In recent primary research we did for PL Buyer magazine using our national panel, we took a look at how sustainability influences the grocery consumer. We found that although consumers express the importance of sustainability they are not really willing to pay a premium for it. The basics of quality, price and nutrition rank much higher in the consumers mind.
Perhaps the way for the grocery industry to think about sustainability is, in a highly competitive market with all else being equal, it could be used as a differentiator. Or perhaps a less cynical approach would be to look at sustainability as a more efficient way of doing business that does not need a premium price tag and actually benefits the planet.
Here is how consumers ranked of the different sustainability attributes.
The full research article can be found in our downloads section.
Sustainability low in needs hierarchy
Hispanic Opportunity Growth
Are you getting your share of the Hispanic market growth? The facts are that Hispanics fueled 50% of the growth in U.S. in the past decade. Hispanics are dispersing across all of the U.S., driving job growth while holding onto language and culture. The downloads section has a presentation detailing these trends.
K. Fernandez & Associates is a Hispanic & Multi-Cultural marketing communications partner reaching the new face of America in all of its diversity and complexity both in language of choice and English. We are passionate believers that a deep understanding of the consumer, the marketplace and your brand is essential in uncovering the key product attributes in order to drive your sales.
Facebook for Consumer Research
Facebook announced earlier this week it has reached 900 million members. This massive audience is a magnet for business and extremely attractive to research companies! Here is a quick recap of the different ways Facebook can be used to capture consumer opinions.
• PASSIVE MONITORING – there are several software offerings out there that monitor the web (and especially Facebook) to monitor comments about subjects you are interested in which often for a business is their brand. Researchers can look at the volume of comments and see if they are positive, negative or neutral. Companies can be reactive to what they hear about their products, services, advertising and people. I heard on the news the other day that investors are using this king of technology to predict market fluctuations!
• ACTIVE MONITORING – this is just like the first point but companies post responses, especially to negative comments, to try and influence the perception.
• OPEN-ENDED POSTS – companies can use their Facebook pages to get feedback from their most ardent customers. They can post open ended questions to get a quick feel of what customers think of a new idea or concept.
• FACEBOOK POLL – Facebook has the ability for a company to post a poll on their page. This allows for a more structured question and statistical analysis of the responses. However it is limited to one question at a time.
• EMBEDDED SURVEY – Some survey software tools have a Facebook App that allows you to embed a survey onto your page. Data is then analyzed in the standard way of that survey tool. A key benefit of the apps is they can capture demographic data for the respondent such as gender, location and age.
• FACEBOOK ADS – Using your company page limits you to members who are fans of your company. A Facebook Ad allows you target demographics and people with specific interests for much wider surveys. Of course you need compelling ads with incentives for people to respond.
TV & Radio least effective in brand switching
In recent primary research we did for PL Buyer magazine using our national panel we took a look at how consumers think about grocery brands before shopping and then during shopping. We found that the majority of respondents usually know what brands they intend to buy before going shopping but the majority preview the other brands available before purchasing, with store brand being the main default purchase if a brand is not available.
We then delved deeper into what might make a consumer switch brands. The top promotion methods influencing switching brands are in-store price promotion followed by every day lower price and then better nutrition value. Recommendations from friends and family came in fourth, which really backs up well research into the benefits of using social media as a promotion platform. Electronic coupons, recommendations from store associates and TV/Radio advertising rank last! The death of TV/Radio advertising may be happening even faster than we thought!
Here is a full rank of the comparative scoring of the promotion methods:
* Other information on the label specified included organic, allergy information, specific nutrient / ingredient information and corporate social responsibility factors.
Using Children in Research
Children are becoming more and more influential in purchase decisions and may have the final say in whether or not a product becomes a household favorite. Their insights can be extremely valuable, and not just for products aimed specifically at them. However conducting research with children comes with particular challenges. Here are a few guidelines that can be used to help reliably predict children’s preferences:
What information will the children be capable of providing?
