Showing posts with label consumer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label consumer. Show all posts
Jan 2, 2008
Results : Innovation- and Consumer Insight polls
Polls Closed!
Our first two polls closed on 31 December 2007.
Thanks for voting!
With regard to the first question, all participants agreed that innovation was very important in any company.
With regard to to the second question, not everyone agreed that consumer insight was an important resource in every company! Interesting indeed -- perhaps we need more of you to have your say on these issues?
Since only a few of you took part in the first polls, we'll repeat the questions again a little later in the year -- remember to make your opinion known -- vote!
Our new polls are already up and running -- why not have your say? You can vote until 1 March 2008 and are most welcome to post comments to motivate your opinion!
On this second day of the new year our wish is that 2008 may be a special year for you and yours -- remember -- you can make a difference -- just "believe it" ... and then "do it"....
CMB
http://www.ewklibrary.com/
Dec 10, 2007
Failures and Fickle consumers......
Why do products fail?
Products fail when they do not make a profit anymore.
Products fail when consumers choose a different product when they part with their money -- not your product.
Business and products are about profit .... sometimes. A failing product may be kept in the market to complete a basket of goods on offer to consumers. It then has more ad value than anything else -- it assists in the sale of other, more profitable products.
In general, however -- failing products die -- sometimes at great cost to the company that invested heavily in its predicted success.
Many reasons exists for failure.
At the root, however, is perhaps the inability to predict failure at the idea and concept evaluation stage; the apparent inability to act proactively regarding the eventual replacement of a current "cash cow" when that highly successful product starts its decline after many years of superior sales; the inability to understand how fickle consumers can be and how important it is to be in constant touch with their lifestyles, whims, feelings to predict and influence how they will act, react and more. All of this happening while the corporate world is focused on regimes, management systems and regulating actions. It is geared to eradicate "fickleness" -- not embrace it in an "organised" fashion.
How can this cause products to fail after years of development or many successful years in the market?
Many knowledgeable people will tell you that masses of product research, market analysis, sales analysis, trend analysis, ad analysis and more cannot all be wrong. The big picture is important -- markets, segmentation, categories, the brand- and company image. It is true -- all these can contribute to success -- but also to failure.
Why?
One of the most overlooked reasons for failure is the fact that products fail when the market and consumer requirements have been misjudged (although it is a given that here can also be other reasons for failure).
Why does this happen?
Surely -- with all the money spent on market research, more than four out of ten products in the FMCG (especially Food Industry) should succeed -- so what is the problem?
The problem may be that most of the tools used in market- and product research look to the past to identify tendencies and apply that to the current state of affairs, when in fact it should endeavour to predict the future with consumer insight in mind -- what consumers (not companies) live, feel and desire. All the things consumers apparently cannot put into words -- the things that everyone thought up to now, could not be quantified. It can be quantified with great success, but it requires faith and understanding of innovative new tools and protocols -- it requires bravery and trust in an unknown future. In many companies this is still a challenge. Embracing the unfamiliar can seem risky at times and business must really reach a critical stage before the apparent new and unconventional, yet innovative tools are looked at with new insight. By that time, many products already failed. Having successful products in the market and ensuring they stay that way as long as possible, takes bravery, enthusiasm, an innovative spirit, an entrepreneurial view of the world, new research and new possibilities -- it requires the hunger for success.
Fickle consumers do not cause product failures. Once that truth is understood, many products will be managed with new insight to ensure success.
CMB
http://www.ewklibrary.com
Products fail when they do not make a profit anymore.
Products fail when consumers choose a different product when they part with their money -- not your product.
Business and products are about profit .... sometimes. A failing product may be kept in the market to complete a basket of goods on offer to consumers. It then has more ad value than anything else -- it assists in the sale of other, more profitable products.
In general, however -- failing products die -- sometimes at great cost to the company that invested heavily in its predicted success.
Many reasons exists for failure.
At the root, however, is perhaps the inability to predict failure at the idea and concept evaluation stage; the apparent inability to act proactively regarding the eventual replacement of a current "cash cow" when that highly successful product starts its decline after many years of superior sales; the inability to understand how fickle consumers can be and how important it is to be in constant touch with their lifestyles, whims, feelings to predict and influence how they will act, react and more. All of this happening while the corporate world is focused on regimes, management systems and regulating actions. It is geared to eradicate "fickleness" -- not embrace it in an "organised" fashion.
