter for Management DevelopmentTruth is:
We Seldom Really Know Why People Do the Things They Do
Because
Were Usually Not Directly Aware of What Influences Even Our Own BehaviorPitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers WantJohn P. Finn Rutgers Business School & Cahill Finn AssociatesCenter for Management DevelopmentIll KNOW IT WHEN I SEE IT
But We May Not Realize We Saw it
The Strange Case of
Subliminal Perception
Pitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers WantJohn P. Finn Rutgers Business School & Cahill Finn AssociatesCenter for Management DevelopmentAfter viewing a brief film showing a car rear-ending a stopped car, viewers were asked the following question:
How fast was the car going when it smashed into the rear of the car stopped at the STOP sign ?
A second group viewed the same film and were asked this question:
How fast was the car going when it bumped into the car stopped at the Stop sign ?Pitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers WantJohn P. Finn Rutgers Business School & Cahill Finn AssociatesCenter for Management Development
Which Picture is More Appealing ? Pitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers WantJohn P. Finn Rutgers Business School & Cahill Finn AssociatesCenter for Management DevelopmentHow to Get College Students to Clean Up. Without Realizing Why They Did It !
Recent study demonstrated that
When a dorm room was subtly infused with the aroma of a citrus all-purpose cleanser
More students cleaned up after themselves after eating in the room than did a comparable group who smelled a product having nothing to do with cleaning
When questioned afterwards, the citrus group could not venture a consistent reason for their behavior
Pitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers WantJohn P. Finn Rutgers Business School & Cahill Finn AssociatesCenter for Management DevelopmentWomen Wearing Red Dresses
Judged More Attractive than the Same
Women Wearing a Black, Blue, or Any
OtherColor DressThe Woman in RedPitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers WantJohn P. Finn Rutgers Business School & Cahill Finn AssociatesCenter for Management DevelopmentWe Humans Can Tell You What We Like or Dislike,
But
Cannot Reliably Tell You Why We Like or Dislike SomethingPitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers WantJohn P. Finn Rutgers Business School & Cahill Finn AssociatesCenter for Management Development
Why Words Often Fail Us Pitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers WantJohn P. Finn Rutgers Business School & Cahill Finn AssociatesCenter for Management Development14 But, There are Also Cognitive Illusions that Can Be Barriers to Gaining Insights
Most obstacles are in our heads, trapped in conventional wisdom and accepted ways of making sense of a business and the world around us
These blinders of everyday normalcy are the single biggest impediment to developing true insights
We have lots of biases built into ways in which we try to make sense of the world: They push us to explain away things we see/hear from consumers because they dont conform to accepted wisdom
This leads us to fail to connect the dots (i.e., make obvious connections), that only seem obvious after someone finally does make the connection
Pitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers WantJohn P. Finn Rutgers Business School & Cahill Finn AssociatesCenter for Management DevelopmentWhats the One Sport That Does Not Belong with the Rest ?
Football (American) ?Field Hockey ?Pocket Billiards ?Baseball ?Soccer ?Pitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers WantJohn P. Finn Rutgers Business School & Cahill Finn AssociatesCenter for Management DevelopmentSome Cognitive Obstacles/Barriers to Gaining Insights
Sometimes We See Things That Arent There
And Sometimes We Miss Things That Are There
Sometimes Theres More Than One Explanation
Sometimes What We See Doesnt Make Any SensePitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers WantJohn P. Finn Rutgers Business School & Cahill Finn AssociatesCenter for Management DevelopmentSOMETIMES WE SEE THINGS THAT ARENT THEREIngrained societal expectations about peoples roles, behaviors and expectations
women are passengers, not drivers
men dont color their hair
everyone has kids
older people dont try new things
Pitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers WantJohn P. Finn Rutgers Business School & Cahill Finn AssociatesCenter for Management DevelopmentInnovation
Hersheys Dark Choc KissesStarbucks Coffee Cup SleeveOreos 100 calorie packs Ketchup in a squeeze bottle Frosted Flakes Coffee can with pullback seal Panty Hose Originally Insight Introduced Introduced 1907 2003 1992 +/- 1999+/- 1920 2005 . . . A really long time 1924 1952 1920 2000 1800s 1960 AND SOMETIMES WE MISS THINGS THAT ARE THEREPitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers WantJohn P. Finn Rutgers Business School & Cahill Finn AssociatesCenter for Management Development
SOMETIMES THERES MORE THAN ONE EXPLANATIONPitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers WantJohn P. Finn Rutgers Business School & Cahill Finn AssociatesCenter for Management Development
SOMETIMES THERES MORE THAN ONE EXPLANATIONPitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers WantJohn P. Finn Rutgers Business School & Cahill Finn AssociatesCenter for Management Development
SOMETIMES WHAT WE SEE DOESNT MAKE ANY SENSE
Pitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers WantJohn P. Finn Rutgers Business School & Cahill Finn AssociatesCenter for Management Development Often Results in a Dismissive Attitude by Marketers Toward Things They See Consumers Do or Hear Them Say
WHY Dont CONSUMERS Understand ?
Should really be
WHY Dont MARKETERS Understand ?
If consumers are product users, it means there is something WE have missed, or
If consumers are not users, its because WE may have failed to communicate or maybe even failed to understand the brand/product well enough ourselves
SOMETIMES WHAT WE SEE DOESNT MAKE ANY SENSEPitfalls in Trying to Figure Out What Consumers WantJohn P. Finn Rutgers Business School & Cahill Finn AssociatesCenter for Management Development
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