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Bridging the gap (Seeing through BoP eyes)

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Bridging the gap (Seeing through BoP eyes)

In researching the Base of the Pyramid

(BoP), researchers must learn to operate
without the shared assumptions on
which communication typically relies.

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Bridging the gap (Seeing through BoP eyes)
“The real voyage of discovery,” Marcel Proust wrote,
“consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having
new eyes.” Researchers working at the BoP must
embrace both experiences if they are to be successful:
exploring new landscapes in terms of economic
disparities, infrastructure and literacy, whilst adapting
to subtler socio-cultural gaps in order to ‘see’ this
world in the same terms as BoP consumers.
When conversations lack common ground
The absence of shared implicit assumptions about the
way the world works can greatly inhibit our ability
to ‘read’ and communicate with BoP consumers.
When talking to populations that have very different
experiences of learning, media, products and services,
it is surprising just how many notions and concepts no
longer hold true.
Culture can be defined as a system of common
assumptions, and this shared starting point is essential
for communication and interpretation. When it is
removed, the resultant breakdown in communication
can be bewildering. Researchers must respond by
framing questions in new ways, and learning what
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the answers to these questions really mean. Brands in sectors as diverse as mobile phones,
They must start by adapting their approach to fertilisers and personal care products have found
the types of decisions that BoP consumers are considerable success by focusing their proposition on
accustomed to making. economic advancement, rather than more immediate
and obvious consumer benefits.
From choosing products to choosing needs
In the environment of the BoP, the very notion of
consumer choice changes. The question is not so High
much “what product do I choose to fulfil this need?”
but “which need should I choose to fulfil first?”.
priority
With many priorities competing for limited disposable
income, we often find situations where choices
and trade-offs are made across markedly different
categories. The relative value of fulfilling a need
depends on the priority given to the area of life that
it impacts. Understanding these priorities fully can
enable research to make a greater contribution than
focusing questions on brand or product preference.
In the BoP, for example, growth in income or social
capital is frequently prioritised over personal comfort
and convenience, something that does not hold true
to the same extent in many developed markets. Low
priority
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Bridging the gap (Seeing through BoP eyes)

A not-so-common visual language As with colours, so with ‘simple, everyday symbols’ However, ticks and crosses are themselves formally
Poor literacy levels amongst BoP consumers create that can turn out to be indecipherable to the learned symbols rather than intuitively understood.
another set of challenges when it comes to research audience they were intended for. In one example, In this case, the tick was decoded as representing
and marketing. Visual messaging, using common ticks and crosses next to covered and uncovered pots a ladle to scoop out water – and the picture had
symbols and images, is an obvious alternative to of water were intended to show the importance of no meaning beyond this.
written questions and communication. However, keeping drinking water covered.
what passes for common visual language in many
situations does not necessarily apply in the BoP. When
researching in remote, rural communities, it is often
surprising how visual grammar that seems intuitive
to urban populations turns out to be wholly alien to
BoP consumers. The idea of traffic lights, with green
standing for go ahead and red indicating stop, is a
wholly urban notion. For consumers who have never
seen a traffic light, the colours red and green do
not have the same meaning. This can have serious
consequences, not only in research but also in simple
messaging. Colour coding bore-wells to mark safe
and unsafe drinking water is unlikely to have the
intended impact, for example.

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Bridging the gap (Seeing through BoP eyes)

Seeing with new eyes

The best solutions to the perception gaps that emerge
Cultural interpreters
when working with the BoP is prolonged immersion
Working in partnership with those with exposure to the BoP can provide ready
by researchers to build contextual knowledge and
insight as to where cultural gaps exist – and a means of bridging them. Young
understanding of different communities. However, the
people from remote rural communities who have moved to work in the city, or
demands of commercial market research mean that
community workers belonging to NGOs can act as cultural interpreters and an
such an approach is not always practical. TNS applies
important aid to data gathering.
diverse approaches to BoP research that can provide
a more timely and applicable solution to bridging
the gaps produced by different socio-economic
experiences and include: Common visual grammar
Understanding the shortcomings of supposedly universal symbols is an
important first step towards developing a more intuitive visual grammar. TNS is
developing a process to identify a common visual language that can be used in
communication with the BoP.

Mapping priorities
Studying patterns of adoption across different categories is enabling us to map
how BoP consumers prioritise and trade-off between their many different needs
– producing a more meaningful guide to consumer decision-making.

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Bridging the gap (Seeing through BoP eyes)

Leading the way to a better understanding

Research is a natural arena for confronting the issues
involved in communicating with the BoP. However,
the benefits of a shared understanding go beyond
the gathering and interpreting of data; they are
essential for acting on it as well. The insights gained
through seeking a common cultural language have
immediate value for brands, governments, NGOs
and all others tasked with engaging BoP consumers
– and exploring new forms of research has a crucial
role to play in this process.

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Bridging the gap (Seeing through BoP eyes)

About Intelligence Applied

Intelligence Applied is the home of the latest thinking from TNS, where we discuss the issues impacting About the author
our clients, explore what makes people tick and spotlight how these insights can create opportunities for
business growth. Anjali Puri is Regional Director,
Qualitative Research, TNS Asia-
Please visit www.tnsglobal.com/intelligence-applied for more information. Pacific. A seasoned qualitative
researcher with close to two
About TNS decades in the industry, Anjali has held a
TNS advises clients on specific growth strategies around new market entry, innovation, brand switching and number of regional and global roles. She has
customer strategies, based on long established expertise and market leading solutions. With a presence in extensive experience across categories in India
over 80 countries, TNS has more conversations with the world’s consumers than anyone else and understands and Asia Pacific, particularly food & beverage,
individual human behaviours and attitudes across every cultural, economic and political region of the world. healthcare and technology. Anjali has been
active in the development of new qualitative
TNS is part of Kantar, the data investment management division of WPP and one of the world’s largest insight, methodologies and has been responsible for
information and consultancy groups. shaping contemporary thinking in qualitative
research globally, particularly in the area of
Please visit www.tnsglobal.com for more information. consumer decision making and social media. She
is a frequent presenter at ESOMAR and other
Get in touch industry forums, and the recipient of the ‘Best
If you would like to talk to us about anything you have read in this report, please get in touch via New Thinking’ award by the UK MRS in 2006.
enquiries@tnsglobal.com or via Twitter @tns_global

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