Tag Archives: research

Marketers: Make some noise! Problems are Opportunities

Posted on January 29, 2018 | Leave a comment

Sorry to be insensitive but Problems DO signal opportunities for marketing professionals. Undoubtedly you have already ‘heard’ of some obvious solutions to Noise Pollution –> increased opportunities for hearing aid chains.

But think a step further away, Marketers! There’s also growth in

  • noise-cancelling headphones;
  • improved  sound insulation for the New Construction/ Home Renovation industry;
  • New Product Claims such as quieter vacuums, dishwashers,…
  • New Services such as ‘Quiet Rooms’ where creative people can write their next great novel, screenplay or manuscript.

http://www.businessinsider.com/noise-pollution-effects-human-hearing-health-quality-of-life-2018-1

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Years of work enroute to ‘Overnight success’

Posted on December 9, 2017 | Leave a comment

This is good! http://business.financialpost.com/news/retail-marketing/luvabella-is-this-the-hottest-toy-of-2018

A fine article & video illustrate how Spinmaster Toys puts itself in a position to be ‘lucky’.

Years of work, and many iterations, to create the next ‘overnight sensation’. (Hmmm – that sure is poetic, or perhaps just pathetic).

This also gives tons of practical insight into the New Product Development process, eg the  iterations of development, costing & cost-optimizing at stage 1,and stage 2 and stage 3 etc; their inspired choices for R&D input for a doll (Mimes! Puppeteers!); and even their thoughts on estimating market size & growth (MRK200 students should def observe 6:00 to 6:33).

Enjoy, baby!  

Steven

 

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The Strategy Behind Acquisitions

Posted on August 30, 2017 | Leave a comment

Acquisitions – why do they happen?  As an Industry guy involved in many takeovers (taking over, and taken over), I’ve seen many strategic reasons for an acquisition. Usually, there’s more than 1 reason in play. I’ve created a crude table (below) listing 17  key reasons.

This is another of those blog posts where I’d love it if industry colleagues would chip in some insights. Students eagerly await your wisdom!

Not shown here: a column describing ‘What Research Can Do’ in each scenario, so Acquisition decisions are made (and initial post-acquisition business moves are made) with greater wisdom. To see THAT column, you must be enrolled as a student at Seneca college – or be an industry partner to the college.

Membership – and paying it forward- has its privileges!

Steven

why acquire a company?

 

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Oslo & Steady wins the race

Posted on July 19, 2017 | Leave a comment

3 new sources of insight on #Retail trends fyi!

10 new ideas or approaches to inspire readers to try new methods, service a different kind of customer, give a new kind of retail experience

http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/americas-top-10-retail-center-experiences

An upcoming ‘call for ideas’ summit on etail-retail- virtual shopping, sponsored by WalM…

http://www.massmarketretailers.com/store-no-8-thrive-global-launch-innov8-v-commerce/

Finally, an example of how to not REACT to trends, but get ahead of them by a Canadian-based retailer that’s imo a benchmark to admire.

http://www.csnews.com/product-categories/fuels/couche-tard-ceo-talks-electric-cars-fuels-future?cc=3

C-stores by definition are positioned based on “convenience” – consider how treacherous that is!  Examples:

  • when Grocery stores opened late, they lost an advantage;
  • when weed became legally available to millions of Canadian  “glaucoma sufferers” (cough cough…) C-stores Dorito & RollingPaper sales took a ‘hit’;
  • when tobacco smoking incidence fell, C-store visits fell

Again & again, C-stores adapted: seizing new opportunities to sell throwaway cellphones & phone cards, lottery tickets, decent coffee, fresh meals, last-minute gifts & cards, and more. Couche-tard is investing to test other ways to drive shoppers to C-stores in Norway, presumably a lead market for e-vehicles.

Consider: many C-stores have traditionally been linked to (located in conjunction with) gassing up a vehicle. If consumers instead charge up their e-vehicle at home at night, what’s to become of C-stores?

Couche-tard is too smart to wait & see; the savvy retailer is getting ahead by trying & measuring different approaches. As a marketer, I applaud this! As an R&D guy, I’ve mixed feelings about a country test market. The scale is terrific, however everything is oh-so-readable… to the competition. My bet is that this move hasn’t escaped the attention of Couch-tard’s global rival, 7-Eleven. Quite possible that right now, in Irving TX and Chiyoda, Japan, note-takers are busily tuning into “Lillehammer’ on Netflix- and managers are booking tickets for a prolonged stay in Norway. They simply can’t ‘affiord’ not to know what Couche-tard is trying.

SL

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ecosystem hits the trifecta

Posted on July 5, 2017 | Leave a comment

paying a company to own my data

Opposed as I am to   -1 corporation to rule them all, 1 corporation to bind me –(apologies to the late Mr. Tolkien), somehow it seems I’m willing to sacrifice privacy for convenience. I’ve warned students & clients of Applied Research ‘Sirens‘ – a term I use for topics where Research respondents are more likely to lead us astray, intentionally or not.

One ‘Overstatement’ Siren is driven by guilt that drives us to overstate out intent to ‘be responsible’ -eg I may overstate my intent that in future I’ll (mos def!) safeguard my data & enforce my privacy rights.