How can this cause products to fail after years of development or many successful years in the market?
Many knowledgeable people will tell you that masses of product research, market analysis, sales analysis, trend analysis, ad analysis and more cannot all be wrong. The big picture is important -- markets, segmentation, categories, the brand- and company image. It is true -- all these can contribute to success -- but also to failure.
Why?
One of the most overlooked reasons for failure is the fact that products fail when the market and consumer requirements have been misjudged (although it is a given that here can also be other reasons for failure).
Why does this happen?
Surely -- with all the money spent on market research, more than four out of ten products in the FMCG (especially Food Industry) should succeed -- so what is the problem?
The problem may be that most of the tools used in market- and product research look to the past to identify tendencies and apply that to the current state of affairs, when in fact it should endeavour to predict the future with consumer insight in mind -- what consumers (not companies) live, feel and desire. All the things consumers apparently cannot put into words -- the things that everyone thought up to now, could not be quantified. It can be quantified with great success, but it requires faith and understanding of innovative new tools and protocols -- it requires bravery and trust in an unknown future. In many companies this is still a challenge. Embracing the unfamiliar can seem risky at times and business must really reach a critical stage before the apparent new and unconventional, yet innovative tools are looked at with new insight. By that time, many products already failed. Having successful products in the market and ensuring they stay that way as long as possible, takes bravery, enthusiasm, an innovative spirit, an entrepreneurial view of the world, new research and new possibilities -- it requires the hunger for success.
Fickle consumers do not cause product failures. Once that truth is understood, many products will be managed with new insight to ensure success.
CMB
http://www.ewklibrary.com
Nov 27, 2007
Consumer Insight and the Tower of Babel
You are what you feel.
What you feel is mostly very difficult to put into words.
In the Food Industry especially, it is vitally important to understand consumer perception, interpretation and action.
Where does it begin?
Some people say is all about communication – verbal and non-verbal -- but it is only the reaction to words that can be measured – and without measurements / results, there can be no sensible data analysis or data mining….no research….no insight….
Well, this is easy!
We all use words to communicate.
You just have to listen to what people say – right?
Not really.
This can only be true of we all had the same understanding of the meaning and implication of each word…..
Let’s look at some of the words in the English language used to describe food characteristics. Perhaps this will prove that words are more than sounds.
Just to make things fun, remember that in some instances the same word may also be used to describe different sensory perceptions which would change the meaning of the word.
For example: “Creamy” texture may imply “smooth, rich or luxurious”, but “creamy” color may imply “slightly yellow-white, thick, smooth, milky appearance” !
Appearance characteristics:
This is judged by looking, spooning, pouring, cutting etc. and includes
Color,
Surface characteristics, and
Internal / Interior characteristics
and is judged by only by sight:
Color descriptors:
name or hue (e.g. white, blue, pink, “sunshine yellow” etc.),
intensity (e.g. low or high – “sparkling blue” vs. “matt blue”),
bright, dull, creamy, milky, even, smooth, intense, psychedelic, fruit (e.g. “strawberry red”), ice-cream, flat, full, appealing, unappealing, uniform, uneven, spotted, multicolored, rich, happy, sad, friendly, warm, cold, healthy, sunny, strange, weird, old-fashioned, traditional, browned, pale …
Surface characteristics:
wrinkled, smooth, glossy, shiny, even, uneven, wet, moist, watery, dry, hard, tough, soft, creamy, coarse, gritty, volume (high, low), full, flat, shapes, oily, sticky, weepy, crystalline, veined, moldy, puffed, soggy, beaded, speckled, cracked, humped, peaked, shiny, dull, fluffy, baked, droplets, spotted, foamy, marbled, oily …
Internal / Interior characteristics:
foamy, smooth, crumbly, wispy, airy, whipped, flat, smooth, even, rich, volume, thick, thin, brittle, lumpy, grainy, gritty, clammy, sticky, dry, coarse, oily, creamy, crystalline, veined, marbled, puffed, speckled, layered, granular, fluffy, uncooked, color, fine, openings, cracks, tears, …
Flavor characteristics:
Smell / Odor:
This is judged by smelling the product, the fingers, the container, etc at specific temperatures and is judged only by sniffing (whiffing):
Herb and spice names (e.g. ginger, etc.), fruit names (e.g. orange etc), plant names (e.g. cactus, etc), vegetable names (e.g. raw potato, etc)
With or without additional descriptors such as –
fresh, moldy, unclean, clean, crisp, fruity, chemical, yeasty, baked, fried, alcohol, volatile, intense, weak, delicate, irritating, relaxing, warm, unfriendly, smelly, bold, natural, feed, acidic, caramel, mushroom, old, mature, sharp, distinct, vanilla, , ‘chocolaty’, creamy, onion, garlic, earthy, grassy, , full, diluted, clear, tantalizing, curry, ‘barny’, pungent, musk-like, floral, peppermint, spearmint, ethereal, putrid, synthetic, milky, organic, soothing ….
