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The multi-channel strategy

The following quote from an article on Marketing storytelling, in Marketing Week, took me back to a client who wanted to do away with their very successful catalogue and move their very loyal but non-tech savvy customers online. They felt having a multi-channel was so last century (my words not theirs, but you get the drift).

"Channel selection is no longer the issue. It's not about the app versus the magazine; the website versus the TV ad. Annoyingly for brands, it's about all channels, all of the time. Everything needs to be 'always on' because, as we know, consumers want their stories, their brand engagement, served up in the ways they dictate, not how the brand dictates, and they can change their preferences at any time."  via www.marketingmagazine.co.uk

Fortunately, they were open to continuing to make money, and ditched the online-only strategy following the extensive customer research we undertook. They focused on brand engagement, improved the content of the catalogue and made their website easier and fun to shop with interactive shopping tools and customer incentives.

So, what are your thoughts on multi-channel usage? Does a brand have to be multichannel to be engaging?

Market research look back and predictions for 2012

Picture source:  http://www.research-live.com

Current reading these five articles on Market Research, curtesy of my favourite digital tool, my RSS book marker, Google Reader. The first article looks back at some of the best social media research studies of 2011, while the others glimpse into their crystal ball and reveal their take on this already challenging year:

• The 10 Most Interesting Social Media Studies of 2011 – Briana Kerensky for OhMyGov! sums up last year’s best social-media research initiatives.

• Words to live by in 2012 – Research magazine asked 10 industry luminaries for a single word that sums up “their hopes and expectations for the year ahead”.

• Research in 2012: new methods, stronger structures and less PowerPoint - Forrester Research’s Reineke Reitsma looks back on 2011 and sets out what research professionals should watch out for in 2012.

• 2012 Research Predictions (The NGMR Twiteratti) – Tom H.C. Anderson crowdsourced over 50 predictions for the coming year, with the first 20 listed here.

• 2012 Market Research Crystal Ball – Dana Stanley addresses Tom Anderson’s call for predictions with five quite specific predictions in this post.

What do you think of the above? Please share, in the comments box below, the Market Research and Consumer Insight articles, blogs and website you have bookmarked. Let's learn together!

Consumer Insight or Market research - time to jump off the fence!

Picture: Consumer insight pulling all the market and customer information together, to generate penetrating discoveries about consumer motivations

Scanning through the 1000+ news links in my Google Reader, I came across an article posted on one of my favourite research blogs, Greenbook, about the ongoing debate on the difference between market research and customer insight - What’s the difference between Consumer Insights and Market Research? – Edward Appleton teases out some of the differences between describing our industry as “market(ing) research” vs. “consumer insights” in Europe and the U.S.

This debate has been around for years now, and each time I am contacted by a potential client asking for consumer insight, (don't get me started on whether it should be customer insight), or sent a job specification, it doesn't take me long to realise that many don't know what consumer insight is.But the issue is more that one of definition, most of the contention I have found is amongst those of us in the market research industry.

Picture: The headache that is the consumer insght vs. market research debate

As a market researcher who has evolved, through working with companies that use consumer insights throughout their business, mainly FMCG companies, into a consumer Insight specialist, I quickly grow tired of the disdain I frequently get, when I start with a new client, particularly if it's a Government department or agency. The patronising tone of some of the social / academic researchers I have met, have made me glad I am not a permanent employee. I have been told that the research projects I have managed were ‘robust’, or ’reliable.’ But results soon prove them wrong, plus I also apply my consumer insight knowledge to these consumers / customers. 

Another refrain, that I still hear too often from other research colleagues, is it is not my job to deliver insights. Yes, even though that's exactly what I am employed to do, I am told in no uncertain terms that insight development and delivery is the sole remit of the research agency. Where I can, I show these people that working closely with agencies will result in insights that are relevant to the organisation and more important are applicable. Doesn't always work, but I keep trying.

