Uncovering Attitudes Related to the Airlines

Well, the time as come to determine the goal of this pictographic research. As I mentioned, I want to know the underlying attitudes about the flying experience and the reasons people make the choices they do. These will include the decision to fly, their pet peeves, and the reasons that they choose one airline over another. I will start by constructing a series of pictographs that show the flying experience. At first, emphasis will be placed on reasons related to flying, perceived alternatives, and attitudes toward various airlines. Send comments via e-mail AllegianceResearch@gmail.com

I’m On My Way to the Airport, Oh Goodie

If there is an industry that has more long-standing and chronic problems than the airline industry, I don’t know which it is. The auto industry you say - no, they have been in the dump for only a few years. The airlines have been perceived as a necessary evil for far longer than that. They are a great candidate for open-ended, emotion-capturing research like my methodology.

Therefore, I am going to pictographically interview those poor captive souls who are about to board airplanes. After all, they have been told to arrive early to have the oft-times privilege of waiting on the tarmac while they become intimately acquainted with their knees.

Do I sound bitter? Fear not, I will allow the pictures to do the talking. In the coming blogs I will discuss how I will develop this project and I will report some findings. I welcome suggestions via 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.

When Consumers Are First Thinking About Buying

In researching such things as automobile purchasing, computer shopping, and mall shopping I have found an interesting phenomenon that I call “purchasing triggers.” It involves those factors related to what a consumer is thinking when they are first considering purchasing something. In the case of an auto purchase the trigger might be a car breakdown, a neighbor buying a new car, or a bonus at work. I use pictographs to show these types of situations.

It is at the “buying trigger” stage that the consumer is most candid in telling the interviewer what it would take to get them to make a purchase. The rest of the pictographs provide the context for a specific product or service. For more info email AllegianceResearch@gmail.com

Testing Brand Extensions Pictographically

M&M backpacks and camping gear might not work but M&M lunch boxes make sense. Hershey tennis shoes are a stretch but a Hershey hot drink holder may fly.

Certainly M&Ms and Hershey have extended their reach in a variety of areas, but when is it too much?

Derrick Daye and Brad VanAuken in their excellent blog Branding Strategy Insider at http://brandingstrategyinsider.com/ point out that a brand is damaged when there is not a good match or when the brand is extended too far. Their Packard car example is almost folk wisdom. By offering a cheaper model, this damaged the demand for the most expensive and prestigious model and it fell out of favor. Apparently, Packard executives forgot to “Ask the man who owns one.”

I suggest that pictographic research may be an excellent way to test brand extensions. Simply picture the purchasing situation, place the brand on the proposed extension, and listen to potential consumers. You won’t have to ask leading questions and you will get some very unexpected, but relevant, information. For more info e-mail AllegianceResearch@gmail.com

Critiquing Brain Scans and the Assumption That Purchasing is a Matter of Status and Self-Definition

John Tierney writes an article in his blog that is entitled, “Could it be that humans are not quite as gullible as advertised?”
He takes social psychologists to task when he says, “For a couple of decades now, social psychologists and behavioral economists have been amusing themselves manipulating consumers into doing odd things. They’ve delighted in debunking the notion of homo economicus, that theoretical creature who rationally seeks maximum economic utility.”

John doesn’t seem to be too fond of brain scans either. He says, “But suppose, instead of scanning people’s brains as they’re sipping wine in a laboratory, you tested them in a more realistic situation.” The results turn out to be quite different. “After three months of testing various combinations of prices, the researchers found they couldn’t sway the customers. Putting a higher price on the shrimp or any other entree didn’t make people more likely to order it.”

John critiques both MRI brain scans, which are all the rage at the moment, and the assumption that purchasing is a matter of status and self-definition. I think that John Tierney is on to something. Therefore, I replied in a comment,

Hi John,

You note that Geoffrey Miller, in his new book “Spent: Sex, Evolution and Consumer Behavior,” argues that “humans often waste money because of the unconscious- and mistaken- belief that our costly stuff will signal our intelligence and sterling personality traits to potential mates and allies.”