Aroma / Flavor:
This is obtained by smelling and tasting the product during consumption and is judged by the nose and taste buds in the mouth. Consumers swallow products on evaluation and Trained tasters usually expectorate the product, except when bitterness and aftertaste is an important characteristic (then the product should be swallowed):
The sensation is noted when the product is brought to the mouth, placed in the mouth and chewed (not swallowed) and is a combination of the Basic tastes (Sweet, Sour, Acidic, Salty) and Odor descriptors such as:
Plant names (e.g. blue gum tree, lemon verbena, etc), herb names (e.g. coriander, etc), spices (e.g. cinnamon, etc) --
Used in isolation or combined with descriptors such as:
fresh, old, delicate, harsh, burning, tangy, tasty, meaty, smoked, burnt, cooked, fried, oily, sweetener, full, rich, creamy, tingling, musty, moldy, earthy, chemical, metallic, distinct, sherbet, cupboard, buttery, cheesy, fruity, yeasty, fermented, mild, pungent, fishy, medicine, meaty, bean-like, tart, soapy, coffee, bran, stale, egg, sulfuric, woody, pine, fresh, natural, multiple, changing, intense, synthetic, flavorful, flavor-burst, explosive, shocking, tantalizing, tangy….
Taste:
This is obtained by tasting the product during chewing, before swallowing and is judged by the taste buds in the mouth.
Only four tastes can be identified, namely Sweet, Salty, Sour, Bitter with a possible fifth called Umami.
Everything else would be ‘Odors’, not tastes.
Texture characteristics:
This is determined by handling the product (molding, pressing, cutting, spooning, pouring etc.), biting, chewing, feeling in the mouth when chewing, sound in the mouth when biting and chewing.
Handling:
Hard, soft, smooth, grainy, sandy, pliable, brittle, flaky, creamy, thin, thick, viscous, “syrupy”, rubbery, plastic, foamy, “spreadable”, “pourable”, sticky, clinging, stringy, lumpy, cohesive, firm, clean-cutting, “gooey”, full, flat, clean, puffed, elastic, slimy, extendable, stretch, coarse, ropy, fine, uneven, uniform, free-flowing, caking, shearing, porous ….
Mouthfeel:
Evaluated when chewing
Crisp, smooth, tender, tough, brittle, crumbly, creamy, buttery, fatty, clinging, sugary, gritty, grainy, mealy, rubbery, soft, hard, moist, wet, tingling, light, pasty, viscous, slick, syrupy, burning, drying, tantalizing, clean, distinct, melting, watery, milky, rough, sandy, lumpy, coalescing, cohesion, waxy, clinging, gelling, chewy, astringent, puckering, irritating, starchy, oily, melting, foamy, powdery, coarse, curdled, crunchy, thirst-quenching, rich, luxurious, sticky, crystalline, chilling, warming, soggy, cooling, silky, tart, liquefying, aerated, wispy, delicate, floury, “gooey”, coarse, absorbing, gummy, velvety, granular, particles, carbonated, itchy, soothing, particulate, squeaky, slimy …
Sound:
Evaluated when biting or chewing versus kneading the product close to the ear:
Wheezing, cracking, crisp, loud, soft, noisy, silky, slurp, crunchy, slick, high, low, distinctive (similar to / ‘like”….) ….
Aftertaste or –feeling:
This is evaluated after swallowing or expectoration
Metallic, sweet, bitter, salty, acidic, chemical, burning, grainy, residue (described as graining etc), sticky, lumpy, intensifying, unnatural, bad, terrible, surprising, fascinating, unexpected, distinct, cleansing, refreshing …..
