Consumer research (CR) is a premium product offering which often represents an unaffordable luxury for small companies. At first glance, the notion that CR is expensive may sound ridiculous; but taking into account that by far the greatest consumers of CR are large companies, it is perhaps unsurprising then that CR focuses largely on the needs, interests, and intentions of large companies. Small businesses, entrepreneurs, and start-ups are generally not able to afford CR agencies. This is unfortunate, given that the process of understanding consumer behaviour in relation to a given product or service is fundamental to the success of small companies which in turn are vital for reducing inequality and strengthening economic prosperity, innovation, and competitiveness. We identify three key issues that need to be addressed in order to be able to offer a mass-consumer online research service.
Consumer research (CR) is a premium product offering which often represents an unaffordable luxury for small companies. At first glance, the notion that CR is expensive may sound ridiculous; but taking into account that by far the greatest consumers of CR are large companies, it is perhaps unsurprising then that CR focuses largely on the needs, interests, and intentions of large companies. Small businesses, entrepreneurs, and start-ups are generally not able to afford CR agencies. This is unfortunate, given that the process of understanding consumer behaviour in relation to a given product or service is fundamental to the success of small companies which in turn are vital for reducing inequality and strengthening economic prosperity, innovation, and competitiveness. We identify three key issues that need to be addressed in order to be able to offer a mass-consumer online research service.
Markets are becoming global and there is a need to develop products that easily convey information across cultures. By combining techniques from different fields (psychology, marketing, neuroscience and behaviour science) it is possible to develop a protocol to assess how consumers process packaging and product information. Participants from different regions will be compared. Word association tests, sound symbolism scales, facial expression and emotion questionnaires, as well as eye tracking will be used to test different products and packaging and evaluate the sensory correspondences, spontaneous concepts, visual processing and emotional experience generated by each of the stimuli. The implications of employing these methodologies for exporting products and entering new markets will also be discussed.