I Suggest the Convertible Station Wagon

Wikipedia describes “gut feeling” thusly: “A gut feeling, or gut reaction, is a visceral emotional reaction to something, and often one of uneasiness. Gut feelings are generally regarded as not modulated by conscious thought.”

If you’re in marketing or sales, what do you really want to know about your customers? You probably want their gut reactions to your product or service. Oftentimes gut reactions drive what is being said online. Savvy marketers track their products, services, and brands via the Internet. This is one of the reasons that social networking sites such as Twitter are of such interest. You can’t control what they say, but you can be aware of what is being said about your product or brand and you can react to it.

But what if you want to learn about gut reactions in a more controlled manner? I have found that the best way to research gut reactions is to use pictographs to duplicate the buying or usage scenario. Respondents tell you their reactions with their own gut feelings. As they look at the pictographs they tell a story without leading questions from the researcher. They often get emotional and may be impulsive. You may hear “Hey, I’ve got to have that!” Conversely, you may hear “Yuk, no way!” As a marketer, wouldn’t that be nice to know?

I remember a car salesman telling me, “We get them in with the convertible and then sell them the station wagon.” I admit that this is a bit cynical but it does demonstrate that emotion plays a large part in motivating the purchasing process. I wonder why no one has thought of the convertible-station wagon? E-mail AllegianceResearch@gmail.com.

Is it Gut Reaction Research or Context-Driven Qualitative Research?

I remember a scene from the movie “Cool Hand Luke” where the warden, after beating the insolent Paul Newman character, says “What we have here is a failure to communicate.” Marketers have a similar problem—a failure to communicate-- and this appears true if you’re selling research as well. Context-driven qualitative research is descriptive, but not inspirational. I am thinking of changing the name to Gut Reaction Research.

People understand when I say that my pictographic-driven research seems to be the only methodology that captures “gut reactions or gut feelings.” What I get from pictographs is gut reactions and this appears to be the most important information that a marketer can receive.
Marketers, what do you really want to know? You want gut reactions to your product or service, everything else is pablum.

Examples of our findings that reveal gut feelings include: “It’s a great place to get mugged” (about attractive, private entrances); “I don’t want to graded” (about a new school providing adult ed); and “Car salesmen are jerks” (about people who feel pressured in that environment).

When someone asks about why my approach is unique, I am going to say because it is gut reaction research. And I may no longer call it Context-Driven Qualitative Research. Comments? For more information, e-mail AllegianceResearch@gmail.com.