Get the insight right

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/03/2024 (645 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When I’m working with clients or in the classroom, I often use a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon to explain the challenge with believing a single source of customer data.

In the cartoon, Calvin is completing a reader survey for a chewing gum magazine and providing information that is completely wrong. His intention is that it will result in some amusing ads in the future due to his messing with data.

Throughout my career in product launches and planning, I have learned David Ogilvy, legendary advertising leader, was right when he said research can be used in one of two ways.

Similar to how a drunk uses a lamppost, you can use research to illuminate something or for support of your preconceived belief.

When I worked in the cable TV industry more than 20 years ago, there was an explosion of new channels.

Every single new concept approved by the regulating body had research indicating tremendous audience interest. However, there were very few channels that actually achieved the size of customer base estimated in the research.

This was when I learned that when people are forced to decide where they spend their money, they will often do something different than what they said in the research.

Think of the daily decisions you make regarding purchases. Even though you make a list of items, your decision at the store or shopping website may change due to many factors. Cost is one, but also included are things such as expiry dates, new product samples, substitutes, packaging, etc. How can companies predict the future customer purchase decisions given this challenge?

The key question is how to use data to inform company decision making. When you understand how your product or service is used by your customer, you are able to ask the right kinds of questions. Using more than just a “would you buy this at that price?” type of approach, you can see what a customer truly values about your solution.

You must understand what the customer defines as the value you are providing. If the customer doesn’t value something specific, then you are competing in a sea of sameness.

Scott MacKay, president of Probe Research, is a marketing research professional. His experience includes all types of topics and situations from products to politics.

His advice when conducting marketing research is to “confirm what you really want to know at the outset. What do you need to advance your business, make it more effective and efficient.”

He also cautions simply using a free online survey tool doesn’t always provide the business with confidence. “When a customer receives a survey request from a company representative they are often concerned that their responses will not be kept confidential. Using a third-party researcher can give respondents confidence their results are strictly confidential and they are then more likely to provide accurate responses.”

Building off MacKay’s comments, here is a process I have used to gather information from customers you can be confident in.

First, set a specific objective. If your research aim is not specific enough, you will not gain a coherent insight.

Second, use an expert to help craft your questions. Whether using a quantitative or qualitative survey, focus groups or some other data collection tool, you must ensure questions are defined as not leading to a specific answer and also not leaving too much to interpretation.

Finally, ensure you can relate the results back to your original objective and then into your planning process. There will be other sources of data —such as financial results, staff inputs, competitive analysis, and supplier insights — that must be integrated with customer research to provide a holistic position of your current operating environment.

While it is important to listen to your customers, you want to acquire valuable customer information. It is more important to ask the right questions to ensure you gain accurate insights.

In other words, you don’t want a six-year-old kid to pose as a middle-aged man with a preference for garlic/chutney-flavoured gum.

You want to see your customer for who they really are, so you can deliver the value they are looking for.

Tim’s bits: Every winning game plan begins with an objective. Collecting the data is an essential step to avoid the “garbage in garbage out” trap that can misinform any planning process. Know your customer or you will have no customer.

Tim Kist is a Certified Management Consultant, authorized by law, and a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Manitoba

tim@tk3consulting.ca