Felicia Rogers is an expert in Marketing Research and Branding Research. Below is a collection of blogs she has written.
Sometimes a brand need a new lease on life, a new purpose, a new positioning, a new formulation, and/or a new look. There are brands that make mistakes along the way and lose market share due to their missteps. Sadly, these examples can be found at every turn. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
The world around us is constantly changing.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the global population is aging at a much faster pace than in the past. Between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world’s population aged 60 and over will nearly double. Here are 6 megatrends being observed now that will have an impact on your business.
AI algorithms are smart and becoming smarter by the day. They’re sure to be able to do some of these tasks now, and perhaps more of them in the future. As we sit here today, relying solely or even too heavily on AI comes with significant risk. We humans have a broad and deep understanding of the business issues—the context of the problems.
Going into segmentation research, companies usually have firm plans, or at least an idea of how they will utilize the results. If a team is considering embarking on segmentation work without such plans, they’re probably not ready to spend the time or money required to make it happen. The last thing anyone wants is for such a significant research investment to fall flat for lack of planning or vision. The good news is segmentation efforts are, more often than not, successful with the right vision and good planning.
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.
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.
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.
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.
It’s no secret that when COVID-19 hit the U.S., life changed dramatically. Most people began spending so much time in their homes that desires to spruce things up emerged almost immediately. Here’s a summary of activities from our ongoing Consumer Reactions to COVID-19 research.
Focusing on the consumer is a critical step to ensure new products meet the needs and expectations of end-users. From a research perspective, there are several ways to engage with potential customers to help guide the innovation process. We’ll address three broad research tactics that many companies use to accomplish their goals: Qualitative Research, Concept Testing, and Choice Modeling.
As the business world moves faster and faster and demands grow by the day, trusted advisors are needed more than ever. From my vantage point I see researchers and strategists in corporate positions who are genuinely seeking support and advice from their peers and, more importantly, from those of us in agency-side roles. So, specifically, what should this “partnership” look like?
The big question, as we all begin moving forward again, seems to be, “How do we jump-start our business?” What questions should we be asking? What can we really expect from our customers, shoppers, or consumers? The truth is no one really knows what the future will look like. But the good news is there are steps we can all take toward answering these big questions.
No matter the product or service type, the most successful innovations are grounded in a consumer need or white space. Innovation is a process of trial and error that can take years to conceptualize, prototype, test, and refine. Many innovations require rigorous scientific experimentation. Often engineering and industrial-design functions are also involved.
How many new products are introduced in the U.S. each year? I’m sure the number is in the tens of thousands, especially when you count line extensions and other new SKUs. All you have to do is spend some time scrolling through Amazon or take a walk down the aisles of any retailer to get a sense of the number of products that already exist. So how does a new product truly break through?
In the business world, we’ve all heard it: “We did a segmentation, and no one bought into the results.” It’s important to remember that the research and report are just the beginning of the journey. We have found that it’s often vitally important to flank a segmentation initiative with in-person work sessions involving key members of the client organization’s team.
At its core, a strategy is a plan that is skillfully and carefully formulated and carried out for the purpose of achieving a goal. It seems appropriate to take a look at some of the tools available to help ensure a brand has a winning strategy. From a research and insights perspective, a number of types of studies can be deployed for a solid understanding of how end users will be influenced by a new strategy or a minor pivot in direction.
We’re all moving faster and being pressured to further pick up that already-brisk pace. One result of this increasing speed is the tendency to settle for “good enough.” If we can go through just of some of the steps in our time-tested process, that’s good enough. If we can conduct research overnight, even if we’re not representing the whole consumer base, that’s good enough. Or is it?
Are your consumers paying more to fill their gas tanks or cool their home lately? Are their weekly grocery bills rising? If the situation continues, we could be in for a product-quality crisis. So what’s a manufacturer to do? As soon as the market even hints at commodity prices creeping up and ingredient or component substitutions enter the realm of possibility, a plan for product testing should be activated.
Lots of people who specialize in consumer insights ask, “How can we get a seat at the table?” What we have to offer is critically important. The information we provide and insights we glean from great research routinely save companies money—big money. But I fear there are still few who see it that way.
It feels like marketing—especially advertising—is changing at lightning speed. Print is out, digital is in. Mass messaging is passé, microtargeting is the new black. Traditional processes? Nah, give me agile please, and let’s add in some programmatic advertising. Right or wrong, these seem to be the prevailing attitudes as technology advances and consumer behavior changes.
How do you know if a new product will be successful? Will people like it? Will they buy it? Will they tell others about it? Will they give positive ratings and reviews? Will they buy it a second time? And a third? Will we make a profit on it? How quickly?
Originated by the Stanford University Institute of Design, this is a development pathway for use by designers and innovation specialists. Design Thinking is a process in which steps help guide innovation in virtually any area of discipline. That is, the process helps develop new products and services, new advertising or promotions, new package functionality or presentation, etc.
We often put the cart before the horse when evaluating new product ideas. How many times have you been in the midst of a new product development (NPD) effort when the conversation turned to the target market? I’m convinced that, for some in corporate America, the lens is focused so intensely on the target market that the product idea itself gets pushed into the periphery.
Building brand awareness is becoming more and more difficult. Media, in seemingly endless forms, has a huge influence on our lives. We humans are inundated with messages. Experts tell us that advertising messages alone come at us thousands of times each day. Add to those other marketing messages, personal conversations, text messages, email, news feeds, social media activity, and so on. I’m distracted just writing these words.