Will consumers describe products in this manner?
It is unlikely.
That is why it is so important to obtain information from consumers using the correct techniques if more than the usual “pleasant”, “unpleasant”, “acceptable” or “unacceptable”, is to be measured – and it can be obtained using the correct tools with excellent and surprising results!
It is very easy to identify words that describe food products from the view of an expert or trained taster.
It is a completely different story to understand the everyday manner in which consumers are comfortable to tell you what they experience.
Unfortunately it takes training and experience to mine the minds of consumers.
Without this knowledge and insight there will always be an apparent unfathomable chasm between what companies and markers think and deliver – and what consumers experience and desire with regards to each product, each experience, each product range, each product category, each company and its competitors.
Can success be achieved?
Most definitely…….
CMB
http://www.ewklibrary.com
What you feel is mostly very difficult to put into words.
In the Food Industry especially, it is vitally important to understand consumer perception, interpretation and action.
Where does it begin?
Some people say is all about communication – verbal and non-verbal -- but it is only the reaction to words that can be measured – and without measurements / results, there can be no sensible data analysis or data mining….no research….no insight….
Well, this is easy!
We all use words to communicate.
You just have to listen to what people say – right?
Not really.
This can only be true of we all had the same understanding of the meaning and implication of each word…..
Let’s look at some of the words in the English language used to describe food characteristics. Perhaps this will prove that words are more than sounds.
Just to make things fun, remember that in some instances the same word may also be used to describe different sensory perceptions which would change the meaning of the word.
For example: “Creamy” texture may imply “smooth, rich or luxurious”, but “creamy” color may imply “slightly yellow-white, thick, smooth, milky appearance” !
Appearance characteristics:
This is judged by looking, spooning, pouring, cutting etc. and includes
Color,
Surface characteristics, and
Internal / Interior characteristics
and is judged by only by sight:
Color descriptors:
name or hue (e.g. white, blue, pink, “sunshine yellow” etc.),
intensity (e.g. low or high – “sparkling blue” vs. “matt blue”),
bright, dull, creamy, milky, even, smooth, intense, psychedelic, fruit (e.g. “strawberry red”), ice-cream, flat, full, appealing, unappealing, uniform, uneven, spotted, multicolored, rich, happy, sad, friendly, warm, cold, healthy, sunny, strange, weird, old-fashioned, traditional, browned, pale …
Surface characteristics:
wrinkled, smooth, glossy, shiny, even, uneven, wet, moist, watery, dry, hard, tough, soft, creamy, coarse, gritty, volume (high, low), full, flat, shapes, oily, sticky, weepy, crystalline, veined, moldy, puffed, soggy, beaded, speckled, cracked, humped, peaked, shiny, dull, fluffy, baked, droplets, spotted, foamy, marbled, oily …
Internal / Interior characteristics:
foamy, smooth, crumbly, wispy, airy, whipped, flat, smooth, even, rich, volume, thick, thin, brittle, lumpy, grainy, gritty, clammy, sticky, dry, coarse, oily, creamy, crystalline, veined, marbled, puffed, speckled, layered, granular, fluffy, uncooked, color, fine, openings, cracks, tears, …
Flavor characteristics:
Smell / Odor:
This is judged by smelling the product, the fingers, the container, etc at specific temperatures and is judged only by sniffing (whiffing):
Herb and spice names (e.g. ginger, etc.), fruit names (e.g. orange etc), plant names (e.g. cactus, etc), vegetable names (e.g. raw potato, etc)
With or without additional descriptors such as –
fresh, moldy, unclean, clean, crisp, fruity, chemical, yeasty, baked, fried, alcohol, volatile, intense, weak, delicate, irritating, relaxing, warm, unfriendly, smelly, bold, natural, feed, acidic, caramel, mushroom, old, mature, sharp, distinct, vanilla, , ‘chocolaty’, creamy, onion, garlic, earthy, grassy, , full, diluted, clear, tantalizing, curry, ‘barny’, pungent, musk-like, floral, peppermint, spearmint, ethereal, putrid, synthetic, milky, organic, soothing ….
