Really ‘understanding’ your consumer is the key to marketing success.
Not just a superficial understanding but getting beneath their first responses to probe a their deep motivations, underlying beliefs & principles.
This deep, rich, empathetic understanding isn’t always easy to achieve. Traditional consumer groups have their place, but, they’re not the best place to gain this really deep, rich, granular understanding.
This is where in-situ Consumer Connects come into their own.
In-home and in-store consumer safaris give you the invaluable opportunity to get out of your comfort-zone … and try-out your consumers’ shoes!
By getting our of your office for a few hours; immersing yourself in their lives, feeling their pressures & seeing them interact with your products … you will boost your consumer empathy immeasurably
A well moderated in-context safari will not only help you develop a deeper understanding, but also produce illuminating insights which you can validate with a wider audience at a later date.
Two factors are key to getting beyond the flippant comments and knee-jerk responses: ‘Time’ and ‘trust’.
Time
‘Time’ devoted to a safari and an individual is crucial for success. We recommend a minimum of two hours.
It might feel like a long time to spend chatting to someone you don’t know in their own home, but it takes this time to get beneath the surface. Think of your best conversations with your friends. You need to get past: How are you? How’s the dog? To start understanding what’s really going on in their lives. It’s the same with consumers. To start with they’ll tell you the same stuff you’ve heard before, but with time you will get deeper and start revealing many more, actionable insights.
This is where the second success factor of ‘trust’ comes into play.
Trust
You shouldn’t sit back and let a ‘third party’ conduct your safaris for you. We encourage our clients to get out on safari with our moderators to meet their consumers in the flesh … because there’s nothing better than gaining empathy ‘first hand’.
The key to a successful safari is building trust. Our team of moderators have spent years developing the questioning & listening skills to help build this subtle, but crucial, bond between the consumer and the questioner. Many factors come into play; body language, eye contact and willingness to open up a little yourself, all play a part.
Walk in their shoes?
Are you ready to ‘walk in their shoes’?
Are you ready to gather invaluable clues?
Are you ready to build genuine consumer empathy?
And, are you ready for the ‘rush’ of solution-driven ideas that will almost inevitably follow?
If you’re prepared to devote ‘time’ & build ‘trust’ to consumer connects … you genuinely will gain new, illuminating insights that will help develop your marketing plans for success.
A couple of well structured safaris can be all it takes to open-up your team’s thinking, give them fresh perspective … and help them gain the empathy they need.
We can even help your team develop the questioning, observation & listening skills they need.
Drop us a line or give us a call and we’ll be happy to help you, and your team, reach new insights and gain real, empathetic consumer understanding.
01491 411272
