A few years ago I was at a craft show—an annual outing where I sell beaded jewelry that I design and “dabble in” throughout the year. Unlike previous shows, that year I sold hardly any earrings, usually a high demand item both because of their uniqueness and low price, I think (I have to be honest with myself!). Instead, that year I sold (more…)
Archive for the ‘Marketing Research’ Category
Qualitative vs. Quantitative Customer Insights and How to Use Them
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2022Avoiding Paralysis by Analysis: How Much Research Do You Really Need To Do?
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022Moving forward with communication tactics without a good understanding of the target audience, their current attitudes and beliefs, and the drivers that might lead them to positive action relative to your product or service is never a good idea.
On the other hand, many companies—particularly small companies—don’t have the time or resources to invest in expensive research activities.
It’s a conundrum—but one that can be addressed (more…)
The New Echo Illustrates a More Reliable Way to Do Market Research
Friday, July 30th, 2021
I recently saw an interesting promotion on Amazon for the 4th generation Echo Dot. It’s a round version being offered in three Diane von Furstenberg designs. The “special price” being offered is $59.99 which will go up to $69.99 after August 13. Not so unusual, but there’s an interesting twist to this offer. (more…)
Using Google Search Can Help You Save on Market Research Costs: Here’s How
Thursday, April 22nd, 2021by Linda Pophal
All marketers know how important it is to understand their target audience so they can effectively craft messages and select communication channels that will most appeal to them and move them to some desired action. (more…)
Should Organizations Do Away With Employee Surveys?
Tuesday, September 1st, 2020
Peter Capelli recently wrote a piece for The Wall Street Journal suggesting that it’s time to do away with employee surveys. Like similar calls for doing away with performance reviews, there are some very good reasons to seriously consider doing away with them—many people don’t like them, response rates are often very low and, all too often, nothing is really done with the information received which serves to demotivate rather than engage employees.
However, I really wouldn’t agree with just getting rid of either employee surveys or performance reviews. With employee surveys, though, I would agree that many surveys are not done well and may not be yielding reliable, valid, and actionable information for HR leaders, managers, and organizations.
Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Market Research
Wednesday, August 19th, 2020
Market research is definitely something that even very small businesses can do on their own but there are a lot of myths and misconceptions related to research that can cause them to make decisions based on incomplete or inaccurate information. While it’s impossible to cover everything related to doing research well, here are some general strategies and best practices that businesses of any size can put to use to leverage the value of gathering market research to improve their business offerings and marketing effectiveness.
Creating a Competitive Positioning Matrix
Friday, June 12th, 2020
Every business has competitors and needs to successfully position itself against those competitors to succeed in the marketplace. Creating a competitive analysis matrix can be a good way to help you identify areas of opportunity for your business and its products and services. Here we show you how.
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Conducting a Competitive Analysis
Thursday, June 4th, 2020
Competitors are a fact of life for businesses of all types and sizes. Even if you think you have no competition (and some companies do think this), you do! We like to define competition, broadly, as “any available alternative to what you have to offer.” For instance, I worked in the healthcare industry for a number of years, leading the organization’s marketing efforts. We had direct competitors (other hospitals and clinics) serving the same market we served. We also had indirect competitors—Google search for instance. How often have you gone online to find information about some medical issue rather than make an appointment to see the doctor?
The point is, we all have competition. (more…)
How Businesses Often Fumble with Customer Feedback
Thursday, August 8th, 2019
Businesses spend a lot of time and money trying to gain insights into how customers perceive their product or service offerings. This might involve conducting surveys and focus groups to hear directly from customers. Or, it might involve efforts to ascertain customer preferences based on online behavior and purchase decisions. And yet, despite the general accessibility of this type of information, so many businesses still misread customers. That lack of awareness limits their ability to improve the customer experience. (more…)
Goby the Trash Fish and Nudge Marketing
Thursday, July 11th, 2019
Behavioral economics is the study of how and why consumers do not always act rationally —rational behavior is one of the fundamental assumptions underlying classical economics. Behavioral economics helps explain things like why consumers make impulse purchases and incorrectly value goods and services. Two of my favorite behavioral economists are Dan Ariely and Steven D. Levitt, authors of Predictably Irrational and Freakonomics, respectively–two books I highly recommend.
Nudge marketing is a key form of behavioral economics. It involves providing subtle “nudges” to guide human behavior in ways that serve marketers’ needs. Here we take a look at some interesting examples of how elements of behavioral economics can be put to work in the field of marketing.
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