That intent will, sadly, conflict with an opposing ‘Understatement’ Siren– the temptation of …. convenience! Why do you spend $1.69 for 1 pack of gum or 1 chocolate bar at a Food store checkout, if a pack of such items just 50 feet away in the candy aisle, is priced at 4 for $3? Convenience! Why pay $75 for someone to wash your windows if all it takes is 1 hour work and $2 of cleaning supplies? Convenience! Consumer are rarely honest in advance about how they will  succumb to the Siren of Convenience.

A couple days ago, I gave in – and let a Cupertino CA firm to hold sway over ever more of me. They had my hardware purchase (an iPhone), software purchase (i-everything). They have the perfect Trifecta– I now pay them to own my data!  And presumably, according to the contract, allow them to do with my data pretty much whatever they wish. It’s merely more convenient for me to leave 1 ecosystem in charge. The advantages of integration seemed, in the moment, to outweigh the drawbacks of lost control and privacy.

The Sirens are winning – again.

Steven

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Research Trends to ponder

Posted on April 15, 2017 | Leave a comment

Key #Research Trends listed by Sarah Schmidt below, are pretty much the same as the ones about which I’ve cautioned students on for years. Nice to see an engaged, connected, objective professional also say these things!

http://blog.marketresearch.com/predicted-market-research-trends-for-2017

Among my longstanding favourites on her list (Sarah: pls pardon my paraphrasing):

  • Human filtering of data: the value of brevity in a sea of data detail!;
  • a growing role for Qual to answer the key question –“Why?”;
  • the ‘Quantification of Qual’ -sentiment analysis, seeded online stimuli, digital ethnography,…
  • the growing potential role of Artificial Intelligence to help find meaning, identify relationships, predict behaviour,…
  • growth of geo-targeted mobile research (& ethical issues it raises!);
  • growing role of Observation (& the Ethical issues THAT raises);
  • the need for ‘poll’ oversight (too Motive-susceptible & sloppy; thankfully MRIA is onto this!);
  • online LIVE research reports (Q-Fi does a fine job here);
  • Continuous / longitudinal research (beyond panels);
  • Agencies and software that offers customizing over canned; and
  • The Growing need to (still!) invest in Secondary (Desk) Research

It’s this last point I’d like students & alumni to pay close attention to. For your career’s sake, stay atop your industry by carefully monitoring lead markets – eg Watch Vancouver Island, Italy or Japan for products & services targeting the Elderly. Watch Japan for Vending. Watch South Korea for Personal Tech. Watch California for Electric Motor Vehicles.

What makes these places become Lead Markets can be factors that are demographic (aging pop), social/lifestyle, economic policy/investment (California’s  state-wide vehicle plug & drive network), related-Industry expertise (AI, programming, entertainment,…) or a combination of these factors eg Japan leads Vending not just due to demography (few young people, hence wage costs escalate) and not just industrial policy/expertise (Auto sector automation –> halo effect on Vending) but also due to Busy Work/Commute Lifestyles (busy to work, busy at work, busy commute—> life’s too busy to wait for store staff, and so Vending’s time-saving is key).

My Reco: 1. Identify the Lead market in your industry. 2. Do desk research on it to find what factors brought it to be at the apex. 3. Monitor it & be ready for the moment you see the boss’s boss’s boss in the elevator & she asks: “So… you’re one of the new cohort- got any new ideas for us?”

Your moment is coming; be ready! Be dedicated to proactive Secondary  research!

SL

 

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Brexit’s a big lesson in poll power

Posted on June 27, 2016 | Leave a comment

You’ll be unable to escape this topic in Research circles this week, this summer, this year.  What happens if conduct research, yet aren’t open-minded to the outcome? As per my video ‘When To Do (and not do) New Primary Research’: if you’re NOT prepared for the consequences, don’t do Primary Research. The British government waived ‘representative democracy’ (we presumably elect qualified people to focus & thoroughly assess /investigate complex  long term decisions), instead opting for  ‘poll/plebiscite democracy’, wherein potentially uninformed masses cast their views and wherein every votes is an equal vote.

Now you need not be a dictionary devotee to see ‘democracy’ and ‘demon’ share a word root. Researchers saw it coming; we know everyday consumers don’t handle (understand, consider, evaluate) complex New Product/ Service proposals well in ‘impromptu’ research situations. When we seek consumer input on complex new ideas, we warm’em up, inform them, focus their attention ie get’em ‘zoned in’. Then we typically deploy an array of detailed response options, such as scales, rather than blunt polar opposite forced choice.

We ensure we have consumers’ undivided attention and we aim for maximum understanding in advance. We provide them complex audio-visual concept description tools before we ‘pop a question’.  And we’d then STILL hesitate to used a forced choice ‘Buy or No Buy’ – there’s richness in asking an array of detailed response queries eg – identification, uniqueness, intent to buy within next X weeks, etc.

Wise to distrust  the use of a straight-up ‘ Stay-Leave’ – surely a blunt instrument forced upon uninformed respondents. How uninformed? The day AFTER the vote, a 250% jump in Google search queries in BRITAIN for: “What’s the E.U.?” 

Ouch.

Brexit by GDJ

Brexit by GDJ- CC 2016

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