A First-Timer's Guide To Consumer Insights

Anyone who is trying to get started with consumer insights may quickly feel like there's a lot to digest. While that is often the case, you can tame the learning curve a bit by knowing where to start. First-timers should be aware of these 5 basic elements of working with consumer insights.

Data Is King

Data is the soil that grows insights. If you never collect good data, you can simply forget about ever producing a product that tells you anything. A consumer insights survey can help you to learn who your potential customer base is. This includes information about demographics, tastes, and trends.

Sample Sizes Matter

The number of people in the survey represents your sample size, and you want to have a large sample size whenever possible. A consumer insights survey of 1,000 people will likely produce better results than one that only involves 300 people, for example.

Bear in mind, though, the return on your investment for a huge sample size will decline compared to a reasonable one. You likely won't often learn more about consumers by survey 30,000 versus 3,000. Eventually, it will just cost you more money without telling you a lot more about whatever issues you're trying to figure out.

Value Simplicity

Asking complex questions will lead to complex answers. Consequently, you'll have a harder time converting the data into something usable. Focus on questions people can confidently answer without doing research. A makeup brand, for example, might as consumers how many times they've purchased mascara in the last year or how many brands they recognize from a list. Simple questions with easily quantifiable answers work the best when it comes to consumer insights.

Bring Demographics to Life with Personas

As you collect and analyze data, don't let the information become sterile. If you see a cluster of consumers in the 18-to-34 demographic, for example, start identifying how they are. Do they have common cultural identifications that describe who they are? Connect those commonalities in a way that identifies the cluster as a single persona.

Personas can be especially helpful if you're trying to target advertising and marketing. You will have an easier time identifying where your target audience is and how to connect with them based on the personas and their corresponding insights.

Find Context

Ultimately, the people responding to surveys operate in certain contexts. They will be part of social movements, particular generations, and cultures. As you derive consumer insights, use the data to find how each persona lives in their context.

For more tips, contact a consumer insights service near you.


Share