You must keep in mind that the children’s ages will affect their ability to answer research questions. As children age their language skills, memory, and reasoning abilities are usually more mature and allow for more complex tasks. However, we also need to remember to consider variations in children’s abilities even at similar ages.
How do we determine the correct test methods for different ages?
Since most of testing with children is concerned with their liking of a product we need to use the hedonic methods and/or rankings and ratings scales that have been demonstrated most appropriate for each specific age group.
How do we conduct the research?
Preschool age children are preliterate and must be interviewed one-on-one. Children ages 5-7 still require assistance, but are capable of longer scales. With children over eight the test can be self-administered with occasional assistance from the research staff. Remember consent must be obtained from a child’s guardian to participate.
Where should these panels be conducted?
We must strive to create an inviting and friendly environment in which the children feel comfortable. We should avoid using an authoritarian style and refrain from any comments which the children might feel are criticisms. It is important that we communicate in a language they understand.
When should these panels take place?
As a general rule, mornings are a good time to conduct panels, as children are usually more alert. It is best to avoid after-school hours when they are tired and need a chance to spend some unstructured time. For foods serve them as close to the time of day they are normally consumed.
How will we handle the fact that children influence each other?
The research setting must be carefully managed in order to control the fact that friendships and other social structures might unduly influence the study’s results.
Consumers drive new products innovation
Store Brand Decisions today shared highlights from some research stating “Today’s empowered consumer wants to be involved in the decision-making process, whether that is simply providing feedback or suggesting entirely new product lines’
This is what we have been doing at consumer science for the past 15 years!
Drop us a line if you would like to try it.
Do consumers want American food?
Seeing the words “Made in the USA” on a grocery store product is a breath of fresh air to a skeptical American Shopper. A product of any other country equals a heightened fear of the unknown and complex supply chain that is imported foods. In a recent food safety survey from Deloitte 47% of consumers state they are very concerned about the safety of imported foods.
However, with the demand by Americans for variety and low cost goods, the billion dollar business of food imports is booming in the United States. Interestingly in that same survey when asked about reading the country of origin labels on products, only 19% of shoppers report reading them all the time. It might be interesting to do a customer perception study of putting country of origin on front of pack in a similar way to the recent moves in nutrition – and how much more they would be willing to pay!
Penalty Analysis – Getting more from Sensory
Penalty analysis is a statistical technique that can be run on Just About Right (JAR) scales to prioritize which attributes of a product most affect liking. My white paper on this is in the downloads section if you want to read more about it.
Want new customers?
Dell what are you doing? 2 weeks after the promised date and there was no sign of the new computer I ordered. When I called the response was “Well, sorry! You can purchase any other computer from other sources and if this computer arrives you can return it back with no obligations”. So after years of being a loyal customer I am not going to buy Dell again and I’m telling all the people I know about my experience.
Research shows that acquiring new customers, depending on the industry, costs 3 to 5 times more than retaining existing ones. But still companies keep going after new customers, ignoring the needs of the current customers. What is your company doing to listen to your customers? Find out what they are thinking about you and your products before your competitor finds out and exploits your weakness.
Machines vs. Humans
Will taste panels soon be a thing of the past? Electronic tongues and noses are in
development with several different universities and companies across the world
(google electronic tongue for more information). Similar to human taste buds,
E-tongue has specific sensors that detect the chemical compounds responsible
for flavor, generates an electric impulse and with the help of software these
signals are translated into ‘a taste fingerprint’. Applications include
assessing sweeteners, wines and other liquidized products. The key benefit is
the consistency and repeatability of the results; where humans differ in their
sensitivity towards a taste perception.
However the machines can’t tell you which product it prefers. Currently useful application
for the machines is limited to assessing known specifications, preferably of
high volumes of similar products. Now why is it that some consumers prefer the
taste of Hunt’s ketchup while others swear by Heinz? Maybe we need those humans
for a little longer.