You then point out that in hypothetical situations manipulation seems to work, but in the real world people choose what they like on the basis of the product not the price. Finally, you note that in terms of really large purchases, people tend to be fairly happy with their purchases.

What is going on here? I suggest that consumer researchers are missing “context.” For example, as you note, in a restaurant where they’re spending their own money consumers were not easily manipulated.

I designed context-driven qualitative research and I “duplicate” the buying scenario. As a researcher I am frequently surprised by the results. Consumers invariably make sense, but only in terms of their own perspective. The lesson here is that we need to be non-directive and to provide some sort of context. For more details e-mail me at allegianceresearch@gmail.com.

The Technology of Context-Driven Qualitative Research

Someone asked me recently about the “technology” of Context-Driven Qualitative Research (CDQR), previously called “Cartoon Sequence Research.” Some of my previous blogs describe how a research project is conducted with this methodology. I use pictographs to depict a purchasing scenario. Why pictographs and not pictures?

Pictographs seek to understand consumer behavior by providing visual stimuli that is sufficiently contextual yet open to subjective interpretation. Our research shows that respondents tend not to identify with pictures that are too detailed, and cartoon-like pictographs tend to work better.

Respondents really open up when they are shown the pictographs and this appears to solve the post-rationalization problem that exists when you ask the respondent to recall their experience. The immediacy of the process also seems to capture emotions. This became evident in several instances. For example, pictographs showing the difficulty of finding a parking space revealed the same emotions as the real thing.

Originally, cartoonists were employed to translate pictures into cartoon-like pictographs. Since several sets were required to match the sets to respondents, this was very time- consuming. Now there are several good picture-to-cartoon software programs available, and artists are only used for “touch-ups” which this saves considerable time.

When CDQR was first developed, laminated pictographs and a tape recorder were utilized, now it is possible to perform the same task with a tablet PC. This also makes it easier when working in a focus group situation because the same pictographs can be projected to a screen.

Technology doesn’t seem to change things from the respondent’s perspective but it makes it easier to do the research. Also, on occasion, I still use laminated pictographs. If you’d like to take a whirl at this type of research, e-mail me at AllegianceResearch@gmail.com

An Offer You Can Refuse - - But Probably Shouldn’t

Hey Chief Marketing Officer what do you really want to know? My methodology called “Context-Driven Qualitative Research” gets into the mind of the consumer during the numerous steps of the purchasing process. It’s a little like the Vulcan Mind-Probe.

The methodology discovers resonant statements, unstated values, and unexpected misunderstandings related to products, services and brands. Wouldn’t you like to know these things?

There has been a radical change in consumer attitudes. People have less trust in banks, insurance companies, financial advisors, and government. I am reminded of the joke “I don’t have a 401K, I have a 201K.” Yep, and your brand is floating out there in a sea of change.

Now, for the offer! Tell me what you really want to know about your consumers and I will provide you with a description of the “pictographic” scenario that I would use to answer your question. No charge, no obligation. Just e-mail me at AllegianceResearch@gmail.com.

For example, you may ask “How have attitudes toward large banks fundamentally changed?” or “Does a particular brand extension make sense?” or “What are the triggers that get someone to consider taking a cruise?” Basically, if you can frame the question, I can probably translate the question into pictographic format. After that, it is possible to find the answers from the profiled consumer.

If yours is an interesting challenge, I would like to work with you. We’re a minimalist consultancy that can easily be ignored, but we can pick and choose whom we want to work with. Here is what you won’t get: Seville-Row suited consultants, an impressive board room, and a Madison Avenue address. You’ll have to settle for a breakthrough methodology and innovative thinking.

Our office is on a boat and if you ignore us, the breeze will still blow and the sunsets will still be beautiful but you will miss a real opportunity. Again, that e-mail is AllegianceResearch@gmail.com.

Why Use Cartoon-Pictographs in Depicting a Buying Scenario?

Good question. In terms of theory, Context-Driven Qualitative Research or Cartoon Sequence Research (CSR) is an extension of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), a projective methodology that uses pictures which can be interpreted in a variety of ways. It is most often used to assess personality in the psychoanalytic tradition.

