Tiptoeing on the edge of ethical - Market Research

When Gillette conducted a focus group research that surrounded the usage of razor blades by women, they were told frequent blade changes took place, however, when they conducted observational research, they found that the same women rarely remembered to change the blade as they didn't keep a stock in the shower.

Perspective of action is rarely the same as perspective in action, what consumers
tell researchers is what they think they do, not what they actually do, so why do we continue to use surveys and focus groups? in short - they are a safe bet, we know what to expect and direct the line of thought, an ideology hardly conducive for innovation.

Observational research is exciting, it gives researchers a 3D view of the subject in question, it engages the researcher in the life of the subject and much can be recorded & analysed to uncover the subconscious behaviours; however failing to uncover the next big thing, is a risk that management simply has to accept.

The implications of using vidiography in observational research poses numerous ethical issues that researchers need to consider. 
In a recent survey of shopping motivations and habits, the shopping habits of people where observed for three hours in a mall by placing a camera on them, the mall management was aware of the experiment, but neither other customers nor shop clerks, that the subjects came into contact with, had any idea they were being videoed, which although not illegal is arguably an ethical misconduct.
Further complications occur when subjects forget about the camera (a marketeer's dream!) and therefore may engage in private behaviours, in this particular experiment some forgot to switch off the camera in the changing rooms!

Videography is a game changer, observational research is expensive and daring, its for those seeking innovation, however it needs to be handled with care, because until the technology is upgraded to black out other humans and interpret private behaviours switching off automatically, marketeers either undertake perspectives of action (i.e. just listen to what people think they do) or continuously tiptoe on the edge of ethical.

Don't spin your wheels solving the wrong Puzzle......

General Mills Case

Defining the wrong marketing research problem is probably the single most detrimental factor to deriving sound findings.  

The marketing research road map starts by defining the problem, any mistakes at the start filter through the whole research leading to wrong findings, wasting resources and in extreme cases development of products that completely flop. 

Precise definition of the problem without management bias is imperative. 

BN a subsidiary of General Mills in France fell into the trap of defining their marketing problem as 'what the competitors are doing that we are not' after declining market share three years in a row of their cash cow product the gouter (chocolate filled cookie - a favourite after school snack for the French).

Management bias closely aligned their failures with the success of the competitors narrowly defining their marketing problem and research hence, disabling a wider view of the problem. The company decided to put more weight into their advertising to remedy their problem and to their chagrin the situation worsened. 

When a fresh pair of eyes from the head office came and looked at the research data, they realised that the product was no longer desirable, the French subsidiary had changed the ingredients to cut costs as they were directed to increase profit margins by the Americans. 

The Americans were surprised to find the product was altered and the French were surprised that the Americans were surprised, since it seemed obvious that cost cutting would change the product mix to a lower quality alternatives!

Once the problem was redefined as 'what taste do the customers favour' then a new selection was introduced reversing the decline in market share.

Common Mistake 

Decision makers often give researchers a verbal brief as they do not think it's their job to write down the problem and analyse all the factors that may have contributed to their problem and herein one of the main mistakes are made. 

When decision makers spend sufficient time writing and analysing, the market research brief becomes clearer, targeted and easier for the research team to navigate. 

The channels of communication between the research team and decision makers need to be open, honest and based on mutual cooperation in order to design the right market research survey and derive the right answers. Decision makers have to be ready to invest an abundance of time feeding the researchers information about the market, industry, products and competitor products as well as personal hunches in order for researchers to put the pieces of the right puzzle together!

What's this marketing research then, Dave?

Is Marketing Research Necessary?

James Birks who founded and managed Kiln construction for forty years has been said to have asked his grandson Dave (who wrote a marketing research book) what marketing research was all about!

This alludes to the fact the James Birks has indeed never carried out any marketing research and yet managed to manufacture products for porcelain and ceramics internationally for names such as Wedgwood, Royal Doulton & Spode.

Could this really be possible?  

Successful organisations see market research as an ongoing function of marketing research, they continuously speak to their customers, suppliers and colleagues in the business as well as those who know the macro environment surrounding the business. James Birks was renowned in doing just that.

Marketing research is there to fill in some gaps, solidify hunches and give a starting point to a problem or understanding the perceived  image of a product, they are what is happening today.

What marketing research does not do is guarantee success of a decision and does not allow for innovation much. It is hard for people to realise they would buy something if they have never seen it or even identified the need for it. 
Dyson vacuum is an example of this whereby all research showed that people are uncomfortable buying a bag-less, see-through vacuum as they didn't want people to see all the dirt collected from their homes and retailers indicated they couldn't demonstrate such a product on the shop floor. Not only was Dyson a hit but it was sold at double the price of available vacuums with no problem!

Ethics, asking the right questions and evaluating return on investment are all factors to consider and will be discussed in future rants.

Marketing research - handle with care!