I have worked in many organisations who have both a market research team and a consumer insight team. What is the difference. Well the Market research team tends to all the ‘research’ needs, surveys, groups, market trends. And once they have put together their reports, the  insight teams, take that information and combine with other relevant customer, consumer / shopper and market information, and wa la! insights the rest of the business can trust. After all,  the CI team are seen as the "eyes and ears" of the customer, brimming with understanding not only the customer but the business and it’s place in the marketplace.

Whatever, we call ourselves, and whatever our motives, I agree with much of Mr Appleton's views, especially his statement: “I suspect that our preoccupation with titles and descriptors stems less from an identity crisis, and more from an underlying resentment that we don’t feel that we get the respect and recognition we feel we deserve."

Picture: Market research, often seen as producers of reams of data and information but not usable insights

As I said, the market research industry has been debating what we call ourselves for over a decade now, and still there is a divide. But, no matter what we call ourselves, we have a perception problem. Often seen as dull as the Volvo, and to be honest, I do think the same of some of my colleagues. I do resent the percetion of us all, as librarians, analysts or worst still nerds, who are good at mining information, but useless when it comes to understanding and applying to the rest of  arketing, never to talk of strategy. Thus often the contributions we could make to the success of an organisation is often over-looked.

It is time for my research colleagues to shout and scream that they are the true "eyes and ears" of the customer within an organisation, but many will need to lift their much scrateched heads out of their 1000 page data tables and power-point slides, and keep up-to-date with new techniques, technologies and thinking. Plus ppolish up their presentation and influencing skills.

For me hiding in the market reasearch cubby hole, is not an option. In the words of Mr Appleton, I have evolved from being a mere market researcher, into an insight specialist. As a freelancer, if I want to keep working, I can't afford to stay in the dark or the past.

But I haven't given up hope that those stil in the dark will move towards the light and beef up their insight knowledge and skills.

So, like Edward Appleton, I'm off the fence, and I "... think Insights is where we need to be as a body – consultative partners, without denying our crucial empirical, unbiased credentials as researchers." I do think that insights professional are evolved researchers, because to succeed in the new world, we need to be.

You can read Edward Appleton's full article - What’s the difference between Consumer Insights and Market Research? on http://www.greenbookblog.org

Now that's off my chest, what do you think? Are you fed up with all the talk about the difference between market research and customer insight, or has the debate passed you by?

Understand, engage and grow your customers (thus your business)

Research shows that effective identification and use of customer insight will lead to efficient and profitable customer solutions. 

Use my 15 years of customer insight knowledge and experience to guide your organisation to a better understanding of your customer needs.   

Call now for a free* telephone consultation.    

No matter the size or age of your business, I (Ola Fagbohun) via Diverse Consultancy, can help you uncover and implement penetrating customer insights.

Let me guide you on a journey to effective customer understanding, that will result in the provision of insightful and profitable customer solutions.   

 A promise not a sound bit

I make this claim, confident in my 15 years of customer insight knowledge and experience, gained from working with organisations large and small, private and public sectors.

My role is to work with you, guiding your organisation to an improved understanding of your customer wants and how you can satisfy them. Working with me you will tap into my abundance of commercial awareness, flexibility and tenacity, delivered with charm, even if I say so myself, and diplomacy.

But, don’t take my word for it.

Contact or call me now, no enquiry to small, and let's get to know each other over a free* telephone consultation.    

Telephone: 0114 342 0402

Twitter: DiverseConsult1 

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Over billion people on Social Networks

If as a customer-focused organisation, you are still burying your head in the sand with regards to understanding how you can use social media networks in your marketing strategy, it's time to wake up.

Research by comScore, in October 2011, revealed that social networking sites now reach 82 percent of the world’s on-line population, representing 1.2 billion users around the world. To give you context, there are more than 1.3 billion people in China.

Now, before you get on your business soapbox and tell me that these people are using social media networks for personal use, so you're not interested in them or this report. I tell you to think again. Yes, personal activities dominate social media network usage, but what grabbed my attention is the number who are now on-line and the amount of time they spend on-line.