Pictographs seek to understand consumer behavior by providing visual stimuli that is sufficiently contextual yet open to subjective interpretation. Our research shows that respondents tend not to identify with pictures that are too detailed, and cartoon-like pictographs tend to work better.

In practice, twenty to thirty cartoon pictographs are constructed to make a set that shows a buying scenario. For example, one set was developed that showed a couple purchasing an automobile. In this instance, early scenes depicted situations where one would first consider buying a new car. Others showed people looking at car ads in the newspaper, and another showed people driving past a billboard with a dealership ad. Later in the set the remainder of the purchasing process was depicted.

Without going into great detail, it should be noted that there are three types of pictographs that are a part of this process: situational; interactive; and reflective. Situational provide context, such as driving into the dealership or standing in line to purchase something. Interactive show the consumer relating to a salesperson or the product. Reflective show an individual discussing their reaction to a situation.

It is desirable for the respondent to identify with the pictographs, and usually five or six sets are developed. This allows the researcher to match the different sets to the respondents. These include singles, couples, and different age groups.

It is a bit of a challenge to determine the “buying scenario” and to construct the various sets of cartoon pictographs, but the findings are so comprehensive and insightful that the process is well worth it. For more information, e-mail allegianceresearch@gmail.com

“Rational Man” Replaced by “Post-Rational Emotional Man”

I recently read a review, by Gloria McDonough-Taub at CNBC.com, of Geoffrey Miller’s book entitled “SPEND: Sex, Evolution and Consumer Behavior.” Professor Miller “reveals the unseen logic behind the chaos of consumerism . . .” and he argues that “Marketers still don’t understand human nature and that hurts business.”

In short, he argues like many others that the “Rational Man” Model from economics is too limited. This model says that consumers “maximize utility” by rationally comparing and buying products and services that give them the greatest “subjective utility,” i.e. pleasure or happiness.

Enter, “Conspicuous Consumption” (Thorstein Veblen, “The Theory of the Leisure Class”) which says that consumers often buy products that will impress others even if they don’t deliver personal happiness.

Professor Miller points out that this remains true but it must be supplemented by “genetically heritable traits” that can predict a wide range of behavior including consumption. Miller’s traits include intelligence, openness, consciousness, extraversion, agreeableness and emotional stability. Each trait falls upon a continuum.

I don’t know about you, but I like to think that I fall on the upper and positive end of each trait. His theory would suggest that I prefer a Lexus Hybrid to a Harley Hog, that I qualify for a low-interest loan, that I am a Green Consumer and that I am interested in new ideas and fashions.

This is probably a great improvement over Rational Man and Conspicuous Consumption but I don’t think that it accounts for a Post-Rational Emotional Man when faced with a specific purchasing decision. Although I agree that it is valuable to construct a psychological model for consumer behavior based upon the most recent findings by evolutionary psychologists, I think that the “context” surrounding the purchase remains important.

I prefer to pictographically duplicate a purchasing scenario for a type of product and then let the potential consumer explain their reactions to each step in the process. Pictographs are similar to story boards and enable the consumer to tell a story, without leading questions from the researcher. Objectively some consumer behavior doesn’t make sense, but subjectively it can be explained. For more information email allegianceresearch@gmail.com

What The Hell Is This?

This rather simple cartoon or pictograph is from a set of thirty pictographs that was used to understand car purchasing behavior at a Chrysler dealership. This was before the current crisis where people now tend not to go into any auto dealership.

Cartoon Sequence Research(tm) involves showing people a series of cartoons that depict a buying scenario. In this instance the cartoons showed scenes from when people first considered buying a new car to them driving off the lot in their “new car.” People simply tell us a story. We learned a considerable amount from the auto buying cartoon set, but this particular cartoon stood out.

One advantage of Cartoon Sequence Research (CSR) is there are no leading questions and it taps into emotions. We learn information even if we don’t have the right questions.

Here is one thing we learned from this particular cartoon. Don’t put on a separate sticker on the car. Interestingly, you can add to the existing sticker even with a higher price and people tend not to mind.

Who knew? Well actually the customer knew, but, oftentimes the researcher doesn’t know enough to ask.

For more information email allegianceresearch@gmail.com