Aroma / Flavor:
This is obtained by smelling and tasting the product during consumption and is judged by the nose and taste buds in the mouth. Consumers swallow products on evaluation and Trained tasters usually expectorate the product, except when bitterness and aftertaste is an important characteristic (then the product should be swallowed):
The sensation is noted when the product is brought to the mouth, placed in the mouth and chewed (not swallowed) and is a combination of the Basic tastes (Sweet, Sour, Acidic, Salty) and Odor descriptors such as:
Plant names (e.g. blue gum tree, lemon verbena, etc), herb names (e.g. coriander, etc), spices (e.g. cinnamon, etc) --
Used in isolation or combined with descriptors such as:
fresh, old, delicate, harsh, burning, tangy, tasty, meaty, smoked, burnt, cooked, fried, oily, sweetener, full, rich, creamy, tingling, musty, moldy, earthy, chemical, metallic, distinct, sherbet, cupboard, buttery, cheesy, fruity, yeasty, fermented, mild, pungent, fishy, medicine, meaty, bean-like, tart, soapy, coffee, bran, stale, egg, sulfuric, woody, pine, fresh, natural, multiple, changing, intense, synthetic, flavorful, flavor-burst, explosive, shocking, tantalizing, tangy….
Taste:
This is obtained by tasting the product during chewing, before swallowing and is judged by the taste buds in the mouth.
Only four tastes can be identified, namely Sweet, Salty, Sour, Bitter with a possible fifth called Umami.
Everything else would be ‘Odors’, not tastes.
Texture characteristics:
This is determined by handling the product (molding, pressing, cutting, spooning, pouring etc.), biting, chewing, feeling in the mouth when chewing, sound in the mouth when biting and chewing.
Handling:
Hard, soft, smooth, grainy, sandy, pliable, brittle, flaky, creamy, thin, thick, viscous, “syrupy”, rubbery, plastic, foamy, “spreadable”, “pourable”, sticky, clinging, stringy, lumpy, cohesive, firm, clean-cutting, “gooey”, full, flat, clean, puffed, elastic, slimy, extendable, stretch, coarse, ropy, fine, uneven, uniform, free-flowing, caking, shearing, porous ….
Mouthfeel:
Evaluated when chewing
Crisp, smooth, tender, tough, brittle, crumbly, creamy, buttery, fatty, clinging, sugary, gritty, grainy, mealy, rubbery, soft, hard, moist, wet, tingling, light, pasty, viscous, slick, syrupy, burning, drying, tantalizing, clean, distinct, melting, watery, milky, rough, sandy, lumpy, coalescing, cohesion, waxy, clinging, gelling, chewy, astringent, puckering, irritating, starchy, oily, melting, foamy, powdery, coarse, curdled, crunchy, thirst-quenching, rich, luxurious, sticky, crystalline, chilling, warming, soggy, cooling, silky, tart, liquefying, aerated, wispy, delicate, floury, “gooey”, coarse, absorbing, gummy, velvety, granular, particles, carbonated, itchy, soothing, particulate, squeaky, slimy …
Sound:
Evaluated when biting or chewing versus kneading the product close to the ear:
Wheezing, cracking, crisp, loud, soft, noisy, silky, slurp, crunchy, slick, high, low, distinctive (similar to / ‘like”….) ….
Aftertaste or –feeling:
This is evaluated after swallowing or expectoration
Metallic, sweet, bitter, salty, acidic, chemical, burning, grainy, residue (described as graining etc), sticky, lumpy, intensifying, unnatural, bad, terrible, surprising, fascinating, unexpected, distinct, cleansing, refreshing …..
Will consumers describe products in this manner?
It is unlikely.
That is why it is so important to obtain information from consumers using the correct techniques if more than the usual “pleasant”, “unpleasant”, “acceptable” or “unacceptable”, is to be measured – and it can be obtained using the correct tools with excellent and surprising results!
It is very easy to identify words that describe food products from the view of an expert or trained taster.
It is a completely different story to understand the everyday manner in which consumers are comfortable to tell you what they experience.
Unfortunately it takes training and experience to mine the minds of consumers.
Without this knowledge and insight there will always be an apparent unfathomable chasm between what companies and markers think and deliver – and what consumers experience and desire with regards to each product, each experience, each product range, each product category, each company and its competitors.
Can success be achieved?
Most definitely…….
CMB
http://www.ewklibrary.com
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