3 Different Market Research Techniques

After reading the Blink, Metaphorically Speaking, and the Customer Input Article, I can see why market research is so important within the marketing industry. Companies are always trying to be on the edge of market research, so that they can provide consumers with differentiated products that either don’t exist in the marketplace at that time, or are vastly improved to the products that their competitors sell. In the Blink Article, Malcolm Gladwell uses many company examples to show how traditional market research (i.e. asking consumers what they want) does not work. Instead, Gladwell suggests that observing consumers, performing secret tests, such as the “yellow” butter example with the margarine, and listening more to experts than the average consumer opinion, are very important to the success of a product in the marketplace. I really like Gladwell’s approach to market research, because I also believe that consumers don’t always understand what they really want. I always wonder how a consumer can say he wants something that he can’t even visualize or understand. For example, when there were non-cordless phones in the marketplace, people wanted the ability to walk around without a cord, but a person at that time could never imagine or say he wanted a cell phone and all of its capabilities. If companies only based their innovation on the words of their customers, than our society would not have many of the amazing innovations that we enjoy today.

The Metaphorically Speaking article used a different research approach than Gladwell’s article. Zaltman talked about a new technique called ZMET, which gets consumers to pick out images that represent a product to them. The ZMET process includes in-depth interviews with the consumers and with their pictures, digging deep into consumers’ associations with the pictures and the product/brand. I am somewhat uneasy about this technique because I feel that there is a very large risk of the interviewer pushing or leading the interviewee to a certain answer or interpretation of the pictures. However, I do feel that allowing the consumer to bring his own pictures, rather than choosing from a group of the interviewer’s pictures is a great idea. It gives the interviewee more freedom to express himself and his associations with the product/brand. In comparison to Gladwell’s approach, I believe that Gladwell’s approach makes a lot more sense and implements two approaches: expert opinion and consumer observation. The ZMET uses experts and interviews with consumers, and although it tries to dig deep into consumer’s true needs, I still feel that it relies too much on what consumers say, which we have seen time and time again to be very unreliable.

The Customer Input article discusses another approach in which there is a 5 step process to generate important insights and then use them to create new innovations. It involves taking a process or product and creating buckets, capturing true desired outcomes from all of the buckets, organizing the outcomes into their appropriate buckets, rating the outcomes based upon satisfaction and importance, and then applying the outcomes into new innovations. I really like this approach because it is organized and has a clear sequential order. This 5 step process can work for any individual at a company looking to generate insights. Although it is more complicated than just following the 5 steps and generating insights, Ulwick lays out a pathway for market researchers to follow as a first step.

In terms of comparison, I would say Ulwick’s 5 step process is an easier approach in most situations that the complicated ZMET process. The ZMET process appears to be more time intensive, as well as more difficult to perform for a random market researcher. In comparison to Gladwell’s approach, I believe that the 5 step process is an easier approach to perform on any given day. I think Gladwell’s process of observing consumers is a great approach and can really generate some unthinkable insights. However, I also think that it is difficult to always observe consumers anytime a company may want to learn something new about a product or consumer. Gladwell’s approach may be the best research tool to use when a company wants to create a new product or service in the marketplace. While Ulwick’s 5 step process may be the best research tool to use when a company wants to create a brand extension or optimize a brand that is currently in the marketplace. The ZMET method would also be a great tool for an existing brand, but not very good for a new innovation. Consumers would not be able to find pictures for things that they can’t visualize, and the interviewers may find the conversation and the deep dive to be very confusing and unhelpful.

Overall, I think all three research approaches use interesting methods to gain insights from consumers. Some are easier to implement then others, and some are more organized than others, but at the end of the day, a company has to choose the research method that fits its culture and fits its employees’ skills/experiences. But then again, if a company sticks with one method, its innovation will dry-up and the company may lose market share to other companies that want to take risks and try new approaches. It will be a constant balancing act for all companies in this marketplace, all trying to create the next big thing.