Market Research Made Simple

Let’s make market research personal. When was the last time you were 100% truthful on survey? If the survey takes over 3 mins do you lose focus and become tick happy? 

Have you ever been in a focus group with a bunch of strangers? Did you feel comfortable? 

If we really want to uncover customer needs we need new methods. Survey’s and focus groups have their place but if we’re creating a product or service, we need to get personal. Let’s look at how successes have been achieved in the past. What is a common theme? What is the superpower of these organisations? Most of the time you can bet it’s their ability to uncover market insights and the ability to creatively meet untapped needs. 

Marketing quickly becomes a big expense if you’re trying to gain reach and awareness of a product that people just don’t feel they need. It also gets expensive if you’re unsure of you’re market and who your customer is. A scatter gun approach can be a pricey way to test and measure and it ensures waste. Waste in terms of time, money and resources.

By seeking out extreme users, immersive techniques, consumer case studies, testimonials and inspiration from success you could develop the next disruption. 

With a few short conversations with your customers you can create the your next big marketing campaign. 

Better results through real market research.

Shall we call it Market Realsearch?  

To prove our point let’s talk about UberEats and how they innovate. 

Realising that they can’t possibly understand the intricacies and infrastructure of every city from their offices in San Francisco they created “The Walkabout Program“. 

“Every quarter, designers visit an UberEATS city and dive deeply into that market. They learn the city’s food culture. They study the transportation and logistical infrastructures. They interview delivery partners, restaurant workers, and consumers. They eat and eat and eat. Upon return, they share their insights with the entire team. Each visit helps build a comprehensive understanding of our different markets and customers.” 

They also “Overshadow” another form of immersion where they follow the live deliveries as well as sit in people’s homes to when they are ordering their meal. “Watching our products in the wild helps us better understand the needs of our customers, how well our designs address those needs, and what challenges exist in the real world”.  

This is what is termed immersion in human centred design, and it removes the variables of an artificial environment. Real insight from real experiences. 

The power of a testimonial!

UberEats also actively seek out feedback from delivery partners, restaurants and consumers to try and fill any gaps that might come from the above initiatives. This then gives them powerful insights to dissect and discuss new opportunities. This is done via Innovation workshops.  

When they need to develop ideas, they form a cross functional team to “generate insights and inspiration, then run creative exercises to generate a range of ideas. These structured brainstorms shake up the mindset of the team, push our creativity, and spawn innovative ideas like pooled deliveries and ‘virtual’ restaurants only available on UberEats.” 

Disruption

Why didn’t UberEats just get the insights from big data and deep dive research, surveys and mass market campaigns? None of these methods allow for the insights that are gained from more intimate personal research and if we are talking about true disruption then you won’t have any like products to compare to and certainly no past trends to predict from. 

If we are talking about emerging behaviours, then its highly likely that if you’re waiting on industry stats and data to guide your way… then you’re too late. 

UberEats has made innovation and human centred design part of their DNA like many other success stories. They realise the power in remaining close to and having empathy for all the parties they serve. From the in-home diner, to the delivery partner to the restaurateur.  

Before you spend thousands on qualitative and quantitative surveys, reports and industry data how about considering a new method. Consider how you or your team can truly gain exposure through immersion in your market or look at external support who can guide you on how to do this and even provide a new point of view to old problems.  

This article is by Olivia O’Connor, Founder of Liv By Design 

“At Liv By Design we start with the customer. We put ourselves in their shoes and we have empathy for their needs.” 

Olivia helps organisations gather true research of her clients by offering support in adapting immersion and interview techniques that gather insights that could transform your marketing results and provide valuable insight about your organisation.