In October 2011, Social Networking ranked as the most popular content category in worldwide engagement, accounting for 19 percent of all time spent on-line. That is nearly one in every five minutes spent on-line is now spent on social networking sites, such as Facebook (the category accounted for only six percent of time spent online in March 2007).

Now is the time to start thinking of a digital strategy, or updating your existing one, but before you jump on the Facebook bandwagon, think about who your customers are, which sites they use, what they are doing on-line, and then what your organise can do in the social media network space to enhance their experience.

These findings are part of a recent comScore report, It’s a Social World: Top 10 Need-to-Knows About Social Networking and Where It’s Headed.

This report analyzes the current state of social networking activity around the globe, providing key insights into how social networking has influenced the digital landscape and implications for marketers operating in this social world.

• How extensive is consumer usage of social networking and how does it vary by country?
• What is the current rate of social networking adoption in different parts of the world?
• Which sites are driving this adoption in different markets?
• How are these consumer usage dynamics changing over time?
• Where do these trends appear to be headed in the future?

To download the report, please click here.

Have you read this report, what do you think? Has it given you food for thought regarding your digital marketing strategy?

Research shows women addicted to social networking while men prefer the phone

As part of my on-going research into how women use social media, for a PhD proposal, I came across this article on the Daily Mail website, "It's chatterbox women who are most addicted to social networking - but men prefer staying in touch by phone."  

Judging by the amount of information I have found on this subject, I know there are others who are also interested in this topic, so I have posted some of the Daily Mail article and a link to the full thing. 

 

"Women, it goes without saying, love to talk and gossip. It may come as no surprise, then, that women are more social online than men.

 But while loving to stay in touch by Facebook, Twitter and blogging, a new survey reveals that women are not as keen as men when it comes to chatting on the phone.

 The study, commissioned by Rebtel, looked at the online habits of a group of 2,361 U.S. adults.

 For those internet users who chose to communicate with family, friends and work colleagues other than in-person, women led the way in choosing social media as a means of staying in touch.

 In fact, 68 per cent of women chose to use social media to stay in touch with family, compared to 54 per cent of men. When it came to contacting friends, the figures were 60 per cent compared to 42 per cent, and for colleagues, the number was 34 per cent compared to 22 per cent.

 This translates to around 163million women choosing to communicate via social media compared to 117million men.

 And, when women were given the option to pick one way of staying in touch with friends, family and colleagues - besides in-person - more women chose social networking than men.

 So much so that women were twice as likely to choose social networking as a way to stay in touch with colleagues than men.

 But men, conversely, are more partial to contacting people via phone.

 

Although the differences were not so pronounced between men and women voice and phone users as they are with social media users ...

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2041125/Social-network-Its-women-addicted-Facebook-Twitter.html#ixzz1ZKMbK496

Please free free to share any other information  / research sources on Women and social media. 

Reading: Best Practices for Creative and Creative Evaluation

As insight managers, we ar often asked what makes a successful ad campaign?

I am dying to be fillpant and answer, "How long is a piece of string?" However, my professional and diplomatic response is, "it depends".

Granted that is not an answer in itself, but there is no one answer. There are so many variables to take in to account, such as product, media, frequency, customer etc.

So as part of my continuing education, and to help me better prepare myself and my clients, with regards to evaluation of ad campaigns, I am currently reading ComScore's  Best Practices for Creative and Creative Evaluation.

 Description:

“Why do some of my ad campaigns drive offline sales and others don’t?” This is one of the most common questions that comScore VP of Research & Development Frank Findley receives from CPG, pharma and retail clients, and the answer often resides – at least somewhat – in an evaluation of the quality of the creative used.

During this session, Frank shared tips on how to effectively build, optimize and deploy ad creative. Learn best practices gleaned from traditional media as well as specific examples relating to digital creative, including techniques that work particularly well for digital, strategies for making successful short video ads and thoughts on how to best assess the relative potential of different digital formats."

Click on the following link to read the report:

Download Best Practices for Creative and Creative Evaluation 9_15_2011

As I make my way through this report, I'd love to hear your views on 1) challenges when evaluating as campaigns and 2) how you set and manage client expectations.  

