2023
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7Feb
Are Your Price Increases Causing Customer Confusion and Resentment? by Heather Kluter and Elizabeth Horn, Ph.D.
During tough economic times, companies may often seem insensitive to their customers, causing a loss in trust and loyalty.
Price increases paired with decreasing value cut deep. There can be a more artful approach to pricing that can soften the blow for consumers while still managing profitability. Of course, pricing evaluation can be complex, so where should your company start?
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23Jan
Secondary Meaning: The Measure of Brand Strategy by Jerry W. Thomas
A brand is some type of symbol, name, or sign that identifies and distinguishes one product or service from competitive products or services (and we can think of “identifies” and “distinguishes” as the practical functions of a brand).
There are also intangible elements, such as status signals, values, emotions and feelings, visual imagery, and personality traits that can be linked to a brand name.
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10Jan
If a Tree Falls in the Forest? by Bonnie Janzen
Consider, if you will, the age-old question of “If a tree falls in the forest, and there is no human or animal to hear it, did it make a sound?”
So, in a similar fashion, if the optimal consumer insight research is budgeted, approved, designed, and conducted to solve a business problem but there were no decisions made, and no action taken, what did it accomplish? Why should it exist?
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2022 Blogs
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1Dec
As a consumer goods manufacturer feeling the forces of slower consumer spending, the higher cost of goods, and pressures from retailers, you may be struggling with what you can do to sustain the health of your business. One critically important need is to understand the shopper’s and/or consumer’s perspective and what will keep her engaged with your brand.
As we face the headwinds that 2023 will likely bring, here are 4 types of research to help manufacturers address critical business questions.
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27Sep
I ♥ Product Testing by Tom Allen
Product tests are, at their most basic, some of the simplest types of marketing research that can be done.
Which cola do you most prefer the taste of? The one on the left or the one on the right? Take it no further than that and you have something that is arguably insightful. Take it even one step further and the tests can be very revealing. Why do you prefer the one on the left? Just adding that one simple question (and the probes that should normally follow it) takes the implications to the next level.
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12Sep
Does Your Segmentation Need A Refresh? by Elizabeth Horn, Ph.D.
Segmentation initiatives are expensive and exhausting. Done properly, by including stakeholder interviews, qualitative exploration, quantitative segmentation, qualitative persona development, and an activation workshop, segmentations can take months and require the ongoing attention of internal business partners.
When the research and the initial activation process is finished, there remains the big job of socializing the segments throughout the organization.
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9Aug
Let Imaginators® Enhance Your Next Research Initiative by Gretchen Riskind
Hearing directly from consumers can be invaluable, but what if your research initiatives are a bit more creative in nature?
By including creative people, such as the Imaginators, as part of a hybrid (or multi-method) approach to your research often provides a more comprehensive perspective which translates into strategic action.
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28Jul
6 Steps (Or Hops) To Successful Shopper Research by Felicia Rogers
Research can be a little bit like the game of hopscotch. You take the first hop, then the second (maybe the third at the same time), then the next, then the next, and so on.
All the while, you’re gaining momentum and working hard to stay focused on the outcome: THE FINISH LINE! Here are the steps for successful shopper research.
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20Jul
Virtual Ideation Workshops: 5 Tips For Success by Kelly Sons
Ideation workshops are a great way to generate innovative ideas for new products, services, or experiences—or enhancements to any of these.
Most companies have grown very comfortable with in-depth interviews and focus groups conducted via webcam, an option that provides flexibility and has been relied on heavily since the pandemic began. But what about ideation workshops? When does it make sense to take these virtual? And how can you do so successfully?
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12Jul
Assessing Willingness To Pay In An Economic Downturn by Cari Peek
Times like these undoubtedly lead to changes in consumer spending.
Facing this downturn, businesses are struggling with tough decisions on whether to increase prices, and by how much. When making these decisions, it’s important to know how much a consumer values your products. What are the pricing parameters for your offerings that ensure continued customer demand, and at what point do you start pushing your customers out of your brand? Understanding Willingness To Pay (WTP) can help businesses answer these questions.
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27Jun
Your Employees are The Key to Your Success! by Bonnie Janzen
Employees are the lifeblood of any business. Fostering employee relationships is much like planting and caring for a garden.
We want to create, maintain, and nurture each relationship between the company and its managers and its employees. Investing in employees’ growth and training as they take on new tasks and challenges is a crucial element of cultivating a successful company.
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31May
Researching In The Metaverse: For Better Or For Worse? by Julie Trujillo
Admittedly, I’m no expert on the metaverse. Yet, here I am, raising questions and starting the conversation.
I think this is a conversation that needs to start now because we are already here. "Here where?", you ask. Here, conducting research in the metaverse. For better or for worse, it has begun.
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11May
Make Me Comfortable, Please! by Felicia Rogers
What makes a home comfortable?
