Consumer Insights: an

action oriented approach

for managerial decision
Profs. Mònica Casabayó
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Session 02
The Process and Skills
Prof. Mònica Casabayó
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Today
• Starting Point: Defining the market
• The Sequence of a Research Plan
• Searching for Insights: A Research Proces
• Soft skills you need
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02.1

To start:
Defining the market
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Defining the reference market

(deciding where to play)

(SOLUTION?)

(HOW AND 
WHEN?)
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Workshop: AkzoNobel Reference Market

www.akzonobel.com
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Defining the reference market

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Defining the reference market is

key
Market definition is NOT an identification of the “sector,” it is the first strategic
decision that the company should make... it will automatically identify
To decide…for?
SOCIETY
EXPECTATIONS

The Company 
needs to 
The Company
needs to CREATE
UNDERSTAND a consistent
MARKETING 
STRATEGY

© 2018, Mònica Casabayó, ESADE

Why did Gillette decide to
launch this campaign? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koP
muEyP3a0&feature=emb_title
Question
• Akzonobel wants to move from marketing approach to 
multistakeholder marketing approach. 
What purpose should Akzonobel team support to 
be perceived as a genuine activist Brand?

(Why? How do you come to this answer? )

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02.1

The Sequence of a Research

Plan.
 Insights
15

A framework for planning

advertising (JWT planning guide)
Where are Why are we
we? there?

Where could
we be?

Are we getting How could we

there? get there?
 insights!
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A framework for planning

advertising (JWT planning guide)
FAILED TO DO
THIS!…
Where are Why are we
we? there?

Where could
we be?

Are we getting How could we

there? get there?
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Qualitative research – Overview

For exploring, understanding, going deep
• Small sample size and NOT representative
— Exploratory purpose; NOT conclusive for making decisions!
— Great for generating hypotheses
• Face-to-face or internet-based
• Rich and deep data
— Long interviews, projective techniques, etc.
• Audio/video typically registered for posterior analysis
• Subjective interpretation
— Verbal and non-verbal language equally important!
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Qualitative research – Overview

• Examples of qualitative techniques:

 Focus groups
 Ethnography (mystery shopper; shadowing; etc.)
 Webnography
 In-depth Interview (semi-structured, un-structured, laddering)
 Projective Techniques (“if this brand were an animal…”)
 …..
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Quantitative research – Overview

For quantifying, prioritizing, making decisions
• Focus of the data: for decision making, not deep
understanding!
• Allows statistical analysis
• Objective interpretation
• Sample should be representative
— Risk of bias otherwise
• Questionnaire should be well designed!
— Risk of bias otherwise
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Quantitative research – Overview

• Examples of quantitative techniques:

 Survey
 Experiments (A/B testing)
 Panel data
 …
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The sequence of market research

Formulation of problem / research need
What would I
Internal
like to know? Determining research objectives

Design methodology

What research to Sample design

do?
Preparation (and test) schedule /
questionnaire etc.
External
Information collection (fieldwork)
(Do the research!)
Data processing

Data analysis

What did I learn? Report of findings and recommendations Internal

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02.2

Searching for Insights:

A Research Process.
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Searching for insights

Insights come from

individuals, not from
products. Don’t focus on
products!
Johannes Hartmann
Vice-President of Corporate Marketing for
Estée Lauder Companies in Asia-Pacific.
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Searching for insights

• You must understand your clients intimately and profoundly,

by “watching” them work in situ. You cannot do it by telegram
or by remote control… you have to do it face-to-face.
Otherwise you will not understand them.
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Searching for insights

Be like
Sherlock
Attention to small things
Be curious!
Obvious? Look again!
Sense contradictions
What is the meaning?
Question assumptions
Anticipate what could be
Find what’s missing
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Searching for insights

• Think like a traveler… look again at things you think you know!
• Empathize with your end user (Remember! “Levels of empathy”…)
– Empathy does not consist just on getting in someone else’s shoes. You
have to remove your own shoes first!
Steve Bennett, former CEO of
Intuit

Empathize with your “Problem Owner”!!

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Research tools to get insights

• “Observation!!!” = Qualitative techniques
– Personal Interviews
• Laddering  Means-End Chain / Needs
– Focus Groups
– Ethnography
– Webnography
– Social listening / ‘social minding’
– Published research on human behavior!
– …
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Searching for insights:

Criteria to recognize an insight

1. Insights say more about the target than about the product or service
2. Insights are more about the category than the brand
3. Insights reveal more about how people want to feel than what they
think
4. Insights focus more on what is enduring than what is new
5. Insights stimulate new ideas and thinking, not the same old stuff

• Does it reveal something about the target?

• Does it relate to the category driver?
• Does it capture how consumers want to feel?
• Does it speak to an enduring value?
• Does it challenge the brand to act in new ways?
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TESCO Based on the information provided in the video, fill each stages of the
market Research process.

Formulation of problem / research need

Determining research objectives

Design methodology

Sample design

Preparation (and test) schedule /

questionnaire etc.

Information collection (fieldwork)

Data processing

Data analysis

Report of findings and recommendations

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02.3

Soft Skills you need

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Interpreting #4: Critical Thinking

#3: Knowledge (belief=> truth=> Confident=> good basis
&visualizing #5: Creativity (Realtime Board)
Knowledge

Analysing
information
HOW TO
#2: Connecting the dots
Collecting
raw data  find valid
Insights
#1: Observe, shut up and listen!
#0: Coordinating with others
 Consumer Insights: an
action oriented approach
for managerial decision
Profs. Mònica Casabayó