Who is using social media?

The following graphic gives you a taste of who is using social media networks in America as at June 2011:

Image, 'The social media sweetspot'  from http://hasai.com

Overview

The research 'Social networking sites and our lives' ...

"... paints a rich and complex picture of the role that digital technology plays in people’s social worlds."

Fully 65% of adult internet users now say they use a social networking site like MySpace, Facebook or LinkedIn, up from 61% one year ago. This marks the first time in Pew Internet surveys that 50% of all adults use social networking sites.

The frequency of social networking site usage among young adult internet users under age 30 was stable over the last year – 61% of online Americans in that age cohort now use social networking sites on a typical day, compared with 60% one year ago. However, among the Boomer-aged segment of internet users ages 50-64, social networking site usage on a typical day grew a significant 60% (from 20% to 32%).

“The graying of social networking sites continues, but the oldest users are still far less likely to be making regular use of these tools,” said Mary Madden, Senior Research Specialist and co-author of the report. “While seniors are testing the waters, many Baby Boomers are beginning to make a trip to the social media pool part of their daily routine.”

In a separate question, when social networking users were asked for one word to describe their experiences using social networking sites, “good” was the most common response (as seen in this word cloud). Overall, positive responses far outweighed the negative and neutral words that were associated with social networking sites (more than half of the respondents used positive terms). Users repeatedly described their experiences as “fun,” “great,” “interesting” and “convenient.” Less common were superlatives such as “astounding,” “necessity,” and “empowering.”

Read and or download the full report here.

Successful social media strategy starts with insightful customer understanding

In my quest to understand the beat that is social media marketing, I devour lots of research, articles and blog posts.

Whenever I can I bang the drum for Customer insight professional everywhere, as in the rush to embrace social media many organisations forget that it starts and ends with the customer, not with PR management or creative websites, but with robust customer insight.

I will say no more, and let others in my profession state the case. Below I have provided a link to an insightful presentation by Patrick Massey, Senior Director - strategy and insight at Alterian. I was privileged to listen to Patrick in person, in April (2011) at the Social World Media Forum. On receiving the link from Patrick, I stored it in my 'to read and share' file, and only now got round to sharing it.

Download Transforming Social Media Data into Actionable Business Intelligence 2

Women rule the Social Media roost (at least in U.S.)

I am an avid collector and reader of any research that focusses on how people use the Web, especially if it features information on gender and / or ethnic usage.

The reason for my interest? I am writing research proposal on how online word of mouth is used by women when they plan their overseas holiday. The research will enable me to bring together my love of travel (DiverseTraveller.com) and customer insight (DiverseConsultancy.com).

I regularly read content from websites such as BlogHer and She-conomy, and research websites such as ComScore Media - "The global source of digital market intelligence and the most preferred measurement service." And it's ComScore I'm writing about today.

Ten years ago, ComScore undertook an extensive research project amongst web users in the U.S. The project, Women on the Web: How Women are Shaping the Internet, back then found that

"Among its results, the report found that ...

• the number of women on the Web in the U.S. had surpassed the number of men.

• Even at the time, when the U.S. Internet audience was only 75.7 million, it was clear that men and women used the Web differently.

• Juggling different demands, women used the Internet as a productivity tool, while men were primarily engaged in downloading software, experimenting with new technology and using it as a form of entertainment.

• Social networking sites reach a higher percentage of women than men globally, with 75.8 percent of all women online visiting a social networking site in May 2010 versus 69.7 percent of men.

• Sites with the highest female proportions in their audiences included women and teen magazine sites, health sites and apparel and baby goods retailer sites."

I won't give away the ending, you can read the research for yourself below. But I will reveal that it has provided robust data for my proposal.

Now if only I could find a similar study on UK web usage. If you have access or know where .I can find such data, please get in touch.

To download a copy of Women on the Web: How Women are Shaping the Internet, please visit: www.comscore.com/WomenOnTheWeb