You’re likely to find a wide variety of answers to this question, ranging from soft goods to structural improvements. Based on our recent research, things like home entertainment systems, furniture, and a good heating and cooling system top the list.
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11May
The Eye Of The Beholder by Clay Dethloff
Throughout my career in marketing research, I’m constantly reminded of the importance of stepping back and seeing the world through the eyes of the consumer.
To better understand the consumer perspective, and make sure that we do understand the world from the “eye of the beholder” (i.e. consumer), we at Decision Analyst have found an overall approach of going in-depth and in-the-moment in our qualitative research endeavors often provides richer insights and a better understanding of the consumer.
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03May
An Overview Of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) For Marketing Researchers by Audrey Guinn, Ph.D.
Structural Equation Modeling is a flexible multi-use tool in the marketing researcher’s pocket.
Researchers benefit from using SEM due to its multi-functional capabilities. SEM’s benefits are many, such as managing many independent and dependent variables, examining different types of models, accounting for measurement error, and analyzing all relationships simultaneously.
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27Apr
How To Interview Physicians When You Aren’t An M.D. Yourself by Pamela Waite
Let’s face it—talking to doctors can be intimidating.
The weight of physicians’ work responsibilities and their collective intelligence can be quite intimidating, even for a seasoned researcher. If you lack experience with interviewing physicians, this article includes six questions to ask yourself in preparation for an interview with physicians.
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12Apr
What’s New, Pussycat? by Sara Sutton
Yes, I like the music of Tom Jones and other crooners.
However, I bring up this tongue-in-cheek, somewhat old-fashioned song for another reason: “What’s new?” is a question that product-oriented companies face all the time. For service-oriented companies, that question is often “What’s different or unique about the services your company offers?”
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5Apr
Knocking Off The Rust Getting Ready For The Post-COVID Business World by Heather Kluter
Life feels like it may be returning to normal.
How do we dust off our rusty social skills? ‘Social rust’ is to be expected after dealing with the uncertainty of the pandemic. Activities that we never thought twice about may now feel awkward or anxiety-inducing. Even those who are willing to step back into live social situations may still want to adhere to some social boundaries.
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1Mar
Decisions are among the key elements of our lives. Regardless of who you are or where you’re from, you make thousands of decisions every day.
Any time you design a space where a human must make a choice, whether it be a product website or a retail store, you are creating what behavioral scientists call the “choice architecture.” And no matter how you design your choice architecture, you will be influencing people’s decision making—intentionally or not.
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22Feb
Brand Equity Tracking Models by Jerry W. Thomas
All other factors being equal, Brand Equity is the very best predictor of a corporation’s probability of long-term success.
In well-managed corporations, senior management stays focused on building and maintaining Brand Equity for all of their brands among the most important target audiences (customers and prospective customers). Once a sound brand strategy is in place, it’s important to track the cumulative effects through repeated surveys of target consumers, employees, and other target audiences.
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8Feb
Not Wasting Words: Identifying the Right Sustainability Message by Jennifer Murphy
Your company has done the hard work of defining sustainability in your arena, researched the topic, and set goals and created initiatives that have the full support of the board. How do you best communicate your plan to your customers?
Does the word "sustainability" mean the same thing to your customers as it does to your organization? How can you assure that your initiatives are seen as more than merely lofty ideals?
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1Feb
Strategy’s Starring Role: Don’t Let The Supporting Actors Steal The Show by Felicia Rogers
It seems so simple but brilliant at the same time. Messaging strategy, like any other strategy, should have a singular focus.
If the recipient takes away just one key idea from your message, what should it be? High quality? Sustainably produced? World’s most comfortable pants? Guaranteed fun? When we think about brand-building campaigns, whatever your brand’s core promise is, that’s where the messaging strategy should be focused.
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20Jan
Recently I was thinking about the similarities between coffee made with a French press and great consumer insights.
To manage a successful business, you will need customer insights in order to inform the decisions that are being made on a daily basis regarding products, advertising, messaging, pricing, packaging, distribution, shelf displays, promotions, etc.
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12Jan
Multicollinearity – A Marketing Researcher’s Curse Word by Audrey Guinn, PH.D.
What is Multicollinearity?
Multicollinearity (also known as collinearity) occurs when two or more variables are very highly correlated. Singularity, a more serious form of multicollinearity, occurs when two or more variables are redundant, where one variable is a linear combination of the others.
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Contact Decision Analyst
If you would like more information on Marketing Research, please contact Jerry W. Thomas by emailing jthomas@decisionanalyst.com or calling 1-817-640-6166.
Library Sections
Blogs By Decision Analyst Researchers
- Jerry W. Thomas
- Bonnie Janzen
- Felicia Rogers
- Heather Kluter
- Jennifer Murphy
- Julie Trujillo
- Lesley Johnson
- Sara Sutton
- Tom Allen
Blogs By Advanced Analytics Team
Blogs By Qualitative Research Team