Our customer is not our master. But we are no longer in the era where they buy from us because they have no choice. How do we get to know our consumer profile, though?
In corporations, research is conducted at a professional level, specialized companies are hired, and the allocated budgets are huge.
But what do we do when we have small or no budgets in our small company, yet we still want to be close to our end customers, to know what their pain points are and what they like? What do we do when we cannot hire a specialized firm and have (almost) never done this before?
Well, there are several methods, which we will discuss below. A few clarifications first, however. Like anything else related to the profession of a marketer (or any other), the research we conduct in-house must have some premises (hypotheses) and some objectives (what do we want to find out?).
Also, any research must be addressed to a representative sample, so first we need to know (at least in broad terms) who the audiences we are addressing are: what does our customer look like?
Assuming we have a men’s accessories boutique (let’s call it Men’s Boutique from now on), we must at least imagine what the men who would use them look like.
Targeted campaigns on Google or specialized blogs depend on this. Let’s say we have decided – in the first instance – that we want to address an urban male audience, with above-average income, professionals with higher education, for whom image is important. What do we do next?
In-store questionnaire
What and how we find out: One question I never give up on is “How did you hear about us?” The answer to this gives us the scale of the impact of the various marketing and communication tools we use.
Then, questions for the socio-demographic profile (age, gender, residence, education, income, etc.) and for the rest of the things we are interested in, such as preferences, consumption habits, media consumption, etc. Questionnaires are designed like a funnel (upright or inverted), otherwise we confuse the respondents.
Advantages: The answers are the most representative you can have, because the respondents are your customers themselves. It is a quick way to get feedback.
Disadvantages: You cannot ask too many questions (maximum 10-12), the person came for shopping, not for an opinion poll. You cannot really generalize the answers received because the analysis base is small. However, you can base a more extensive online questionnaire on these.
How: Printed on letterhead, accompanied by the seller’s smiling request and (possibly) a small personalized gift. Contact us if you want to conduct a consumer profile study for your business.
Online questionnaire
What and how we find out: The question above turns into “Have you heard of us?” and only if the answer is “Yes” do we also ask from where. The funnel model applies here as well, with the mention that there can be more questions and you can branch them (If yes, please go to question X).
Advantages: We can interpret the results, which we have directly in electronic format. We can obtain representative answers (40% of respondents have never heard of Men’s Boutique)
Disadvantages: It takes longer to get all the answers we want (for example, 500 respondents). Documentation or the advice of someone more experienced is needed to choose the sample and distribution channels for promoting the questionnaire.
Where: We can apply it on specialized free or very cheap platforms (isondaje.ro, kestionare.ro) or even on Google Docs. The first option is better, however, especially if we master Excel or SPSS, to interpret the results.
Also, this allows us to redirect directly to a certain question, depending on the answer, the questionnaire being structured in several steps.
How: The recommendation for these would be not to just throw it online, waiting for that x number of people to answer and then we’ll see. This form of surveying can also be accompanied by an incentive, for example, a discount voucher via email.
Interviews / Focus groups
What and how we find out: Even if they are not the same thing, both are used for in-depth surveying of opinions. They can be useful for examining problems we detect (some of the respondents think prices are high) or simply for testing a new idea (a promotional campaign for shaving brushes).
Advantages: We can get the answers we are interested in directly from our customers. Such surveys can be recorded, and then we can pay attention to nuances of the voice, body language, etc.
Disadvantages: It requires a budget, especially for the respondents’ incentive. It requires time and concentration, possibly even an experienced moderator.
Where: We can apply it in any room where it is quiet and we can have an uninterrupted one-hour discussion.
How: Calmly, with an open mind to criticism, attentive to details, with prepared questions. Respondents should receive a gift at the end.
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Consumer segmentation research is a particularly important component of the marketing strategy and must be treated as such. To be able to move forward, to become creative, we must first know what attracts our customers, what they want, and what they like.
Only in this way can we give them what they want, distinguishing ourselves from the competition. Unfortunately for the market, many times we will stand out only because we ask some questions and because we care.
